5 months, 45 startup lessons learned

We’ve gone through endless changes, happy moments and a lot of tough ones. If 5 months ago you told me our dream would become a user review distributor, I would tell you that you’re nuts.

I know it sounds like a very short period of time, but when I look back, it seems almost as if we’ve been on this roller-coaster ride for 3-4 years … and boy, it’s been one hell of a ride.

Actually it was quite fun to run in my head all the things we been through. That said, there are 45 lessons that I’ve learned on the journey up until this point.

Here is the important stuff (order is irrelevant) that I wish someone had told me 5 months ago:

1. If you are not working on your best idea right now, you’re doing it wrong. (David Hansson)
2. Startup is 10% idea, 90% execution
3. Execution is 85% the people who execute
4. Your co-founder should be better than you
5. Distinguish between core issues and just noise
6. A technological barrier is not enough, create a marketing barrier as well
7. Maximize your potential before raising money
8. People care about their problems, not your solutions. (Dave McClure)
9. Raising money sucks
10. Closing an investment round doesn’t
11. Don’t do it alone, just don’t
12. Consume every piece of relevant data out there
13. Hire great people and give them the freedom to assume. (Andrew Mason)
14. Know how to prioritize your time
15. Pivot, iteration and adapting is part of your startup DNA
16. Just be, there are no excuses
17. The number one priority is production
18. Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. (Bill Gates)
19. An article from a tech site is not a marketing plan
20. Distribution is your biggest problem, think of a solution
21. Enjoy those small victories, you need it
22. Learn from those small failures, you need the lesson
23. Get along with your investors, they are part of the family!
24. Whatever you think … Think bigger. (Tony Hsieh)
25. Blog before you have a product
26. Don’t torture yourself on every mistake, even if it’s the same one
27. If the founders can’t build and manage the idea, switch the idea
28. Meet with customers before you have a product
29. Geeks are the new rockstars
30. Master your domain
31. Be a true member of your customers’ community
32. Be confident, don’t let anyone mess with your dream
33. Listen to other people -you don’t know everything
34. Sell before you have a product
35. If you can’t sell the idea, you won’t be able to sell the product
36. I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work. (Thomas Edison)
37. Words to keep in mind: Customer, Sales, Production, Customer
38. Words you can’t ignore: Mobile, Tablet, Social, iPad
39. Track your data, learn from it, improve from it
40. Most things take 3-5 times the amount of time you planned
41. Viral is a tough nut to crack
42. Visualize what you want to achieve and go for it
43. Always move forward and know how to measure it if you’re not
44. Your success = the value you give a segmented sector of people
45. Be amazing, Be everywhere, Be Real (Jason Calacanis)

And to think this was only 5 months, what do you think will happen in the next 5 months?