Startup Systems
systems that power startups
Startup Systems
Conventional hiring processes are designed to recruit the most skilled people to fill a specific role at the right price. The experience can feel dehumanizing — it’s laden with unwritten rules, negotiation, posturing, and indirect communication (if you’re lucky) through recruiters.
The process, at its core, is a transaction of resources. It’s not... See more
The process, at its core, is a transaction of resources. It’s not... See more
Sharan Bal • Hiring Humans, Not Resources
Startups will have “we’re amazing” moments and they will also have “we’re crashing” moments. In order to weather those storms, you need high levels of trust.
Build Your Culture Like a Product — Lessons from Asana’s Head of People
The only reason you need venture capital is if (a) the technology is too expensive and you cannot self-fund it or (b) your product is going to catch fire too quickly. If done correctly, crossing the chasm should be inexpensive. Strive for cash-flow-positive and aim to change the value state of your company to attract investors and avoid constant... See more
Lenny Rachitsky • Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market
Product-market fit always starts with the customer. And Dan Olsen’s PMF framework starts from the bottom up.
Michael Houck • Resilient Founders Always Have A Move
- 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)
According to self-determination theory, humans have three basic needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. One reason why nudges toward change often backfire is that they can feel like a violation of autonomy, leading someone to do the opposite as a way to regain a sense of freedom.
As a result, well-intended feedback can actually reinforce the... See more
As a result, well-intended feedback can actually reinforce the... See more
Casey Rosengren • The Art of Subtle Influence
Take, for example, the ambition to “make your venture-backed startup profitable”: to develop, market, and distribute a product or service that’s never existed before, in a form that’s valuable and accessible enough for large numbers of people to want to pay you for it, in sufficient quantity that your revenue consistently exceeds your costs.
If... See more
If... See more
Gena Gorlin • The Psychological Needs of the Extremely Ambitious
A difference in emphasis: raising the floor versus raising the ceiling
Matt Clifford has written about how building a world-changing technology company has never been easier than it is today. But for all of the technical, commercial, and industry-specific knowledge that founders can readily access, psychological knowledge still lags behind. (In... See more
Matt Clifford has written about how building a world-changing technology company has never been easier than it is today. But for all of the technical, commercial, and industry-specific knowledge that founders can readily access, psychological knowledge still lags behind. (In... See more