4 Principles of Successful Startups
An early-stage startup only needs two things: sales and development
Few things are certain when launching a business, but there is a consistent strategy that I’ve seen used in highly successful startups.
It took me a while to understand the nuances of this strategy, when it works and doesn’t work, and its many different forms. But over the years of founding, mentoring, and working inside of these companies, I’ve come to recognize four principles core to successful startups.
Principle #1: Sales + Dev + Nothing
A friend of mine, Nate Watson, CEO of Contemporary Analysis, once told me that an early-stage startup only needs two things: sales and development. I’ve seen this proven over and over again.
Any other roles you’re hiring for, getting interns to do, or trying to do yourself are unnecessary.
Sam Altman of Y Combinator fame puts it this way:
If I had to distill my advice about how to operate down to only two words, I’d pick focus and intensity. These words seem to really apply to the best founders I know.
They are relentlessly focused on their product and growth. They don’t try to do everything — in fact, they say no a lot (this is hard…
