It’s April 11, 2014 — which means that eight years ago we incorporated Punchbowl, Inc. as a Delaware company. I’m always nostalgic on April 11th, thinking about how far we’ve come as company and how far I’ve come as a entrepreneur. On a day like today, I wish I could reach back into the past and talk to Matt Douglas of 2006.
If I could talk to Matt in 2006, here are eight things I would tell him:
1) Your team is everything: You won’t get very far with this company without a fantastic group of people with you along the journey. Hire slowly, and fire fast. Pay close attention to what makes each person tick. Some of the people around you will become life-long friends.
2) It’s going to take longer than you think: Everything is going to take a lot longer including developing the product, raising money, hiring a team, and growing the business. Starting a company isn’t a short-term affair. Be prepared for a very long ride.
3) Starting a company is full of heartache: The road you’re about to embark on will be a very tough journey, and you’re going to feel deep sadness and heartache along the way. You’ll be betrayed, tricked, and ridiculed. But just know that around the bend is another day, and it does get better.
4) Don’t compare yourself to others: Oh, this is so hard. But it’s critical to your sanity. You’re going to see other companies get more funding, and other entrepreneurs start numerous companies while you’re still working on this one. You’ll see CEOs with more Twitter followers and startups with more users. Remember, you can only control your small sphere and you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to keep up with others.
5) Don’t worry about the competition: You can spend lots of time worried about what your competition is doing, or you can focus on what you can control. Hire a great team, build a great product, and focus on revenue and costs of your own business. The competition will come and go, but you control your own destiny.
6) Raising money is very, very hard: It’s difficult to put into words just how hard it is to convince people to part with their money and invest it in your company. Until you get the check in the bank, anything can happen. The key to success is presenting the company as an investment opportunity. Remember, people have lots of places they can invest their money. Find ways to get people truly excited to invest in your company.
7) Survive and advance: Like the NCAA basketball tournament (“March Madness”) it doesn’t matter how you win — just find a way to survive and advance. When you look back, the details will be fuzzy, but what you will always remember is that you found a way to survive. And that’s more than most entrepreneurs can say.
8) Form your own opinion: You’re going to be surrounded by lots of so-called experts along the way. Listen to what they have to say, but make sure you form your own opinion. It’s their 15 minutes of advice, but it’s your company. And you have to live with the decisions.
They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are successful startups. In fact 99% of successful startups grind it out every day and wake up many years later just hoping to have seen some success. Today, I’m going to pause for a moment to celebrate just how far we’ve come. What a ride it’s been!
