Launching Your Startup Successfully: Part 2
An actionable guide for aspiring founders considering their startup launch
This post continues the actionable guidance from earlier this week. We're helping budding founders lay the groundwork for a great startup launch.
If you missed it, you can read Part 1 here. It gives important context and essential advice.
Now, let's dive into the next steps for a successful startup launch:
Building Your Team: Attract and keep people who believe in your mission.
Strategic Team Building - Advisors: Choose advisors who match your startup's goals.
Strategic Team Building: Don't give out top titles too early. Use clear goals to decide on promotions.
Finding Your Product-Market Fit (“PMF”): Listen to your customers. Aim for a product that they can't live without.
Building Your Team: Attract and Keep People Who Believe in Your Mission
Start with Trust: The journey will be long. Make sure you're with people you trust.
Diverse Skill Sets: Team up with people who have different skills. This helps cover everything you need.
Resilience is Key: Find people who stay positive and can handle tough times.
Flexibility Over Experience: While experience is valuable, in the rapidly changing landscape of startups, adaptability and a willingness to learn can often be more beneficial.
Shared Sacrifice: Everyone should know the early effort and sacrifices needed.
Feedback-Ready: Fast feedback is common. Get used to it.
Cultural Fit: It's important to have shared values and ways of communicating.
Passion First: Make sure your team cares deeply about the problem you're solving.
In conclusion, while the startup journey, as depicted in the Startup Curve diagram below, is fraught with challenges, having the right team by your side can not only make the ride smoother but also significantly increase your chances of reaching the desired 'Scale' phase. Choose wisely, and remember – it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Mission-Oriented Company: More Than Just Words
A company's mission is not merely a tagline or a lofty declaration; it's the core essence that drives every decision, action, and strategy. It’s true that as a startup, your target customer might evolve, which might also influence your mission. However, the core principles generally remain consistent.
Think of it this way: if your startup is a ship sailing through uncertain waters, the mission is its compass, guiding every move. While the destination (i.e., the specific target customer) might shift, the compass ensures you're always oriented in the right direction.
Real-World Examples:
Airbnb: Their mission is to "help create a world where you can belong anywhere." Even as their services expanded and diversified, the core idea of fostering belonging and community stayed central.
Tesla: Tesla started with a mission to "accelerate the advent of sustainable transport." As they evolved, so did their mission, but the core theme of sustainability remained. Now, it's "to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."
Slack: Originally developed as a communication tool for a gaming company, Slack pivoted to become a standalone product. Their initial focus was on improving internal team communication. However, the broader mission was always about 'making work simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.
When crafting or refining your mission, focus on the larger impact you want to create. Ask yourself: Even if our products or services pivot, what core value do we always want to deliver? This exercise ensures that even as you iterate on specifics, your startup's foundational ethos remains unshakeable.
Defining and Finding "Startup" Personalities
Startups indeed require adaptability and versatility. However, it's a myth that those with extensive corporate experience lack these traits. The real metric is not their work history but their mindset and how they tackle challenges.
Beyond Traditional Structures: It’s not just about “corporate” vs. “startup” employees. What you need are people who can work efficiently without the constraints of traditional structures or procedures. Look for those ready to delve into strategic planning and hands-on tasks. A special nod to Jaireh Tecarro, an experienced designer and angel investor, for shedding light on this perspective.
Sales in Today's Business World: Drawing inspiration from the supply chain logistics platform Flexport, led by founder Ryan Petersen, it becomes clear that sales teams should prioritize genuine client relationships and adeptly navigate their unique challenges. It's no longer solely about chasing "qualified leads" (those potential customers deemed most likely to convert). Instead, the modern sales playbook calls for agility, responsiveness, and a client-first mentality. The goal? To truly understand clients and ask, “How can we tailor our product to meet their specific needs?” My gratitude goes out to Arti Villa, an experienced builder/operator, and angel investor, for her invaluable feedback, which encouraged me to research this topic further.
Traits of a Startup Personality:
Curiosity: A never-ending thirst for knowledge and an embrace of the unfamiliar.
Versatility: The ability to take on various roles as required by the startup's growth.
Problem Solving: They view obstacles as challenges, ready to be conquered.
Beyond the Job Description: They view their role as a base, always willing to do more for the company's growth.
When hiring, hunt for these characteristics. And realize: they can be found in individuals from all professional backgrounds, whether they've been with an industry leader or a new startup. It's the mindset that matters, not the CV. In the unpredictable startup world, harnessing this attitude is crucial for sustained and meaningful growth.
Missionaries v Mercenaries
"It is about pushing the train, not jumping on the running train." - Jürgen Klopp, a renowned figure in football and the manager of Liverpool FC, my lifelong team.
The essence of this sentiment? Founders should prioritize team members and backers genuinely invested in the mission over those just eyeing the potential for profit. Why? Because those truly aligned with the purpose are your startup's strong supporters. They're the ones driving you forward, especially during the inevitable tough times.
Look at companies like Tesla or SpaceX, where intense work cultures aren't deterrents but magnets for those with a deep commitment to the mission. But it's not all about the big names. Many emerging startups have used the power of mission-driven talent to experience tremendous growth.
Remember, the right people can push your startup from one milestone to the next, even when the journey gets challenging. They're not just there for the easy times.
Strategic Team Building: Leveraging Advisors
Building a startup isn’t just about creating products or services—it's about forging the right partnerships. Often, these partnerships come in the form of advisors. These are individuals who provide invaluable expertise, networking, or mentorship, crucial in guiding a startup through its challenges.
Assess Your Strengths and Weaknesses: Before seeking advisors, reflect on your current team's strengths and the gaps you need to fill. This self-awareness helps identify advisors who can offer tangible benefits, like finding the missing puzzle pieces.
Conduct Careful Examination: After pinpointing your ideal advisor, it's essential to thoroughly examine their background. Check out their past roles, successes, and lessons learned. Talk to startups they've guided before. This ensures their experience aligns with your needs.
Align Expectations: The relationship between you and your advisor requires clear communication. It's not just about their skills but how they deliver them. Are they available for in-depth sessions, regular updates, or on-the-fly guidance?
For example, Y Combinator startups typically spend 1-2 hours monthly with an advisor. These sessions, though short, provide invaluable insights that can pivot a startup's direction. When discussing roles, consider both the depth and regularity of interactions. By being clear from the get-go, you set the stage for a productive partnership.
Document Agreements: Trust is vital, but it's equally important to have everything in writing. This ensures clarity and ensures everyone's aligned, especially in the whirlwind startup environment.
Regarding compensation, advisory roles and their practices are constantly evolving. Check the attached chart on typical equity offers for advisors. Use these figures as a reference, but remember, every startup is different, and an advisor's value can be more than just equity.
Platforms like Holloway offer more on this topic. For an in-depth exploration, check out Peter Walker’s (of Carta) detailed post on advisor equity nuances.
Strategic Team Building: A Delicate Balance
For startups, crafting the right team structure is vital. An integral part of this is smartly assigning job titles. This isn't just about creating a pecking order; it's about clarity, motivation, and alignment. Inspired by the wisdom of Gokul Rajaram, a notable figure in the tech industry, there's a subtle balancing act at play here.
CEOs, often in a rush to instill urgency and draw talent, might rush title assignments, particularly for senior roles. This "title inflation"—giving impressive-sounding titles to perhaps less-than-impressive roles—can seem enticing, especially for small startups. Imagine having a "VP of Engineering" for just a team of four. It sounds great, right? However, it's wise to tread carefully here. While this might work in the short term, it can later cause confusion and misalignment. A more prudent strategy could be starting with general roles and then offering promotions based on clear milestones. The risks of going overboard with titles often overshadow the benefits. Setting clear lines of authority from the get-go and giving team members more responsibility and freedom often proves a better way to attract and keep talent without resorting to fancy titles.
Titles do have their merits. They clarify roles, give direction, and foster a sense of inclusion. On the flip side, they can lead to entitlement and a jumbled array of titles that confuse the startup's inner workings. That's why some champion a culture without titles early on, where roles evolve based on what people actually do, not just what they're called.
In my own experiences, I've witnessed the pitfalls of mishandling titles. Senior figures from big corporations might struggle when a nimble startup demands a different pace, particularly in the initial growth phases.
Furthermore, as startups come close to finding their PMF, the focus often moves from making a product to growing the business. In these key stages, thoughtfully designating titles and promoting a flexible ethos can guide the team, encouraging adaptability and teamwork.
The Long Path Towards Finding Your PMF
Navigating the journey to PMF often feels like wandering through a complex maze. Amid the whirlwind of contrasting ideas, feedback, and potential routes, founders face the daunting task of identifying the right direction. Reaching PMF goes beyond just building a product—it's about designing an impeccable solution that deeply connects with a large market segment, propelling your startup to new heights.
To shed some light on this intricate terrain, Arti Villa, an experienced builder/operator and angel investor, aptly states:
“Building a product for a single customer is a consulting gig. Building a product for the masses with lukewarm solutions is a recipe for low adoption that blocks the high-velocity feedback loop you need to refine the idea. What you want to build is the most elegant solution, often just one, to a tricky problem so useful that your customers and fans will stick through it until you satisfy all their needs.”
Arti’s insights emphasize the fine line between catering to specific requirements and addressing wider market needs. Achieving PMF requires an unwavering commitment to understanding your target audience, ensuring your solution goes beyond the 'decent' mark to truly excel in alleviating their concerns.
While PMF is deeply connected to product evolution and comprehending customer needs, it's also intertwined with fundraising endeavors. I've touched on aligning fundraising strategies with broader business goals in past writings. Additionally, for those battling through this pivotal stage, Lenny's newsletter dedicated to the nuances of PMF provides invaluable advice and tactics—a must-read for any startup enthusiast.
Following Post Preview: Bootstrapping
In the next installment of our Comprehensive Playbook on Startup Fundraising, we'll delve into the captivating realm of bootstrapping. While it's often perceived as navigating financial tight spots, it's so much more than that. Bootstrapping is about retaining freedom, charting your own course, and savoring the sweet fruits of complete ownership. Let's explore the riveting journeys of bootstrapped behemoths like Mailchimp, Braintree, and Github. Together, we'll uncover the gems from their success stories and ponder whether bootstrapping might be the secret sauce for your startup's meteoric rise.
Closing Thoughts
I genuinely hope this piece added value to your entrepreneurial journey. If it struck a chord with you, I'd be immensely grateful if you'd spread the word via LinkedIn and other social channels. Your support is the lifeblood of this newsletter. Please, never hesitate to ping me with questions, insights, or just a friendly chat.
For the curious souls craving more or those with burning questions, ping me on Twitter (X) or shoot over an email. Massive kudos to Jen Liao, Jaireh Tecarro, Arti Villa, and Ryan Endacott for sharing their unparalleled wisdom and feedback.
Best wishes,
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