Chapter 67. Advice I Wish I Could Have Given Myself Five Years Ago
Since going down the startup path, Iâve made so many mistakes, struggled so many times, failed in almost every way you can.
But, we turned the corner after a few years of hard work. Weâre now 25 people (weâre hiring!), have raised $7.3 million, and just had our best month ever.
I often fantasize about going back in time and giving myself advice based on what Iâve learned over the last five years.
I probably wouldnât have listened, but hereâs what I would have told myself:
Teach yourself to code. After a disastrous experience outsourcing, youâll eventually make this decision. I just want you to make that decision today. Of all the things that will happen, this is the single biggest step-function change youâll experience. Also, I know your outsourcers used Perl, but please do not teach yourself Perl. Teach yourself Python/Django or Ruby on Rails.
Stop holing yourself up in your apartment. You think that an hour spent working is more productive than grabbing coffee with another founder. The problem is that you donât yet know what to do in that hour. Talking to other founders, youâll get some valuable advice that will help you save weeks of time. Plus, those founders will eventually introduce you to new hires and investors.
Donât be afraid to talk to potential investors. You keep avoiding it because you know youâre not yet ready to raise funding. While youâre right, you should still ...
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