There really is so much to building a product, team and company. It hard, damn hard than what you think it is. I’m not an expert at it but have have been through a zillion failures, some that created permanent scars in my life. Fortunately enough, I’ve my share of personal successes too. Over the past year I’ve been looking forward for co-founding opportunities or positions of influence where I can put my experience to use without sacrificing on the learning opportunities. I’ve not managed to find any success as yet. I’ve my core values and basic expectations that I’m not willing to compromise. And I’m happy starving even than to make compromises. Why? Because to me picking up a gig is making a bet where I sweat things out. And when it comes to a startup, finding co-founders who are both like-minded and complimentary is absolutely vital. In this post I’ll share some of the observations I’ve made in the course of my interaction with my potential founder(s). I’ve lately been tweeting about it in the format “______________. Moment you realise this is not worth your bet”. I’m just going to copy paste those below: #startup An MBA grad with Computer Science in degree only and having 10yrs in sales goes about interviewing experienced #Tech guys on #Tech. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. Ask the #Founder on what the product is & he answers what its not about to define it. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. On the in-person meeting day, the founder keeps you waiting without reason and regret. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. When founder thinks that is just that last mile-stone to get (SeriesA) Funding. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. #Tech When a founder shares your profile to his/her friend & his/her EA reaches out to you on a random day later. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. When the founder wants “all his pain points” tackled together from Day 1 by his CTO. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder is more focused on valuation/funding than business vision. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. When a founder disregards #Tech and sees it merely a tool to get #Funding. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder talks blatant lies in the hope of getting #Tech #Leaders for cheap. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder brags his Non-ValueAdd skills, disregarding your time in 1st meeting. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When founders give importances to #Certification over #Experience. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When founders have not done their due homework before reaching out to you. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When founders overvalue their idea, and want you to do its implementation for cheap. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. When founders hope to win by their ivy league college degrees. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder calls you to get free recipes for their problems & do it themselves. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When the founder carries his previous brand baggage devoid of its experience. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder does not have appetite for failures. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder day-dreams he has already won the battle and so will win the war. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When founders think CTO is just about Tech and nothing else. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When founders are modelling org-hierarchy instead of business. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When everyone work in silos not caring one bit about others in the name of trust. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When founders are way too greedy to give neither money nor equity. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When founders think most of their time on getting funds instead of building their product, you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder asks your current income as first thing. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder sees his startup adding decoration to his resume. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder sees his startup as a means to pocket more money from funding. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When you see a founder not playing a fair game with his partners/vendors. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder knows nothing about tech but pretends to know all about it. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder is not doing an open-talk with you. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. When a founder relies more on his tech friend who is silent about current challenges. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet When a founder wants to have a cake and eat it too. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder is unfairly dominating his peers in a meeting to look as “Know All Man”. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder thinks MVP as Maximum Velocity Product (#ChurningFeatures). Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder wants to build framework 1st (the big Enterprise Tech BS) so as to build product quickly. Moment you realise this is not worth your bet. #startup When a founder brings his yesteryears Corporate BS to his new venture. Moment you realise this startup is not worth your bet. When a founder shies away from hanging his CompanyBoard on wall of his office building. Moment you realise this #startup is not worth your bet. If reading this post served you well, I’d appreciate you share your love by recommending it. May it benefit the community to help make a positive difference to those looking out for co-founders. Your opinion based on your first hand experience matters and I’m all ears to hear yours. Share yours in comments section of this post. Humbly..
