Do More Faster Chapter 2: People
This is my summary of the second chapter (theme) of Do More Faster. Feel free to check the summary for the first chapter here.
Chapter 2: People
Don’t Go At It Alone
- Have at least one co-founder. Building a start-up is hard enough alone. Having someone to share the work, feedback, and downsides is a huge asset to your success.
Avoid Co-Founder Conflict
- Make sure everyone agrees on equity, company direction, and how the company will be run (salaries, shares, hiring/firing procedures). You want to get these things out of the way so you can focus on what really matters, your product/service.
Hire People Better Then You
- Don’t be insecure about hiring better people then you. Hiring better/smarter people will make your startup exponentially better.
Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly
- It takes time to find/hire great people. Don’t be afraid to fire an employee who doesn’t fit. Have something along the lines of a 90 day performance and 360 degree review (after someone works for 90 days you have the option of firing them if it’s not working out).
If You Can Quit, You Should
- You should be so obsessed and passionate about your startup that quitting is not an option, it should be impossible to quit.
Build a Balanced Team
- Find co-founders with complimentary skills. At the early stages of a startup it makes no sense to have more then one non-technical co-founder.
Startups Seek Friends
- Focus on establishing friendships in the early stages of your startup. Create two way relationships were both parties benefit. Do not create a sales-customer relationship early in your startup since you probably won’t have much to sale.
Engage Great Mentors
- Mentors are in invaluable part of a startup. It allows you to learn form other people’s experiences. Seek out a mentor if you don’t have one.
Define Your Culture
- Start up success is determined by the team, product, market, and culture. You must create a great culture in order for your startup to make a successful product/service.
Two Stikes and You Are Out
- You are only allowed to screw over Brad Feld once via lying/deceiving him, doing something illegal/immoral, or hurting him. If you screw him over a second time he’s finished with you forever.
Karma Matters
- Help others without expecting anything in return. At the very least you’ll have the satisfaction that you helped someone.
Be Open to Randomness
- Be open to meeting random people, you’ll never know who you’ll meet and what impact they might have on your future.
I have to say, my favorite section from this chapter is “If you can quite, you should”. There are so many road blocks that you hit when running a startup, the ones who make it to the end are the ones who said “no” to quitting every time they hit one.
Edgar – thanks for taking the time to summarize the chapters!
Thanks for the book! Learning a lot and I love all the short stories and lessons in each section.
[...] This is my summary of the third chapter (theme) of Do More Faster. Feel free to check the summary for the first chapter here and the second chapter here. [...]