MetroVanIndependent.com
October 2015
9
Business
Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Starting a Start-Up
By Irwin Gonzales
Recently, I have been helping a few
people who want to start their own
company by either being a source of advice
or actually dipping my feet in production.
Personally, I never took a business class
prior to actually starting one. I just went
ahead, started it and kept running it in all
the wrong ways. It was mainly between trial
and getting chewed out where I learned
the most, and found a business we could
sustain and scale. We had a nice exit
which led to this venture I’m currently in
now, Cypher. However, I never got to take
a full class. How I learned to even start
was using any resource I could. I followed
lectures, online workshops, and went to
small events where I picked experience off
people who knew more than me. More so,
I looked for a proper and legit mentor but
I never had any formal classroom training,
only influence.
The advice and feedback I provide
comes empirically through experience
with Tech companies and being “Lean”
trained. So if I had to say anything, it would
be very counter-intuitive, which raises a
ton of eyebrows. I’m not going to go fully
into “being passionate” when starting a
company as others have covered that
already in other articles. I have compiled a
list of general advice/harsh realities that I
or my colleagues have either experienced,
witnessed or are taken from our very own
mentors. I am giving this to people who
are trying to start or even thinking about
starting one in hopes that this will give
them clarity and will help them thrive.
1. You’re going to fail on your first try,
only because the assumptions on your
product or service won’t exactly fit the
market at first. This is okay because you
can learn from it and make a better product
with a higher chance of succeeding, which
is called a “Pivot”.
2. Business itself contradicts decorum.
At least if it comes to scaling a software
or product out to the masses. The truth
is, most times, you will be forced to make
big decisions that may not follow protocol
for traditional business. You have to be
quick and decisive enough to act on these
changes and find a way to thrive on it. You
never know, you may discover a new way of
doing business that no one has ever seen
before.
3. Take your business plan for what it
is, a plan. Too many times, I have seen
peers & colleagues of mine crash and
burn because they mistook their BPs for
formulas to success. The truth is, your BP/
Pitch Deck/ Exec Summary may never even
see the light of day. Your BP is only there as
a guide or reference. Something you should
change frequently because if you’re lucky
enough, updated business plans are less
of a headache when putting it in front of
investors.
4. Competition is way overrated, at least
when you’re starting out. When people
initially focus too much on who else has
the market, they subconsciously make a
clone of their competitors. Acknowledge
the fact they exist but focus on your niche
and be so good at it that your competitors
wouldn’t dream of copying you. That’s how
you beat them.
was. The man was detailed and meticulous.
I’m not saying to micromanage, but be
aware of what’s going down, even if you
aren’t a master at it. I say this is valuable
as a founder because you will be able to
give useful feedback on a product to your
engineers and it also proves to investors
that you know what you’re talking about
which makes them feel safer when trusting
their money to you.
5. The trick of finding a unicorn idea is to
not try. I have never heard of a founder(s)
that has a unicorn (i.e Google, Facebook,
VR, the. first iPhone, Siri.) who popped a
brain vessel when it came to stumbling
on their golden idea. It is usually found
by building something that you would
personally use or solving a problem. If it
isn’t between that realm, then it’s usually
by accident or a secondary by-product that
turned main (like Lyft).
6. Think carefully, because this is the
next 5 to 10 years. For start ups who raise
capital from investors to small business
owners who bootstrapped everything,
everyone is stuck doing their “business”
for a large part of their life. It will be no
different for you or me. So whatever you
choose to start, make sure you’re not only
passionate, but you truly enjoy doing it. For
example, if butter-sticks is your business
& you absolutely find making them good
for your soul, then by all means, make that
commitment.
7. Your squad is everything. There is a
combo running around in Start-ups called
“the hacker, the hipster & the hustler”. In
tech, that means someone who can code
or build the product, a growth hacker who
knows whats in, whats hot on social media
& marketing really well and someone who
will hustle to get the product or service in
the clients or consumers hands and will
forge a way for the business. This dream
team should also consist of people who
you trust and will pull their weight. This is
important because going into business with
people is like being married to them. When
arguments happen (which will happen) your
friendship will be the only thing that holds
you guys and your business together. Also,
usually, when seeking investment, this is
the second thing investors look at in most
cases of investment (and even acquisition)
they look into investing in or buying the
team that made the company happen.
8. The first thing is building something
that people actually want. Whether it
be a product or service. Initially, this ties
back into number one. People make their
business assumptions based on what’s
cool. The thing is, “cool” isn’t always what
people want. Most products that succeed
have a certain purpose and s ܘ]