What are some business decisions that you previously saw as good, but now regret?
Usually, when you start something, you don't have the experience you have now, and you would have done things 100 times better with hindsight.
It's not much different in business.
What did you think was a good idea before, but now, in your career as a founder, do you regret it?
So I'll start with a few examples:
When I started yoga business/classes, I didn't really promote it, I just practised in my room and thought it would come naturally. :D
I said yes to everything because I thought it would move me somewhere. It turned out that these people were more likely to promise me that they would make money from me.
In some cases, I thought that promoting with €10 in my pocket would bring me bohemian results – it turned out that 10 euros cost me one viewer from the YT ad :D
Replies
@busmark_w_nika Biggest regret was saying yes to every collaboration, thinking it would build momentum, most of it just burned time. Now I treat my calendar like a product and say no by default.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@vishal7017 It makes sense to create a timebox schedule and fill it with your free time activities/hobbies that will be a priority for you! :)
@busmark_w_nika @vishal7017 do you think there are consistent signs for good/bad collaborations before they happen? How do you filter these invites?
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@vishal7017 @zanc_zhao if they are pushing you into something that you areno aligned with – it is a red flag :D
Mailwarm
I haven’t personally made a major business decision I regret yet since I’m not a founder at the moment, but working around crypto and startup teams exposed me to one lesson.
I saw founders make decisions based too much on personal preference instead of what was actually good for the business long term. One example was a marketing agency that refused to offer a completely legal and profitable service simply because the owner personally disliked that side of the business. Instead of adapting or bringing in people who understood it better, they ignored the opportunity completely and put all their focus into one direction. Eventually the agency struggled badly and later went bankrupt.
What I took from that is that business decisions should not always revolve around ego or personal taste. Sometimes you may not enjoy a part of the business, but if it creates value, serves customers, and helps the company grow, it still deserves attention. And if it’s not your strength, hiring people who are better at it is usually smarter than ignoring it completely.
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@daniel_nwankwo I understand that some areas may be profitable, but if I were offered to create an ad for cigarettes or so, I am not so sure whether I would say yes (that's what I like about being a freelancer). Because if I were an employee of some ad agency, I wouldn't have a choice so much.
Mailwarm
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@daniel_nwankwo but even that freedom is limited :D
Like I'm trying with my app..we are meant in this life to learn,from mistakes,from wining.All we need to do is to learn from our mistakes and become more good at what we want or are doing,and improve the things we are already maybe little maybe more to become BETTER STRONGER FASTER to achieve sky high goals.
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@remus_savu That's why I try to learn every single time.
I used to think it wasn’t my responsibility to educate the client. My job was to build, implement, monitor, report, and deliver results.
What I’ve realized over time is that explaining the “what” and the “why” behind the work is often just as valuable as the work itself.
After running my company for 15 years, it’s become clear to me that many clients are operating in areas outside their expertise. The things that feel obvious or routine to me are often completely unfamiliar to them. When I fail to explain the reasoning, process, or strategy, I create confusion instead of confidence.
Ironically, the knowledge I once assumed everyone had has become one of the biggest differentiators.
The lesson for me was that expertise alone is not enough. Clients also need clarity, context, and understanding.
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@johnoed I am happy that you mentioned this case of educating people about the topic. I know about that one thing, but still forgetting :) Thank you for the reminder.
@busmark_w_nika It's easily overlooked. As humans we tend to think everyone knows everything we do but that's not the case. Not even for the C suite.
Great question, Nika. Hindsight really is 20/20 in the startup world. For me, it was over-indexing on 'feature parity' with competitors early on. I thought we needed every bell and whistle they had to be viable, but it just diluted our core value proposition and slowed our speed to market.
If I could go back, I’d focus on doing one thing exceptionally well rather than five things 'okay.' What was the 'breaking point' that made you realize your specific decision was a regret?
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@rivra_dev so the ending line is: Fewer features can make the product better?
Hi Nika
Hi Nika, great question.
My biggest regret was waiting too long to fully show up and promote what I was building. I thought if I kept working behind the scenes and made everything “perfect,” people would naturally notice.
Now I realize that building the business is only one part — talking about it, sharing the journey, and letting people see the real reason behind it matters just as much.
I’m learning that you don’t need everything perfect to start. You just need to start, stay consistent, and let people grow with you.
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@elisa_murph Perfection ki*ls the success. Because we never actually start.
Thinking that because I have a "problem" doesn't mean that everyone does. Or that it's a viable product.
My entire career has been as a software developer, which trained me to believe that the most important thing in a business is to build a great product. I used to believe that users will just gravitate to good products and marketing was just a way to accelerate growth.
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@diego_2r87 yeah, "good product" attracts attention is a myth. You need to show.
thinking that doing good work was enough and people would just notice. they don't. you have to talk about it and I learned that way too late
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@tina_chhabra true words, it is about showing yourself every single time.
Dear Nika, you piqued my interest — thought I'd say hi.
I have had many ideas, but they usually remain just ideas. To implement them, it is generally necessary to take step-by-step actions: for example, purchasing equipment, learning, hiring people, registration, accounting, entering the market, finding customers, and so on. For some reasons, I am not attracted to ideas that already exist on every corner: things like fitness, yoga, online sales, or something along those lines.
For example, at one point I decided to get into carpets/rugs: I bought threads and tools from China, but at some stage I felt a strange sense of discouragement from the thought that everything was moving too slowly, that stagnation was setting in, and that everything was left hanging in uncertainty.
Almost every time, during the process, I start feeling that something is wrong with the implementation itself. And this leads me to a thought: what if I am simply taking on too much alone and lack sufficient motivation?
What do you think is the main reason people don’t finish what they start?
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@harry_gregor I think it is about the discipline, like no matter what, you will get through it! You will make time in your calendar if it even means to wake up at 3:30.