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Last active February 6, 2025 09:57
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Fail Forward event 2025-02-05

Fail Forward Night with Corinne Vigreux and Matt Welle

Important (critical)

  • recruit the co-founders
    • complementary (very very different)
    • growth mindset + no agreement (sparks)
  • let wrong people go quickly
  • go outside confort zone and events to meet people - be social. not easy.

you learn only after "you have kids"

not recommended to work with friends

  • can work but it is likely to go wrong
  • traumatic to let people go, a close person even worse

there is always a way (for things you don't know)

  • lawyer can help

major mistake:

  • not having a lawyer

go with a startup lawyer / hungry lawyer, eager to learn

  • start with chatgpt (lawyer charge by time )
  • find someone that you can pay through other means than money
  • don't go for lawyers from big companies (charge the leg)

Read/know what other companies do. Marty K. book (bible of product management ?)

About promoting

A lot of people should not be manager. What (people) skill they have or are willing / want to learn.

hire a senior or scale up yourself?

  • decide and commit
  • growth increase chances of getting fired
  • do I still contribute? (keep asking yourself and other people) - not every day, maybe every week?
  • example: I save time, I have understanding / experiences.
  • on other hand: impostor syndrome (am I running the business or "being run" - also happens).

How to stay motivated after failure?

  • do a post mortem - deeply understand it to avoid repeating.
  • shit happens: move on.

hard to let go when things scale (ex: from creating the product to people management) - you may need to "suck it up".

learning about yourself helps

Drivers

mix intuition and data

  • start with intuition?
  • quickly try to corroborate with data.
  • things are not under our control . you can / should make bets

naysayers can get one going (I'll show them) don't get spooked by first reaction

budget well make sure you don't run out of money realistic budget

scarcity of money makes better products? (forces focus)

tips & tricks

you need to take care of yourself like in sports

  • running / exercise / sport / sleep
  • mental heath
  • ex: podcast moment as creative outlet
  • ex: cooking

Offsites - eventually

to solve problems

  • some problems can easier be solved in a room compared to a videoconference

When to stop/leave

as fast as possible (if product is not good) - cut the cancer

check for signals from market.

understanding the problem you are solving is really key

RANDOM

Ideation Club - try solve a problem (university event)

## Important (critical)
- recruit the co-founders
- complementary (very very different)
- growth mindset + no agreement (sparks)
- let wrong people go **quickly**
- go outside confort zone and events to meet people - be social. not easy.
you learn only after "you have kids"
not recommended to work with friends
- can work but it is likely to go wrong
- traumatic to let people go, a close person even worse
there is *always* a way (for things you don't know)
- lawyer can help
### major mistake:
- not having a lawyer
go with a startup lawyer / hungry lawyer, eager to learn
- start with chatgpt (lawyer charge by time )
- find someone that you can pay through other means than money
- don't go for lawyers from big companies (charge the leg)
Read/know what other companies do.
Marty K. book (bible of product management ?)
## About promoting
A lot of people should not be manager.
What (people) skill they have or are willing / want to learn.
hire a senior or scale up yourself?
- decide and commit
- growth increase chances of getting fired
- do I still contribute? (keep asking yourself and other people) - not every day, maybe every week?
- example: I save time, I have understanding / experiences.
- on other hand: impostor syndrome (am I running the business or "being run" - also happens).
How to stay motivated after failure?
- do a *post mortem* - deeply understand it to avoid repeating.
- shit happens: move on.
hard to let go when things scale (ex: from creating the product to people management) - you may need to "suck it up".
learning about yourself helps
## Drivers
mix intuition and data
- start with intuition?
- quickly try to corroborate with data.
- things are not under our control . you can / should make bets
naysayers can get one going (I'll show them)
don't get spooked by first reaction
budget well
make sure you don't run out of money
realistic budget
scarcity of money makes better products? (forces focus)
## tips & tricks
you need to take care of yourself like in sports
- running / exercise / sport / sleep
- mental heath
- ex: podcast moment as creative outlet
- ex: cooking
### Offsites - eventually
to solve problems
- some problems can easier be solved in a room compared to a videoconference
## When to stop/leave
as fast as possible (if product is not good) - cut the cancer
check for signals from market.
understanding the problem you are solving is really key
## RANDOM
Ideation Club - try solve a problem (university event)
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