Things I Learned in the Startup World

The last few years have been the hay day of the Entrepreneurial Dream. What 20-something doesn’t want to be an entrepreneur and think they have everything it takes to build the next hot web or tech startup? From 2013 to 2015, I lived this pursuit, leaving my job in corporate America to realize my dreams of independence, achievement, and wealth. It was so much different than I ever expected and my perspective on business was changed forever. I grew up a lot in those years. I had a bunch of half-started ideas I pursued and about halfway through decided to focus on medical technology. I worked for two startups simultaneously and by the time my runway was up, both had failed to launch. I wouldn’t trade the experiences for the world.

Here are a few pieces of truth I picked up…

— Failure to delegate and trust people is a guaranteed way to stretch your already limited resources even thinner.

— Don’t create a product that has nothing to do with your knowledge, skills, and interests just because of the market opportunity.

— You can only go as far as you believe. Where your belief stops, your progress stops. And you have to be delusional to think you have a chance.

— Your team is everything you have. Hire a bad fit and the business will suffer. Lose a good person and the business will suffer. Underutilize someone and they get bored. Overutilize someone and they burn out. Pick your poison.

— Every theory you have is bullshit until it gets in front of a paying customer.

— Customers can pay you in many ways other than money.

— Some people will add far more value than what they’re compensated. Some will add far less. Everyone feels like they deserve more.

— There is no way to get from startup to success without some people feeling like they got completely screwed.

— People will root for you, but they will never understand how lonely the journey is and how the battle goes so far beyond money.

— There’s nothing worse than being a sales and marketing person and having nothing to sell or market.

— The entrepreneurial myth of being cash poor and chasing down an impossible dream is only sexy in the movies. Tiptoeing on the edge of success and failure is gut-wrenching.

— Know your damn numbers backwards and forwards. Realize they are complete fantasy and potential investors will have no mercy attempting to poke holes in them. Know exactly where your story is weak and anticipate every question.

— The only thing you should expect to get at an angel/VC convention is a bunch of business cards of other entrepreneurs and consultants trying to sell you services and some practice for your elevator speech.

Oh, and good luck.