Mistakes that first-time founders make & how to avoid them 101

Over the past few months I had the amazing and humbling experience working with 10 early stage founders through my mentoring. All of those founders were at the idea stage or a little further in the validation process and first-time founders, so we worked together on picking up on those ideas, turning them into something specific and specifically working on getting validation.

Through all of that, many of them struggled with one issue or another, but many of those struggles were shared. They are lessons we read about a lot, but as a one-on-one mentor I was in the amazing situation of being able to apply those learnings you pick up over the years and apply them to their specific situations.

Nevertheless, I hope these shared struggles and their more generic solutions can help you too. This is also an open invitation for experienced founders in here to add to the solutions :)

And don't take some of the responses too seriously ;)

I don't have any ideas, what can I do?

Open your eyes! You can't grab an idea out of thin air. Viable business ideas come from solutions to problems. A good solution to a problem either saves time, saves money or makes money.

You're going to have a hard time finding issues to solve browsing Twitter and Reddit all day. Do you work a job that's in a somewhat unique industry? Jackpot. Do you still have to do your work in Excel? Jackpot. Some unique hobby that almost no one in this scene has? Jackpot. A friend or sibling just started their own business and struggles with X? Jackpot.

I have many ideas, and don't know which one to pick

It's time to disqualify some of your ideas and finding issues why they either won't work or why you definitely wouldn't want to work on it.

Keep in mind that any business is going to be a multi-year commitment. If you hate your customers, it's going to be hell.

So, ask yourself:

• Is this a real problem that I have verified? Great!
• Are people looking for a solution for this? Are there other solutions on the market? Good!
• Do I have an idea how to make money from this? Keep in mind, it's 2021 and the solution may not always be 'charge money'
• Do I know who this product is for? Do I like them?
• Do I have a realistic way to get 100 users on this? Posting on IH/Twitter/Reddit/PH doesn't count

I don't really know what validation means. How can I validate an idea?

Talk to people! In the last point, you disqualified all ideas where you didn't know who you're building for. So if you know who you're building for, spend hours messaging these folks.

You don't need to even touch on a domain name, branding, website, whatever. Just talk to your target audience via DMs and emails and see whether what you've imagined is even close to reality.

I don't know whether idea X has enough validation?

Validate more then! There's a point where you'll realize that something totally has legs and will take off. Best case you even have some cash in your hand already from a pre-sale.

Don't start building because some kid on Reddit told you that they might maybe use it. Do you feel buzz around the thing? Or is it so-so?

When you're too frustrated to continue with this cause no one ever replies, your validation has failed and you should probably not build it (cause the same thing will happen once you've built it)

I built my MVP, what now?

Folks like to build out all sorts of systems for their MVPs, get users on it already and launch it, but that's never what a MVP has been for. Building your MVP, you're still in the validation stage.

So – if you think a MVP is the best first step, assume it won't make any money and generate no buzz. How far are you willing to go?

Suddenly, your scope changes. The social media platform you wanted to build maybe only becomes a new Reddit scheduler. The intriguing management suite for Shopify sellers is maybe just a mini-tool to manage your inventory.

What your MVP is supposed to do is to be a magnet for the people you want to build for and a simple, stupid solution for the problem you've identified. I'm very much team "you should be able to build it in a weekend", even though I rarely follow this advice myself.

I've built a product but no one is using it, what now?

You muppet. You didn't follow this advice, did minimal validation and then fell in love with the product and built it, didn't you?

Jokes aside, having a product with no traction is a huge warning sign. What happened with that validation you've done, did the people that said they will pay for it do it? Why not?

It's also a huge negative: Now you're stuck with a full product that doesn't have market-fit. Even if you end up reaching the people you want, you won't be what they're looking for and at this point it's too hard to change it around.

My advice: Back to the drawing board. Don't worry about the sunk cost, you will just sink more time and money into that hole. The fact that it feels hard to let go of the product is the biggest red flag – you're in love with the product you've built, not the problem you're solving.

So, do validation, build a MVP, go from there.

How do I get my first paying customer?

Sales! But don't freeze yet, sales doesn't have to be as ... sales-y as you think. All you're trying to do is suggest a possible solution for a problem someone has.

If you've done your validation right, you should have a list of interested folks already. Those are called warm leads – you've talked already, they told you about their problems, all that's left is to see their willingness to try out the solution.

But even if you haven't, sales is the way to go. Ping folks that have talked publicly about the issue you're solving before. Hang around in their groups and communities to see more folks complaining about the issue and never lead with the main pitch.

How do I get my 25th paying customer?

After you made your first sale, you might want to put your mind towards marketing and growth channels. There aren't many growth channels, we're looking at maybe 10 that are realistic for Indie Hackers. In the journey of your startup you'll most likely touch all of them, but it's good to start with one that fits you and your business. Some quick keywords:

• SEO: Always great to start with right away cause it takes a year or more to get traction. If people search for your problem, you should rank for it.
• Content Marketing: Having a high-quality blog, YT channel or podcast can lead to more folks sharing your site
• Community Marketing: Continuing to help out in groups and communities is a great way to get your business on the radar.
• Paid ads: Quick way to get eyes on your thing, but expensive of course.
• Platforms / Partners: Getting your app listed with partners, networks and platforms (e.g. Shopify Apps) can widen your reach

Ok, but when do I post on IndieHackers, ProductHunt and do the #BuildInPublic thing?

Now? Soon? Never?

Unless you're building a product for startups, founders or something that is applicable for all SMBs, it's not really a big deal. I know founders that make six figures in MRR and don't have a Twitter account. Products that are used by hundreds of thousands of people that never landed on PH.

So, it doesn't hurt to do this, but it's not your growth strategy.