I’m doing my best to document the important lessons I learn along my journey of creating startups. This includes lessons key to how I’m succeeding with startup ideas, as well as lessons for enjoying the journey.
I don’t know whether the same lessons will apply to you, but I hope you’ll find my thoughts useful. Take what fits, and tell me what doesn’t work for you: I’m always learning. I’m pretty sure I’ll even contradict my own advice at times as I learn more.
Let me know your thoughts: me@joel.is.
What online gaming taught me about startups
Work harder on yourself than you do on your startup
Amongst other things, success requires hard work. Put in the hard work.
There are many lessons along a startup journey: 10 of mine from 2011
I find it’s always useful to take time to reflect
Like anything else, we need to practice startups
Failure comes with the territory of being a startup founder
It is important that I remember: I have no idea what I am doing
When things feel comfortable, it’s probably time to push yourself more
Sleep is important - use a ritual to get good sleep consistently
Learn to enjoy all the moments
Disengage from your startup for maximum productivity
Being naive can be a good thing
Things get chaotic at times - learn how to handle it
Question and adjust your goals from time to time
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Exercise to improve your sleep
It is worth thinking about the purpose of your “coming soon” page
Kickstart your startup by doing things that don’t scale
Being in a great location can help your startup, but don’t delay starting
There are many ways to bootstrap a startup. Consider the options
When you’re building your first startup, beware of the social ideas
Starting can be the hardest part of a startup - here are 4 steps to starting
Avoid the thoughts about changing the world
Work on your startup on the side
Work on your startup in “waves”
Adopt a mindset that your product is always finished
You never know how something will turn out - act anyway
Fear not shipping more than shipping
Your startup should have a point of view - here’s why
It’s easy to delay marketing. Starting early gives you a big advantage
Co-founders are very important, but 50/50 may not be the best way
Timing is an important part of raising funding, especially as a first-time founder.
Achieving overnight success: Kevin Systrom
