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1/ <Rant alert><Rant begins> I was a founder with a tech background who wanted to build a tech company.
This thread is as much about me as the teams I work with today.
What do founders really want?
Most founders want to build a technology company.
This thread is as much about me as the teams I work with today.
What do founders really want?
Most founders want to build a technology company.
2/ That shouldn't be so hard. However there are two versions of this dream.
a) A romanticized, mythological version of what a tech company should look like.
b) A real world version of what it really takes to build and sustain one.
a) A romanticized, mythological version of what a tech company should look like.
b) A real world version of what it really takes to build and sustain one.
3/ The romanticized version means building something meaningful, where we can innovate, stand apart from the crowd and do the things we really want to do without worrying about money.
What does that mean?
What does that mean?
4/ This means bleeding edge innovation, free food, above market compensation, unlimited budgets for hardware infrastructure spend + dedicated gaming servers after 6pm on company dime/time.
We have all lived this dream and worked for organizations that came close to the myth.
We have all lived this dream and worked for organizations that came close to the myth.
5/ The real world version is not pretty. To be able to do everything above, we need to have enough money to be free.
But no one is ever completely free.
You may have a funding runway that looks infinite but if you don’t deliver on promises you run short quickly.
But no one is ever completely free.
You may have a funding runway that looks infinite but if you don’t deliver on promises you run short quickly.
6/ In the real world you really can’t ignore the real world and do what you want. You have to do what works.
This is where mythology and execution diverge.
This is where mythology and execution diverge.
7/ There is a playbook that works.
Focus, competing on the edge, delivering value, operational excellence, specialization, scale and defending margins are the most common chapters.
Technology is a really small part of that equation.
Focus, competing on the edge, delivering value, operational excellence, specialization, scale and defending margins are the most common chapters.
Technology is a really small part of that equation.
8/ But saying these words isn't enough.
Please show me how they work for you in your world. Show me your plan, your road map to do all of the above in your organization.
Please show me how they work for you in your world. Show me your plan, your road map to do all of the above in your organization.
9/ For instance.
Before you project and crack $100,000,000 a year in revenue you need a credible plan to take a shot at $1,000,000 a year.
What does your qualified prospect list look like? Do you have one? If you converted everyone will you crack a million?
Before you project and crack $100,000,000 a year in revenue you need a credible plan to take a shot at $1,000,000 a year.
What does your qualified prospect list look like? Do you have one? If you converted everyone will you crack a million?
9/ You cannot build and sustain the tech company of your dreams without delivering value.
Delivering value is significantly harder than it looks in books and media coverage.
It requires you to understand boring stuff outside the ambit of technology.
Delivering value is significantly harder than it looks in books and media coverage.
It requires you to understand boring stuff outside the ambit of technology.
10/ Such as how many orders is a million for your business? How many customer support representatives? How big a sales team?
How many potential customers in the funnel to close one order? How long does that take? Customer on-boarding and retention? What would that cost?
How many potential customers in the funnel to close one order? How long does that take? Customer on-boarding and retention? What would that cost?
11/ If you have a limited sense of how to get to a million dollars a year in the next 12 months your technological credentials and complexity of your stack are not going to be of much use.
Most proposed marketing strategies won't work outside power point decks.
Most proposed marketing strategies won't work outside power point decks.
12/ As founders we are not short on dreams or the zeal to build on dreams.
We are short on reality checks, on a willingness to listen and to acknowledge that we don't have all the answers.
The best among us understand this, watch out for it and compensate for it.
We are short on reality checks, on a willingness to listen and to acknowledge that we don't have all the answers.
The best among us understand this, watch out for it and compensate for it.
13/ </Rant over> A thread on #founders and building #tech companies in the #realworld
@faizansiddiqi
@Huk06
@babushka99
@jehan_ara
@MaroofAliSyed
@alinawab
@faizansiddiqi
@Huk06
@babushka99
@jehan_ara
@MaroofAliSyed
@alinawab
