10 Assumptions I Got Wrong As A First-Time Founder

It takes a lot of unlearning to become a founder.

Here are some of the assumptions I got wrong when I first started out.

1. Sales

• No, your product won't sell itself.
• No, customers won't just show up.
• And no, it can't wait.

2. Marketing

• No, they won't come just because you built it.
• No, you need to stay in their face.
• And no, it can't wait.

3. Fundraising

• No one owes you anything.
• No, personal debt is not fundraising.
• No, if the investors were interested, you'd know.

4. Product

• No one cares about it as much as you do.
• No, your features aren't as fancy as you think.
• Yes, they only care if it solves their problems.

5. Technology

• No one cares how fast it loads.
• No one cares if it's AI / VR / Blockchain.
• Yes, they only care that it works.

6. Competition

• No, you do have competition. You just haven't found them yet.
• No, you shouldn't be building what they have.
• Yes, competition = market validation.

7. Administrative

• No, no one is doing it for you.
• No, you have to worry about it.
• Yes, most of it is grunt work nobody else wants to do. Get over it.

8. Accounting

• No, you can't just outsource it.
• No, you have to worry about it.
• Yes, to get what you want from your accountant, you need to learn their language.

9. Finance

• No, it's not that complicated.
• No, you have to worry about it.
• Yes, it will start to make sense soon.

10. Design

• No, you don't need a fancy logo at first.
• No, it doesn't matter as much as you think.
• Yes, you can figure out the basics yourself.

What do you think? Did I miss anything else?