Startups fell from the sky: somewhat cursory observations.
I write this from the heart without any fancy graphics or funny memes.
I read a lot of blogs, articles, and tweets about companies with more than 10 employees that have over 50k MRR. I read a lot about how Slack crushed it, or how Zuckerberg bought Oculus to change the world, or insert-ridiculous-click-bait-here regarding disruption. I read a lot about recent fundings or acquisitions of companies your mom has never heard of — I read a lot — about a lot.
Needless to say, there is a lot to read and it isn’t stopping any time soon.
You know why you don’t read a lot about actual startups? Because they are really busy trying to obtain product/market fit (PMF), and fighting for their lives in the seedy underbelly of SOMA or the Tenderloin. They don’t have time to generate the absurd amount of marketing that a company with Series A-or-more funding has. Usually by the time you hear about an awesome startup they are not a startup at all, but already a small business and it is too late for you to join the company and capitalize on some early stage equity.
I define startup as a company with under 10 employees and/or under 50k MRR. Anything more, you are a business, not a startup.
If you are actually in a startup here are some things you are doing besides writing clickbait:
- Closing business: In a b2b startup this means getting other businesses to use your stuff at all costs. In a b2c startup, this means trying to ignite measurable and sustainable (dare I say, viral) growth at all costs.
- Iterating for PMF: Iterate on the product to make Number 1 easier. Not closing any business? Then there is only 2 possible problems — either your product does not fit a market, or you are a lousy salesperson. The lousy salesperson can be fixed, but nothing can fix a product that doesn’t fit a market.
- Pitching to Influencers and Investors: Lastly, when you aren’t doing 1 or 2, you are doing 3.
No where in the list do you see anything about writing clickbait or doing PR, and that is because startups are too busy fighting for their lives — whereas companies have the luxury of flooding the internet with all kinds of content. Why do you think companies raise 30 million? It’s simple, they obtained some sort of PMF and the money is going to get poured into marketing and sales (and some tech to keep up with the competitors, but good marketing can accomplish that goal too).
I am still waiting to read more about actual startups on the internet, not about fast growing small and medium sized businesses like Slack. The problem is, is that actual startup news is not that glamorous, so these stories will continue to be hidden all around us.
Now let’s get back to work.
