a bunch of beautiful lies we all want to believe
I'm just about to tell you a bunch of beautiful lies we all want to believe. and yet, here’s a big spoiler alert: they are still lies.
1. it's only hard to go from zero to the first 10 users. everything from there is downhill.
the reality check:
your first 10 users / demo users / customers come from your immediate network - friends, ex-colleagues, ex-customers. they are almost always quite random and don’t give you a solid idea on what’s important for scale: why they use your product, what channels are they coming from and how to replicate that success.
the next thing you know is that gap between some random initial traction to building a predictable customer funnel. how to get there? spend time with early customers, watch them using your product. can you go to their office and sit there, watching them? sounds a bit too extreme, but it works every single time.
2. you're not the first one to build a startup - all the frameworks are there, you just take them and apply in the right order.
the reality check: that “apply in the right order” part is the catch. what’s good for Anthropic ≠ what good for you. usually, the frameworks you see are coming from marketing teams of big, matured, and well funded companies. their reality is very different.
have you ever seen an early-stage founder putting an “operational framework” in place? nope. why? they don’t have time, and they don’t have that “oh, I’ve tried it all and this is what worked” knowledge. early = messy. go try things out, no one’s watching you just yet, so you can afford to mess up.
3. you should be very selective about which VC's money you're taking. especially at the pre-seed: this early setup defines everything.
the reality check:
there’s $$ and there’s expensive $$. VC is expensive $$. do they come with the added value? yes they can - advisory, connections, network. is that always the case? no. usually all you’re getting is a logo (feels good to raise from Sequoia) and some advice if your partner is ex-operator / exited founder.
my point: take money → put them to work → show results → bring in your Sequoias in the next round. the caveat: read the terms carefully before you sign! some basics are here, and I’ll be back with the terms of raise in detail.
4. the best way to find a co-founder is to match at the YC co-founders matching platform. go try it out!
the reality check:
“what have you built together before you launched YourStartup.com?” is the first investor question you’re going to face. they want to know why you decided to build together, how you resolve conflicts and how long you’ve been married.
“80% of startups fail because of money (didn’t raise in time / didn't hit the numbers in time) or because of co-founders rivalry” is the push back you’re getting if the answer to the first question is “well, we just matched at the matching site”.
actionable: build something together. something real, not just a 2-weeks project.
5. your product is the central point of everything else: start with the product and reverse-engineer all the operations to lead the market.
the reality check and other versions of this tale:
- hiring is everything - founder should be 100% on hiring, that sets your team and culture.
- GTM is a new black - building product is now so cheap that whoever wins the go-to-market, wins it all.
- market is the king - if you understand the market, you’ll build whatever it takes.
- customer is in the center of everything - listen to what your customers say.
I can go on and on and on. and you probably read the skepticism between the lines by now.
the truth is that all of those statements are right - you can’t drop any of the parts from the equation. and together they build something we call business. it’s your job to figure out what’s the most important part at any given moment.
6. the decisions you're taking now will shape the future of your startup: you can't spend too much time on strategy.
the reality check:
you’ll pivot, and then pivot, and then pivot a bit more, and all of it before midday on Thursday. you’ll re-write your whole strategy every three (bold to assume) months and eliminate at least 50% of what you thought were great ideas. and THAT’S OK. I promise. it’s totally fine.
reasoning behind it:
+ you’re still early: no big team, no CFO who’s trying to keep you within the budget, no IPO’s coming.
+ the market changes quicker for you, as you’re still figuring out the PMF.
+ you’re probably a challenger brand = you can be bold = you are trying things and seeing what sticks.
+ you’re just about to hire brilliant ppl and they are coming with fresh and (hopefully) brilliant ideas.
change is ok, don’t be afraid of it. decide the most important pillars you have to stick to, and go figure everything else out on the go.
7, when taking anyone's advice, look at mature and successful businesses: Amazon is now the Amazon we know because they've walked the walk, and they made it all work. a good one to look up to.
the reality check: remember #2 saying ‘what’s good for Anthropic ≠ what good for you’. well, same with Amazon or any other giant on the market. they’ve been at their seed stage 10-15 years ago, literally everything changed from then.
actionable:
+ look at the young and small startups - what do they do right now? how do they move? who do they hire?
+ talk to the founders and share real stories, not the social media refined ones.
+ run a bunch of small experiments - try a new acquisition channel, a different onboarding structure, a new sales call sequence.
learn → take what’s interesting → run it your way.
8. acquisition at all costs is how you show you're serious about the game - a strong signal to the market. you'll fix retention later.
the reality check: acquisition without retention fixed is like pouring water into a leaky bucket. the customer lifecycle is:
marketing → sales → deal → onboarding → value → churn.
if you don’t think about churn early, you’re spending more money to lose more customers quicker. another angle: unit economics is something that will either make you rich, or kill your business, usually quite quick.
9. your VC is your best friend and advisor - always on your side.
the reality check:
your job while building → a life-changing exit, so you could buy a house or two (another one for Mom), a nice car, get your kids through college, and then simply chill with chickens in your garden. nice. $50M exit will do it.
VCs job when investing → x100 return on what they've just put on the table. it means they are always looking for the next Google, Cursor, Deel, etc.. meaning, they’ll always push you for more - that’s their job.
meaning, there’s a conflict of interests there and you have to have a plan for it. unless you’re building a unicorn - in this case you’re in the same boat.
10. don't you worry about GTM - you'll just hire an experienced marketer to do the job.
the reality check: that’s one of the most underrated ones. and it’s quite simple if you think about it:
+ as a rule of thumb, founder is expected to lead startup to at least $1M ARR before hiring the first GTM hire
+ if you’re not doing that, you won’t have a clue what works and what doesn't, meaning you won’t know who to look for
+ GTM = market discovery. when seeing what works, you’re also discovering new strategies and hidden possibilities.
+ GTM → market discovery → unit economics optimization. an example: if cost of acquisition at channel A is $36 and at channel B it’s $18 with the same LTV of $144, you just dropped the CAC from 25% to 12,5%. and with the healthy unit economic dynamics, the CAC should be always reducing over time (unless you’re launching a new product and/or it’s a new ICP).
gosh, I hope that’s not too much math for Friday.
the wrap: there’s a ton of advice about how to build and what to expect, but that’s someone else’s experience. you do you - there’s no one out there who knows what’s better and what’s right.
thank you for reading and hope it made you feel better. coming next: readiness self-check - how to evaluate your chances to raise and what to work on?