It takes time to arrive at simple solutions: Simplicity is hard work. This is a beautiful quote by Steve Jobs about finding simplicity in complex situations. Most of the modern-day businesses, software is hard. However, that can’t be an excuse to pass this hardship to the customers. We as entrepreneurs, founders or employees have a responsibility to find this simplicity amidst challenges.
Basic choices in an early-stage startup: In this article, we talk about the basics of creating an early-stage startup. We will talk about basics such as company registration, business plan, investment readiness etc.
Working hard at the wrong thing: The quote is beautiful, but it’s not always easy to identify the right and wrong things. The way I’d interpret this quote is to find out the things that have the most impact. While running a startup, it is easy to get lost in finer details. We have to keep asking ourselves about the level of impact that our actions have. Based on the type of impact, we’ll need to temper our approach to save time.
The most common dream of a startup is to be able to grow exponentially and realise a phenomenal success. This curve is the biggest differentiator compared to a small business. It is about being able to scale, expand and grow to be able to reach both globally and with scale.
There’s something artificial when everyone is agreeing: It’s weird when everyone agrees in a team or organisation. Sure, there will be moments like that but if it is a pattern in your founding team, then there are two problems: the leader’s too strong or you don’t have challengers. Either way, it is a sign that something is terribly wrong and you as a founder will need to act on it.
In this article, we will focus on the meaning of this quote in the perspective of a startup environment. We’re in the age of media transparency, ease of information dissemination. Companies don’t operate in a bubble anymore. They’re in the public purview now. How they behave with customers either ends up in a twitter or Facebook war. In fact, I’m sad that you usually get a quicker response on twitter than official email. This is how scared companies are of public response.
As an entrepreneur in early stages, an exit strategy was the last thing on my mind. However, my experience with fundraising has taught me that I’ll need to think about this as a part of my business plan
This was a perspective I missed during our fundraising activities. How much is really enough for a startup during its fundraising stages? I’ll admit that we never knew the right answer- sometimes it felt too much. At other times, it felt like we weren’t asking enough. The question is – where do we draw a line and say – this is what we need for a certain stage of the startup?
Good ideas are a bedrock of a startup. However, they’re only a necessary – not sufficient conditioning of running a good startup. We’ve seen plenty of material around how good ideas change the world. Although it is true, ideas alone don’t amount to anything.
This is a simple reminder from Cassey Ho, an entrepreneur, startup founder about focus on projections. Numbers are very exciting in a startup world, esp because you can see some quick changes. The results are often slow and painstaking, but just a reminder that it isn’t all about numbers.