

Lessons Learned After Two Years as a Startup Founder - derekflanzraich
http://thederek.com/post/48350468025/lessons-learned-two-years-startup-founder

======
alexatkeplar
Fire people who aren't 10x unicorns as fast as you can? You need a Rictus
Director, not a Smiles Director.

~~~
derekflanzraich
Less catchy of a title?

------
drorweiss
IMO you don't need a team of only unicorns. In fact, ego management will be
very difficult if you miraculously manage to build such a seemingly perfect
team. You need a good balance between leaders and "followers", who can be
great people, but not superstars.

~~~
derekflanzraich
I don't disagree, really. Some positions obviously aren't made for "unicorns"
but, that said, have found that just because someone is brilliant doesn't mean
they're necessarily a pain in the ass.

------
therobot24
i constantly wonder whether it's worth entering the startup world after
finishing my phd, hearing of 'hire fast/fire fast', looking for
'unicorns'....is this rat race even worth it? What's wrong with just wanting
to solve problems, why do you need to build fast as opposed to building
something that's awesome and works well - find a niche and grow from there. I
can almost feel the 'pressure of the job' for those engineering the system
when reading posts from founders/ceos with regards to recruiting - here's a
hint "it's always about finding the right employees" (well no shit sherlock).

~~~
derekflanzraich
If you're wondering whether it's worth it, definitely sounds like it probably
isn't for you. Like all fulfilling things in life (I imagine like getting a
PhD, eg.), it's freakin' hard-- so you better go after the things that you
think will be worth it & more, IMHO.

------
jonathanjaeger
Great openness and willingness to be transparent about the fact you don't
always feel in control (as much as you would want your investors, team, and
users to think so 24/7).

~~~
derekflanzraich
thanks Jonathan!

------
medell
Great post, from the heart. And a beautifully designed website. Great to see
someone using their exit money to spread good in the world.

~~~
derekflanzraich
Thanks! Not sure what you mean by "exit money," but hey-- I'll take it.

------
colemorrison
Awesome post! I loved the part about building up the long-term network to
reach out to later.

~~~
derekflanzraich
Totally-- hard when you're starting out, but definitely starts to click over
time... thanks Cole!

------
jacobrobbins
this was great, thank you for taking the time to pull your thoughts together.

~~~
derekflanzraich
sure thing, Jacob-- appreciate this.

