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Chamarti Sreekar
Passionate about Pos... • 1m
7 Costliest mistakes that firat time founders make Startups are inherently risky, so it's crucial to chase asymmetric risks—maximizing upside while minimizing downside. Many first-time founders make costly mistakes that can be avoided. Here are the top seven: 1. Quitting Your Day Job Too Soon – Successful startups often begin as side projects. Instead of taking a blind leap, de-risk your idea by achieving problem-solution fit before going all in. 2. Building a Product Before Validating Demand – Many startups fail not because they can’t build a product, but because no one wants it. Instead, sell the promise first via ads, landing pages, or outreach before investing in development. 3. Premature Fundraising or Joining an Accelerator – Investors prioritize traction over ideas. Instead of chasing funding, focus on gaining paying customers first—many ideas don’t even need VC investment. 4. Public Launches Too Early – Avoid premature scaling. Instead, start with 10 handpicked customers, ensure they get value, then systematically scale to 100, 1,000, and beyond. 5. Starting with Freemium – Free users often don’t provide meaningful feedback. Charge from day one to extend your runway and validate your business model. 6. Going Too Broad – Large markets sound appealing, but focusing on early adopters first (as Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft did) increases your chances of success. 7. Falling in Love with Your Solution – Instead of obsessing over an idea, focus on solving big problems. Problems create opportunities for innovation, and validating a problem before building a solution drastically reduces risk. With the right approach, you can test and validate your startup idea in a week.
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