During the Christmas holidays in December 2011 me and my friend Jonas Arnklint started to work with what today is RevRise. We are thus two founders, but these are my lessons.
During the fall 2011 we did some experiments and prototypes related to technology and evaluated two different business ideas. We talked to friends and potential customers about our ideas and somewhere in late December between Christmas and New Year we registered a new company, in order to feel more real but also as a commitment between both of us.
It has been an extremely rewarding time. It has taken a lot more mental energy of me than I ever thought, even though I had run my own company for two years at the time it is completely different to build a product compared with selling consulting services.
Lessons learned from being bootstrapped for two years
RevRise targeting business to business so it is possible that not all things fit if your startup targeting consumers.
Validate your idea as soon as possible
Talk to friends and potential customers about your idea. It can be sketches on paper, it doesn’t matter. Can they see the need, do you solve a problem they actually have? If not, think again and adjust. It’s crucial that you solve a problem and meets a need.
Dare to say no
Among the hardest thing to do during the first few months was to say no. Personally, I had built up a customer network for two years in my other company. To say no to the money and great deals was hard sometimes. At the same time it became the driving force, it was RevRise I wanted to bet on. I really wanted to build a company that solves a problem through great products.
Learn to focus and prioritize
When you have limited time and money, you are forced to prioritize. And as time goes, you learn to prioritize correctly. Focus is also something that is important and related to the point above, to saying no. Live on savings and find space to run full time, whether it is for a limited time makes you incredibly effective and creative. (That’s why I love hackathons, they force you to think differently and produce efficiently.)
Move forward through metrics
Validate your learnings by measuring traction in almost everything you do. In the beginning it may not be key values close to your business, however, it is important to ensure that you moving forward. It may be the version number of your product, the number of commits etc. The most important thing is that you feel you have momentum in what you do, that you moving forward. Validate learning through metrics. It is called Validated Learning in the Lean Startup methodology.
Have a close dialogue with a few customers
Get a close contact with customers from start. Charge, overdeliver and treat your customers well. They are an extremely important source. Charge on day one, explain why you charge, then you will have a business relationship, there is a demand from both parties and you respect each other’s work. Very useful and instructive. Ask for feedback, have meetings about the progress.
Surround yourself with like-minded
Surround yourself with other entrepreneurs, perhaps foremost if you are a solo founder, it makes your everyday life more social and you get fresh eyes on your business which reduces the risk of wrong focus. Talk to other entrepreneurs, even to those who had failed.
Trust your gut feeling
Make your gut to your best friend, dare to trust your gut feeling and believe in your idea. At times, you will be alone in knowing what you want to do and what is best for you.
Make decisions quickly
Dare to take quick decisions. Decide and execute. Sometimes it’s more important that you take the decision quickly than that the decision is right (it’s so hard to know in advance anyway). At worst, you’ve made a mistake and learned from it. A good entrepreneur is, according to me, a person who is good at executing and do it quickly.
Limit your time, divide project into sprints
Divide your projects and tasks in weeks of sprints. Divide your day into blocks. Experiment with how much time you need for different blocks. Sales calls before noon, web development in the afternoon.
Divide the projects into 1-3 weeks of sprints. Follow up every sprint, do they match with your goals? Refine, adjust and iterate.
Mix long-term goals and short term goals
Have both long and short term goals. Use the short-term goals to see if you are going in the right direction toward your long-term (big) goal.
Summary
- Say no and find time to work on your idea. It is absolutely crucial.
- Validate your idea early, ask friends and potential customers if they would be willing to pay for your idea.
- Define key metrics, move your business forward with metrics.
- Read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.
- Use The Business Model Canvas, start using it early and continue use it in your process now and then.
- Maintain close dialogue with your customer base early on. Charge from day one.
- And finally, be patient, everything takes much much longer than you think.
It’s fantastic to dare to invest in your dream. Everyone should try it at some point in life.