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Because being a visionary is not always enough

1. Build something that YOU want

Let’s start with why you’re doing this. Should you build something that people want, or something that YOU want? Short answer: People are sheep that don’t know what they want — you need to have the judgment, intuition and imagination to know what would work at scale. You will it, and so it shall be. Heard all of that jazz about the hustler in a startup? Most of what you do is leading and communicating that vision to others.

Being a visionary isn’t enough. I realised people can be interested in tech and openly identify with all the usual trappings of what could be perceived as different and potentially popular, but they could never take ownership of risky ventures, or put their skin in the game where it’s worth. You need to take complete ownership and delete co-founders who can’t. His/her conviction to realise your vision should be just as resolute as yours.

2. Delete bad co-founders quickly

As a general rule-of-thumb, you cannot work with a partner who represents things and values differently from you. When partnering with a potential co-founder, never get friends. Always test them by doing things that damage your own reputation, and this is the litmus test to see if they stick.

Also Read: Building your startup dream team: Finding a good UX designer, and how e27 did it in Vietnam

Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter in the long run and your reputation should be perceived as being antifragile anyway  — negative publicity is still publicity. See if your co-founder is willing to make sacrifices and if he/she takes ownership.

I’ve had a ‘co-founder’ who would piss off a Techcrunch senior writer because of his inflexibility and who would adopt the mantle of technical co-founder when he can’t even spend the money to get a working laptop so he can make small adjustments to our website. You’re better off getting the MVP done using freelancers from Upwork; I’ve had better mileage making affordable bets on remote workers while leading product development.

3. Be extremely selfish

A founder needs to be extremely selfish to present an intentionality, or the state in which he represents things of value, in which his interests are maximally fulfilled at the lowest cost. This actually ties in to being scrappy to achieve a very low burn rate. By the way, Namecheap is better and cheaper than Godaddy.

4. Go straight to remote by default

Remote developers are the technical executors you have to micro-manage. Globalisation and communication platforms like Slack have made this more possible than before. It is always cheaper and efficacious to engage developers from overseas while you manage business operations. If you don’t have a ‘local tech co-founder’ already, you’re never going to get one.

Also Read: Working with freelancers and remote teams: Why accountability matters

Remote working platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are great, especially when they offer escrow-based remuneration and where both parties (you and the developer) are assured of each other’s commitment through a third party. Take care not to engage development companies. Freelancers typically work full-time on your project and can devote all their time on it ’til completion. Dev companies are bad because they have more projects on their plate and can’t communicate and respond well. These are also more expensive, though not as expensive as local developers.

If you need help with technology and getting your own freelancers, I’m always willing to help.

5. Thrive in contention

All your friends and family will not support you. The first people that do are strangers. You’re going to face a tonne of naysaying –  and that’s unavoidable. In fact the more people dismiss you, the better.

Also Read: How Singapore dismisses startups the same way an intolerant Left betrayed the USA

The most successful endeavours are all similar in that people across the board dismiss them usually because it’s cognitively easier. This also means that it’s actually a bad thing if a significant percentage of people have already endorsed your idea. In fact, when making any sort of business decision, always use people as a soundboard for your ideas and decisions. The best decisions are the ones people would frown on.

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The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here.

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