Lessons About Startups Part II

Startups magnify minute details and force you to think and work like you never have. There are many things you will need to learn and learn quickly.

Define Your Ethics

Define your absolute do's and dont's. Some examples are,

· Keep your word, even if it means losing something

· Respect other people

· Self-respect

· Accept your mistakes

· Be forgiving

And the list can go on. Important thing is that you MUST have some values. These values are the foundations of every decision. Do not let your values be defined by the world. Never compromise on your values. The stones with no weight are swept away with the waves and turned to dust.

Learn to say NO

During your journey, you will get a lot of opportunities. You will find people who will offer you money, support and contacts. What you must realize is that you do not and should not accept every offer. This means that you have to accept some and reject others. Remember that you have as much right to say 'YES' as 'NO'. But how do you know you are making the right choice? This you do by going back to your values. Evaluate the person making the offer on your values. Look at the person not just the words. To define your answer, you must have already defined yourself.

Do not be Apologetic

There is nothing conventional about startups. Being unconventional leads to uncertainty and you tend to get apologetic. You can get over this feeling by building confidence. And confidence comes from believing that you are doing something great. Take pride in your company, your product and your working 80 hours per week. You should not be ashamed of your desire to change the world.

Be Yourself

It is generally believed that companies are run from huge, well decorated offices by grey-haired managers and MBAs. This thinking is so dominating that the startups also take to be true. So they feel inclined to pretend like big companies. They pretend to sound and look conventional. Because if they do not, they look out of place and exceptions just look silly in the first glance. Do not be afraid of looking silly. Part of entrepreneurship is learning from your mistakes.

Do not pretend someone you are not. People laugh at monkeys who pretend even though they pretend very well.

Do Not be a Whiner

I hate whiners. Not just me, but every sensible person hates people who whine and cry. Your server crashed; fix it, you are out of money; find some way to earn more, aliens kidnapped your pet cat; get a new one. But do not cry and blame the world. If you are not used to accepting and cleaning up your own mess, stay in your cubicle.

Make your own decision

Making a decision is difficult. Decisions are just another name for well thought out guesses. These are based on your past experience, your judgment of future, your fear of failure and your intelligence. No one else can see these things as good as you. Do not take the easy way out by following someone else's decision. No one is going to take the blame if the decision goes bad. It is better to fail on your own rather than succeed on someone else.

It seems impossible to remember and follow all these guidelines. Yes, it IS impossible. Nobody said startup was going to be a walk in the park. This is one reason why you should have multiple founders. Make sure that if you forget, someone from your team remembers.