In this post, I am going to talk about the lessons that I learned during my two years of running my startup (Value Cumulation), which ultimately guided my decision to move on to other challenges and stop working on Value Cumulation.

The basic promise of Value Cumulation was making investment decisions easier for retail investors by giving them access to information about the company of interest in an intuitive way that required minimal knowledge of finance. In total, I spent about 20 months on the idea as a half time and weekend founder. I was a solo founder when I started the company in early 2022. The first 12 months was mostly coding and implementing the idea and the product. In the later 6 months of the company’s life, I brought in people with design, sales, and marketing background to help me grow the company as well as making the website(app) look nicer. It was a ride filled with technical and non-technical experiences but I finally decided to let go of the idea in October 2023 for multiple major reasons:

  • First, limited expertise in finance and the challenge of securing a co-founder with the requisite experience.
  • The market was highly competitive and saturated, with numerous players struggling for profitability. This intense competition presented significant challenges in acquiring customers.
  • I reassessed the viability of the concept in light of the previously mentioned factors. As my conviction in the idea diminished, my interest in its pursuit also diminished, ultimately guiding me towards the decision to wind down the company.

As painful as it was, I learned valuable lessons in this process and I aim to share these insights here, not only as guidance for fellow founders but also as a personal reflection and reminder.

  1. Have a Co-Founder: Starting a company is unlike the scenarios in science fiction movies, where a scientist sits in their room, attempting to devise a solution for a problem they have envisioned. Working on your idea and company requires you to brainstorm and talk with other people. Having a partner not only makes your tasks more manageable but also significantly increases the likelihood of success. The solo journey poses risks like burnout. If finding a co-founder is challenging, try finding individuals who are willing to be part of your journey. There are successful instances of solo founders. They achieve success by surrounding themselves with people who complement and fill their skill gaps.

  2. Technical Problems are (mostly) Solvable: Managing technical complexity is often more straightforward than acquiring customers and making sales. While my engineering background might make me biased, my experience with this project taught me that irrespective of a technical challenge’s difficulty, there are ways to overcome it or at least go around it. However, getting your product into customers’ hands is immensely challenging. Don’t be overly concerned about technical complexity; you will find a solution.

  3. Do Your Research Before Committing: Conduct thorough research on the industry of your interest and be well-informed before starting your project. Know the ins and out of the industry. Know every single company in the industry. People with a technical background often dive straight into coding. However, a product has no value without customers. That said, often times it’s better to act quickly on an idea instead of overthinking it and listing its pros and cons, especially if the idea is valuable even without an initial market.

  4. Commit Fully: Go all in. Once you’re confident in your idea, invest all your effort and concentration. It’s more productive to focus on an idea for 3 months and see the results, rather than prolonging it for 2 years and then realizing it’s not viable. This approach allows you to quickly pivot to other ideas if the current one doesn’t pan out. Furthermore, your employees and new recruits should be fully committed to the company. It’s crucial not to have key individuals within your organization working part-time, as their energy and focus should be directed towards the company. Focusing your attention on a single task is generally more effective than spreading it thin.

  5. Mindful Behavior in Leadership: The way you perform either behavioral or technical reflects in your organization. Choose wisely how to present yourself and be selective about collaborators because they will shape your company and you. Having said that, don’t paralyze yourself with overthinking. If you had to pick between taking actions and or sitting down, take actions.

  6. Gain Traction Quickly: Attracting customers can provide a psychological boost, pushing you forward. On challenging days when your energy is low, having an active user base or customer feedback can be very motivating.

  7. Don’t Give Up Just Because You’re Tired: If you ever feel overwhelmed or drained, don’t immediately give up. Instead, take a few days off and return with renewed determination. Remember, you’re in it for the long haul. Building a successful startup demands unwavering focus and commitment. On days when giving up appears to be the simplest choice, pause for a few hours and clear your mind. Your vision is more important than short-term setbacks.

  8. Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize: As a small company, your time and resources are finite. Every day, concentrate on the most critical tasks that genuinely move the needle. Avoid investing too much effort in activities that won’t significantly benefit your company in the long run. For instance, if you’re juggling several responsibilities, dedicate your energy to tasks that, once addressed, will streamline other processes.

  9. Why Your Team?: What makes your team unique for solving this problem? Do you have the right set of people? What have each of you shown in your background that makes you the right set of people to solve this problem? What unique, even if small, achievements does your team bring to the table? If not, do you have enough traction? Think carefully about this problem.

  10. Ability to Sell: You need people with great sales capabilities in your team. If you don’t have this person, then learn how to sell. Being a great seller is as important as having a great product.

  11. Find Your Network: Try to connect with the right set of people who increase the chance of the success of your company. You can do it multiple ways:
    • Raise from the right VCs
    • Hire the right people or co-founders
    • Partner with the right set of companies/people
  12. Maximize the Odds of Your Success: Startup is a game of chance. Whatever you do needs to be in the direction of increasing the chance of the success of your company.

I hope these lessons can help you and increase the chance of your startup’s success. Feel free to share your experience in the comment section below.