2018 was NOISY

Note: this was a 10 min writing exercise.

A 2018 reflection: TL:DR

I know, I should say nothing...but here is my 2018 rant.

2018 was noisy and loud, and in my humble opinion way too many people confused LOUD as mastery.

At Christmas, my nephew asked me if I wanted a Tai Lopez's sales class. (ha). <--"Tai? That noisy loud, brash, rude, snake-oil-ish "sell whatever is hot" apparently, this methodology is winning." The true masters are being overrun by LOUD.

Does LOUD win the 3 sec attention span game? Isn't LOUD the crazy guy on the street corner?

More ranting:

"LOUD" Nasty People speaking nasty about you. The "say anything types"

As you grow your career, there comes a time when you get a target placed on you. Like it or not, it happens to anyone "DOING" something meaningful. Personally, I laugh at this internally by thinking about how furious they're at your success. HAHA!

a good rule to live by is no matter what you do, 50% of people will dislike you BUT still be GOOD, no be GREAT!

*Remember if it gets real nasty, slander and libel laws are there to help protect you.

There are no rules: 

Where did ethics go? It was really, really, ruthless out here in 2018.

*watch your back. do your homework, lawyer up, advisor up.

"LOUD" loquacious employees: Don't cash the companies paycheck, if you don't support the company. One person poking holes in the boat, sinks the whole boat. Stop GOSSIPING and get to work!

"LOUD" Entrepreneurs missing the Mark: 

execution: Simple: Do what you say you're going to do, when you say it'll be done. If it is a difficult or complex problem allocate more time, and partner up.

the startup and funding:

I see a lot of deals, and in those deals, I see a lot of entrepreneurs skipping major "must do" steps, and missing steps which will cause them to a lot of pain/harm down the road.

You can't fake it till you make it with the SEC or when your investors sue you. and unfortunately, I had to sue in 2017/2018. I have heard of stories of people losing billion dollar companies because they "skipped" early steps.

some examples that'll help you.

you'll need a bullet proof operating agreement. (LLC)

Detail: who does what in your startup? always keep a paper trail.

How are these decisions made and by whom? (every detail)

risk factors? "Legal Docs" *When raising money you have to know a lot more than SAFE docs.

Get NDA's signed or no deal, move on.

Get a senior advisory board together on day 1, even if you think you're the "cat's meow." No one person is omniscient.

Product: Slapping a product together is cause for a lot of FUTURE pain. Put in the hard work pre-launch so customers aren't laughing at you or immediately saying NO to your product.

Yes, build fast, break shit but have a core product that works well. (MVP = that works, and solves a pain paint, you're shooting for a 10X improvement.)

Nothing frustrates me more than people claiming they can deliver and never delivering.

Lesson: Do your job! Do it well or don't show up!

2018: You kicked my ass, and now I kick yours into eternity. see ya, you will not be missed.

Here is some advice. "suffer till you make it" and I can promise you, some of the greats had it a lot harder than you did.

Let's GO 2019!