StartupNorth

Author: Daniel Klass

  • The Odds are You’re Going to Fail

    Now now chief, I'm in the zone
    Stay focused! We have this on the wall at GoInstant. Source Mike Mitchell

    I mean that in the most constructive way possible!

    You’re unlikely to recruit founders, raise money, gain traction, earn revenue, get acquired or go public. You’re very likely to fail.

    Here’s How Bad Your Odds Of Success Are

    To beat these odds, you need to be doing everything you can to find an edge, especially pre-funding or pre-revenue.

    Here are 3 of the most common questions I disappointingly ask early stage startups:

    1. You’re not full-time?

    It’s insulting to ask an investor for money if you’re not full-time on your startup.

    You need to be way beyond the one-foot-in stage before raising a round. If you don’t believe in the idea enough to go all-in, why should investors, customers or your team believe it?

    Full-time is the bare minimum. Large companies are working 40 hours a week, with way more resources. How can you accomplish more each day than them? You need to work longer. You can’t expect balance in your life, especially when the team is small. You need complete obsession over work.

    Assume there is competition working on the exact same idea. Even if you don’t know about them, imagine them. They are small startups, medium sized companies, and large enterprises. They are working relentlessly. They could launch faster. They could launch bigger. Let the threat drive you forward.

    Work weekends, work evenings, pull all nighters. Obsess over it.

    2. Where’s your demo?

    You need a demo, and it needs to be amazing.

    If you get feedback on that demo, consider it then implement it right away. Stay up all night and work on it. There should be at least two of you; the CEO demoing during the day and the CTO working all night to implement. Iterate, iterate, iterate, as fast as possible.

    The important thing here is momentum. You need serious momentum. You need an unstoppable train. Your momentum will attract your team, investors, and customers.

    3. You have side projects?

    Side projects will distract and kill your startup.

    You should be working with obsessive focus on one idea and one idea only. Facebook was almost killed by Zuckerberg’s side project.

    Side-projects are great for creativity. Many developers have side projects that they use to keep their skills sharp. Many companies have R&D labs or a percentage of hack time. Early stage startups are not the place for side projects.

    Write all your ideas down, then get back to focus. Constantly consider priority. What is the most important thing you could be doing right now to move customer or investor relationships forward? Your entire company should be thinking this way.

    You need every edge you can get

    Your only edge is to find an edge everywhere. Long hours, momentum, focus.

    It’s not sustainable, and that’s a good thing. If you can’t make it work then you fail fast. Pivot or fold and try again! If you CAN make it work you can hire enough people to bring back a healthy work-life balance.

    Set goals for your team in short intervals. We will achieve X by Y date or we will [pivot, fold, etc].

    Remember, beating the odds isn’t easy, but there are many ways to find an edge.

  • While startup CEOs are scrubbing toilets, CTOs are building things

    Editor’s Note: Gavin Uhma is the CTO of GoInstant.com, a Halifax, NS based startup. 

    Technical Co-Founders need to find their voice.

    I’ve been in the fray of building a startup for over a year now and normally I don’t think to write publicly. I usually feel like I am already too busy communicating with the team, programming, and planning. In that year I’ve come to the realization that there are not many resources out there for technical co-founders.

    We are constantly wrestling with make-or-break decisions: What should you be doing at each stage in your company? How do your responsibilities change as the team grows from the founders to the first hires? What about at a team of 10? Of 50? Of 100?

    I can’t help with 50 or 100 yet, but I can help you get from the idea to a founding team, to a team of 10, and I will continue to blog at each stage of growth as I learn what I need to do next.

    This is my second time growing a team to this size and I know for certain that we’ve created more value this time.

    Why are CEOs toilet scrubbers?
    Jevon is more qualified to answer that than me, but in the early stages a CEO needs to keep the fridge stocked and the bathroom clean (a job description Jevon reluctantly accepts as true). They create a cool office environment. They are the Janitor, Caterer, Secretary, Executive Assistant, and more. A startup CEO handles PR, HR, product management, recruiting, marketing, investor relations, accounting, and anything else that needs to be done to keep the gears of a startup moving smoothly.

    There are plenty of resources out there for early stage Business Co-Founders. Everyone loves and appreciates CEOs already. They are by default, the face of the company.

    I’m starting to blog so we can all learn more about the responsibilities of startup CTOs.

    Why are CTOs so awesome?
    Technical Co-Founders are building the product. We’re pulling late nights so that demos run smoothly the next day. We’re building what will be bought and sold. Investors are attracted to our efforts. Customers find value in what we build. We are the VP Engineering, Project Manager, Product Manager, QA Engineer, DevOps, UX Designer, UI Designer, DB Engineer, Recruiter, etc. We’re responsible for performance, security, stability, front-end, back-end, training, technology roadmaps, patent filings, and more.

    How do CTOs create assets?

    1. We solve difficult problems with new technology to fulfill a big vision.
    2. We attract engineers who are better than us to accelerate the roadmap to that vision.
    3. We secure the intellectual property and data of our applications and users.

    The end result is an asset of true value — An elegant and novel solution developed by a team who have grown to be absolute experts in the problem domain.

    Yin and Yang
    The truth is I can’t talk about what our technical team does at GoInstant without constantly being reminded of what Jevon, Dave and Ben do. One side is just not effective without the other.

    It’s important to emphasize that none of the assets matter if you never find your customers, investors, partners and potential acquirers. You might build a beautiful technology, but without a product focus and real customers, technology rarely wins. Business Co-Founders, do your thing.

    Value
    There needs to be substance behind popularity or you’ll wash up quickly. You create value by packaging up and presenting the collection of assets in a meaningful way.

    If you want to build a valuable company you need people to care about what you’re doing. You need customers who value your vision, but ultimately there needs to be something impressive under the hood.

    There are many startups that are solving incredible technical challenges but without a compelling go to market, they get lost in time. If you’re in this position the best advice I can give you is to find an awesome Business Co-Founder. “Build it and they will come” does not apply.

    There are also many startups with popularity and flair but no substance. At the end of the day, if you don’t have a big vision and a technology to back it up you’re going to come off as a poser. Find an awesome Technical Co-Founder. Be an awesome Technical Co-Founder.