What is your single best piece of advice for an early stage founder?
Lisa Dziuba
24 replies
Replies
Trevor Lee@trevor_lee
Never give up!
Share
@trevor_lee I think, founders should know when "to give up". If there is no product market fit, what's the point?
Build a cupcake. Not the whole product (the cake), but enough to be valuable and give people a taste that they can buy.
Build and launch a cupcake as soon as possible.
Don't spend months building perfect, polished, fully functional MVP.
> hack something simple with a no-code tool like Typedream or Softr 2.0
> start talking to customers and gathering feedback
> quickly iterate, focus on value for the user
> build something 100 people love, rather than 1,000 kinda like
Heep (http://heep.so/) can match you with a no-code expert who works lean and can help you get started or power up.
If you are on the business side, find a technical co-founder to share your passion
Launch early, don't wait to build ideal product
Focus on the customer and the problem. Finding PMF should be main priority
The only thing I can say, be patient, work daily, share the value for free, good luck
@krify_yassine working daily is easy when you see the results. At early stage startup, we can work without any results for months
You will eventually hit a point of self-doubt. Do not let it overwhelm you. Go through this period strongly. :)
@alessandro_canella is this the time when you have no money left? :)
@lisadziuba Not always! Self-doubt comes even when you have all the money in your pocket. Think about it.
If you hate hiring, hire all your top people right away and then let them do the rest.
Find a team that believes in your idea
Always think about and focus on the path to revenue. Some products take longer to get there but your most strategic moves will be those that cut down the time to money in the bank.
Launching soon!
My best piece of advice for an early-stage founder is to stay focused and determined. As the Stoic philosopher Epictetus once said, "First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do."
Starting a business can be incredibly challenging, and there will be plenty of obstacles and setbacks along the way. But if you are clear about your vision and stay committed to your goals, you can overcome anything.
So, my advice is to stay true to yourself and your vision, and never let anything get in the way of your determination to succeed. With focus and persistence, you can turn your dreams into reality.
My best piece of advice for an early-stage founder is about finding a right co-founder: Look for an individual with skills and talents that
will complement your own. The ideal co-founder will possess the skills you lack. Regardless of how great/potential your idea is, having wrong co-founder will lead to failure.