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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟰 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 (𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝗖 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗹) Most startups fail before they even begin. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐝—𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬. Michael Seibel, former YC CEO, gives a simple roadmap for early-stage startups: 𝟭. 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 (𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗳 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁) Many founders wait too long to launch. Seibel’s advice? “Launch something bad quickly.” •If you don’t launch, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧. •Speed matters more than perfection. 𝟮. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 Too many startups 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. •Find 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 to try your product • See if they find value If no one uses it, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 Don’t build in isolation. Founders often think: "I’ll get feedback once it’s fully built." That’s a mistake. 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 —they’ll tell you what actually matters. 𝟰. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 (𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮) Seibel’s key rule: “Hold the problem tightly. Hold the customer tightly. Hold the solution loosely.” If your screwdriver doesn’t help a mechanic, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥. 𝐅𝐢𝐱 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫. These four steps separate real startups from failed ones. 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞. That’s how you win. Follow Vishu Bheda for more valuable startup insights from the world's best founders!