Entrepreneur-dom 102: First-time founders need only these 11 fundamental How-Tos
This is no advice. This is learnings for you to voluntarily build upon. I made the decision to be a new company’s founding part. This is Entrepreneur-dom, Season 1, Episode 2: information that helped me and may also help you.
Remember how much you like over-promising headlines? But for real: first-time founders struggle with doing the right thing because there are so many things (you think you need) to consider.
If you make use of your Google skills, you will find tons of articles what you should do and shouldn’t do and by any means should/should’ve have/haven’t done/achieved/do today or at least yesterday.
And if you use something else but this tool, you suck big time. If something is right 10 times, the eleventh time must be right as well — right?
If you are successful running your business from your cherry wood desk with a typewriter in the Himalayas, stick to it. It’s your way of doing stuff.
Having said that, here are the articles and tools I found very helpful during my first months as a founder:
- How to work on tasks:
GTD-method: Get things done. Period. I use Trello for it. Big up to Art Lapinsch for sending it through. #respectthesend - How to handle email overflow:
Set up your email inbox on desktop and mobile so you do not loose track of stuff, by Blake Robbins. It’s so quick it revolutionized my way of looking at my inbox. Amazing stuff. - How to develop ideas:
The Design Sprint developed by Google. It’s not only the sprint itself. It is the mindset behind it. It is how you work during those sprints. It’s very creative, very fast, very hands-on. - How to track your business:
16 Startup Metrics by Andreessen Horowitz. In my opinion, a classic read on KPIs startups should look at early as possible. Track them, steer them, remind them. - How to make branding work:
Corporate identity done right (at the bottom right of the page), by University of Cambridge. If you’ve ever wondered ‘what should by CI actually contain of?’, see this example. It’s a bit over-the-top for a startup. Look at the basics for font, font usage, colors, logo usage. - How to choose a typeface:
Fonts and typefaces, by Pablo Stanley. Builds on the previous branding-topic. Still troubling with finding a proper type for your web presence? No more. - How to win friends and influence people:
That’s actually a title of a book by Dale Carnegie. You will find ebook versions or free PDFs online.
Here’s my summary of the tips by Carnegie: download it here.
I recommend to read the book. It reasons well on what works when dealing with people. It is not a book about manipulation. It helps you to show and live real interest in others. - How to steer a team:
OKRs and Goal Science Thinking, latter written by First Round. Even though it may be too early for a small team, the idea of a vision that is measurable is highly relevant. So is the communication with the team. - How to build a top-notch organization:
The Netflix Culture by Patty Mccord. An absolute favorite of mine. Also this piece is nice to read as a follow-up on how Patty may have ultimately set up a system that got herself out of business. - How to focus and cool down:
Classic music for free for deep thinking and working sessions, by Idagio. I met Till Janczukowicz and Christoph Lange mid-2016 and I was immediately hooked by their product. I mostly use the ‘Mood’-mode.
I will update this list from time to time.
But wait, where’s 11?!
I will publish this post using Buffer (actually #11). Never mess up your social media hassle again.
Leave a comment and give it a ❤ if you found it useful. Sincerely yours,
Friedemann
(Follow me on Twitter, like, why not, you know.)
