The Startup Life – one person’s vantage point
Posted: June 4th, 2010 | Author: Julio Hernandez-Miyares | Filed under: New York City Startup, Startup |
As the title states, this is from a very specific and personal (me) perspective on some of the things I have learned , usually the hard way in the past few months as I work to boot strap my own startup.
It isn’t just me , I am doing this with a ex-colleauge from AOL and we kicked around the idea for many a late night before we (actually more myself took the gamble.
- I am accountable at 100% not just the area of primary concentration
- Irrespective of 100% accountability, you can’t do it all
- “Get the right people on the bus”
- Move on quickly
- Reconsider previous decisions based on new circumstances
- Don’t pack it in and give up at the first , second , nth roadblock
- If you can’t itemize some compelling points from above, then all likelihood you shouldn’t be out on your own
Basic truism and one that is key as otherwise it is easy to get resentful when things don’t go quite the way you want them. As the Chief Technology Office (A highly pompous title for the person who is responsible for the technical architecture and software engineering of the product), I have to accept; and I do; accountability for all other areas of the process that go into providing utility to a user that will help establish out startup. ie Product requirements, Design aspects , monetization potentials.
Self explanatory but a high risk especially for those in the technology wing that are seduced into thinking that Technology acumen can solve all problems. It can’t because there is more to a business, even one with Technology at it’s core for building new Products, then the bits and bytes that give life to the product.
I believe this is from Guy Kawasaki’s Art of the Start which a bunch of us enterprising sorts read and re-read circa 2006 when we were seriously contemplating leaving the womb of a big company and going off on our own. Like a real bus at least in the City of New York, there are plenty of stops along the route to let people on and often times more importantly let people off. Also don’t turn a blind eye to those that try to get on the bus without paying the fare either sneaking in through the rear door or by excuses they left the fare home while entering through the front.
Don’t dwell on things too long, maybe a nano-second is enough. If a path chosen (a potential partner, product idea, a development tool, etc) doesn’t pan out as originally envisioned , change direction and don’t beat yourself or them over it afterwards.
Even though you want to move on quickly, it is also often true that new circumstances change the dynamics of why a path originally taken and ditched now seems like a worthwhile path to take again. Risk of waffling in this of course but it should be straightforward to recognize over time that you have fallen into a rut of zig-zagging from one path to another and back repeated ad-nauseum.
Almost everyday (except days off) will bring up scenarios that make you question having gone out on your own instead of staying within the womb of a more established gig. It may be a subtle form of self hypnosis , but itemize and remind yourself of the points why your chosen path has benefits over the more traditional , comfy established route .
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