Personal note: This post was originally published on Linkedin back in Jan 2023 and it provoked some heated 1-2-1 conversations with some of the founders I've worked with through the years. I still stand by it.
On this day 16 years ago I took the decision to launch my first startup - it was a digital marketing agency. I’ve been working with a number of startups in different capacity ever since.
Startups are fun and the rollercoaster experience can be quite difficult during economic downturns. But that’s when the best of them beat gravity.
The start of a new year is often a time for reflection and time for decisions.
Here are some thoughts to consider when making a decision to join or leave an early-stage #startup in 2023, especially if you are in #growth, #marketing or #product roles:
1. #Founders have a lot on their plate and often lose track of growth. The founders mindset can be the biggest obstacle to growth in their company. Good founders build growth teams, systems & processes that create variation. They don’t look for fortune-tellers or silver bullets.
2. Good founders don’t rely on others to prep the important reports for them and don’t get surprised by numbers. They know their numbers. Their team knows their numbers. They have healthy discussions about these numbers. They make decisions on these numbers.
3. It is OK for key drivers to change in time but if your goals or #KPIs are changing every few months (given that you are in the same role/team) most likely the founders/managers don’t know what they are doing.
4. #Revenue with early-stage startups is not = to growth. Delivering Value to customers is what’s important. There are founders who would focus on £££ as their north star metric early on. Big red flag if not in e-commerce.
5. If the startup #growthplans are significantly and consistently different from reality try to find out why. Very often growth forecasts that investors see cannot be maintained sustainably due to the lack of resources. It is not about ambition, but about reality.
6. Good founders lead through discussions not through issuing orders. “One of our investors told me….. Let’s do this” or “I woke up with a great idea this morning…. We must do this”. Don’t be afraid to challenge authority.
7. Good founders don’t surround themselves with “yes” people. Good founders listen, take feedback, act and give feedback. They value opinion AND act on it.
9. Good founders don’t surround themselves with “heavy-weights” from the corporate world “who’ve been there”. No they haven’t & the circumstances are totally different. What they know from the corporate world is very often impractical for the culture, scale and timelines of a startup.
10. Good teams talk to their customers often. They don’t outsource this. They feel the pulse. It is the best tool for insights and deep learning.
11. An early-stage startup can offer you nothing more but blood, sweat and tears. Learning & fast progression are the intangible gifts you can take. Ask for equity early or get a clear road map of how this works if you join the startup now or if you get promoted.
Please don’t take it as gospel.