6 things no one tells you but really should about starting a company #blindpost

I saw this article headline, 6 things no one tells you but really should about starting a company, on Medium and though it would make a good post. So, per the #blindpost rules, I took the headline and wrote my interpretation of it, without reading the article itself.

6 things no one tells you but really should about starting a company

1. Let’s start with this. You’re going to fail. Look, just by sheer statistics, this isn’t going to work out. No one will tell you that, but its the truth. So work your arse off to be the exception!

2. Your idea is not special. Your passion for that idea, and how hard you work at it, that’s special. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Literally, I think there’s a website where you can pay a dime and get a dozen startup ideas.

3. Oh, and speaking of that idea you have…yeah, that’s probably not going to work. Be prepared to pivot your brains out.

4. Having a startup is not as glamorous as you think. This isn’t Zuckerberg from The Social Network. This is late nights, lots of stress, tons of self doubt, humble smack downs, and did I mention lots of stress? It feels more like this:

5. You can’t just build it and they will come anymore. Building it, no offense to those that actually build things, is the easy part these days. Getting a lot of people to use or buy it, that’s the hardest part and its getting harder by the day.

6. Your money, if you have any, will run out way faster than you think. Control your runway.

I hope this post wasn’t too negative, but honestly, these are the things that people won’t tell you when you say you want to start a company. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it! I’m a huge believer that if you want to start a company, then start one! But you should understand the realities of the situation and if this list bums you out, then you probably aren’t cut out for the world of entrepreneurship.

~ if you liked this blindpost, here are more you can check out. And a handful of my friends will suggest blindposts for me to write from time to time, please feel free to do that too!