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  • If you could give only 1 advice to yourself at the beginning of your startup, what would it be?

    Sveta Bay
    66 replies
    Let me start! Advice: Start building your audience ASAP and #buildinpublic Why? By doing these, you get support, feedback, and even first customers. These are the core things for Indie and Solo entrepreneurs in the beginning!

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    Bob Ketterer
    Your startup company needs a physical address and a web address. Whether it’s offices, retail space, or a manufacturing location, you need to buy or lease a property to operate your business.
    Sveta Bay
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    @bob_ketterer great one! But it doesn't work for digital products 🤔 What's your startup?
    Elsie Alkurabi | Micro
    Start where you are. There will never be a perfect time of the day, month, or year to get started. If you keep waiting for "perfect conditions," they'll never come, and you'll keep putting it off. Just start. And keep showing up.
    Sveta Bay
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    @elsewhere this MUST be a home screen wallpaper!
    Joshua Wöhle
    Advice: Although you want to launch as early as you can to collect feedback on your execution, start tweaking your original idea only once you've hit the minimum stage where you think your product actually solves the problem you set out to solve well. Why? Too often the feedback from users on very early products comes from the fact they're not able to see exactly what you are trying to do just yet. In turn, you run the risk of misinterpreting the feedback as relating to the fundamental idea as opposed to your current execution of it. A balance to strike of course, but I'm seeing this happen (and have made the mistake) more often nowadays
    Fuad Murad
    @joshuawohle Ooh this is SUCH great advice. When you're in the weeds of building your product, you're on a mission. You probably haven't revealed that entire mission yet or what you're building or what your end game is. Someone coming in early and giving you feedback could be distracting from your vision. Trust your gut, follow through, take feedback with a grain of salt. Great approach.
    Sveta Bay
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    @joshuawohle Joshua, that's brilliant! If the product is too abstract, the feedback will be also like that
    Sergei Petrov
    Do not go into details when implementing. Do as simple as possible. The result of the MVP is needed ASAP and the idea may change many times. Some technical tricks may not be useful at all.
    Sveta Bay
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    @sergeipetrov absolutely agree! The 1st version must be simple with a direct focus on one problem solution
    Lucy Heskins
    Oh, great question. Advice: Go where the research takes you. Don't try to fit your perception of a problem onto a market's actual problem. Why? As founders our bias can over ride decisions on days it gets a little tough.
    Sveta Bay
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    @gingerbeer84 Yeah, deep diving into research can lead to even bigger problems to solve!
    Gordana Laskovic
    Before You Begin: Get in the right mindset. Don't forget to keep your attention on your own business journey and avoid comparing your achievement to others.
    Sveta Bay
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    @gordana_laskovic amazing advice, Gordana. Thank you for sharing!
    Marko Balažic
    ProductAI
    ProductAI
    Launching soon!
    Small chunks, fast iteration, don't commit and commit, push and merge soon😎
    Marko Balažic
    ProductAI
    ProductAI
    Launching soon!
    @basv Might be yes. Definitely it matters to be on schedule. For me new products feels like writing a new book, usually I don't have the issue with motivation.. commitments 🤓
    Sveta Bay
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    @markobalazic but commitment also matters! It helps to be on schedule 😊
    Devyani Gupta
    Time Wrapped 2022 by Arrowhead
    Time Wrapped 2022 by Arrowhead
    Not knowing everything will feel NORMAL after a while. Because it IS normal. Don't be afraid that you're being thrown in the deep end - you'll meet incredible people along the way that will teach you, support you & help you come out of everything stronger.
    Sveta Bay
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    @dev_gupta3 100% agree!
    Lorraine Masinde
    Passion will work for you on the days you lose motivation or when you're mental health is impacted. Passion will keep you going till you get your rhythm back. It's the secret to discipline and drive.
    Sveta Bay
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    @lorraine_m that's the entrepreneur thing. Amazing one!
    Charlie Charles
    If you’re not a marketing expert, you need to become one. You might have the best product or service in the world, but if nobody knows about it, then your startup can’t succeed.
    Sveta Bay
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    @charliee1122 yeah absolutely. Good hired marketing specialist is a rare option. You either need to find a co-founder or deep dive into it by yourself!
    Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen
    All advice in this discussion is valuable. My advice to myself :) would be - set constraints on resources, especially time but also money. Track these resources carefully because you need both to get users. Hope this helps.
    Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen
    @basv - Good point. As someone bootstrapping money is perhaps more important than in a VC backed startup?
    Sveta Bay
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    @ebrahimkhalil great one! Especially for those startups, who just raised money
    Robert P
    If you’re starting a small business in a local community, you can take advantage of some older and conventional methods.
    Sveta Bay
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    @robert_p3 great one!
    Brenna Donoghue
    Be okay with good enough. It can be so hard to ship something that doesn't feel perfect or anywhere near what you envision, but getting quick feedback is so much more valuable than going all in on getting something that may not be right.
    Sveta Bay
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    @brenna_donoghue absolutely agree with you, Brenna! Perfectionism is the worst trait for startups
    Param Shah
    Set up financial systems and reporting properly from day one and track it vigilantly week over week. As you scale this will be one of your strongest tools and discipline will save you significant time and headache in the future
    Sveta Bay
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    @paramdshah great advice! Operations is a must to keep everything clean
    Rich Watson
    NVSTly: Social Investing
    NVSTly: Social Investing
    follow your instincts
    Sveta Bay
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    @richw dangerous advice 😅
    Mak Mo
    Identifying the market is every thing and it is the hardest thing.
    Sveta Bay
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    @youssif_maxzoom yeah, I also can say the same about product market fit
    Aruna Chawla (she/her)
    Have courage + be kind! No matter what you do needs a ton of courage to face all the odds + kindness to yourself and others in the process.
    Sveta Bay
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    @arunachawla love this advice!
    Aruna Chawla (she/her)
    @basv haha thanks I haver this tattooed!
    Philipp Schwengel
    Advice: Build something that few people love instead of something that many people like and don't run after people that will never love your product. Why? It's much easier to scale a product that is loved by its first 100 customers than something 1000s of people somewhat like. Asking for payment early on (even if it's scary), helps a lot in separating the "lovers" from the "likers" :)
    Sveta Bay
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    @phil_schwengel Philipp, your advice is golden! Great companies are built with this method. Love it
    mani Ali
    Get the money lined up. Start looking for ways to fund your business, such as through peer-to-peer lenders or investors, before you're in a real cash crunch.
    Roberto Morais
    Don't get attached to your project. If it's not working, either go to a different one or pivot.
    Sveta Bay
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    @robertomorais this is the best one