
Zero to $1B: Lessons Scaling a Startup - elsewhen
https://medium.com/@swaaanson/zero-to-1b-8-lessons-scaling-a-startup-f9a4b631de61
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andyidsinga
I thought Lesson #8 is pretty critical to anyone who either wants to lead or
ends up in a lead position. specifically:

> Some founders take pride in working long hours. That’s dumb. You should take
> pride in having huge leverage (which often requires long hours). When I
> would work 100 hour weeks, instead of feeling self-satisfied, I knew I
> either 1) wasn’t delegating enough or 2) didn’t have the right leaders
> around me to delegate to. By working longer hours you can get 20% or even
> 40% more done, but with effective delegation you can get 10x or 100x more
> done.

I remember talking to a coworker years ago, who was also a long time software
developer. I asked him something along the lines of what his near term goals
were. I was surprised by his answer because I thought his answer would be
about learning some new tech, getting a part of his project done etc. His
answer was along the lines of "I want learn to lead better and hire good
people to work for me so that we can get 10x more done" ..that really changed
the way I think about leadership and hiring.

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michaeldorian
This switch from working harder and getting more tasks done versus working
harder to figure out how to scale in both your professional and personal life
is hard transition. As someone going through the process, I do agree this is
the most critical thing. Easier said than done.

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methodover
> So, yes, I came out of the closet every morning

This is an unfortunate and juvenile joke in an otherwise great post.

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bertil
I took it as a sign of his immaturity _then_. Few authors who write about a
decade-long process manage to use the perspective, let alone the voice of the
narrator at the time. It’s rare in fiction and rarer in non-fiction.

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pedalpete
I find it surprising that they were looking for $5M raise with MRR of less
than $50K.

Other sources suggest VCs are looking for a significantly higher MRR for
series A [https://visible.vc/blog/much-revenue-startup-need-raise-
seri...](https://visible.vc/blog/much-revenue-startup-need-raise-series-
round/)

Anybody have thoughts on that?

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dannylandau
Some good advice. The letter from Dean of Stanford Business School is classic.

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bertil
I found it surprisingly petty for him to quote it in that way: I won’t defend
an MBA (never did, never will) but furthering your education can’t be compared
head-on to a business opportunity. The “now of never” is obviously a flipped
argument (for the start-up, not the MBA that will be available every year) but
you can’t fault the Dean for trying.

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curyous
Is the business profitable yet? I didn't see any mention of it actually making
any money, let alone being sustainable. Is this just a 10 year long con?

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jpeg_hero
I guess one of the lessons wasn’t:

GMV (Gross Marketplace Value) ≠ Revenue

