It’s been 10 years since I started my professional career — 10 years since I became involved with startups, first as an employee at a startup that was acquired and then having started up myself.
I’m glad I did take the jump. It’s been an incredible ride thus far with many new, interesting experiences, and I’m thankful to everyone who believed in my abilities and provided me with the opportunity to learn.
While I continue my startup journey, I reflect on my learnings from the last decade in the form of takeaways, so others can benefit from my successes and failures in equal measure.
1. On funding
If founders aren’t thinking about the product, they are surely, most definitely, thinking about funding.
In the early days, I often talked about the struggle to get funded to anyone willing to listen. I complained about money, or rather the lack of it. The idea that funding is a prerequisite for startup success had been rooted deeply in my mind. In retrospect, it wasn’t surprising at all. The media glamourised funding news, instead of startups’ performance. It was all about funding amount, valuations, and unicorns. I was young and impressionable. I fell for it.
The truth is that the events and circumstances that lead to funding never appear just like that. You have to create them yourself!
Here’s what I’ve learnt. At the end of the day, if you want to create a product or a service, just do it. Start up. And if you want a lot of people to use it, focus on making it useful and likeable. The money will follow (if needed).
Also, money has always had certain undesirable qualities… It’s dumb. It lacks creativity. It’s also timid, slow, and extremely conventional. So, lack of investor dollars means an opportunity to be quick, creative, and courageous.
Read: Playing Moneyball with Startups — The Metrics Dilemma
2. On competition
I used to moan about how the competition raised funding despite not being first, having copied our model, with an inferior product, and how they were using that money to beat us.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
It’s quite logical to think that if your competitors have more money, better talent, and more experience, they cannot be usurped — that they would be number one. But, time and again, history has shattered that notion (Google, Facebook, Dropbox).
You can beat the Goliath with a better product, a better service, and superior execution.
So what your competition does should be the least of your concerns. If anything, investors like competition. It validates your product and business model, making your startup a more exciting bet.
You should know what you need to do to make your product better and make your customers happy. But you can’t possibly know what you need to do in order to get to your competitor.
Focus on what you can control and what’s in your control. Everything else is a distraction.
A quick tip
Your competition is most vulnerable when raising funds. They are caught up in customary paperwork and their priorities lie elsewhere. Their focus is away from the product and users. The entire process is exhausting. And more time is lost in celebrating the funding milestone. All of this makes them susceptible. They become complacent. So, if you get whiff of such news, instead of being bogged down, pull up your socks and get to work!
Having said that, also be prepared to grind it out. Your rivals will outspend you by 10X for a considerable period.
3. On work ethic
I used to think working longer meant working harder. Perhaps even working better.
I was wrong again.
I realise it’s not important for me or for my team to work more than everyone else. It’s only important that we only do whatever we do being completely focused on the job. It’s a must to give it your full attention because I believe it makes the difference even if you give it only four hours. It doesn’t matter if someone worked for 14 straight hours — if they didn’t put in their 100 percent, the outcome is always going to be second-rate. When that happens, I tend to ask, “Don’t you like your job?” Champions don’t win Grand Slams or Olympic medals with that attitude.
While a startup is always on full throttle, it doesn’t mean you can’t take a power nap at work, or go on vacations. By all means, do it and encourage your employees to do it. But make sure whatever you do, you give it everything you have got. That doesn’t mean you will surely get what you want, but if you give it your all and work harder, perhaps you can get something. That’s very important.
Read: 8 Ways to Hiring Right for Your Startup
4. On starting up
“What made you start up?”
It’s one question I’ve heard so many times over the years.
For most of us, it starts with a pain point we want fixed. Or perhaps we are unhappy with an existing solution and believe it could be bettered. Maybe we deeply care or are so passionate about something that we give up our cushy day jobs and start up for the pure joy of it.
Whatever it is, make sure you start up for the right reasons.
Don’t start up because you want to “start up” or be called the CEO. Don’t start up because everyone around you is…