I made $0 from my first start-up.
I sold my second start-up to a $100 billion tech company.
Here are 12 things I learned through failure and success:
I sold my second start-up to a $100 billion tech company.
Here are 12 things I learned through failure and success:
1. Figure out distribution early.
Building products is easy.
Finding distribution is hard.
If no one can find your product, no one will care about it.
Building products is easy.
Finding distribution is hard.
If no one can find your product, no one will care about it.
2. Pick co-founders wisely.
Picking the right co-founder is as important as picking the right spouse.
You should know each other's fears, motivations, and goals inside out.
It is the only way to know that you both will make it to the finish line together.
Picking the right co-founder is as important as picking the right spouse.
You should know each other's fears, motivations, and goals inside out.
It is the only way to know that you both will make it to the finish line together.
3. Be internally driven.
Start-ups are stressful.
They are not as glamorous as they look on Twitter.
You are putting out fires 24/7 in the early years.
If you are only motivated by external factors such as money.
You will quit when it gets too painful.
h/t @sama
Start-ups are stressful.
They are not as glamorous as they look on Twitter.
You are putting out fires 24/7 in the early years.
If you are only motivated by external factors such as money.
You will quit when it gets too painful.
h/t @sama
4. Learn to master your emotions.
Start-ups are a roller coaster.
Your team could fail.
You could fail.
But you need to survive, keep the morale high, and move forward.
What worked for me:
• Building a founder tribe
• Strong family support
• Therapist
Start-ups are a roller coaster.
Your team could fail.
You could fail.
But you need to survive, keep the morale high, and move forward.
What worked for me:
• Building a founder tribe
• Strong family support
• Therapist
5. Focus.
As an early-stage start-up, you can go in several directions.
There are a ton of distractions.
Don't go after every shiny object.
Pick one product focus area and run rigorous experiments to validate it.
As an early-stage start-up, you can go in several directions.
There are a ton of distractions.
Don't go after every shiny object.
Pick one product focus area and run rigorous experiments to validate it.
6. Raise money when you can.
The best time to raise is when you don't need capital.
Nothing makes investors have FOMO like a company that does not ask for capital.
The best time to raise is when you don't need capital.
Nothing makes investors have FOMO like a company that does not ask for capital.
7. You can't build a 10x company without 10x talent.
Great businesses are built on great talent.
Your early hires lay the foundation of your company.
Hiring the wrong people can lead to major issues.
Hire slowly and optimize for hiring the best.
Great businesses are built on great talent.
Your early hires lay the foundation of your company.
Hiring the wrong people can lead to major issues.
Hire slowly and optimize for hiring the best.
8. Only fear things that can kill you.
There are a ton of disasters in a start-up.
As founders we stress about each and every one of them.
I learned this the hard way that it only exacerbates the problems.
Stress about issues that can kill the company.
h/t @paulg
There are a ton of disasters in a start-up.
As founders we stress about each and every one of them.
I learned this the hard way that it only exacerbates the problems.
Stress about issues that can kill the company.
h/t @paulg
9. Don't network just for the sake of it.
Develop genuine bonds with investors, future employees, and customers.
Your start-ups success depends on your ability to build relationships and open closed doors.
Be a pro at building relationships.
Develop genuine bonds with investors, future employees, and customers.
Your start-ups success depends on your ability to build relationships and open closed doors.
Be a pro at building relationships.
10. Ask customers for money.
Your ultimate goal is to make money.
The only way to do that is if you delight your users.
Build a product that blows them away.
To know if you did, ask them to pay for it.
If your users love you, nothing can stop you from crushing it.
Your ultimate goal is to make money.
The only way to do that is if you delight your users.
Build a product that blows them away.
To know if you did, ask them to pay for it.
If your users love you, nothing can stop you from crushing it.
11. Don’t take advice from people who haven’t built a company.
Find folks who’ve been there and done it.
Ideally, people two steps ahead of you.
Learn from their mistakes and wins.
Find folks who’ve been there and done it.
Ideally, people two steps ahead of you.
Learn from their mistakes and wins.
12. To get 100X outcomes, you need to take 10X risks.
Most start-ups fail.
You need to increase your odds of winning.
Develop a culture where everyone feels comfortable taking risks and failing.
Embrace failure and iterate till you win.
Most start-ups fail.
You need to increase your odds of winning.
Develop a culture where everyone feels comfortable taking risks and failing.
Embrace failure and iterate till you win.
Goodluck on building the next rocketship.
If you found this thread useful:
• Retweet the first tweet to help others on their journey
• Follow me at @hwbhatti
I write about building start-ups, personal growth, and tech.
If you found this thread useful:
• Retweet the first tweet to help others on their journey
• Follow me at @hwbhatti
I write about building start-ups, personal growth, and tech.
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