I ran a bootstrapped startup for 1 year and have some advice for newbies

I hope you find them

useful

So, you wanna start a startup?

A feel good project

LifestyleSocial

prestige

Do something different

Fuck yeah, make

money!

Find the right PURPOSE

Ideas are a dime a

dozen

Choose One

Can I get 100 users by

myself?

Get feedback

No Yes

Talk to people and share the ideas

What is the size of the market?

Which mega trend am I betting on?

Am I ok with the

risks?

Hell yeah, lets go

Quantify your thoughts

What are you hunting?

Are you hunting in the right place?

Pond

Ocean

Believable Idea

Confirm existence of market

Development roadmap

Budgeting

Revenue plan

Feedback loop

Have a loaded gun before starting your adventure

Remember your silver bullet to kill or solve a market problem

Lead bullets won’t work

You have 3 types of fuel, which require a delicate mix to succeed

If you are a challenger with a clone me idea, be nimble, fast and strike at weak points

If you are an incumbent, watch your competitors closely to avoid surprises

Positioning with a sense of fear

If you think you have a revolutionary idea, discount it 75%. Someone has likely tried it and failed

PARANOIA

MARKET with PAYING USERS

Going against and going with market are different startup games

It’s not indifferent from trading the financial markets- a balancing act

Bet Size

Timing

Volatility

Direction

Can I beat the market?

You are the

motivator

Lead a complementary team with you being the beating heart

If you have a ‘hole’ in team, learn 15% of requirements and try outsourcing

You can pick up 15% within 1

week

CodingDesign

BusinessMarketing

Sort out founder problems as early as possible. Fire or walkaway if you have to.

Learn to tell 4 different types of stories so that you can do content marketing

Don’t drink your own Kool-Aid

You are not JESUS, nor are you going to invent sliced bread

But you have to know the lingo to preach the religion

MobileLocal

Social

For Illustrative purposes only

Sort out MONETISATION ASAP

GRANTS, FAVOURS, SUBSIDIES

Know your LTV to gauge how much you can invest in marketing

LTV

Stick together with fellow underdogs to take on incumbent

FIGHT!

A mosquito with competitors; A bee when dealing with customers

Asymmetric warfare

Work hard & cross-polinate

You can fake it till you make it; I prefer being 100% truthful, especially in sales

Partner with the right framework

Personality Product Humility

Reputation Visibility

Shared aspirations

Be generous with acquaintances and friends

Make time to share advice

Help out with publicity

Provide introductions

Stay away from these people

Those who can’t keep simple

promises

Those who think they are too important

Those who have no constructive

input to add

Avoid wannabes

Don’t just take from the cookie jar- Give back, even if you don’t have much

Give back

Poor forward visibility is NORMAL

A corrective loop is critical

Throw everything including the kitchen sink at it

Know when to FAIL

Focus on negative feedback

Screw the motivational marketing shit; Work smart and have grit

STARTUPS will teach you to see things differently

Technical skills

Sales and marketing Product

development

Getting shit done

Recruitment

Try it once at least

“Behold the burning entrepreneur. Everything you’ve heard about leaders of successful startups is true. They are a different kind of people.

They aren’t born to greatness. Their qualities are learned and practiced. That means you can be a burning entrepreneur too.”- Brad Feld-

Lets inspire ourselves to greater heights TOGETHER