This is one of the biggest reasons I did not achieve my 2024 goals (I am working on a post covering all the reasons).
Perfect businesses don't grow. And they certainly aren't profitable. I like the modus operandi for building $1B+ startups. There is one central theme to their approach: Growth over all else. The people giving this advice are not dumb. They are very smart. And are right about this. I'll give an example to hammer this home:
We are launching a new product. For the last 3 days, I have been "creating the acquisition process".
I made the same mistake: trying to make something perfect.
Here is the lesson I am trying to learn: Things do not need to be perfect, just good enough so it's no longer the limiter of the system. The initial ad we created was good enough. It would have alleviated the constraint.
So allocating resources to solving this problem after this was a case of bad strategy.
Note: Learning is same condition, new behaviour. If I allocate resources to "perfecting something" (when it is not required) I have learnt nothing.
TLDR: What you work on is the most important thing. As Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) suggests, dedicate time to thinking about what to work on. Step up the pace, increase intensity, narrow your focus, and get shit done. Allocate all your resources to the constraint of the business. Work on tasks sequentially, not linearly. Have a fierce urgency to complete this one hyper-important task.
My thesis is that if we do the above, we unlock hypergrowth. Which, if you scroll up, is what the startup world values most: Growth over all else.
Super deep quote from me: "Getting shit done is my chief directive."
Very deep, I know.
Do more.
Lukas
P.S. I am starting Amp It Up! by Frank Slootman. I suggest ordering a copy. His leadership style is one I am actively implementing. I think we'll grow a lot by using it. I'll report back on our experience with this soon.
Perfect businesses don't grow. And they certainly aren't profitable. I like the modus operandi for building $1B+ startups. There is one central theme to their approach: Growth over all else. The people giving this advice are not dumb. They are very smart. And are right about this. I'll give an example to hammer this home:
We are launching a new product. For the last 3 days, I have been "creating the acquisition process".
I made the same mistake: trying to make something perfect.
Here is the lesson I am trying to learn: Things do not need to be perfect, just good enough so it's no longer the limiter of the system. The initial ad we created was good enough. It would have alleviated the constraint.
So allocating resources to solving this problem after this was a case of bad strategy.
Note: Learning is same condition, new behaviour. If I allocate resources to "perfecting something" (when it is not required) I have learnt nothing.
TLDR: What you work on is the most important thing. As Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) suggests, dedicate time to thinking about what to work on. Step up the pace, increase intensity, narrow your focus, and get shit done. Allocate all your resources to the constraint of the business. Work on tasks sequentially, not linearly. Have a fierce urgency to complete this one hyper-important task.
My thesis is that if we do the above, we unlock hypergrowth. Which, if you scroll up, is what the startup world values most: Growth over all else.
Super deep quote from me: "Getting shit done is my chief directive."
Very deep, I know.
Do more.
Lukas
P.S. I am starting Amp It Up! by Frank Slootman. I suggest ordering a copy. His leadership style is one I am actively implementing. I think we'll grow a lot by using it. I'll report back on our experience with this soon.