6 Things I Would’ve Done Differently As A First Time Founder

Whenever I meet a first-time founder, the one thing they always ask me is ‘How did you do it?’

Building and exiting my first business Realsport was easily one of THE most challenging (but massively rewarding) experiences of my life, and even though it turned out to be a success, it could have been so much easier had I done these things differently. Plus, as with all successes, there is a tonne of luck involved.

Here’s a list of six things I’d do if I were to start all over again:?

1. Empower People Quickly

Your startup is basically your child.

You’ve been there since its birth, you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into it and have made so many sacrifices to make sure it blossoms.

But this doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself.?

Infact, this is actually very inefficient as you’re going to be stretched and won’t be able to execute all tasks at the quality you need to. You’re not a machine.

Learn how to delegate and relinquish decision making responsibility entirely on second tier tasks AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Not only will this take so much off your plate and leave more brain power for other tasks, but you’re also empowering your team by showing you trust them. This upskills them, and prepares them to have decision making responsibility as the business scales.

2. Don’t Bother With Equity Gymnastics

Forget squeezing investors for an extra 5% on valuation, at expense of speed of execution (and funding)

Showing investors/potential investors that you can quickly and accurately execute tasks is massively encouraging. They want to invest in a founder who doesn’t just have a great business idea and product, but also someone who’s AGILE and able to GET SH*T DONE.

To an investor, there’s nothing worse than working with a founder who can’t deliver on their objectives - you’re not filling them with much confidence at all. The more time you’re spending fighting over valuations, the less time you’re spending on growing your business and making what’s necessary, happen.

They also want to see the ability to open and close a round of funding quickly. A founder who’s able to hit their raise target in quick fashion proves to them how much your industry believes in you and your product.?

3. Lead Generation?

Everything is downstream from lead generation.

It doesn’t matter how good your product or your go-to-market team are, everything flows from leads.

Not only will this be your bread and butter for generating revenue, but you’ll also be able to share personalised messages on product developments, events and any general brand updates to all those leads you’ve amassed.

Most importantly, product-market fit takes years to arrive at. In order to arrive at it, you need to have a solid source of leads to test the proposition….without the leads, you’ll die before you ever hit PMF

4. Look After Yourself!

After I exited my last company, I was physically and mentally at my worst.?

I wasn’t prioritising working out, going for walks , eating healthy - the list goes on. I was really neglecting all of this and putting my whole life force into the business.

And whilst this did pay off, I was in such a precarious position. I could’ve easily shut down from the sheer amount of stress and lack of self care I put myself through.

Remember, more often than not a founder is a reflection of their business. Keep your mind and body in top shape and watch your startup flourish even more as a result.

5. Don’t Compare Yourself to Other Founders

It’s natural to compare yourself to other founders and use their success as goalposts for your own.

But people only share the positives and the highlights of the journey. Heck, sometimes they don’t even share the whole truth.

You may even be comparing yourself to someone who had everything handed to them - you just don’t know what other startups and founders are doing behind closed doors.

Set your goals based on your organisations’ needs, not that one founder you’ve been following so closely for years on LinkedIn to the point it’s now borderline stalking ??

Remember, it’s always you vs you. Not anyone else.

6. Obsessing Over Competition

It’s good to obsess over your competitors, keeping a constant eye on what they’re up to. But realise that you’re more likely to die from suicide than murder - as YC always tell their port-co’s

What do I mean by this?

Even though it’s good to focus on the competition,? you need to prioritise your internal organisation, your ability to scale, understanding your data and above all, managing your people - as priority over beating the competition.

So yes, be obsessed over your competition but realise that your inability to build your organisation properly and scale upwards will let you down, not being overtaken by a competitor.

To all first-time founders, use this as some sort of a ‘cheatsheet’ and allow it to be a constant reminder of what to focus on moving forward.?

Good luck for 2024!?