3 Commandments Every Startup Co-Founder Must Know
Starting a business is one of the most exciting adventures you can undertake. As a Startup Co-Founder you will commit a huge amount of your time and energy to the project, and there is no room for making unnecessary mistakes, but there must be room for making and learning from them.
Here are three commandments you should follow to keep failing and head to startup success:
- Leverage today’s technology to produce leads for your fledgling business
- The Startup Co-Founder can’t do everything – Delegate
- Sell, Sell, Sell
Startup Commandment #1:
Utilise Technology To Stay Agile
One of the real advantages that the Internet brings to the Startup Co-Founder is the ease of entry. You, as a startup entrepreneur, can create a presence online that can make you appear as big as a fortune 500 company or as a small startup, that choice is yours.
And you can create an inbound lead generation program that will create a steady flow of new business or at least willing early adopters to test your Startup’s assumptions on.
A great advantage of being a Startup is that you can pivot on your heal like an MMA fighter, immediately responding to changes in the market fight.
You build your team and your systems to take advantage of the strengths of the Internet and avoid its weaknesses, learning from your online (and offline) customers feedback and testing your assumptions in real time, tracking metrics and analysing data per minute.
Utilise mobile technology and mobile apps to capture users on the fly. As consumers become more and more dependent on their mobile devices, and less on their desk or laptops, you need to be there to meet their needs with a mobile version (or maybe exclusively mobile).
Smart Startups know that testing all aspects of their assumption systematically, including their smart phone App can guide your Startup on a path to success.
Startup Commandment #2: Learn to Delegate
If there is a common failing of the Startup Co-Founder, it is that they do not know when to let go, to let other take serious responsibility for the success of the venture.
Practice the art of transferring responsibility early in the life of the venture. Every significant person that you hire needs to bring a talent to the firm that compliments your expertise.
If you are a coder, don’t try to be an accountant. If you are a salesman, don’t try to learn to code , but at a minimum form a basic understanding and respect for those professions and what skills they bring to your Startups future success.
Your team needs to feel committed to the success of the venture and one way to make that happen is to let them take increasing responsibility and allow room for mistakes.
Startup Commandment #3: Always Be Closing [A.B.C]
The real mark of success for the Startup Co-Founder is to sell the company, its products and the team.
At every possible chance, the Startup Co-Founder must be the primary spokesperson for the venture. Whether you are trying to sell a product or a service, find a new investor, obtain a vendor or a supplier, you as the Startup Co-Founder are the face of the venture.
As the Startup Co-Founder of a new business, you are – at a minimum – one of 2 people in the world that can make your venture succeed.
Now Its Your Turn
I have provided 3 commandments that I think are key for a Startup success, especially as a Co-founder. Feel like sharing yours and forming the 10 Startup commandments with me? Do you think there needs to be room for mistakes or are mistakes unforgivable? Id’ love to hear from you so please leave your thoughts and comments in the box below.
Simon J Co-Founder of Digital Hinge and a serial entrepreneur with over 17 years spent building 8 businesses in 3 countries and 4 industries. Simon is also an Early Stage Micro Venture & Start-Up Seed Investor. Contact him at simon[at]digitalhinge[dot]com Lean Startup Evangalist. View All Posts By Simon J
