This week on the First Round Review, we’ve pulled together a guide for anyone sitting in the founder’s seat for the first time (or has their eye on taking the entrepreneurial leap).
Navigating New Waters: 10 Tips for First-Time Founder Success
Growing up, we’re constantly trying new things — from taking up a new sport, learning a language, trying out an art class, there’s no shortage of discovery and exploration. But as we enter adulthood, we are much less likely to embrace these opportunities to be a beginner. Sure, folks tout the importance of “The Beginner’s Mindset” — but how often are we truly putting this idea into practice?
Let’s face it, setting your pride aside and jumping into something brand new is just plain uncomfortable. That’s what makes founders such a unique and exceptional group of folks.
When you decide to take the plunge and pursue building an idea from the ground up, you open yourself up to learning all sorts of things for the very first time. But there’s an extra dose (okay, a few extra doses) of pressure compared to taking beginner tennis lessons. There may be investor money on the line. As you get a bit further down the process, there are employees who are counting on you to get it right. Your own professional reputation may feel like it hangs in the balance.
From figuring out how to validate your idea in the first place, trying your hat at sales without being a natural salesman, figuring out the marketing copy for your first pass at a proper website, or even becoming a first-time manager, the amount of “firsts” can truly make your head spin.
To help, we combed the Review archives for some of our favorite bits of advice for first-time founders, from folks who’ve already tread that path. What follows is tactical guidance from a seasoned group of folks, including Dropbox’s Drew Houston, Thumbtack’s Marco Zappacosta, Vanta’s Christina Cacioppo, and NerdWallet’s Tim Chen. Each shares the lessons they learned the hard way on everything from keeping your ego in check to hiring the early team and tackling competition.
Thanks, as always, for reading and sharing!
-The Review Editors
Recommended resources:
-This read on delegation, aka "hand off your monkeys"
-How to become a more technical PM
-Molly Graham on growing your career in every role