I failed with my startup, here are some of the things I have learned
My first startup was Supportia. We were helping our customers with data and TV support. I discovered that there was a lot of paperwork and administration for a naive inexperienced entrepreneur. I began to dream of a digital co-founder who could assist me.
BizBot was the answer and was established in 2017 and shut down at the end of 2023. As the founder and CEO, I had the responsibility for the company and it has not been easy. I try to point out my mistakes and what I have learned. I hope this can be useful to you who are reading this:
- Focus on a product and get it to market. It’s easy to get lost in new ideas while new ideas can be better than the one you had. So, keep focused and if you’re going to adapt, make sure to do good analyses.
- Take care of yourself and others in the team, you never know what happens either at work or at home. Do not take on personal debt, a company is a community.
- Hiring and who to take advice from is some of the hardest things I know. It is crucial to have good people around you, preferably some who are better. Take care of the good ones and part ways with the “bad”. It’s important to dare to listen to those who give you balanced and good criticism, but let people who do not wish you well pass by.
- Do not sign agreements with investors, partners, or others who, for example, should have access to your product or do not share revenues. If there are no good intentions from the start, they seldom get better along the way. Read more here.
- If you are working with a large partner, make sure the expectations are set. Startups often have immature products that fit a small part of the market, while large partners usually want products that fit “everyone”. In the worst case, there is no ROI on the last 10-20% of the market and therefore not profitable to invest in this.
- Large partners often have a different culture. There is a big difference in a company where none of those who started it are alive and none of those who work there have ever been entrepreneurs. Make sure to communicate well.
- You cannot be friends with everyone. I have always been someone who wants to be a friend, but it simply does not work in my opinion. But one can be polite and factual and behave as if one has good upbringing from home.
- One thing I underestimated was the cost of building what we were going to build. Especially when we got a big partner on the team. Then the cost was much greater than anticipated. We could not raise money as we wished and then we should have completely changed the expectations as well.
- If you are going to raise money then do so while you can, preferably a little extra and not when the cash is gone. Bootstrap as long as possible, then you have more control and focus on what you are going to build.
- Like what you do and remember to celebrate a little along the way. It’s not dangerous to fail! Do something with the mistakes and try again!”
Best,
Didrik