Most startup tips are actually bullshit

Here’s why, and what do do instead

The five most common tips I see:

• Talk to customers

• Find your specific niche beachhead market

• Build something small (MVP) instead of a big vision

• Try to sell instead of fishing for compliments

• Move fast and iterate

But then I realise and get frustrated:

The advice isn’t untrue. The general idea works.

The tips are not unknown. Most struggling founders have heard these ideas.

(This ‘Not X, But Y’ is not AI-generated, pinky promise)

The problem is elsewhere: the tips are bullshit because they exclude the nitpicky details of the execution.

As a result, the tips become empty mantras that founders repeat in front of the mirror, without giving them the tools to evaluate if they are doing it well.

Consequently, founders get lost. Here’s what to ask yourself instead:

1️⃣ How are you talking to customers?

Are you having fun chats with your demo on screenshare or digging deep to truly understand them? Are you proposing follow-up calls? Are you tracking who says yes and who says no to understand who is your ICP? More on this.

2️⃣ How have you identified and validated your beachhead market?

Have you defined ‘SMEs’ as your beachhead or have you sent 500 manually crafted LinkedIn DMs/emails over 8 weeks to find out which message resonates with which target group? 6 emails sent, you say? Wow, impressive. More on this.

3️⃣ Is your MVP really an MVP?

Do you have a prototype that works, or are customers actually shouting ‘OMG, YES THIS IS HELPING ME SO MUCH?’ Is it the minimum thing you could’ve built? Or did you just slap the label ‘minimum’ on your Notion Page? More on this.

4️⃣ Are you trying to sell or just fishing for compliments?

Listing all your features with a sales deck open is not a sales call. It is a push call. You want to learn how to organise your sales calls. Read books on this (e.g. Demand Side Sales, Gap Selling, or Rob Snyder)

5️⃣ Are you adding features as a proxy for progress?

Iterating fast is not about imagining and building as many features as possible. Iterations happen beyond your product. You should iterate on your marketing, channels, copy, messaging, and positioning. More on this.

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Do you need help with applying the ideas correctly and getting your product to market? I’ve got room to take on two startups for mentoring the coming months. Link in comments to check out my way of work and pricing.