#StartupChallenges #FounderAdvice #ProblemSolving
Hey fellow founders! Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your startup was making profit from day 1, but you were struggling with the operational side of running a company? 🤔
Here are some questions to spark a discussion and share your insights:
– How did you navigate the challenges of hiring your first 10 engineers or finding a co-founder?
– What strategies did you use to build a strong sales team?
– How did you overcome the unknowns and figure out the next steps in growing your business?
If you’ve been in this position before, share your experiences and what helped you overcome these hurdles. Here are a couple of possible solutions that might benefit others facing similar challenges:
– Seek mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs or industry experts
– Network with other founders and learn from their experiences
– Invest in professional development courses or workshops to enhance your skills
Let’s support each other and share our knowledge to help fellow founders succeed! 💪 #FoundersSupportingFounders
I made mistakes, people saw, I apologized where I needed to, asked for help and people gave me plenty of leeway because I was profitable.
It turns out that being profitable is its own superpower because people will keep giving you chances to learn/ improve as long as you can keep making money.
Help is available to those who ask. Reach out to people from the industry you see are good at their jobs and ask them for advice. I am an engineer at an early stage startup and I constantly reach out to people to get “unstuck”.
You mentioned you have traction from VCs. That’s good. Mention that you plan to hire after your seed round and they might help you as they have hiring teams. Ours have told us to make use of their hiring team as much as we want.
1. **Hiring the First 10 Engineers – Dropbox Example**: Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, the founders of Dropbox, initially struggled with hiring. They overcame this by:
* Leveraging their network: They reached out to friends, alumni, and acquaintances to find talented engineers.
* Creating engaging content: They made a screencast video that went viral, which helped attract attention and interest from potential hires.
* Offering equity: They used the promise of equity to attract talented individuals who believed in the company’s vision.
2. **Finding a Co-founder – Airbnb Example**: Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, the founders of Airbnb, initially operated without a technical co-founder. They eventually met Nathan Blecharczyk, who became their third co-founder:
* Through mutual connections: They found Nathan through a mutual friend who introduced them to his technical skills.
* By demonstrating potential: They showed Nathan their vision and the early traction they had gained, convincing him to join the team.
3. **Building a Sales Team – HubSpot Example**: Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan, the founders of HubSpot, faced challenges in building a sales team:
* Starting with inbound sales: They initially relied on inbound marketing to generate leads, which reduced the need for an extensive sales team.
* Hiring for culture fit: They focused on hiring individuals who aligned with their company culture and were motivated by the company’s mission.
4. **Overcoming Unknowns – Slack Example**: Stewart Butterfield, the founder of Slack, faced many unknowns when transitioning from a gaming company to a messaging platform:
* Iterative development: They started with a simple version of the product and iterated based on user feedback.
* Learning from failures: They learned from their previous gaming venture and applied those lessons to Slack’s development.
5. **Utilizing VC Traction – Instagram Example**: Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the founders of Instagram, gained traction from VCs early on:
* Building relationships: They networked with investors and built relationships that eventually led to funding.
* Demonstrating growth: They showed rapid user growth and engagement, which attracted the interest of VCs.
6. **Delegating and Scaling – Stripe Example**: Patrick and John Collison, the founders of Stripe, had to learn how to delegate as their company grew:
* Hiring experienced leaders: They brought in experienced executives to manage different aspects of the business, allowing them to focus on strategy.
* Creating a flat structure: They maintained a flat organizational structure to encourage communication and collaboration.
7. **Experimentation and Adaptation – Tesla Example**: Elon Musk, the CEO and lead designer at Tesla, faced numerous challenges in scaling production and operations:
* Taking risks: He was willing to take calculated risks, such as building the Gigafactory, to scale production.
* Adapting to feedback: He listened to customer feedback and made necessary adjustments to the production process and vehicle features.
Generally: You figure it out as you go. Be okay making mistakes. Don’t give up.
Specifically: joining an accelerator helped. Got lots of intros. Had people to ask for advice. Had other founders going through same thing.
If you have a VC willing to fund you, they should have help to find quality talent. They will want to try and protect their investment.
This post/question is off to me possibly due to grammar.
That said, founders that are able to make a profit off a product either they represented or created are smart enough to run a company. I.E. smart enough to hire someone that can run a company because he/she knows it’s not their strong suit.
Knowing and excepting what you are not good at and asking for help is what a leader is made of. Any startup must have a founder with this mindset!