There are seemingly as many startup gurus as there are founders. But what if they are all wrong?
Perhaps you can relate to this story:
There I was, sitting to have coffee with one of my startup’s most trusted advisors, who is a prominent Silicon Valley founder and one of the smartest people I’ve met.
As the head of product for my startup, I came to brainstorm some strategic directions with this advisor after our growth stalled. It was clear that we didn’t have product-market fit. He proceeds to give me his point of view about the direction we should take.
Great? No, terrible. It’s 180 degrees opposite the advice I got a day earlier from another prominent entrepreneur in Silicon Valley.
Who was right? I realized that it didn’t matter who was right. They both could have been right, or neither.
I learned something vitally important on that day: every founder and every startup has a unique path to success.
Over ten years later, I’ve come to appreciate this more than ever. Moreover, I have learned that conventional wisdom, high-level advice, best practices, and pattern matching are often times wrong–probably more often than not.
This website contains my perspectives on common questions that founders have, particularly those who don’t fit the Silicon Valley mold. You’ll find I often disagree with mainstream startup wisdom, and I hope that hearing countervailing opinions will give you license to formulate your own beliefs and solutions.
Happy reading, and I welcome any and all feedback!
Cheers,
Sergio