Fatal Mistakes To Avoid By First Time Founders

While building a company from the ground up can be incredibly exciting, it can also be a nightmare if one isn't careful.

Unfortunately for many, the failure rate is extremely high — generally 50% to 70% of small businesses fail within the first 18 months.

Over the past few weeks, I've been compiling a few mistakes, I, myself, alongside some peers of mine have made.

I hope this article can help open your eyes to the subtle yet fatal errors that can make or break your startup.

1. Picking the wrong co-founder.

Choosing an individual as a partner is a big responsibility, and it's one of the first choices you'll face when launching a new startup.

Choosing someone who's solid on paper isn't the most ideal way of going on about it - I can certainly tell you that from experience.

Before jumping into a marriage it's always good to test out the waters with a smaller level of engagement.

Be aware of your own skills and choose someone who will be able to complement those skills wisely, as well as someone whom you have good working chemistry with.

2. Not understanding the skills needed to be CEO.

The founder & CEO role who starts a company is very different from one who grows a company. Understanding the skillsets of an effective CEO is extremely important for a first-time founder.

3. Trying to make a product for everyone.

"He who tries to please everybody, pleases nobody."

4. Obsessing over the competition.

The competition will always exist. By focusing on your strengths as a founder and playing to them, you will inherently find avenues to innovate your business in ways your competition won't.

Time spent obsessing over the competition is precious time lost focusing on winning your marathon.

5. Running out of cash.

First-time entrepreneurs often fail to realize that every second of every day costs money. Making sure your operations are running effectively with a reasonable burn-rate can make it or break it as a founder.

The best advice I got from a successful serial entrepreneur was, guard your cash like your life depends on it.

6. Getting too emotionally attached.

Entrepreneurs spend 60+ hours a week on a venture to avoid a 40 hour corporate-life work week for a reason.

Not getting emotional about your startup venture isn't really practical - but is sometimes extremely essential - especially if all the signs are telling you your idea just won't work.

It's perfectly fine to fail forwards. No one ever got it 100% first-time around.

Getting too emotional attached with your startup idea can make you lose objectivity towards hard facts that can hinder you from making effective & critical decisions.

7. Not getting feedback from your customers.

The only feedback your should ever consider listening to is that of your customers.

The Mom Test is an incredible book for those who actually want to learn if their business is a good idea. Too many times founders forget that the answers they are searching for are often found by asking customers the right questions.

Many founders often oversee the importance of getting customer feedback and relying on assumptions that haven't been validated.