So, you’re a startup founder

You came up with a brilliant idea, you have done loads of research, you believe there’s a clear opportunity, you have identified who your customers are, all you need is some funding or a tech co-founder to build the product, launch it and turn it into the next big thing.

At this moment, you are thinking:

  • Where do I find investors?

  • How do I find a tech co-founder who can help me build my idea?

But wait, have you ever wonder if you are asking the right questions at all? - Read on to find out.

A little bit about me . . .

Hi, I’m Jonathan. Born in Hong Kong, raised in Sydney, Australia.

I have built 5 startups myself, assessed 500+ startup grant applications, assisted a number of startups successfully raise seed capital and mentored countless startup founders like yourself.

I started my first so-called business (a graphic design & web development agency) while I was still in university, 20 years ago. I endured that for 10 years until I realised that trading time for money is not really running a business. So I ventured into the world of tech startups, hoping that I can make it to the next big thing.

I launched my first venture in 2009, it was shut down soon after. I launched my second venture in 2010 and my third in 2013. Both also didn't perform as well as I have anticipated.

I could blame these failures on my naivete and the fact that there wasn't much of a startup ecosystem to offer guidance and support back then. But as a matter of fact, I should have blamed myself, because if there's one thing I could have done differently, it is to educate myself through drawing wisdom from those who have done it before.

Since then I have reached out to experienced entrepreneurs who have done it before, collectively built better businesses and started helping other founders with their journey. I have also assessed hundreds of startup grant applications through my involvement with both the NSW and Federal Government as an advisor for various grant programs.

And because of my extensive involvement with early stage startup founders, I have started to realise patterns and common mistakes that many entrepreneur makes when building their startups. That has led me in putting together various resources to help startup founders ride through the early stages of their journey with more clarity.

What is the #1 reason why startup fails?

No Market Need

Meaning people are building things that nobody wants. And to avoid falling into that trap, I suggest you start with the understanding of the principles of the lean startup mindset and what is a minimum viable product. Below are two articles which might get you started.

  • Understanding the Leand Startup Mindset

    I have an idea, I have done a lot of research and analysis on the market and I can show you the stats if you want, I have talked to my friends, and done surveys with many other people and they all love it. The idea is fully validated. I have also done 3 years of financial projections and I’m 100% confident that this idea is going to work, and it will be massive. This is where I’m at, I have got a detailed requirements specification for the proposed solution. And all I need is just some funding or a tech co-founder to build the solution so we can launch it to the market.

    If that sounds like you, you might just want to invest a few minutes of your time to read through this article.

    Go to Article

  • What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

    If you think a minimum viable product (MVP) is simply just a bad version of your first product, you are wrong. And sadly, a lot of people think that way. And there’s also a lot of people out there simply “think” that they need to build an MVP because they have to be lean, but they don’t know why and what that means, they just do it because “I want to start a startup, so I must build an MVP”. . . hmm

    Go to Article

Want to learn how to validate your idea and build your first product quickly?

Based on Steve Blank’s Customer Development Model and Eric Ries’ Lean Startup methodology, I have created a step by step guide in helping early stage startup founders quickly identify a problem worth solving for, understand your customer, validate your problem/solution fit and build your first product without the need of coding or a tech co-founder.

Books I Recommend

Want to connect? Drop us a line.

Or connect with me on LinkedIn