What are the biggest mistakes that first-time founders make?

@arslandevs Great point, Syed! Ignoring distribution can make or break a startup. Even the best products can fail without the right channels to reach their audience. What strategies have you found to be most effective in ensuring proper distribution?

@arslandevs this for consumer businesses and for b2b building before selling

@abdalyousef it depends on the product, diff products should have diff channels. The common workflow should be look out the major competitors traffic coming from using tools like similarweb or ahrefs.

@bilalasif So, what's the alternative?

@bilalasif I can't agree more, Delegation and a strong support network are key, but what if you don't have enough money to pay for freelancers? What would you do? Use the best AI-Tools?

I think the best approach depends on your situation. If you're a solo founder with limited resources, leveraging tools for project management, content creation, and social media can help you stay organized and efficient. Whether you have a team or not, it's important to maximize your productivity using available resources. While these tools can't do everything, they can significantly lighten the load and give you the bandwidth to focus on growth. Once your business generates enough revenue, you can start delegating more tasks to free up your time for strategy and vision. @bilalasif @rhexai

@abdalyousef Using the right AI tools could be one way. However, I believe collaboration with the right people is key here.

@bilalasif @abdalyousef Insightful! Thanks for sharing, man

@beautyrr_ Exactly, Astried! Many founders underestimate the time and energy it takes, which is why some give up before they even reach profitability. Staying persistent and managing expectations is key.

@mirra2 Absolutely, Mirra. Delegation is key to avoiding burnout.

@william_nash1 Couldn’t agree more, William. It’s all about persistence! First-time founders often have to put in more effort than they initially expect. Building both personal and business brands, as well as earning trust and a follower base, can be especially challenging when you're doing it for the first time.

@dcupl Exactly! Focusing on validation early is crucial.

@arslandevs @rhexai Yes, distribution can’t be ignored. It’s essential to growth.

@rhexai its well said that, "first time founders are obsessed with product, second time founders are obsessed with distribution." -justine kan

@hennrunnel Spot on! Mentorship is invaluable for avoiding early mistakes.

@vecka_kalender Absolutely, Vecka. Careful planning and adaptability are key.

@willowevangelineharlow Couldn't agree more, Willow. Real feedback drives success.

@jonny_vince Completely agree, Jonny. Market validation is essential before diving in. It's surprising how often this gets overlooked!

@moaz_ahmad Great point, Moaz! Ignoring team input can lead to missed opportunities and wasted resources. Team alignment is crucial.

@gorns Exactly, Evgenii! Market size is crucial—many founders overlook this early on and it really impacts scalability.

@emilygracebennett Great breakdown, Emily! I agree with most of these, especially the focus on avoiding vanity metrics. I’d add that releasing an MVP early to gather feedback can also speed up the product-market fit process. What’s your experience with balancing product development and early marketing outreach?

@brandon9421 Absolutely, Brandon! The steep learning curve can be overwhelming, but learning from these early mistakes is what shapes long-term success

@abdalyousef Those early challenges are often the best teachers for me. Each mistake provides valuable insights that contribute to my personal growth and better decision-making in the future. Embracing the learning process, even when it's tough, ultimately builds resilience and leads to greater success down the line. It’s all part of the journey!

@hugo_dos_santos It depends on your experiences and skills. If you're a first-time founder who has decades of professional experience in various industries and sectors, you may be able to launch an early-stage startup on your own and manage it better in the first few years than a couple of young founders who lack the necessary founder skills and need to learn the ropes and build their personal brands and networl to be successful. Let's imagine this: You have worked for 10 years in different positions and have a strong network on LinkedIn and Twitter and know how to manage complicated projects and develop software on your own or/and delegate some tasks to freelancers and pay them from your savings, then you might be able to manage everything on your own and generate revenue even if you are a solo founder, and there are many examples of successful solo founders out there. Some of them did not have what it takes to build a successful startup, but after building a couple of startups with little to no success, they managed to build a successful business and after that they build multiple startups. If you have to figure the basic things out and don't have what it takes to be successful, it's better to find a co-founder, otherwise you'll burn out sooner or later.

@ogaga_john Absolutely, Ogaga. Building in isolation is a common pitfall, especially for first-time founders. You can have the best product in your mind, but without real user feedback, it might miss the mark entirely. What strategies do you recommend to stay connected to users throughout development?

@sentry_co That’s an interesting perspective, André! I agree—trying to avoid every mistake can sometimes prevent valuable learning. But I also think some mistakes are best avoided, especially when others have already made them and shared valuable lessons. Curious—what specific mistakes do you think founders should not avoid and must make to truly learn and grow?

@abdalyousef I think the pain of the mistake is the point. You validate harder to avoid doing something similar again later. And the next mistake is always disquised as something else. it's non obvious it will be a mistake. just reading dos and don's doesn't forge your mental model. Also most gotchas out there in startup world are complete nonsense. One advice is complete bullshit in the wrong context. I have not seen a single advice in the startup world that actually apply universally to all startup cases. And external advice from external people are quite frankly dangerous. As they don't know your case intimately. they have only surface knowledge about your specific case. Like Alen Watts used to say: You gotto be with it. That being said. You should definitely aim to strengthen mental models for how to do things. Surround your self with peers in the same situation as you. Share with your peers and use awareness actively as a tool to navigate the journey. But singular advice. My advice. Be careful. But do ask for feedback and keep probing. Very few ask for feedback tho.

@abdalyousef The problem with avoiding mistakes is there are side-effects. Like. Okay take a few popular advices in the startupworld. 1. Fail fast. 2. Succeed fast. 3. Focus on growth. 4. Dont reinvent the wheel. 5. Don't chase trends. 6. Don't be a solo entrepreneur. 7. Don't be too many cofounders. etc etc. They all have equal side effects. Also the times we live in. A lot of former successful entrepreneurs are just bored on SoMe and just tweet out random advice that sound bombastic and get a lot of attention. So we are indoctrinated with advice that make headlines. But doesn't really apply to reality. If you look at OpenAI as a startup case. Sam Altman didn't follow a single advice he has preached. Like fail fast. OpenAI was building for 10 years before any sign of PMF showed up. The list goes on. As for avoiding mistakes. A simple example. The best way to learn is to burn. If you tell your kid not to touch a candle because it's hot. He won't forge the connection between heat and pain. He will think candles are the problem. So he will put his hand on the stove instead and get 3rd degree burns. So when you see your kid touch a candle. Let him. So he connects heat with pain. That's why mistakes are 10x better than advice. Advice are shallow and surface level. Lessons are deeply rooted and high context. Specific mistakes to not avoid: Moving slow, reinventing the wheel, not focusing on marketing, trying too much, using what you know instead of new tech, and a lot more. All these mistakes has rich lessons and facets that must be experienced to forge your entrepreneurial mental models. They are apart of the journey, and important growing up in your entrepreneurial life. 🚀