Here are the five best tips for entrepreneurs that I learned as a host of Found.
Over the years, startup founders have provided valuable advice on Found, covering topics from the right time to establish employee benefits to when it's best to dismiss the recommendations of venture capitalists.
After more than two years and nearly 100 episodes as a host of a podcast about founders, a substantial amount of knowledge has been gained regarding how these entrepreneurs approach the creation of their companies. Throughout the program, various stories have been shared, ranging from scaling core products to addressing the hiring process, as well as the factors that drive entrepreneurs to take the initial leap into their projects. Although I am not a founder, several lessons and pieces of advice stood out during the interviews. Below is a brief list of five valuable tips for founders, both practical and philosophical.
Founders must confront their weaknesses. Many entrepreneurs mentioned the importance of finding co-founders or making early hires that complement their skills. However, Parker Conrad, co-founder and CEO of Rippling, has a different perspective. He believes that founders should seek out the areas in which they are not good and tackle them head-on, rather than avoiding those challenges. According to him, those aspects, if ignored, can significantly harm the business.
Venture capitalists are not always right. While a good VC can offer valuable advice, not all are the same. Ashley Tyrner, founder and CEO of FarmboxRx, experienced this firsthand when receiving recommendations from VCs suggesting that she transform her company into a meal kit service. She is thankful she did not follow that advice and instead chose to take an independent approach, resulting in a successful business model linked to insurance companies, sending product boxes as part of medical prescriptions.
Being the first to market is not always advantageous. Jordan Nathan, founder and CEO of Caraway, shared his experience of launching his line of non-toxic cookware as the last entrant in a crowded market. This strategy allowed the company to identify gaps and unmet needs, enabling them to adjust their product offerings more effectively compared to their competitors.
Companies should strive to go to market as soon as possible, regardless of their long-term goals. Joe Wolfel, co-founder and CEO of Terradepth, explained that his company worked to establish revenue streams from the outset by offering services while developing autonomous drones to explore the seabed. Meanwhile, Paul Hedrick, founder of Tecovas, opted to start selling his boots directly in local markets to gain immediate feedback from customers.
It’s important to build a company around the product. When starting a startup, founders tend to focus exclusively on developing and launching the product. However, it is also crucial to think about the organizational structure and the well-being of employees. Gavin Uberti, co-founder and CEO of Etched, recounted how his company neglected to implement employee benefits, leading to complications when one of their employees was injured before having health insurance.
