I think it's an important balance to the seemingly endless supply of success stories that are out there - not every startup "makes it", and not every idea is actually worth throwing millions and millions of dollars at. It's a risk, every single step of the way, and stories like this remind us that not everyone comes through without battle scars, or even makes it to the promised land. And for those who do make it, it's not all rainbows and unicorns - it's hard work and cliffhangers along the way.
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When we resigned from our jobs to found our startup we naively thought we had VC funding lined up
Three months into bootstrapping our startup we received the offer letter from the VC
On reading the terms and conditions of the offer letter not only were the VC looking for an unacceptable level of control over the Founders ( ie. unacceptable to the Founders ) but the VC also wanted to invest more money than we had asked for as they claimed they wanted us to fast track our role out diluting the equity of the Founders more than we had planned.
We walked away from the offer once it became apparent the
When we resigned from our jobs to found our startup we naively thought we had VC funding lined up
Three months into bootstrapping our startup we received the offer letter from the VC
On reading the terms and conditions of the offer letter not only were the VC looking for an unacceptable level of control over the Founders ( ie. unacceptable to the Founders ) but the VC also wanted to invest more money than we had asked for as they claimed they wanted us to fast track our role out diluting the equity of the Founders more than we had planned.
We walked away from the offer once it became apparent the VC was not going to negotiate terms acceptable to the Founders
With the benefit of hindsight our decision to continue bootstrapping the startup was the best decision we ever made as it taught us how to run and manage a growth business
Had we gone down the fast track route favoured by the VC with the benefit of hindsight I think we would have simply burned through the VC cash without ever learning every aspect of the business as we did going down the extended bootstrapping route.
Going down the bootstrapping route not only taught us how to manage a growth company but also being close to every aspect of the bootstrapped business allowed us to tweak our service to meet the requirements of customers before launching our service
With the benefit of hindsight the service outlined in our plan we presented to the VC was not fully thought through and wouldn’t hace resulted in the sustainable growth business that we created going down the extended bootstrapping route
Once we had our service ready for launch we secured Angel finance at a better price and on terms far more favourable to the Founders
We went on to create a business that we sold many years later for $215 million
On paper the VC route would have got us to market faster but that extra year of bootstrapping ensured we had the right product to launch and hence got us to profitability and positive cash flow faster
Both routes had different risks
There was a real risk that going down the Bootstrapping route would have meant us running out of cash before we secured any Angel finance. Indeed we had to pitch to over 100 potential Angels before we secured our Angel finance as they all wanted to see signs of traction before they would invest
However with the benefit of hindsight ic we had gone down the VC route and built up our overheads to launch our service too early the risks might have been even greater if we had to try and pívot a post launch business with bigger overheads before running out of cash
You asked,
What does it really take to get a startup off the ground?
Customer success.
Everything else you do before this occurs is simply blah blah blah narrative. And customer success ALWAYS happens after winning the sale and client account, or it doesn’t – at which point failure is inevitable unless you fix it.
Customer success is the ONLY thing that matters to get a startup off the ground and keep
You asked,
What does it really take to get a startup off the ground?
Customer success.
Everything else you do before this occurs is simply blah blah blah narrative. And customer success ALWAYS happens after winning the sale and client account, or it doesn’t – at which point failure is inevitable unless you fix it.
Customer success is the ONLY thing that matters to get a startup off the ground and keep it airborne – you achieve the escap...
I'm sure the answer to this question is person specific, but two major reasons that I hear from people are "fear" and "not a fit."
Let's take "fear" first. Here's the statistics: most start-ups fail, period. If you cannot accept the likely possibility or even the thought of failing, go take that steady eddy job at the investment bank (not so steady anymore) or Microsoft. Many people have been successful and people have told them how they can do anything their whole lives. They went to great schools, got good grades, worked at McKinsey, and otherwise look great on paper. However, if you ask
I'm sure the answer to this question is person specific, but two major reasons that I hear from people are "fear" and "not a fit."
Let's take "fear" first. Here's the statistics: most start-ups fail, period. If you cannot accept the likely possibility or even the thought of failing, go take that steady eddy job at the investment bank (not so steady anymore) or Microsoft. Many people have been successful and people have told them how they can do anything their whole lives. They went to great schools, got good grades, worked at McKinsey, and otherwise look great on paper. However, if you ask that person "tell me about a time when you failed" many of them have a hard time answering that question, because honest truth is that they've never really taken a risk and/or pushed themselves to the point of failure. Entrepreneurs embrace failure as a necessary part of innovation rather than something to be scared of, because it might put a kink in your otherwise perfect resume.
The second thought that comes to mind is that some people just aren't entrepreneurs. You might be brilliant at finance, a crack engineer, all of your friends might be entrepreneurs, etc, but that doesn't mean you should run out and found a company. Entrepreneurs recognize they cannot do everything alone. They need a team of people to help them. Not everyone is cut out to identify a market pain/opportunity, think up a great solution, get the solution built (notice I didn't say "build the solution yourself"), take the product to market, raise money, recruit people smarter than yourself, cut business development deals, pay yourself less than a market rate, etc. Someone people are better suited to be employees.
So, you think you’ve drafted a tweet, an email, a short story, or even a novel. These are different forms of communication, but the process of bringing them to fruition has a necessary, sometimes overlooked step: editing! Unless you’re a professional writer, it’s unlikely that you have an editor who can review your writing regularly. Here are some tips to help you review your own work.
- Give your writing some space. Have you ever felt a mix of pure relief and joy when you’ve finished a draft of something? Don’t downplay that feeling and the ability to walk away from your work before you start ed
So, you think you’ve drafted a tweet, an email, a short story, or even a novel. These are different forms of communication, but the process of bringing them to fruition has a necessary, sometimes overlooked step: editing! Unless you’re a professional writer, it’s unlikely that you have an editor who can review your writing regularly. Here are some tips to help you review your own work.
- Give your writing some space. Have you ever felt a mix of pure relief and joy when you’ve finished a draft of something? Don’t downplay that feeling and the ability to walk away from your work before you start editing it. You may need minutes, hours, or days, but once you sit back down with what you originally had on the page, you’ll have the thrill of looking at it with fresh eyes. You’ll notice errors you may not have seen the first time. You’ll come to new realizations about its overall tone and structure. If it’s a text or email, maybe you only need a few minutes away from it. If it’s a story or essay, perhaps you’ll need longer. Regardless of what type of work it is, it will help your writing tremendously.
- Don’t use overachieving synonyms. Looking at your work for the second, third, or fourth time around may inspire you to spice up your language with longer, more uncommon words. There’s nothing wrong with having a thesaurus nearby, but try to limit the repetition of long, pretentious-feeling words so your work flows well and doesn’t feel too bogged down. At the end of the day, you want it to feel true to you and the message you’re conveying.
- Remember who the reader is. Don’t forget your own voice as the writer—but don’t forget who your reader is. Many writers get too close to their work; editing is a chance to try to get out of your own head. Who is your ideal reader? What do you want them to take away from the writing? It’s a unique time to step in their shoes, to make sure your communication is as effective as you’d like it to be.
- Kill your darlings. Don’t be scared to remove chunks of your work, even if it feels precious to you. If it’s a passage that’s really tough to part with, try saving it somewhere else, so you can return to it later in your piece or for another work.
- Use Grammarly. Last but not least, Grammarly has countless resources for editing your work. Our writing assistant helps you find areas of your writing that are unclear or too wordy, as well as help you find mistakes you might not have caught.
Editing may feel tedious, but it’s just as important as writing itself. For an extra pair of editing eyes on everything you write, download the free Grammarly for Windows and Mac today.
When you're continually having to exhaustively educate every potential customer to the point that they can see the Value Proposition in your product/service.
It's too early when you can't make it for a price your customer can afford.
You could say it's too early because there is no demand for it, but let's be honest, saying something or somebody was ahead of his time, is just a polite way to say, "what a waste of time." When your concept is hard to explain that actually might be a good sign, in that it hasn't been done before.
Where do I start?
I’m a huge financial nerd, and have spent an embarrassing amount of time talking to people about their money habits.
Here are the biggest mistakes people are making and how to fix them:
Not having a separate high interest savings account
Having a separate account allows you to see the results of all your hard work and keep your money separate so you're less tempted to spend it.
Plus with rates above 5.00%, the interest you can earn compared to most banks really adds up.
Here is a list of the top savings accounts available today. Deposit $5 before moving on because this is one of th
Where do I start?
I’m a huge financial nerd, and have spent an embarrassing amount of time talking to people about their money habits.
Here are the biggest mistakes people are making and how to fix them:
Not having a separate high interest savings account
Having a separate account allows you to see the results of all your hard work and keep your money separate so you're less tempted to spend it.
Plus with rates above 5.00%, the interest you can earn compared to most banks really adds up.
Here is a list of the top savings accounts available today. Deposit $5 before moving on because this is one of the biggest mistakes and easiest ones to fix.
Overpaying on car insurance
You’ve heard it a million times before, but the average American family still overspends by $417/year on car insurance.
If you’ve been with the same insurer for years, chances are you are one of them.
Pull up Coverage.com, a free site that will compare prices for you, answer the questions on the page, and it will show you how much you could be saving.
That’s it. You’ll likely be saving a bunch of money. Here’s a link to give it a try.
Consistently being in debt
If you’ve got $10K+ in debt (credit cards…medical bills…anything really) you could use a debt relief program and potentially reduce by over 20%.
Here’s how to see if you qualify:
Head over to this Debt Relief comparison website here, then simply answer the questions to see if you qualify.
It’s as simple as that. You’ll likely end up paying less than you owed before and you could be debt free in as little as 2 years.
Missing out on free money to invest
It’s no secret that millionaires love investing, but for the rest of us, it can seem out of reach.
Times have changed. There are a number of investing platforms that will give you a bonus to open an account and get started. All you have to do is open the account and invest at least $25, and you could get up to $1000 in bonus.
Pretty sweet deal right? Here is a link to some of the best options.
Having bad credit
A low credit score can come back to bite you in so many ways in the future.
From that next rental application to getting approved for any type of loan or credit card, if you have a bad history with credit, the good news is you can fix it.
Head over to BankRate.com and answer a few questions to see if you qualify. It only takes a few minutes and could save you from a major upset down the line.
How to get started
Hope this helps! Here are the links to get started:
Have a separate savings account
Stop overpaying for car insurance
Finally get out of debt
Start investing with a free bonus
Fix your credit
All pieces of the jigsaw puzzle must be established.
- Customers: Who are the customer segments(which niche segments + mass market)? Focus more on niche/non-mass market segments because the company will lose in mass market against bigger competitors.
- Main & department strategies and brand & product propositions: What is the main strategy(Porter’s generic strategy, which industry, what brand position, what product position, and projected revenue, and so on)? What are the department strategy(brand and plan for brand, marketing plan, product & r&d plan)?
- Competencies and competitive advantage: What co
All pieces of the jigsaw puzzle must be established.
- Customers: Who are the customer segments(which niche segments + mass market)? Focus more on niche/non-mass market segments because the company will lose in mass market against bigger competitors.
- Main & department strategies and brand & product propositions: What is the main strategy(Porter’s generic strategy, which industry, what brand position, what product position, and projected revenue, and so on)? What are the department strategy(brand and plan for brand, marketing plan, product & r&d plan)?
- Competencies and competitive advantage: What competencies and competitive advantages to obtain and develop? So to best achieve the brand plan, marketing plan, product plan and r&d plan.
There are other pieces of the puzzle like business model, and so on. However, those are main pieces of the puzzle. When you achieve ideal results for those main things, you can achieve a brand, product, marketing that is impactful to customers, and competitiveness and profit. All the things for a successful offering, and successful business.
Maybe you don't have 100% passion for the idea. Most people who find what their passion is, or purpose in life will do anything it takes for it to succeed and suddenly become fearless.
Here’s the thing: I wish I had known these money secrets sooner. They’ve helped many people save hundreds, secure their family’s future, and grow their bank accounts—myself included.
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Don’t wait like I did. Go ahead and start using these money secrets today!
1. Cancel Your Car Insurance
You might not even realize it, but your car insurance company is probably overcharging you. In fact, they’re kind of counting on you not noticing. Luckily, th
Here’s the thing: I wish I had known these money secrets sooner. They’ve helped many people save hundreds, secure their family’s future, and grow their bank accounts—myself included.
And honestly? Putting them to use was way easier than I expected. I bet you can knock out at least three or four of these right now—yes, even from your phone.
Don’t wait like I did. Go ahead and start using these money secrets today!
1. Cancel Your Car Insurance
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In organized crime and terrorism the leaders are often very reclusive and elusive. The people below them take the heat for them when things go wrong. In these cases it’s extremely valuable for the leader and the whole organization if he stays a recluse.
If you want your company to have a legitimate “feel” to it you’ll probably need to step into the limelight. Take responsibility and take credit; if you remain grateful you will avoid the trap of arrogance which is so repelling. Investors, board members, and partners will appreciate having a captain steering the ship.
Sometimes, there is a need fo
In organized crime and terrorism the leaders are often very reclusive and elusive. The people below them take the heat for them when things go wrong. In these cases it’s extremely valuable for the leader and the whole organization if he stays a recluse.
If you want your company to have a legitimate “feel” to it you’ll probably need to step into the limelight. Take responsibility and take credit; if you remain grateful you will avoid the trap of arrogance which is so repelling. Investors, board members, and partners will appreciate having a captain steering the ship.
Sometimes, there is a need for the CEO to be reclusive; for example someone so entrenched in the creative process that any disturbance might ruin the essential elements of the product. In this case, he needs a spokesperson and evangelist to make sure that the people understand this and have confidence in the project.
If you have good reason for keeping a low profile you can hire a PR firm to help you with your image. If you have the funds, you can hire an actor to play you for all public affairs. This may add a note of mystique and eccentricity even; which may attract yet more investors/partners.
In the end, to answer your question, is it acceptable? Yes, if there’s good reason for it and if there is someone to give them the confidence that this is what’s needed for the company to run efficiently and successfully.
"Or maybe you're just making excuses"
I always thought the Michael Jordan video below applied to startups and specifically it's applicable to "taking the entrepreneurial plunge":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woOu_4l3lio
What people need to realize is there is a huge difference between an installer, a user and a customer.
You can drive installs all day long with a download add, but if the product is crap, and it often is, it gets deleted immediately.
You can get users all day long with a good product, but they are worth nothing until they pay. aka - A customer.
People need to focus on customer acquisition, not installs.
BTW- Click to download ads do well now, they won't for long, we like new things, but any app that needs to pay for distribution, is like a guy that needs to pay to get girls to date them. If they w
What people need to realize is there is a huge difference between an installer, a user and a customer.
You can drive installs all day long with a download add, but if the product is crap, and it often is, it gets deleted immediately.
You can get users all day long with a good product, but they are worth nothing until they pay. aka - A customer.
People need to focus on customer acquisition, not installs.
BTW- Click to download ads do well now, they won't for long, we like new things, but any app that needs to pay for distribution, is like a guy that needs to pay to get girls to date them. If they were any good, they would't need to.
Great question! This is one of the problems that most frequently kills startups. Essentially, timing is everything. You don't want to be too far ahead of the curve.
One way to gage this is to use customer demand as your point of departure. So, for example:
- Have you built something that customers absolutely need and are dying to have? (Good)
- Or something that they might eventually need? (Bad)
Though this seems like a bright-line test, it is actually more complicated in practice because sometimes even something that people need and are dying to have takes a long time to take off. As Erik Fair
Great question! This is one of the problems that most frequently kills startups. Essentially, timing is everything. You don't want to be too far ahead of the curve.
One way to gage this is to use customer demand as your point of departure. So, for example:
- Have you built something that customers absolutely need and are dying to have? (Good)
- Or something that they might eventually need? (Bad)
Though this seems like a bright-line test, it is actually more complicated in practice because sometimes even something that people need and are dying to have takes a long time to take off. As Erik Fair mentioned, if you have to spend all of your time, "to exhaustively educate every potential customer" on your value proposition, it is probably not a good sign. You want to have a product or service that solves an existing and pressing problem, not a product or service which addresses an abstract issue that could possible arise in the future. Good luck!
First off I'm saying theses things from my own mouth and experiences. First off you must have a great mindset! Know your nich and what your goals are make a vision board. And really in again it to come true. Take and get a mentor to help develop ideas. And to help in supporting you. 2nd a nich can be a number of things, Not just sales!!!! If your nich is sales you can grow and learn from a good line of mentors or friends or buisness affliate friends. Get a good website afloat and post around and rember CONSISTENCY is key! Post 3–5 times a day to your desired platforms. Pretty soon you'll start
First off I'm saying theses things from my own mouth and experiences. First off you must have a great mindset! Know your nich and what your goals are make a vision board. And really in again it to come true. Take and get a mentor to help develop ideas. And to help in supporting you. 2nd a nich can be a number of things, Not just sales!!!! If your nich is sales you can grow and learn from a good line of mentors or friends or buisness affliate friends. Get a good website afloat and post around and rember CONSISTENCY is key! Post 3–5 times a day to your desired platforms. Pretty soon you'll start to get noticed with your ads and website. You'll gain followers. By being consistent everyday. Engage like and comment on others posts and follow people as they will do the same in most cases. But rember CONSISTENCY is key!!
Yes, it will be a problem. You can be a founder but as CEO you will be super busy, certainly with a start up where people invested their money.
This is one reason why “Founder” is often a different title from “CEO”. The former implies ideas, innovations, and sweat equity while the latter implies a set of professional management and public relations skills (as well as investor relations, etc.) Many founders do not take the CEO title, instead preferring to be on a Board or other governing body that the CEO reports to.
In my experience, the CEO needs to be someone who can be (and is skilled at being) the public face of a company. They can be up until 1AM polishing an investor presentation and then at the airport for a 6AM flight to meet t
This is one reason why “Founder” is often a different title from “CEO”. The former implies ideas, innovations, and sweat equity while the latter implies a set of professional management and public relations skills (as well as investor relations, etc.) Many founders do not take the CEO title, instead preferring to be on a Board or other governing body that the CEO reports to.
In my experience, the CEO needs to be someone who can be (and is skilled at being) the public face of a company. They can be up until 1AM polishing an investor presentation and then at the airport for a 6AM flight to meet that investor and convince them to part with their money. Some CEOs really enjoy this kind of challenge, which is why they will join start-ups, help build and launch them, and then leave for a new challenge elsewhere.
A CEO should also bring to your company additional benefits, such as a network of contacts. These may be C-level executives (CFO, CIO, etc) who this CEO has worked with in the past. They may be investors that the CEO worked with in past roles. They may be business plans or knowledge of how to clear regulatory hurdles in your chose marketplace. Maybe they have international experience and can help you find profitable markets in countries you didn’t even think about.
My advice is that you should find a role at your company that makes the best use of your skills and interview carefully for a CEO who can share your vision while bringing a set of skills that complements your own when they are hired into the CEO slot.