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