Startups

I stepped away from Heap last month, after nine fantastic years. Here are some things I wish I could tell my 2013 self. I was excited to write some code, and I had no idea what was in store on the path to 350+ people and a transformative product.

Startup COO job boils down to this: 1. Pick a problem area, and build 0 to 1 yourself. First principles get you pretty far! 2. After it gets going, start recruiting for an experienced leader for the area. 3. Onboard the leader well, nuke yourself out and attack next problem.

The 3 W's of Business: What - is the problem you are solving? Who - is the customer that needs this? Where - are they so you can market to them? That's it.