6 Essential Tips for First-Time Founders: Maximize Your Success

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Jul 15, 2024 11:44 AM

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Alex Rainey

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Jan 8, 2024

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Personal Opinion on Becoming a Founder

1. Take the Plunge

• The biggest differentiator between founders and non-founders is simply that we take the plunge (and we do it again and again).

• Not being afraid to put yourself out there and what you make on the line.

• Being open to critique is a hard thing, but it's vital to being a founder.

• So just start. Try to launch something in the next month or two.

2. Start Small

• This doesn't mean you have to quit your job to 'start something'.

• I would always advise people to build a small side product in their spare time and try to get some initial traction.

• Only once you have some proof of demand or that you're solving a real problem, can you think about quitting your job.

3. Wear Many Hats

• You need to be able to and be comfortable wearing many hats.

• Being able to think about the business, commercials/finance, product, marketing, etc. is crucial in the early stages.

• The best founders are comfortable with all these domains and are great at most of them, even if they have little background in them.

4. Strong Opinions, Weakly Held

• "Strong Opinions, Weakly Held" (not my quote).

• Being able to put your ego and sunk costs aside when you learn something new and being able to change direction is very very important.

• Too many founders and startups just keep on going, dying the slow death.

5. Use Data for Decision-Making

• The best founders/teams I've worked with respect data as a vital signal in any decision-making.

• It can never be the only signal (lots of issues with interpreting data).

• But soooo many startups barely use data or just pay it lip service.

• I can't tell you how many times I thought a big new feature was going to be well-received and move the needle. But the data is unemotional and tells you the cold reality, like "only 5% of users tried this feature in 30 days, and the users that tried it had the same retention and those that didn't".

6. Value Your Time

• Place an enormous value on your own time.

• Time is without a doubt your most precious and constrained resource.

• If you waste it in the early stages, your chances of success will be very low.

• The best founders ruthlessly prioritise their time — shedding unnecessary tasks/chats/meetings/random coffees.

• They're hyper-focused on what they need to do with their time and what the company is using its collective time building.