Thread by @Nicolascole77

[THREAD] How To Successfully Launch A Startup, Inverted

1/ Mention the incumbent in all of your marketing materials. That way, everyone knows you’re 2nd best.

2/ Pick a category someone else already owns. It’s best to use marketing dollars trying to convince people to stop liking something they already like.

3/ Spend top dollar on branding. When customers (or investors) are judging your product, utility & clarity of the problem it solves is irrelevant. Humans are monkeys. If it’s shiny, people will want it.

4/ Raise as much money as possible regardless of dilution. The real joy of entrepreneurship is working 80 hours a week, carrying the lion’s share of the risk, and gambling your reputation. You’re not in it to make money. You’re in it to “make the world a better place.”

5/ Hire fast, fire slow. The best thing you could possibly do is keep someone on staff you know isn’t a good fit but is just really down for the whole startup vibe thing.

6/ Always recruit who has better college credentials. Work ethic, commitment, and rebellious creativity are overrated. But a white guy with a Harvard MBA who knows his way around an excel spreadsheet? He should be hire #1

7/ Build a product in an industry where you aren’t a super-consumer. You’ll be far more successful at anticipating people’s wants and needs if you are completely disconnected from those same wants and needs in yourself.

8/ Be as vague as possible with your messaging. Use statements like “For People, By People” or maybe “We Tell Human Stories” or maybe even “Results Oriented Business Intelligence.” The less customers understand about what you actually do, the more likely they are to buy.