25 Startup Tips I've learned so far

I hope to keep this series going as I learn more about startups. But in 3 years, I've raised over $11.5M in venture capital funding, built a product that is used by some of the biggest enterprises in the world, sold six-figure contracts to these enterprises, and have started scaling out my team. I hope in the next three years these metrics look small compared to what we've achieved. Here are 25 tips I've learned so far as a founder.

1. Big company history is usually a bad startup sign.

2. Hire slow, fire fast. Repeat this in your head. Write it down. Re-read this as many times as you need to.

3. Get to $1-2M in ARR as a founder. Do founder-led sales.

4. Watch your runway. Always make sure you have enough chances at bat.

5. Market size matters... a lot.

6. Great companies are constantly reinventing themselves. This is part of the journey.

7. Ride waves/trends or get out of the way. Don't go against them.

8. Your co-founder relationships matter a lot. Nurture them. Improve them. Cherish them.

9. Sales is a learnable skill. Anyone can sell.

10. Growth fixes everything.

11. Get off Zoom. Meet in person. Sell in person. Make the effort.

12. Take care of your body. Eat right. Work out daily.

13. Nobody cares about your startup. Not your mom, spouse, friends. Isn't that freeing?

14. Do not delegate product. EVER.

15. Startups are full of first-time managers. That's ok. So be kind and flexible.

16. Do not work with consultants or advisors.

17. VCs are usually wrong. Keep going.

18. Experts should lead experts.

19. It's really hard & every founder you look up to has felt this same feeling. Keep going.

20. Praise in public. Critique in private.

21. Respect deadlines.

22. Do not lose momentum. It's so hard to get back. Keep the momentum going.

23. Do not look for startup ideas. Look for frustrations.

24. As a founder, pay yourself first.

25. When in doubt, talk to your customers.