It's not easy getting a startup off the ground, let alone two in very different industries nearly 10 years apart. The first startup I founded was Gamefly, a video game rental service, and the second was Dropoff, an Austin startup that aims to modernize same-day delivery for small businesses,
I’ve learned a few things between the two startups. Here is some of my advice and knowledge from the two experiences– especially the first.
1) Start with the right co-founders
I started with the people. I've got a great group of co-founders who form the senior leadership team and they have deep functional expertise in key areas, like finance, marketing and technology.
2) Take advantage of your local ecosystem
There’s a really robust ecosystem in Austin, TX and Los Angeles, CA of other founders and companies that are willing to lend a helping hand to get you off the ground quickly.
3) Establish the company culture on day one
We’re building Dropoff to be the best place anyone has ever worked with a focus on service, innovation and passion at its core.
4) You’ve got to deliver (no pun intended)
You can have the best idea in the world, but at the end of the day, you've got to deliver. This is where most startups fail– by not being good at executing on their idea or vision. It is much better to go into a new business venture that has a clear financial model and a path to profitability vs. figuring it out later.
5) Execution is more important than ideas and strategy
The first time I probably thought it was closer to 50/50, but now I know it’s more like 80/20 in favor of execution.
6) Trust your gut
Even if you end up being wrong, you will learn from it. You learn more from failure than from success.
7) Grow Strategically
Dropoff launched in just one market initially, instead of nationwide. We wanted to make sure we nailed the playbook before tackling the rest of the country. Now Dropoff is live in Austin and Houston, so we are figuring out the learning curve quickly.
