13 things I’ve learned since launching a start-up

13 things I’ve learned since launching a start-up

As the founder of Wunder, a start-up social network, people have never been shy about offering me advice and opinions.

“So you think you can take on Facebook / Twitter / TikTok?”

“You need a COO.”

“You don’t need a COO for at least three years.”

“You should be blogging daily.” 

“Your growth plans are too ambitious / not ambitious enough.”

And on and on it goes. Almost all of it well-meaning but even from those I consider my mentors, so much of this advice is conflicting or simply not relevant to what Wunder is as a business. What may have worked for one start-up won’t necessarily work for us. So please take that as a caveat before reading on. All I’m offering here are some of my key learnings so far in taking an idea hatched in my home office 1.5 years ago to a social media app that’s currently in testing with $1m+ in seed funding behind it. Here’s what I know.

Establish your core values

Everything you do should be informed by your core values. Your organisation will struggle with identity and direction unless you have these in place. For example, ours are to be inclusive, playful and purpose-led – representing the impact we want to make in the community, not just in the business. The right values will help you attract talent, steer a steady course and should also inform every decision that you make.

Set clear priorities

As the founder and CEO, I used to feel like I had to be across everything, micromanaging every part of Wunder’s evolution. Even after employing senior people, experts in their field, I found it really hard to step back from every decision. But by identifying what I really needed to pay attention to and what can either wait, or be handled by someone else, helped to move our business on. In other words, you probably don’t need to spend a day debating the pantone reference for your logo.

Meet everyone

Ideas, feedback and, crucially, investment money can come from everywhere. No coffee, beer or quick lunch, and no media opportunity, is too small. Ways to advance your business appear from the most surprising places. I’ve pitched potential investors on a golf course – but I’ve also secured money from a chance meeting backstage at a festival. I’ve also learned not to get too excited about a deal or a partnership until it’s done.

Don’t agree to paying people unless the money is in your bank

In your haste to get things moving, it’s easy to commission a lot of ‘essential’ work, believing that there is more investment coming soon to cover it. As per my previous point though, this isn’t always the case. The result? Suppliers waiting to get paid and additional stress for you. Only agree to work that you know you can cover. 

Don’t be too dilution sensitive

It’s easy to run out of runway when it comes to raising investment. You hold out to the last minute until the raise because you think if you raise too early then the valuation will be lower. Granted, it could be that you leave some money on the table by going for an earlier investment round but you’ll also avoid a lot of potential cashflow stress.

Challenges create opportunity

Wunder wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Covid. Lockdown forced me to evaluate some of the businesses I was involved with and gave me time to think about creating something that could truly make a difference. In other words, a disrupted time turned out to be the perfect time to build a disruptive business. More than that, I think a lot of people also questioned where they were at with their career during the pandemic. The ‘great resignation’ that it led to helped to encourage talent to consider working somewhere that has a more positive impact on the world, like Wunder.

Authenticity is key

When we first investigated how we’d raise awareness of Wunder, I knew that influencers would be an important part of our marketing mix. But many of the influence agencies we spoke to seemed to think we just needed a few people with 1m+ followers. We knew our potential audience would want to hear about Wunder from people like them – micro and nano influencers who were relatable. Spending big money for big names isn’t the way to go.

Getting app store clearance could take way longer than you think

Trust me on this. Assume that getting the green light will take months longer than you imagined, particularly if your app has a purchasing element built into it. Be prepared for a lot of questions from the app store.

There will be periods when it feels like you’re treading water

Usually when you’re waiting for the next investment raise to drop in. This is the time to keep going with a regular drumbeat of content. Blog posts, LinkedIn articles, thought leadership. Keeping the narrative alive is key.

Remember, you’re not Steve Jobs

So you don’t need to let your temper loose and treat people harshly. He could get away with it because he was a genius. Be a pleasant person to work with, understand what motivates people and they will want to help you achieve your north star.

When the facts change, change your mind

You may think that yours is a ground-breaking idea with no flaws. Friends and family may have told you the same thing. But it’s the user testing and focus groups that are the real proving ground. You’re going to hear some hard truths, so be ready for them.

Be able to define your goal

You should be able to tell people – in a few brief, compelling sentences – why you’re doing what you’re doing. And that goes for your team too – they need to be able to answer, every day, the question ‘what am I doing here?’

Make something people want

Is your product solving a real problem that people have or identifying a much better way for people to do things than they’ve done before. This was my start point with Wunder – how can we create a social network that helps the planet and makes people feel good?

If this list helps just one person avoid some of the challenges I’ve faced then I’ll be happy. And if you have any start-up tips you’d like to share, then please drop them in the comments.