What are the most common challenges that founders face, and how can you overcome them with resiliency?

Do not become a founder because you want to start a business; Become a founder because you're so angry or scared that a problem exists that you're willing to go to irrational lengths to solve it, including the most irrational action of all - starting a business to solve it Stay focused on the vision - a world where the problem is solved. Be flexible on what the solutions will ultimately be

The biggest challenge is that the nature of the problems you face is always changing and morphing. You solve one or two challenges, your business scales thanks to it, but now 5 completely new problems appear that require very different skills and approaches than the ones you just solved. It is incredibly exhausting and incredibly fulfilling. I can think of no better teacher.

Being a CEO or founder can feel incredibly isolating. It's important to find a community of founders that have already learned the ropes. A safe space for experience sharing is critical. Remember that you are not in this alone, even though it may feel that way at times.

One of the most common things I have heard from founders is how to both build culture and foster innovation in the post-Covid remote world. Accepting that employees are never coming back is the first part. After that, you need to lean in to what you missed most about being in-person and find a way to replicate it virtually.

In my experience talking to customers BEFORE you start coding up your solution is key. In my last company, we got 40 potential customers to talk about the business problem we were trying to solve. Telephone calls, zoom calls and some lunch meetings changed our assumptions and narrowed the scope of our software solution. It turned out that our assumptions were correct, but they were still years away from being able to be implemented in most corporations. By listening to potential customers pain points, we were able to deliver something that worked today. As Steve Blank says, entrepreneurship requires getting out of the building.

Validating your assumptions is critical to finding product-market fit. This entails creating a product that resonates with the needs and desires of your target audience. To do this, you must test your hypotheses about your customers, their issues, and how your product or service can solve these problems. Engage with actual users, solicit their feedback, and iterate your offering based on tangible data and insights. This approach helps you steer clear of investing time and resources into a product with no demand. Instead, you can concentrate on delivering value and addressing genuine customer pain points.

Seek funding wisely. You want to make sure that if you raise, it comes at the right time, from the right partner at the right terms. This means, you want to have a set of targets that are achievable after the financing (be the company that achieves its goals, not the one that overestimates), find the partner who wants to be alongside of you during the journey and one that really understands both the opportunities and the challenges of the business (that means get ahead and disclose them)! Finally, when you take capital, you should think of it as a handshake where you are going not only try to optimize your outcome, but also the partners to help them achieve their goals.

Seeking funding wisely is essential, as it supports growth, talent acquisition, and customer expansion. However, it's important to consider the trade-offs and investor expectations that come with it. Be strategic about the amount of funding you need, the timing, and the sources from which you secure it. Prepare to pitch your business convincingly, negotiate terms, and maintain investor relationships. Opt for funding that aligns with your mission and vision, and ensure it doesn't divert you from your primary objectives.

Funding can be a great tool to help you scale. But they key word is scale. Don't think that funding is going to solve all of your problems if you have something that isn't sticking. Once you validate your assumptions, build out a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This can be something as simple as a Figma prototype, or even a simple landing page or ads. Your north star here should be getting people to pay, or commit to paying through letters of intent. This way you can iterate until you have people begging you to release something and pay for it. Only when you need to build something (that you have VALIDATED), you go find funding. And this will make raising much easier as you have proof it is needed. *Read "The Lean Startup" By Eric Ries.

Building a great team is the cornerstone of any successful venture, and it's paramount for founders to recognize its pivotal role. A stellar team can amplify your strengths, compensate for your weaknesses, and collectively drive your vision forward. One of the roadblocks in building a great team is the arduous task of finding the right individuals who not only possess the necessary skills but also align with your vision and values. Additionally, the hiring process can be time-consuming and costly. Once you have the team in place, maintaining motivation and retaining talent can be another hurdle. Keeping team members engaged and committed is an ongoing effort, often demanding creativity and flexibility.

Team, team, team! But not necessarily the same team the entire time! Characteristics of team members change as the company moves through its lifecycle. The earlier stage that your company is, the more that you need to focus on a team that knows how to execute! In the beginning, you want generalists, as the company grows, you want experts. Make sure that you hire for the right role at the right time.

The team starts with your partners, one of the most challenging decisions is whether to venture alone or in company. Choosing wisely who is going to be your founding partner is critical, someone there getting along smoothly with her/his co-founders? At some point our vision, plans and hopes will inevitably create friction. I believe that the only formula to overcome this significant hurdle that can sink many startups is communication, transparent from the very beginning, and continously. Along my years with several partners my only doubt that still remains is, has your co-founder have to be your friend? While I think so, it´s not a firm opinion What everyone else think?

Managing your stress is much more difficult than generic tips generated by AI. You have large responsibilities and need to perform in a high-performance environment. Acknowledging signs of stress is what we often pass over as founders. Create a clear communication structure besides business goals on personal progression and well-being with co-founders or people you trust. Being in a high-risk environment of becoming burned out and 90% of startups failing you have to find a way to take care of yourself on a personal level and think about how your strengths and personality align to help you and your company succeed. Take time to sharpen your saw and don’t be afraid to reach out to other founders or experienced coaches to help you.

I will keep this simple. Sleep well; at least 8 hours. Eat well; don't skip meals. Maintain connections with outer circles; see friends and family. Exercise; even just going for a daily walk. Finding time for the simple yet important things each day will have a massive impact on your ability to work and focus on your start up.

1) Write it down. Even if it's one line a day, just write it down (emailing your team does not count!) Kinesthetically connecting your thoughts to your hands helps filter the noise in your head into something that felt intangible into something manageable. 2) Humanize yourself and your team – personally connecting with your team members outside the context of the job helps solving problems together later much easier. You unconsciously learn how your people think (and vice versa) and operate, and this will help you communicate and navigate the pressures that come with high-stakes deliverables with tight deadlines. 3) HALT - This is a tenet in recovery; never make big decisions when you're hungry, angry, lonely or tired.

Embrace uncertainty, set a long term vision, put one foot ahead of the other and start to execute. Look up every now and then to make sure you are still on course and that the course is making sense and keep going, or pivot. Then repeat.

In my experience, it's crucial to emphasize that while embracing uncertainty is a key trait for founders, it must be coupled with the wisdom to recognize when to tether your journey to a clear direction. Founders should chart a course into the unknown but also possess the acumen to set boundaries and make calculated moves. This balance between exploration and strategic decision-making is where successful entrepreneurship thrives, and it's a testament to a founder's ability to lead with both vision and prudence.

It's important to embrace uncertainty, but be mindful that your broader team or company may be less resilient during unpredictable times. Exude confidence and reinforce reasons to believe, but don't be delusional either.

Never forget that you are building a solution/product for (prospective) clients. Many founders make the mistake to not validate their business idea against real world customer feedback. This does not mean that you should give up if some clients don’t see any need/value. But actually it means that you should NEVER stop listening to your customers. The people/department who will actually be using your solution. Only by testing it against their feedback with the ultimate proof of PMF being a sale (or repetitive sale) you can continue scaling the business. It takes a lot of grit & resilience to enter into such conversations - get critical questions and negative feedback. But it is the only way to success.

En mi primera empresa el mayor reto fue transitar por esa montaña rusa de emociones a la que te enfrentas los primeros meses, sobre todo si las cosas no salen como lo planeaste. Ahora en mi segunda empresa, con mucha más experiencia, ha sido clave seleccionar a mi equipo de socias. Donde nos damos siempre apoyo no solo en las decisiones estratégicas y la empresa, sino también la apertura para compartir cómo nos sentimos y enfrentar retos en equipo. Definitivamente tener un equipo de soporte ha sido clave para lograr el éxito que hemos tenido como empresa en menos de 2 años de operación.

In my experience, the most common challenge that founders face is that regardless of previous experience you always venture into the unknown. The only way to overcome them with resiliency is to admit that you don't have perfect information and that you or your team do not know everything necessary to complete the job. Funders must be willing to acknowledge they will inevitably be making errors and be willing to mand theme fast without remorse or resilience.