What we’ve learnt from working on Teech, in 5 key points.

It seems that nowadays, everyone and their mother is the founder of a startup. Seriously, if you look on your Facebook feed, you’re bound to see one guy who’s posting about how he’s going to “disrupt whichever field he’s involved in” and things of the sort. But what people don’t tell you is the real life, everyday struggles that you have to face when you dive into the world of startups, especially if it’s with your friends. So here at Teech we thought we’d ask each other and people from this industry to bring some truth back to the table.

1.People are going to be asking you about what it is you do.

No matter which way you slice it, wether it’s a uber driver, your aunt, or the audience of the fancy talk you’re hosting, people are going to wonder why you’re either: not in college, or working on this crazy project of yours. Our advice: Don’t think about it too much. Mix things up. It doesn’t matter, and it only will when that project you’re working on either fails or succeeds. If you do end up sharing all the details of your brainchild with the curious and the nosy, make sure you don’t listen to what they say — wether it’s positive or the opposite — You have a project, an idea, a vision, and you can’t let anyone tell you how to do it, because you need to listen to yourself first and foremost. We of course don’t mean you should go about your day thinking everyone’s opinion is inferior to yours, but you should always take it with a pinch of salt, because at the end of the day, YOU’re putting in the hours and no one knows how your idea works other than yourself.

2. Stay as humble as possible.

There is nothing more admirable than someone who’s doing good and who’s not influenced by it. If things do work out for you, focus that success on doing even better and enjoying the rewards with the people you love. That being said, it’s important to have fun and you should always reward hard work with harder fun, given that you’re ready to wake up the next morning and put in the hours.

3. Clean.

And we don’t just mean you room. We mean everything. I’ve met very few people in my life who worked better and more productively in a mess. Of course, you’ll always find your one outlier who thrives in chaos, but at the end of the day, most of us do better in a neat environement. There is something amazing about waking up inside of a clean flat and getting to work. Think about it, are you more likely to design that new killer user interface under a mountain of old takeaway bags, or on a pristine desk that’s only waiting for you to bang out the good work? That’s right. So take your trash out, clean your desktop, do everything you possibly can so that when you get ready to nail yourself to your office chair there is nothing but creativity in your sight, and not yesterday’s Indian food.

4. It’s very important to be fair and just when working with a team.

If you’re in a leading position, you want to be able to tell people off when they’re slacking, but it is even more important to point out good work when it’s done. Don’t over do it. All people are waiting for in those moments is a simple “good job”, because they know it means just as much coming from you as your ten minute long rant about how they’re useless.

5. Do not play the blame game.

And I cannot stress this enough. In all the companies I’ve been involved with this was always the main source of conflict. As hard as it is, when someone’s doing poorly and it’s out of their control, it shouldn’t get to you. If someone is deliberately slacking then they should go. Don’t project your frustrations onto others. Startups are like boxcars. They can go really fast and win the race, but if one piece is being disregarded or unjustly overlooked, the wheels will come off and you’ll end up with bloody knees.

We truly hope that this will help you if you ever decide to launch a startup. If you want to see what all the fuss about Teech is, go on Teech.com and check it out. And if you need the best help you can get in school, download it on the App Store — it’s free!