10 lessons I have learned working 10 years in tech as a startup founder, engineer & product manager. 🧵
1/ Unless it breaks your business, don't build.
Building new things is always exciting. However, unless there's a business outcome attached, it's a wasted effort.
Building new things is always exciting. However, unless there's a business outcome attached, it's a wasted effort.
2/ Build audience before product.
"If you build it, they will come" — is the biggest startup fallacy.
You don't need to quit your job for building your audience. You can easily do this on the side.
"If you build it, they will come" — is the biggest startup fallacy.
You don't need to quit your job for building your audience. You can easily do this on the side.
3/ Build only that's most essential.
Iterate & build more later.
Iterate & build more later.
4/ No customisations = Use no-code.
No-code shouldn't be treated different from software development.
It should be your first intuitive step to building a product.
No-code shouldn't be treated different from software development.
It should be your first intuitive step to building a product.
5/ Fast, good or cheap — At any point, you can only get 2 out of these 3 right.
A good quality product made quickly won't be cheap.
A cheap product made ASAP won't have great quality.
A good quality product made quickly won't be cheap.
A cheap product made ASAP won't have great quality.
6/ Never reinvent the wheel.
Existing solutions are better on almost every aspect - fast, robust & cheap (lifetime value).
Existing solutions are better on almost every aspect - fast, robust & cheap (lifetime value).
7/ When building a product or feature, always think of building an MVP first.
Launch a version of the product or feature, get feedback, iterate & build on top of it.
Launch a version of the product or feature, get feedback, iterate & build on top of it.
8/ Make something functional first. Focus on the aesthetics later.
You probably don't need a designer for building your MVP.
You probably don't need a designer for building your MVP.
9/ Don't try to solve for all problems at once.
Figure the most critical ones & solve for them first.
Iterate and solve for the rest in later versions.
Figure the most critical ones & solve for them first.
Iterate and solve for the rest in later versions.
10/ Software doesn't last forever.
When you build something from scratch, don't expect it to run magically forever.
Version upgrades, feature deprecation & other maintenance issues are bound to come up.
When you build something from scratch, don't expect it to run magically forever.
Version upgrades, feature deprecation & other maintenance issues are bound to come up.
That's it for the thread!
I regularly share such threads around startups, so consider retweeting the first tweet & following me :)
I regularly share such threads around startups, so consider retweeting the first tweet & following me :)
https://twitter.com/hrishiptweets/status/1417358095924137987?s=20
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