STATING THE OBVIOUS AS A SANITY CHECK. WHY NOT?
Photo by Nandhu Kumar
Decisions are better taken cold than hot.
It is easy to get carried away and decide on the spot. “Sleep on it” is a good piece of wisdom. Clarity seems to arise in the dark of the night.
Be transparent with all your partners.
Never hide bad news. Transparency builds trust. An ecosystem of trustworthy partners goes a long way to achieve the impossible.
Customer is king.
Lots of high-tech startups ignore this old basic value of business. A happy customer is a returning customer.
Go to market with a flawless product that meets a need and solves a problem. Deliver excellence.
Maniacal attention to detail yields outstanding products vs. “just another product”. Convey your passion for excellence to your team and do not compromise.
Use cash as little as possible.
It seems counter intuitive at a time when hundreds of startups raise rounds of more than $50 million. Frugality has become laughable. Guess who survives in a down cycle. Owning a market is more the result of a smart business model, an exceptional plan, harmony between team members, and a laser focus in meeting a market need, than the result of throwing money at it.
Listen to the market: so much information can be gathered.
We all know startups sticking to a quick impression of an estimated market need without relentlessly validating in depth the exact need. The information is always out in the open. Of course I do not mention the old “build it and they will come” syndrome, though we still encounter it.
Growth without a firm basis is of short duration.
Consolidate all the pillars of the business before you launch a fast-growth program. I have watched so many entrepreneurs rushing to scaling their business while cracks were still apparent in the foundation. Imagine a skyscraper with flaws in the concrete structure below the surface.
Don’t confuse valuation as a private company in a financing round and valuation at a liquidity event.
Acquirers and the public market do not always give as high a valuation as last round investors. Of course, entrepreneurs must optimize the valuation of their business and dilute their stake as little as possible. However, the liquidity event is what makes the true return.
Treat your team members all the way down to part time employees as you would treat family members.
Balance demanding pressure and empathy; understand the tipping point of their motivation. Delegate powers and never micromanage. Celebrate with the team, communicate good and bad news without retention. As much as you wish your children to become responsible adults, you wish your team members to grow as responsible leaders.
The devil is in the detail.
That applies to all aspects of a startup, from checking references of a potential hire to terms and conditions for shipping a product, from requests for proposals to guarantees provided by suppliers etc.