4 Startup Mistakes to Avoid

4 Startup Tips I wished I had known before

Having spent more than 7 years in different startups, as a co-founder, and as an executive, and asked by a young (brilliant) person I mentor, I realized there are a few key notes I learned the hard way I wished someone would had told me before (so that I could incur other mistakes instead).

CIMITYM

(I first heard about this acronym in Steven Kaplan ’s class at 美国芝加哥大学 - 布斯商学院 ): Cash Is More Important Than Your Mother, especially in a startup. Take good care of it.

Write down your hypotheses … and track their evolution

• They will adapt, change, and spin off into new hypotheses… but put them always black on white so that the business has a record to compare observations against, and so the team has a north star when the light dims.
• Don’t get too hooked on the quantitative: we live in a world full of imperfect data, and the early stages of a startup are overloaded with it! Build a critical approach to data, ask others for their interpretations?of the data you’re analyzing, and discuss with BE Engs how KPIs/variables are being tracked/recorded).

Don’t get too hooked on quant and don't underestimate quant.

• Don’t underestimate quant: asking users/stakeholders what they want or do or how they’d behave is extremely insightful… but observing them flow, break, purchase, consume… is just as insightful.
• You probably won’t need to track all hypotheses in real-time. Just go back to them on a timely basis and adapt/rewrite them as appropriate. You are not here to prove your initial hypotheses right, but to build a venture that makes money.

Don’t overspend with your MVP and subsequent versions.

• A lovable product is an aspiration, not an end in itself, as (a) resources are (very?) limited and (b)?in the early stages of development, your product is likely based more on your/team’s hypotheses than on users’ / external stakeholders’ insights, so you probably won’t yet have great product-market fit.
• Your product is a living being, meant?to evolve.

Don’t let perfection get in the way of execution

• Don’t let perfection get in the way of execution: push your toys to the market as soon as possible and learn. Don’t wait till you deploy that extra set of cool features and functionalities.

Delegate (aka empower team members)

• Communicate with them on a regular basis, be transparent, and reinforce the mission you are all pursuing and don’t be afraid to say “I am not sure about this, but our take is XYZ, what do you think?”
• Mentor them on a continuous basis: the road ahead is bumpy, and winds change. Moments of euphoria follow others of misery. This, along with changes in the value proposition, leads to burnout. Stay calm and keep fighting. Help others be the best version of themselves, no matter the circumstances. Celebrate the good moments, stand by during the bad times…

Hire talent and empower it.

• Don’t build a one-(wo)man show (with you in the center). Hire talent and empower it. Allow yourself to raise your eyes every now and then from the daily/weekly battles.
• Don’t hesitate to let go of team members who struggle more than you can help (they might be amazingly talented, but not the right fit for this role or period).

Extra point: you are not alone. Reach out to others for advice, inspiration,... I have never denied nor been denied a call or a coffee chat with U. Chicago School mates or other random entrepreneurs.

Sergio Sánchez , Chief Product Officer at BODDY