Based on coaching and advising well over 100 startups, I'd like to offer my critical list of the Top 5 "Number One Things that Kill an Early-Stage Startup". Tread carefully, founders.
As my clients are keenly aware, I have a whole list of different things that are the number one reason a startup dies. And they're all true. Each one of these is the biggest killer of startups, in the right context ;)
1) Build something that the market doesn't want (aka solve a problem that doesn't exist)
2) Hire a salesperson before the CEO closes enough deals (aka ask an employee to build trust like a founder)
3) Build before you sell (aka rely solely on gut instinct)
4) Spend money on building "scalable" software (aka hardening your tech before you have meaningful usage)
5) Hire cannons instead of muskets (aka rely on executives who want to manage, not *do*)
And a bonus sixth for the holidays!
6) Raise too much capital (aka remove the need to make hard choices and prioritize learning above everything else)
What did I miss? Be honest -- what killed your last company 😈
The inspiration for this post came from the incredible Irina Stanescu and her "How to annoy a Tech Lead" post. She's my LinkedIn Yoda.
#founders #startups #productmarketfit
Please repost if you know someone who needs to see this!