20 Hard-Earned Truths About Startups

20 hard-earned truths about startups that might make me sound cynical.

But I’m not, really.

1. The startup ecosystem is a small pond full of piranhas.

2. Everyone wants you to stop, friends and foes alike.

3. While anyone can start up, most really shouldn't bother.

4. The average startup investor is not as useful.

5. 99% of startup advice is worthless. That other 1% is pure gold.

6. A mentor who doesn't frequently say 'I don't know' needs to be replaced.

7. The supply/demand in the mentorship market is skewed.

8. Mixing family and business is not a problem. The advice not to is.

9. Silicon Valley is most likely not for you.

10. Startups are a giant beauty pageant.

11. Pitch competitions are a waste.

12. You probably shouldn't be raising money.

13. Startup playbooks don't work.

14. Old-school business acumen > Startup growth hacks.

15. Startup accelerators are rodeo shows.

16. You're probably better off losing certain customers.

17. Competition is overrated. Don't buy into it.

18. Headcount is a vanity metric.

19. Startup valuations are made-up numbers.

20. Everyone writes their own story eventually.

These lessons, I learned them the hard way and lost precious time in the process.

But I wouldn’t exchange them for anything. They've made me who I am.

And yes, given the chance, I'd happily learn them all over again.