Startup Systems
systems that power startups
Startup Systems
It’s all about the learning. And mediocre successes don’t give you any learning.
Abraham Thomas • Mediocre Success Is Worse Than Outright Failure
"I've noticed three main things holding people back from being more productive and achieving their goals.
They resist creating processes for themselves: This might be baggage from the past where processes were used to control and subjugate them. But processes chosen and designed by YOU can become liberating.
They resist making decisions: Most
A startup’s biggest competition isn’t an established player, it’s inertia.
The 100 Best Bits of Advice From 10 Years of First Round Review
At a big company, you're trained to get it right and get it out. You can’t risk experimenting on your customer base. When you're at a small company, you don't have any product-market fit, so you have to get it out, then get it right.
How to Scale Yourself Down
- Level one: Nascent product-market fit. Likely a pre-seed or seed-stage company. The goal in this stage is to find three to five customers with a problem worth solving, engage with them, deliver a solution, and validate that solution. [examples: Vanta,
Lenny Rachitsky • A framework for finding product-market fit | Todd Jackson (First Round Capital)
70-20-10 Rule
But how is that reflected in resource allocation? The Horizons Framework suggests that the majority of your team members should be working on the Horizon One product, says Behrens Wu. “So you have, let's say, 70% doing Horizon One, 20% doing Horizon Two and then 10% playing around with Horizon Three.”
But how is that reflected in resource allocation? The Horizons Framework suggests that the majority of your team members should be working on the Horizon One product, says Behrens Wu. “So you have, let's say, 70% doing Horizon One, 20% doing Horizon Two and then 10% playing around with Horizon Three.”
Shippo’s Path to Product-Market Fit
The mistake is thinking your startup idea is venture-scale and getting on the VC treadmill. Once you’re on the treadmill, here’s what changes:
- High growth expectations: VCs are looking for companies that grow big enough fast enough. If your business isn’t suited to this kind of rapid growth, it can lead to undue pressure and unrealistic