Potential Blind Spots for Founders: Lessons Learned and Solutions

As a keen observer of the startup landscape in India, I have noticed several common blind spots, especially for the first-time founders. While these entrepreneurs may articulate the right principles, translating them into effective practices is where many falter. Here is a consolidated list of potential misses that founders should be mindful of:

1. Technology and Product Teams:

• Importance of Early Investment: Recognize the critical role of technology and product teams, especially during the growth phase. Investing in specialists and expert leaders is crucial to avoid costly changes later. Before PMF it is ok, to some extent, to build without Senior folks around in Product and Tech but there is a tendency to continue after the PMF, this could be a problem for sales/business Founder. There is no role as CPTO – it simply does not work beyond a point.

2. Data Focus:

• Strategic Investment in Data: Acknowledge the significance of investing in data intelligence throughout the company's lifecycle. Leveraging data wisely can be a game-changer, providing substantial growth opportunities. Lack of insights could hide many underlying issues with the business and building data engineering capabilities once you grow into silos can be much harder.

3. Having Co-founder(s):

• Benefits of Collaboration: Single-founder companies face many challenges in obtaining comprehensive advice, hence in making decisions. Consider having a co-founder or a couple of senior insiders, CXOs, for candid conversations with a deeper understanding of the context. Outside help may not help much due to lack of full context for outsiders.

4. Metrics-Driven Approach:

• Early Embrace of Metrics: Build a metrics-driven organization from the beginning. Identify key organizational goals and break them down into trackable metrics, facilitating continuous course correction.

5. Innovation Team:

• Early Experimentation: Establish an innovation team early on to run experiments and expedite learning for scalable growth. Embrace a culture that encourages and supports experimentation.

6. Build Execution Playbooks:

• Learning from Repetition: Encourage teams to develop playbooks as soon as any repeat behaviors are identified. Create a platform to connect for departments to share and learn from each other's experiences, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

7. Hiring Strategy:

• Diverse Talent Pool: Be cautious about exclusively hiring from large entities like Flipkart, Amazon and Myntra. Bigger players have infinite pools of funds to focus only on growth not on unit economics. Aim for a balanced mix of talent to ensure a focus on prioritization and the ability to quickly adapt and automate processes when needed.

8. Right Priorities:

• Strategic Resource Allocation: Constantly reassessing where time, energy, and money are allocated within the company ensures strategic prioritization. Clear vision and direction enable efficient resource allocation, mitigating the risk of product prioritization failures. Most of the product strategy problems have roots in Vision/Direction. Spend time in looking at the bigger picture as often as possible depending on the age of the company.

9. New Blood on a Regular Basis:

• Balancing Loyalty and Innovation: While loyalty is valuable, periodically infuse new ppl/perspectives into the company. Just as a life-saving drug has an expiry date, different stages of growth require different type of leadership. Balancing loyalty with fresh thinking ensures sustained innovation.

10. Understanding Growth:

• Growth moment: Growth cannot happen when you want ?? you must understand the timing and add fuel. You get 2-3 points to grow exponentially in your journey. Trying to grow when the startup is not ready and not adding fuel when your company is ready, will result in less than desired outcomes.

Founders, as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, keep these insights in mind. Success lies not just in articulating the right principles but in consistently translating them into effective practices. #Startups #Entrepreneurship #FoundersJourney