Executive summary: The post outlines common traps and misconceptions that doom early-stage organizations, especially bootstrapped ones, with advice on how to avoid them.
Key points:
1. Build a strong founding team early rather than waiting for traction. Prioritize shared values over credentials.
2. Test assumptions cheaply and iteratively instead of overinvesting in an untested idea.
3. Talk to users and build traction rather than trying to persuade people your idea is good.
4. Avoid advisor collecting, credibility chasing, and outsourcing work early on.
5. Beware believing your idea is easy or novel. Stay grounded in users’ actual problems.
6. Some naive optimism helps found hard projects, but avoid ignoring clear warnings.
7. Do anti-intuitive things like prioritizing comfort over status.
8. Release something simple first and improve with feedback.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: The post outlines common traps and misconceptions that doom early-stage organizations, especially bootstrapped ones, with advice on how to avoid them.
Key points:
1. Build a strong founding team early rather than waiting for traction. Prioritize shared values over credentials.
2. Test assumptions cheaply and iteratively instead of overinvesting in an untested idea.
3. Talk to users and build traction rather than trying to persuade people your idea is good.
4. Avoid advisor collecting, credibility chasing, and outsourcing work early on.
5. Beware believing your idea is easy or novel. Stay grounded in users’ actual problems.
6. Some naive optimism helps found hard projects, but avoid ignoring clear warnings.
7. Do anti-intuitive things like prioritizing comfort over status.
8. Release something simple first and improve with feedback.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.