What would I tell myself about startups if I could come back 5 years ago

That's what I would tell myself about startups, I’ve gotten into the past five years ago, when I was just starting out. In fact, this is what I have learned in the past tense. And it’s certainly not any recommendations or advice, but “you” are here addressed to yourself, so read as “I”. The style of presentation is free.

1. It will not work if you try to do too much and do it too late. Diligently avoid this.

2. Over the same idea right now, someone is already working. And, in general, it is not so bad.
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3. Never sign the NDA until you hear what it is all about.

4. Whether you like it or not, most social connections in London are based on drinking. Humble and accept, managing to avoid a permanent hangover.

5. People who have really achieved something are not those who constantly thumps.

6. Linear growth can be worse than no growth at all.

7. Most people who talk about imminent failure do not do this at all.

8. It is easy to deceive yourself that you “care about the interests of users”, although in reality you are trying to find a way to make them agree on what you yourself want to work on.

9. Everyone has a stash with domains that they never used.

10. It is easy to be extremely categorical and to answer all the ideas: “It will not work, because ...” It’s just laziness, don’t do that.

11. And again, do not do it - especially in a conversation with people who are not in the subject. Chase with those who fumble.

12. It is hard to listen to someone promoting an idea, for the failure of which you have already watched many times, and to remain focused on work - especially if there is something new and interesting there.

13. Being a good developer is not the same thing as being able to get things done. I always prefer the first second.

14. Disputes which language / framework is the coolest is fun, but there are more important things in life.

15. A good developer can master the desired language or platform in a couple of weeks.

16. I still have not met these investors.

17. Keeping a constant record of the work done can be very tiring - and does not really sincerely rejoice at real victories.

18. It is difficult to create a product if you do not have lumps on the problem that it solves.

19. It is very dangerous to pay more attention to the product itself than to the problem it solves.

20. You can do without understanding how hash tables work, but finally understanding them is really cool.

21. The same story with the notation of a large O.

22. Midnight feats of the Little Red-eyed are not such an achievement. Still, “Social Network” is an excellent movie.

23. I still do not understand PR.

24. Most technical problems - garbage compared to the task of promoting the product to end users.

25. Doing what people need is less informative than doing what you want.

26. However, your desire is not enough for it to become a business.

27. If you do not have direct knowledge of the industry, then you have a completely erroneous idea of ​​how everything works there, what problems exist and how they need to be solved. Talk to people.

28. Advertising as a way to monetize - that’s what any business model will do.

29. “Data” - this is now instead of “advertising”.

30. In the end, the people you want to work with are those who are always interested in how to help you. Take an example from them.

31. But do not hesitate to take the initiative and ask for help yourself. Most people will meet you. If you meet someone important and influential - meet.

32. Know how to refuse people who ask to make a discount on their interesting projects for which you do not have time.

33. Think twice about what will make a business successful, but at the same time it will eliminate your interest in the product itself.

34. To write a blog, a column in a magazine, to write a book is great.

35. And do not worry about kamentov written, there is always someone unhappy who does not like at least one single sentence.

36. One troll can erase hundreds of positive contacts, so chase them with wet rags from your community.

37. If you’ve buzzed all your ears with your idea while having a cup of coffee, have them do the same.

38. Promise to do only what you are really going to do. It is easy to earn the reputation of a man who does not keep his word.

39. Show, not tell. "I'm going to make a cool thing ottakuennuyu!" - MUCH less interesting than: "Yes, I'm weak here in haste such a damn thing." Everyone, damn, is going to do something - no one does.

40. Creating something is awesome, do not allow yourself to get stuck in the theses of “Lean Startup Landing Page”.

41. Lean Startup (cool . - theleanstartup.com ) is cool, but it's a pamphlet, not a book. Enough to read the first few chapters to get the gist. "The Four Steps to the Epiphany" ( approx. Transl. - Steve Blank. Four steps to enlightenment ) is a more technical and generally more useful book.

42. Most startup tips are terrible, and good advice is usually something obvious. Everyone will give you different tips, trust your gut.

43. Except when it comes to the needs of your customers - then tame your gut and trust them.

44. No one has ever used ATMs with bitcoins for practical reasons.

45. Make rough forecasts for any potential business model you come across, just to estimate whether it has a sufficient market audience - to within several orders of magnitude.

46. ​​It is easy to start on the machine to remove all those who start a conversation with the words: “I am looking for a technical co-founder”. So you lose the opportunity to talk to interesting people. Just at the beginning of the conversation, let's make it clear that you are not this co-founder, so that no one then feels like wasting time.

47. Trying to raise the grandmother and get into the business accelerator is a complete work. You either make the product, or you hunt for money. Not all at once. Doubt what to focus on - choose to work on the product.

48. The solution to many, many problems does not lie in the field of technology. That does not prevent people from trying to solve them using applications.

49. Facebook is not for you, but for Vasi Pupkin, do not waste your time there.

50. What you have been laughing at on the hackathon may still survive everything you are trying to do.

51. If there are people who like permanent failures, then I have not met them.

52. The idea is not considered yours until you have implemented it. And then I - the same dude who invented Facebook, Nest and Oculus Rift.

53. People don't steal ideas. Share them with everyone. Never ask to sign an NDA before you tell an idea, so you lose confidence.

54. Being friends does not mean being able to work successfully together.

55. Small teams can move very quickly, be careful, recruit new people in the project, which is important flexibility.

56. Being multi-tasking is not an option, switching losses between tasks is high, do one thing and do it as best you can. Understand everything that distracts you.

57. Read all the articles by Paul Graham.

58. Technical news (and indeed news in general) are inferior to books and communication in terms of time spent and useful returns.

59. Read Founders Stories , Fooled By Randomness and The Four Steps to the Ephiphany .

60. At the beginning of the logo does not play a big role, come up with a simple text logo, which can be used in other projects.

61. If possible, open the source and welcome any third-party projects. Now or later, but thanks to this you will make new acquaintances with interesting people.

62. Constantly working for 12 hours is a bad idea. If this happens often, think how to optimize work.

Translator's Note:
About errors found in a personal please.
As the author promised, his syllable is really non-trivial, so I tried to convey my mood and meaning, without bothering about the literal translation.