

Biggest "start-up" mistake - drm237
http://lagesse.org/index.php/2007/08/05/my-biggest-start-up-mistake/
My biggest startup mistake is one as well:<p><pre><code>    I trusted unproven people (in a startup role).  And they didn't prove.</code></pre>
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nanijoe
I have put emails out to 2 proven programmers (Marc Andreessen and Max
Levchin) to show up in my NYC office next week to interview for positions as
programmers in my startup. To get hired, they must promise to lay everything
on the line so I can fulfill my dreams, this of course includes their
respective ferarris as well as Marc's 'windfall' from the recent acquisition
of Opsware. John Chambers will leave Cisco to be my VP of sales even though we
have neither revenue nor funding yet.

~~~
sbraford
Good point.

What does "proven" mean? Even if you've worked with someone before, and things
worked out well, there's no guaranteeing it will be 100% the same the next go
around.

Miscommunication is probably the biggest problem here. Were both of you
expecting to work 80 hours a week on the startup for the next 3 years of your
life? Or was one person really thinkg "I'll see how this thing plays out...
might have to bail after a few months if it doesn't."

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nostrademons
Not trusting "unproven" people in a startup can be a far bigger mistake,
however. If you don't trust your employees, they'll quickly fall back into the
"Okay, it's a bureacracy, I'll do the minimum amount of work and collect a
paycheck" mode. Or they'll leave. Because there's little else they can do if
you don't trust them.

Instead, you should trust them, but always have contingency plans (which you
don't tell them!) for what to do if they don't perform. You probably need
those contingency plans even if you're doing the work yourself or have hired
the best developers on earth. After all, nearly every software project takes 3
times as long as you expect (even when you account for Hofstadter's Law ;-)),
and some things just plain aren't feasible.

