It’s been a month since I shut down my startup.
Here’s everything I learned (so you don’t have to):
1. Everyone says they’ll use your free product. Few actually will
2. Your 100-person waitlist means nothing.
Maybe 1,000 means something. Maybe
3. Payment is the only real validation. Not compliments. Not surveys. Cash
4. Once you launch, stop building. Start marketing. Obsess over marketing
5. Marketing is the yin to your product’s yang. Almost nothing goes viral on its own
6. Founder-led marketing only works if your story matches the product’s story
7. Think through your business model before you start. Millions of users and ads is not a business model
8. Hurry up and launch your first product. The faster you fail, the faster you stop being delusional
9. Your name and logo don’t matter. You’ll probably rebrand if you ever get big anyway
10.Don’t register an LLC or corporation until you have real traction. Save your money and time
11. When you realize someone is mediocre, let them go. They’ll never magically become an A-player
12.Don’t give people fourth and fifth chances. They’ll keep making the same mistakes.
13. Beware the person who says they worked 80 hours but barely moves the needle. They think effort = progress. In startup world, results = progress.
14. Don’t work with slow learners. Startups require you to do things you’ve never done before. These people aren’t cut out for it
15. Your value isn’t tied to your startup. Your value is tied to your willingness to try and how you handle failure
Build fast. Fail fast. Learn faster.
Most lessons hurt. That’s why the work