Here are the things i learn't the hard way: Say no to Hammer and find your Nail(s): When you think like a hammer everything is a nail, startups are rarely that

Here are the things i learn't the hard way: Say no to Hammer and find your Nail(s): When you think like a hammer everything is a nail, startups are rarely that (especially early on). Nails are the actual problems you want to solve and Hammers are the one trick pony's that might help you solve them. To put this into context: You can do a AI startup that can solve Cancer, Credit Card Frauds and more but you need to find a problem you want to solve and not the solution first. Talk to your customers: You will always see that your product, service is being used in ways you never thought about before. Stay grounded and you will soon have better ways of growing your startup (and or increasing retention). Decide a north Star: This should help you measure if your product/startup is going in the right direction. A north star is often a proxy for the health of your product/startup so don't go for MAU's and DAU's but rather something that is actionable + contextually related to your offerings. Not everyone makes it (quickly): Most startups fail due to small but significant things. Trying to do things too quickly is one of the most surest way to die. Media paints a rosy picture of how founders did a lot of superhuman tasks and that is the exception and not the rule. What makes any superhuman founder super are: Patience, Hustle and persistence. Enjoy the process: Don't just do 120 hours a week and expect to get rewarded with a couple of million dollars in the next 6,12,18 yada yada months. Start a startup, it is like raising a baby, you need to go through the motions of raising a child, also not every child is the same, also don't have orphan child's (Products that are neglected and or have no parents/product owners). Good luck!