Admire those who try, even if they fail. Lesson learned about startups

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, a stoic philosopher born in Cordoba (Hispania) in 4 BC, said: "Admire those who try, even if they fail".

I admire all the entrepreneurs who have created start-ups; whether they succeed or fail doesn't matter.

A startup is a business—a risky business venture. It is not funny that 99% of startups fail.

I have mentored different startups, mainly in two sectors, healthcare (digital devices) and telecom, for at least 10 years. After this experience, I want to share with you the lessons I learned.

1. It’s not about you or your idea. It’s about your clients. Even if you think you have an idea that is going to change the world, remember that it is the world, the customers, who must believe in that product or service and buy it. It is no use having the best solution and no one acquiring it. Introducing a new solution is very laborious and expensive. You have to consider a generous budget for marketing.
2. About business partners. In too many cases, you start as friends, move on to friends and partners, continue being partners, and in the end, you are neither friends nor partners. Potential disagreements must be anticipated, and the rules governing the relationship between partners must be established with a written agreement that guarantees the company's governance and decision-making.
3. Launching a business takes much more time and, above all, much more money than you think. No matter how much you believe in the project or how sure you are of achieving success, you should never invest the real estate you need to live in a startup. You should never mortgage your own home and invest the money in the capital of a startup. Nor should personal guarantees be granted on credits. These guarantees can become an absolutely unbearable burden and destabilize you until they cause your own collapse. The interests of the partners, all of which are very legitimate, may, at any given time, diverge. Each one has his/her own circumstances.
4. It is essential to have your partner's support. Again, remember what Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset said: "One is one and his/her circumstances."
5. The worker is worthy of a salary. All work must be remunerated from the first moment. The partners or founders of the start-up must receive a decent salary from that first moment, not only because the worker is worthy of a salary, as the gospel says, but also because we are giving away those hours to future investors. All expenses and contributions must be perfectly reflected in the accounting.
6. Getting money is not free. You need money to attract investors, in addition to a good business plan that is presented in an impactful way.
7. Be in the market, my friend. The viability of the project must be demonstrated as soon as possible, that is, sales the sooner, the better. It doesn't matter that it is not the perfect product or service and that it could be improved a lot, the important thing is that it sells. There will be time for the second and subsequent versions. You must remember that Widows 1.0 was a disaster or product.
8. Investors are not little angels; they are cold, distant people. They seek profitability, and that's it. If the shareholders' agreement is basic among the founding partners, imagine with capitalist investors: simply, it's vital. We are in a capitalist system, and the one who provides the majority of the capital is in charge.
9. Unfortunately, investor representatives value very little, very unfairly, the previous work carried out by entrepreneurs, the business idea, or the patents. They only seek their own interest, even if they hide it. Negotiations are made with executives who also have to explain what they do and who never skip one of the requirements that have been established for them. I describe what there is without anesthesia.
10. Ask for enough money. An entrepreneurial project should only be started with enough money to achieve the objective of putting the product or service on the market. There is no need to be ashamed to ask for enough money; in fact, if you ask for little, the project will be rejected because investors know that to launch a new company, you need enthusiasm, effort, tenacity, creativity, knowledge, intuition, luck, and a few million.

Steve Jobs said: “Only those who are crazy enough to believe that they can change the world change the world”, and I add that they must also do so without ruining themselves, or losing friendships and relationships, or getting sick.

I hope these reflections are useful to you. Could you comment and share it? Thanks