two things: a 5-min read

This article does two things:

• Me - to share what *I think* is useful on a variety of topics from my personal experience (you might not agree with many of them).
• You - to take what works for you (and let me know what doesn't).

Two things. 5 minutes. No fluff - let's go.

STARTUP

Do two things: build and sell.

To build something that people will pay for requires (1) someone to build (2) someone to get people to pay for it. There is not much else to the formula. Investor pitches, performance feedback, even culture, are redundant at this stage. It is very easy to start worrying about the wrong thing, or to think the team has critical 'gaps' to be filled aside from a builder and a seller (which can be one person).

Things become difficult also when the team hits a limbo halfway to product-market fit. There is a tendency to over-engineer the stresses away: we have had to shelve many legacy products due to this mistake. When in doubt, talk to customers. Only build for what customer has made obvious to be sellable - lead with selling, build to catch up.

Tips to make things even faster: build with no-code platforms helps make things 10x easier (we used Bubble and Figma). Sell to a small group of FoF (friends of friends) that you can repeatedly come back for feedback instead of cold contacts.

SCALEUP

Do two things: process and communication.

Scaling and growth are different. When you grow, you hire more. When you scale, you want to constantly think about ways to not hire. Start by automating everything: Zapier all your emails, build Wikis (Notion is excellent for this) and turn tasks into cards (Clickup is great). Outsource everything that is not your core value offering. Any middle-level managers is a death zone. Save on $$$ and time by turning people into processes as much as you can.

Your communication needs to scale as the organisation does too. In fact, this should be the only thing the founder does at a scaleup. Communication is not just providing updates: stand-ups/town-halls don't cut the chase. The true challenge is figuring out everyone's motivation (and whether it has changed, for what reason). This must be approached intentionally - ideally with processes built around it. A good culture makes it easier.

Also, people seldom talk about founders' mental health when scaling. It's horrible. Make it a priority to carve up space for yourself EVERY DAY. When making decisions, do whatever it takes to preserve your mental health for the next 5 years. Things always get better.

CORPORATE

Do two things: routines and growth.

Routines is half the battle working in a corporate. Start with going to bed early (when possible), then gym, morning jogs, diets. You need to excel in how you FEEL about yourself. You need to take control. Train your bowel habits, set up a workspace for taking Zoom calls, understand your stress triggers then work through them one by one. The more connected you are with your routines, the more grounded you will be. This brings joy and relaxation irrespective of whether you are working or not.

You also need to carefully distinguish between things that are comfortable/predictable, or stressful/challenging. Stay with predictable tasks, switch when they become comfortable. Ask for support early for things that are stressful, but try to own things that you consider challenging. Personal growth is key - selectively experience and savour stress that relates to meaningful opportunities where you are going beyond your comfort zone. Do not engage with frustrations and thoughts otherwise: the type of anxieties and regrets about existing processes, teammates, mistakes in submitted work. Always move UPWARDS past your imperfections to grow - your intuition will tell you what's next.

Time's up.

Yes - I am only 22. I am not there yet. Maybe the two things will change. Maybe (very likely) you know better about many of those things.

Comment. PM me. I am working on a few exciting things (and articles like this). I would love to connect with you.

#twothings