4 simple rules from a startup founder
July 24, 2024
As the founder of a hyperscale B2B2C startup with a GTM strategy based on thought leadership, ICP alignment, and ABM personalization, nothing is more important to me than simplicity. And clarity. And some other things, but let's leave it at that for now.
That's why, for strategic guidance, it's important to have just one, or possibly two (and ideally no more than seven) very simple and/or clear guiding principles, or rules. These rules are to be informed and guided by strategic pillars (of which you should aim for four, which look best in a graphic).
Given my status in the startup ecosystem, it falls on me to inspire others as a thinkfluencer, a role which I humbly accept.
More than that, I consider myself a thinkphilanthropluencer, generously giving back my knowledge to the community. And in that spirit, I will now share my hard-earned wisdom, which I have condensed into four simple rules:
RULE #1: JUST ADD VALUE
It's that simple, folks. Add value. No more, no less.
Obviously, you do not want to subtract value. Nobody's going to pay you for that, at least not for long.
Nor do you want to divide value. Unless you are a lawyer, in which case dividing value is your business model.
"But what about multiplication?" you may ask.
Someone always asks that question.
And I always give the same answer: Multiplication is Addition at Scale.
When I have a chalkboard handy during one of my exclusive JAV™ Accelerator Masterclass Bootcamp Seminars (JAMBS), I write the formula on the board:
M = A S
And then I erase the equal sign and put an accent sign over the A
MÁS
Or, in Spanish: MORE
Just add value, and más will follow.
RULE #2: LESS IS MORE
"Omit needless words." -- William Strunk
"Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off." -- Coco Chanel
"That's extra" -- Gen Z
"Whatever" -- Gen X
It's a principle that crosses generational lines in fashion, art, and writing: Less is more.
Wait a second: If less is more, but more is MÁS, and MÁS is Multiplication is Addition at Scale, and Addition is adding value, then adding value not only means doing more with less, but also doing less with more, and moreover, doing so more or less at scale.
This has obvious implications for the hyperscaler, which I leave to you as an at-home thought experiment, a Gedanken for your Zettelkasten.
RULE #3: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME
If you've made it this far, I congratulate you for making it most of the way to your ultimate destination in the cosmos, the comment section, where you are invited to share your own deep thoughts and reflections for all time.
Writing takes time, yes.
Nevertheless, writing is the best way to think things through. Clear your head. Expose your logic. Collect feedback. And by doing so, make better choices. Don't waste your time not writing.
In that spirit, here are some writing prompts:
1. Rephrase the eternal question "Why am I here?" as "Why? Am I here?" -- What does that framing imply for the return-to-office mandate? What is a healthy (or unhealthy) amount of skepticism?
2. If you devalue the work of others, are you subtracting value? Or are you adding value by exposing overvalued assets that are best avoided? Examples may include movie critics and short sellers. When does criticism cross the line? (e.g. spoilers, pump-and-dump) Discuss, using one of these examples, or your own.
3. Suppose you're the sole proprietor of a closely held early-stage startup venture. You intend to be funded by revenue rather than investment capital. The business will include a free digital service, a freemium physical product, and a premium SaaS subscription service. Comment on the strategic choice of building the entire solution architecture on Power Platform and Azure, rather than using any number of other coding frameworks. In doing so, please evaluate the following assumptions: that (a) the low-code capabilities of Power Platform will lower the cost of business model experimentation and allow for faster time-to-demo, faster time-to-launch, and faster strategic pivots; (b) the relatively high cost of licensing for apps and websites is a temporary drawback, in that a successful launch will either fully ameliorate the costs or deliver sufficient revenues to fund the migration onto license-free apps and websites; (c) the adoption of Power Platform eases the way for B2B enterprise sales, given that citizen developers at organizations will be able to embed the company's premium services into their own workflows, apps, and portals using the tools they already use; (d) built-in integration with Dynamics 365 apps, along with connectors to external databases, will enable growth, partnership, and business development opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to achieve otherwise; and (e) building upon the Microsoft ecosystem will continue to deliver ongoing advantages in terms of AI capabilities, cloud services, training resources, and access to global talent. In your analysis, be sure to include sufficient TLAs to demonstrate your expertise.
RULE #4: HAVE FUN!