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Things about being a founder I wish I had known two years ago

speakerdeck.com

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Re: Things about being a founder I wish I had known two years ago

#3

Post by TheBiv »

This is very helpful deck in the context of B2C (business to consumer) companies who are looking for funding. The deck does not contain the text, so here is the text of all high-level points in the deck:

1. Identify your perfect customers --Focus on them and on nothing else.

2. Stop writing code. --Did you talk to customers yet?

3. Investment != success --It's a means to an end.

4. Investor meetings aren't job interviews --Build a relationship over time.

5. Talk about your idea --startups die from obscurity but thrive on feedback.

6. Be careful with hires --Trust your gut feeling.

7. Don't worry about engineering --Worry about getting users.

8. It's a marathon, not a sprint --90% of the time, it's about endurance.

9. Don't study the outliers --Study real business.

10. Your relationship with your co-founders is critical --Don't "go to bed" angry.

11. Relax. --You're going to make mistakes. It's fine.

Author can be reached at gilad@smore.com

Re: Things about being a founder I wish I had known two years ago

#6

Post by jbapple »

Slide 16:

"Be careful with hires and team

...

If you aren't sure and don't like the person after a week, fire them. There's enough people that you WOULD like after a week"

I moved hundreds of miles for my last two jobs. If I were fired a week into a new job in a new city by a boss who "wasn't sure and didn't like me after a week", I would be devastated.

I would rather get 100 job rejections than have to go through one experience like the last bullet on slide 16.

Re: Things about being a founder I wish I had known two years ago

#8

Post by thejteam »

jbapple wrote: post #6

Slide 16: "Be careful with hires and team ... If you aren't sure and don't like the person after a week, fire them. There's enough people that you WOULD like after a week" I moved hundreds of miles for my last two jobs. If I were fired a week into a new job in a new city by a boss who "wasn't sure and didn't like me after a week", I would be devastated. I would rather get 100 job rejections than have to go through on…

And thanks to the web and social media, the world has gotten much smaller. If a company gets a reputation for treating hires like that, especially in the tech field, they will only get applicants desperate enough that they are willing to be treated like that.

Re: Things about being a founder I wish I had known two years ago

#9

Post by kjhughes »

jbapple wrote: post #6

Slide 16: "Be careful with hires and team ... If you aren't sure and don't like the person after a week, fire them. There's enough people that you WOULD like after a week" I moved hundreds of miles for my last two jobs. If I were fired a week into a new job in a new city by a boss who "wasn't sure and didn't like me after a week", I would be devastated. I would rather get 100 job rejections than have to go through on…

I agree that the author is taking the suck-it-up-and-fire-when-you-must advice a bit far there. Also, per the preceding point on that slide,

Your first 5 employees are like 5 bullets in your gun. Each hire needs to make an impact.

if employees are like bullets, firing them would be key to having them make an impact.

[Yes, I know what the author meant, but the gun/bullets analogy is distracting while providing firing advice. I did still like the overall presentation.]

Re: Things about being a founder I wish I had known two years ago

#10

Post by giladvdn »

jbapple wrote: post #6

Slide 16: "Be careful with hires and team ... If you aren't sure and don't like the person after a week, fire them. There's enough people that you WOULD like after a week" I moved hundreds of miles for my last two jobs. If I were fired a week into a new job in a new city by a boss who "wasn't sure and didn't like me after a week", I would be devastated. I would rather get 100 job rejections than have to go through on…

Good point. I did not consider people relocating for the job. In that case, I would want to try the person out before actually hiring her. If that's not possible, then obviously I wouldn't recommend ruining someone's life logistically for the sake of getting a better hire.

My main point was that after a week you'll probably either get along with an employee or not get along with them. In my experience, if you don't get along with someone, it usually does not get better over time.

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