How do you EARN a Technical Co-founder?

You may have heard the saying "You don't find a Technical Co-founder, you earn them"

But what does that mean exactly?

It means you think of them like you would an investor. So you should...

1. Build your startup as far as you can without them. Pitch decks, designs, partners, investors, advisors, prototypes using freelancers, in-market product using yet more freelancers etc. Make your business worth investing in.

2. Have a process. Execute it well. That includes...

• a) Find the senior engineers at the companies you admire who seem to have a background in the kind of work you're doing

• b) Reach out to them (LinkedIn is great for this) with a message that is highly tailored and extremely leaned in (remember that they are being bombarded by recruiters all day long - make sure to point out you're the CEO). Don't be coy, don't be dry. Explain why you think they might change the trajectory of your company and why its a MASSIVE opportunity for them. Ask for just 15 minutes of their time to explain the rest on a call

• c) Offer them a meaningful piece of the business with a 4-year vesting schedule and a 1-year cliff.

Engineers Make Terrible Product Managers

Before you light your pitchforks, hear me out.

Entrusting the same individual with both engineering and product management roles is akin to having your quarterback also act as your head coach—it dilutes focus and compromises excellence in both domains.

Product management is a discipline of prioritization and vision. It's a game of chess where you're perpetually thinking three moves ahead. The role demands you to be a master of the 'what,' 'when,' and 'if' decisions, to navigate stakeholder politics, and to have an instinctive understanding of market dynamics. You're not just picking battles; you're defining the war strategy, marshaling resources, and ensuring morale is high enough to see it through.

Contrast this with engineering, a domain steeped in problem-solving and execution. Engineers are the vanguards of the 'how,' diving deep into codebases, algorithms, and data structures. They inhabit a realm of tangible solutions and immediate challenges, often reaching a 'flow state' that is antithetical to the interrupt-driven nature of managerial roles. Engineers are the infantry who scale the hill and plant the flag, all while the product manager is scouting the next strategic high ground.

The mental models, responsibilities, and skill sets required for each role are not just different—they're often diametrically opposed. While synergy and constructive tension between these roles can drive innovation, conflating the two often results in diluted focus and suboptimal outcomes.

Yes, engineers with a knack for big-picture thinking can transition into phenomenal product managers. But requiring anyone to wear both hats concurrently is not just impractical—it's a disservice to both the individual and the product. Specialization isn't just a nice-to-have; it's often the key to achieving excellence.

You Get What You Pay For

In most cases, you truly get what you pay for.

Time is often the most precious thing of all. I find myself willing to spend more and more money to save time or improve the quality of the time I spend.

Whenever I balk at the price of something premium, my beautiful wife reminds me "Would you expect a company to pay a recent grad the same amount they pay you to do the same job? Why not?"

She's right. Paying to fast-forward to the future - especially for a company - can be the difference between wasting enormous amounts of capital, life force and time on a failure and winning the proverbial lottery.

Hire great people. Listen to them. Ask them the right questions. Hustle.

Originally Posted On Facebook

Sales Teams Will Resist Self-Serve - But They Must Accept It

If your sales or biz dev team is used to running the show, it will be very hard for them to accept a new, self-serve and scalable model. But accept it, they must. Scale you must.

Originally Posted On Facebook

Great Collaborators Should Challenge Your Thinking

In your startup, you should be looking for collaborators who challenge your thinking. 

This does not mean they are 'assholes' or devil's advocate just for the sake of it, but rather they are sure to delineate the risks (so that they can be managed), help reveal blind spots, and fill in the blanks in terms of your own skillsets and capacity. 

In some cases these people should make you a little uncomfortable because they're giving you new data and areas of focus that you hadn't previously understood or considered important. 

It's important, though, that those people are able to 'disagree and commit'. Once you make the call, they should get on board and work their heart outs to make your decision and vision a reality.

Originally Posted On Facebook

You Need To Hire When...

Don't hire until you're absolutely ready to hire. Building a team to run an imaginary business just burns time and money.

You know you need someone to join your team when...

1. You, or someone on your team, is underwater and the tasks hitting the floor are holding the business back.

2. You don't have anyone on the team who is good enough to complete an essential and immediate task at the level of quality/effectiveness needed.

For example, don't hire a sales person unless you have a product to sell - and you've personally figured out how to sell it with the first few sales. Don't hire a growth marketer until you have a self-serve product ready to onboard and retain users. Don't hire a community manager until you have a product worth building a community around.

Noticing a trend? Build a PRODUCT that people want to use and is ready to scale before scaling your team.

Originally Posted On Facebook

Use Internal Updates To Drive Alignment

Internal stakeholder updates can make all the difference between alignment and chaos.

Be sure that your investor update emails (and internal stakeholder updates of all kinds in fact) start with clear charts to show key KPIs and include Highlights, Lowlights and What's next.

Ensure each section is concisely written with bullet points that contain key facts and implications without too much fluff.

Be sure to be real so that your stakeholders can help you when possible and aren't blind sided if things go off the rails.

Originally Posted On Facebook

4 Great Cultural Values For Startups

Last week I spoke to a startup with some great cultural values. I got their permission to share them - so here they are!

• Initiative but not a lone wolf

• Urgency but not rushed

• Fun but not unprofessional

• Scientific but not heartless

Originally Posted On Facebook

A Bird In The Hand

If you have a great term sheet on the table, take it.

Originally Posted On Facebook

Recruiting Is A Real Art

It’s a cliché these days to say people are the most important part of any company. But it’s absolutely true.

Hiring strong people, particularly product managers, is a real art. 

Prior to my experience at Uber, I considered myself pretty poor at interviewing and recruiting candidates. 

However, seeing how Uber does it up close, and going through many, many, many interviews as part of the hypergrowth the company was experiencing, really gave me new insights into how to do it well.

One of my favorite compliments I received after leaving Uber was how effective a team builder I was.

Even though people can really make or break a company’s success, I find that most startups really don’t know how to recruit for key roles. So these days I’m increasingly helping the startups I work with think through how to describe their job requirements, find and reach out to candidates, and build interview loops that really test for a great fit with the company’s needs.

It’s so rewarding finding amazing people to supercharge the dreams of founders.

Originally Posted On Facebook

What Is The Worst Sound You Could Hear From Your Team?

The worst sound you can hear from your team is silence.

Originally Posted On Facebook

Are you Executing Daily Tactical Necessities Without A Strong Product Vision?

Executing a series of day-to-day tactical necessities without a strong product vision can only get you so far. At best it produces a confused and ineffective user experience. At worst it causes your team to spin their wheels, never quite shipping anything meaningful or polished.

Originally Posted On Facebook

How Do You ‘Land’ In A Team As An Advisor

Sometimes one of the hardest parts of Advisory is the way you initially “Land” in the team. Particularly if you’re coming in to assist with some friction or poor communication.

It’s essential that you introduce yourself well and position your participation as an opportunity rather than a corrective measure.

Originally Posted On Facebook

How To Evaluate And Compensate For Your Weaknesses

When evaluating and compensating for your weaknesses, I suggest taking a multi-faceted approach:

• Be sober and honest about your weaknesses - but also be fair and kind to yourself too. Don’t, however, allow yourself to be crippled by neurosis (i.e obsessing).
  

• While you may never turn them into strengths, lean into improving your weaknesses. At the very least you will understand them better and minimize your blind spots.
  

• Don’t minimize the importance of things you can’t do just because you can’t do them. Recognize their value and...
  

• Don’t obsess about turning your weaknesses into strengths. Focus more on your natural and unique abilities and surround yourself with people you trust who make up for your weaknesses. Be explicit with them about their role in your life and in your business. Ask them to help you handle or advise on those aspects of your life and work.
  

• Listen to the people you hire/surround yourself with! Their advice may, at first, appear wrong. That's because it's not what you would normally do. Do it anyway.

Originally Posted On Facebook

How Did Uber Scale So Fast?

My friend just asked me how Uber scaled so fast. My off-the-cuff answer:

• Huge ambition/vision/appetite - this animates and motivates everyone and everything 

• First principles thinking - this leads to ignoring legacy constraints and encourages new innovative thinking/solutions

• Fearless execution with ownership/accountability at the edge - which allows everyone to move fast without waiting for permission

I’d also add...

• Bias towards action - move fast. Have the meeting this week, not next week

• Hire strong operators that, in-turn, hire strong operators. 

Of course, these are some of the same things that got it in trouble too.

Originally Posted On Facebook