Thread by @tomjacquesson

I've cofounded 3 startups, been a part of 8 and crashed so many times.

Here are 5 lessons I learned the hard way (so you don't have to):

1. You're not supposed to be there for a long time

Startups require A LOT of energy.

6 months - 2 years in, you start getting bored.

If you're not getting at least some traction, you can always join another one.

That's the beauty of it:

There's always something to build.

2. There are 2 kinds of founders

a) Bullshit Founders:

They're all about the vision and mission (for like a month).

Then they turn manipulative and outright mean to their customers.

Stop working with them before they're done with you.

b) The Real Founder:

This is the one that believes in his product and blames stuff on himself.

If something didn't work, it's not the customer's fault.

It's our fault for not understanding them enough.

3. Tech startups > Physical goods startups

Tech startups are fun because you get to pivot quickly and try new stuff online.

Physical goods? Not so much.

Tech startups get bought by Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter...

Physical goods startups get bought by Walmart 😕

4. Engineers are the stars, but marketers are the MVPs

Marketers are the ones that make it happen. They go out there and get sales.

If a great product has zero sales, it's not a great product.

But if an ok product gets a bunch of sales, it is.

5. Foosball tables don't make up for a shitty salary

Quoting @mkobach here:

"The best employees are worth 10x, so paying them 2x is a steal."

Just hire good people and leave them alone.

Trust me, it works.

Thanks for reading!

You're free to follow me if you want to learn more on

- Startups
- Marketing
- SaaS

Talk soon,

Thomas.