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Top 5 Startup Tips of 2024

Million Dollar Weekend

Ready to turn your idea into a real-life business in just a weekend? Here’s how you do it: Forget waiting for the perfect moment—it doesn’t exist. Focus on solving problems first, money second.

Burning out is a real thing in the startup world. We have these wild jobs with high stress based on an idea that may or may not have demand.

Man, we entrepreneurs are all a little crazy, right?

Let’s look at it this way. Imagine you spend 3 years focusing on a problem. It works for a bit, then tapers off and eventually fails. You learn lots and make friends. It’s a learning and one that you value.

But..

Imagine if you came to that realisation in a couple months rather than 3 years.

Giving yourself 48 hours to launch a small product is the perfect answer.

You give yourself positive feedback and feel good about how you spent your weekend. Most importantly, you spent your time building which is what we all love!

48 Hour Launch - Key Learnings 👇

Finding your Home Run Marketing Channel

Charlie dives into how any startup can find its first 100 customers for free.

Experiment with various channels like Reddit, Facebook groups, and Quora to find where your audience is hiding.

Start by throwing everything at the wall and focusing on instant-traffic strategies that don’t rely on brand presence or large followings. Just add major value!

After casting a wide net, double down on what works and drop what doesn’t.

Lastly, it’s important to know when to move beyond guerilla marketing channels. Scaling up with paid ads and other growth channels is key when the initial channels run dry…

Marketing Channels - Key Learnings 👇

4 Founder Myths

Myth #1: Founders Come from Wealthy Backgrounds

Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp, grew up in Ukraine without much before moving to the U.S. at 16. He co-founded WhatsApp in 2009, despite struggling financially, and later sold it to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014. You don't need to come from money to make it big.

Myth #2: Founders Can Do It Alone

Jack Ma, the Alibaba founder, faced numerous rejections, including from Harvard and KFC. Instead of giving up, he built a strong network of entrepreneurs and learned from different industries. He co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and turned it into a global e-commerce powerhouse.

Myth #3: Founders Don't Spend Their Own Money

Kevin Plank, Under Armour’s founder, launched the company from his grandmother's basement after using personal savings and maxing out his credit cards to fund growth. Despite early financial struggles, he stayed committed and built a multi-billion-dollar business.

Myth #4: Founders Get the Easy Jobs

Christina Cacioppo, Vanta's CEO and co-founder, used to hand-craft automated emails at 5:45 a.m. daily to set high customer experience standards. Founders often do unscalable work to understand customer behaviour and improve their products.

Founder Myths - Key Learnings 👇

Finding a co-founder

Finding a trusted co-founder is one of the most important steps to set your startup up for success.

The key is your network. 

Focus on building a network of really smart people who lean more towards entrepreneurial activity rather than getting a job.

Finding a Co-Founder - Key Learnings 👇