Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
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Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
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Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#2Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#3Sales is pretty important.
I read an article where Peter Thiel said that most startups fail because of difficulty in Sales and distribution.
I read over and over again the value of Sales and the need for a founder to focus on "the business side", but then I still marginalize the role of sales.
I'm I broken or do we all do that???
Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#4> Lesson 7: Letting Your Startup Rule Your Self Esteem Is Dangerous
Seems obvious, but there's a reason it happens so often. If you live and breath your startup, you're better prepared to take on opportunities. Even if you're only at your desk "working" for 8-10 hours a day, you can find a lot of serendipity by talking about it with friends and family. Wait, you know somebody who could be a customer? Wait, you made money on your last job and want to invest? Wait, you want to work with us? It's easy to get into a mode where you're forever pitching, networking, and being your company, because there are real benefits.
That said, I've talked to a weirdly high number of people who had a kid while founding a company. Their tongue-in-cheek logic: "This is something that's obviously more important than my company. If I'm going to have my self-esteem wrapped up in anything external, it's better to be my child than my company. My business may fail, but I will not fail to raise this kid."
Me, I got a dog. It's working out!
Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#5> Lesson 7: Letting Your Startup Rule Your Self Esteem Is Dangerous Seems obvious, but there's a reason it happens so often. If you live and breath your startup, you're better prepared to take on opportunities. Even if you're only at your desk "working" for 8-10 hours a day, you can find a lot of serendipity by talking about it with friends and family. Wait, you know somebody who could be a customer? Wait, you made m…
Or, younger people tend to be the ones that create startups. Younger people are the ones who have kids. Simply correlation.
Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#6[deleted]
Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#7> Who knows where that drive comes from, but I know that many people have it, just like I do.
Ego. Nothing wrong with it as long as it's kept in check but let's not pretend we don't know where the drive comes from.
Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#8Sales is pretty important. I read an article where Peter Thiel said that most startups fail because of difficulty in Sales and distribution. I read over and over again the value of Sales and the need for a founder to focus on "the business side", but then I still marginalize the role of sales. I'm I broken or do we all do that???
A lot of startups are founded by programmers, who know a lot about programming but not much about sales. This makes them able to see all the upcoming problems in the technical bits of the company, but not the upcoming problems in sales. Most effort is then spent on the technical side because "that's where the problems are."
Kind of related to the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#9> Who knows where that drive comes from, but I know that many people have it, just like I do. Ego. Nothing wrong with it as long as it's kept in check but let's not pretend we don't know where the drive comes from.
Author here: and I agree. I just didn't want it to turn into a big spiritual discussion :).
Re: Lessons from a Failed Tech Startup
#10Sales is pretty important. I read an article where Peter Thiel said that most startups fail because of difficulty in Sales and distribution. I read over and over again the value of Sales and the need for a founder to focus on "the business side", but then I still marginalize the role of sales. I'm I broken or do we all do that???
I moved from focusing on tech to sales. It's a tough but rewarding transition. If you are selling SaaS pickup a copy of SPIN Selling as a gateway into what you should be doing.