10 Lessons Learned from 2015

It’s that time of the year to acknowledge the lessons learned from the past year and in a way to come to a closure with it. The reaction I got to last year’s lessons is what motivates me to write the lessons again.

2014 lessons were more about taking the entrepreneurial direction. 2015 lessons are more about early stages of a startup. Hence, the lessons learned are hard & heavy. Each of them deserve to be a separate post one day. Until then please forgive my late attempt to summarize them here.

1. Walking is good for mental hygiene
   I walked hundreds of kilometers in 2015. I am lucky enough to have offices at walking distance from home. Walking was one of the most beneficial choices of last year. One can argue about physical benefits but I am more into the mental hygiene walking can bring. It’s amazing how you can (re)solve things when you get into the flow of walking. That is not happening in a short walk, so keep walking.
2. Lean Life > Lean Startup
   There is too much noise around the topic of “lean startup.” It refers to the operation and product thinking, but that’s missing the huge part of the story. After a year, I can tell you that “lean” is actually a desired personal state rather than the startup’s. Founder’s life should be as lean as possible outside the startup. You need to concentrate energy, money, etc. to have a laser-guided brain & time use on the current job. Having a simple, no-frills life definitely saves time & money. And for this reason, I apologize to all the friends I have not called or seen lately.
3. Endurance is key
   During the initial phases of our startup, I had problems finishing the work week in one piece. I would work late one night for a presentation and lose the next two days because I was crumbling down. My performance was explosive and short-lived. This is not the desired type of performance for a startup person. I skipped the “marathon analogy” and I asked help from an ultra-marathon runner friend. He taught me mental, nutritional and physical aspects of endurance. Listening to that from a guy who finished all the ultras he started was life-changing. No matter how much grit you might have if you don’t have endurance the game might be over sooner than you think.
4. Freedom from sugar
   The endurance counselling paid-off almost immediately. I started to realize that the energy leak was caused by the sugar cycles in my diet. I confessed that I was a sugar addict and acted upon that. I also got rid of all simple carbs in the process. I realized that my dietary choices stifled my brain up until October 2015. Worrying about your blood sugar is clouding your mind. Without sugar, I don’t get hungry, I don’t get tired and in fact I can concentrate better for longer hours. Liberate yourself from sugar and unleash your brain!
5. Eat fat to burn fat
   I found myself in the relatively new ‘Low Carb-High Fat’ literature, after getting rid of sugar. When you drop carbs you need another type of fuel for the body and that is quality fat. If you keep eating quality fat you keep burning fat. I did this and I can’t believe the results. In short, “Nutrional Ketosis” is the shortest way to gain and maintain your health. It might not be for everyone, so please study carefully before trying this.
6. Great team vs. Team of greats
   Last year I wrote about “the great team” we had which encouraged me to do great things. In fact, that’s what happened, we did great things. The feeling of a great team is unbeatable, for sure. After many achievements, our team started to be a “team of greats” instead of a “great team.” To tell you the truth, I was not experienced enough to tell apart the nuance of “team of greats” at the beginning. I had to learn the difference the hard way. Having a “great team” takes you to further success and a “team of greats” takes you to further discord.
7. Evangelising vs. Boasting
   When you achieve a little in the early stages of the startup, you tend to amplify the reality. Even if the achievement is not more than planned, you want to tell the whole world. It might quickly go beyond innocent evangelism and turn into showing off. I must admit that it’s boosting self-confidence but you have to adjust the dose of evangelism. Otherwise you risk becoming a turn-off.
8. Initial valuations are fictional
   We have been fortunate enough to complete a few investment rounds within the 1st year of Tapu.com. I have to thank our beloved investors for their increasing support. Do keep in mind that the true equity value of a company can be known when you are selling majority shares or doing an IPO. Don’t treat startup investment rounds as your money earned. It’s not. Investors are just accepting the fictional valuations just to keep you motivated. You don’t know it until you sell majority or IPO. Keep your head down and keep growing. And pray that you will ever see those days.
9. Existing investors > Potential investors
   Don’t mistake that an external investor is more important than your existing ones. The allure of startup storytelling to potential new investors can be deceiving. This might be a pitfall especially when they are accepting greater valuations. But don’t forget your earlier investors took more risk and supported you all along. We are fortunate to complete follow-on rounds with increased commitment from our existing investors. That’s way better than having to deal with people you recently met.
10. No better dope than a thank you letter!
    We have been completing property sales nationwide since last August at Tapu.com. After completing our first Istanbul sale, the buyer sent us a “thank you” letter. It was about our active role in providing him with the opportunity to buy his dream house. This is the 1st time I am receiving such a personal thank you letter and I am thrilled with it. I could argue about our customer focus but this is another level. I think the letter cleared the fog around market-fit and made us work harder. It’s a legal dope for a startup. Earning a thank you letter even before earning money helps a lot.

Thank you for reading my 2015 lessons this far. Let’s see what 2016 will bring us. I wish you all a great and a successful year in 2016.