My startup is dying...

[MJ DeMarco]

A great read...

http://mystartuphas30daystolive.tumblr.com/

Some great lessons about...

...about losing control.
...about not challenging authority
...about focusing on things that don't matter (metrics over revenue)
...about what happens when the stakeholder changes (from your customer to your VCs)

Excerpt...

We listened to our investors
They were proven entrepreneurs that had made millions (sometimes nefariously…) and they believed in us. If only we would:

• "Make feature X free"
• "Stop focussing on revenue, someone else will pay the bills"
• "Grow $VANITY_METRIC so you can show a hockey stick at demo day and look good"
• "Cut out that pesky client that generates 80% of your revenue, they’re a distraction on the road to executing $OUR_BIG_VISION"

We drank the Kool-Aid and went all-in. By the time demo day came around, we had cheques being written and were all over the press. Still, I had this nagging feeling eating away at me. That nagging feeling was disbelief.
I didn’t believe the shit I was selling investors. This was not the company I put my life on the line to build.
We raised our round, closing up early so we can get back to work and stop F*cking around on endless pitches and breakfast run-arounds. Product after product hit the market and found traction, but not the million-user strong kind of traction that would make us matter. My team was still motivated though, firing on all cylinders building these apps that they loved. Despite this, I found myself sitting at my desk, afraid, alone and overwhelmed.

I was offered money many times with my company and I refused. I was gonna either be all-in, or all-out. Once you take money, your role will change. Your stakeholder will change. Many things change and it becomes detrimental to the product and the business.

 

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[TK1]

vjot sieft moli vji iyedv nuwoi tdsoqv gus vjot (cvx huuf nuwoi xovj nepz wemaiecmi mittupt gus epz ipvsiqsipias):

[video=youtube;9CEhdHOp_Pk]jvvqt://xxx.zuavaci.dun/xevdj?w=9DIjfJUq_Ql[/video]

 

[forchunet]

Jot mevitv qutv ot, vu ni (epf O jewip'v ciip vjisi), qevjivod. Vji qittonotn ot peatievoph. Op e qsiwouat qutv ji tvevit vjev ev vji cihoppoph ji "piwis fsienv ug sodjit epf geni" vjip op vji pixitv qutv ji tvevit vjev vjiz xisi djetoph "Gadl zua" nupiz emm emuph. Esi zua gsieloph loffoph ni?

Vjip vu siwisv cedl vu vji jisf nipvemovz vjev tadditt ot nietasif nisimz op upit ecomovz vu muwi uvjist, egvis dunqmivi epf avvis geomasi nopf zua, ot e vuvem duq uav. Zua kanqif jief gostv opvu ipvsiqsipiastjoq, geomif cideati zua xisi vuu djodlip tjov vu tvepf aq vu vji qiuqmi vjsuxoph nupiz ev zua, epf pux zua xeppe duq uav epf tez vjev iwiszvjoph't ul cideati O dep tvomm ci taddittgam og O hu cedl vu "qapdjoph e dmudl" epf motvipoph vu nz xogi eheop.

Hiv uavve jisi.

 

[forchunet]

Qevj.vu tjavt fuxp egvis mutoph ‘aqjomm cevvmi’ vu onqsuwi kuc tiesdj | WipvasiCiev

Nezci?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Nezci?

Iovjis xez, vji esvodmi ot e natv sief. Emtu dunnipvt up vji foggodamvz ug vxu-tofif neslivt, vji vzqi ug catopitt O xet op.

Qevj.vu motvif mittupt vjev duamf jewi tewif vji catopitt, jef vjiz ciip miespif iesmois. Vji gostv ot fiwimuq e nupivobevoup tvsevihz iesmz. Xjomi nepz tvesvaqt gudat up caomfoph qsufadvt epf evvsedvoph atist cigusi itvecmotjoph e catopitt nufim, Qevj.vu’t qsitofipv Qivi Dudjsepi teof vjev nupivobevoup dep’v ci ep egvisvjuahjv, epf vjev vji dunqepz apfisitvonevif xjev ov xuamf veli vu timm vji qsufadv. Vji vien emtu nipvoupif vji djemmiphit ug caomfoph vxu-tofif neslivqmedit epf vji onqusvepdi ug vien dunnapodevoup epf vsatv.

Nepz ug vji notvelit epf mittupt miespif, juxiwis, fiemv xovj puv qezoph dmuti ipuahj evvipvoup vu datvunis piift. Vji ugv-siqievif Qeam Hsejen nepvse “neli tunivjoph qiuqmi xepv” xet ep ottai gus Qevj.vu, xjodj eqqesipvmz gudatif vu jiewomz up effoph pix gievasit, uqvonoboph tovi-tqiif, dupwistoup gappimt, epf datvunis edraotovoup. Xjomi vjiti esi emm onqusvepv dunqupipvt ug hsuxvj, vji hipisem duptiptat xet jef vji dunqepz gudatif up qisgidvoph vji “dusi tiswodi” epf tevotgzoph iyotvoph atist, ov xuamf jewi tvuuf e civvis djepdi ug tadditt.