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The20 Biggest MythsAbout Building a Business

Myth #1:Founders Are TheirOwn Bosses

The founder always answers to someone, whether it’s the board, the investors, or most importantly, the customers.

Myth #2:The Founder Should Do Every Job in the Early Days

Recognizing where you could be getting massively greater returns on your time and then delegating or outsourcing the less important tasks is one of the biggest personal wins you can score.

Myth #3:Starting a Business Is the Best Way to Get Rich

You can get rich in business, but it’s certainly not the easiest, or most guaranteed way.

Myth #4:Launching at an Industry Conference Will Set You Up for Success

Conference launches are a vanity event; they make you feel nice, but rarely lead to real, long-term business results.

Myth #5:You Should Keep Your Product Secret Until It’s Ready

The 99% of the equation that counts most is the tireless hustle and thoughtful execution that you need to make any idea succeed.

Myth #6:You Need to Take a Lot of Huge Risks

Taking smaller risks and hedging against loss helps you stay around for a lot longer… and gives you the time to place a lot more calculated bets.

Myth #7:Everyone SharesYour Problems

Just because we have a particular problem or viewpoint, doesn’t mean that our customers do.

Myth #8:You Should RaiseMoney WheneverYou Can

Just because money is on the table doesn’t mean you should take it.

Myth #9:Founder DilutionIsn’t a Problem

Every time you dilute your ownership, you divest yourself from the success of the business, and in a world where you need to be working your ass off for years before seeing results, that’s a dangerous place to be.

Myth #10:Spamming Peopleon Social Media Is a Good Marketing Strategy

You get influencers’ attention by creating value for them, not by joining the hundreds of other startups looking for a handout.

Myth #11:You Need toRent an O�ce

There are only a few things that a bootstrapped business needs in its earliest days, and an office isn’t one of them.

Myth #12:Your First Hires Should All Be DevelopersIf your team of 4-5 people is 100% developers, you’re missing some critical business functions that are far more important to your business than the incremental value of a third or fourth developer.

Myth #13:It’s All Aboutthe Product

Great marketing won’t save a shitty product, but with shitty marketing, even a great product doesn’t stand a chance.

Myth #14:If You Can Just Land That Huge Customer, You’ll Win

These deals, even when they go through, are not much more than a massive distraction, and banking your future success on them is a very dangerous move.

Myth #15:“Lines of Code” Is a Success Metric

If any part of your pitch mentions how many lines of code you’ve written in order to make the large number seem like an accomplishment, you’re missing the point.

Myth #16:Your New RockstarDeveloper Will Turn Your Company Around

Just like everything else in a business, a single developer won’t make or break it.

Myth #17:“We Can Worry About Money Later”

If you’re going to build a business, one of the first things you need to do is figure out how it’s actually going to be a business.

Myth #18:Everything Needs to Be Scaleable

If you haven’t reached product/market fit and don’t have enough paying users to see a clear roadmap to profitability, then you’re not ready to think about scale.

Myth #19:More Features WillImprove Your Product

Every feature you add makes your product a bit less simple to use, so before adding any feature, think very carefully about whether you’re adding a benefit, or decreasing one.

Myth #20:You Can’t A�ordTop Talent

There are so many elite developers, marketers and support agents out there, and not all of them are motivated solely by money.

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