My start-up just failed. It is a story that is much more common than the successes we read about every day so I wanted to pen down my pitfalls and what I wish I had done differently.

For context, we had a good idea, a great team, early validation from customers and a very strong network. We failed because we didn’t get enough done fast enough and generally lacked a sense of urgency. As CEO it was entirely my fault.

Here are 3 things that I did wrong

Chased small money

We were bootstrapping so I thought I could spare a few hours a week to help pay the bills so I taught a few online classes. Over time I began to see those classes as a priority because they gave me immediate cash flow. The jobs paid poorly so I didn’t really make any money but my startup suffered a lot because of my indulgences

Failed to motivate my team

As CEO my number 1 responsibility was to hustle, motivate and build a culture of responsibility and I failed miserably. I adjusted expectations to accommodate the team, didn’t push for outcomes for my own work and was generally very relaxed. I should have been over-bearing and knocking down walls instead of being sensitive or worrying about stepping on toes

Basked in the glory of the ‘start-up’

We did a lot of great work; we got feedback from VCs and Angels, got accepted to a couple of top-notch accelerators and had great support from customers – all things that pushed us towards success. But we never took the next step of raising capital, launching a beta product or growing our team. All because I was convinced that our product needed more time, we needed a longer list of customers and our value proposition needed to be less hazy. In hindsight, I was just lying to myself. I had just grown comfortable in the status quo and the leisurely pace. I was, after all, running a start-up and pursuing an idea that I was passionate about and could potentially change the world. Why would I want to change that and bring in outside pressure?

These mistakes are pretty obvious and I must be stupid and lazy to make them right? Perhaps that’s true. But my start-up isn’t the only one to fail because of these issues; there are many others who have fallen prey to the same mistakes. I also have ambitions to do this all over again so here a few things that I will do differently

Raise capital as early as I can

I will not wait to build a product, figure out product market fit or built the perfect team. I will raise capital as early as possible and be happy with any size of the round. I think this helps in 2 ways. First, at any early stage, you always need capital so the cash infusion will help and it is always nice to know that there is some cash in the bank. Second, capital creates external pressure that makes you hustle and accountable to someone other than the mirror. This means that I will no longer be able to say that things are going well but rather will have to say that we will have 5 customers and a beta product next month. And someone will fire me if I don’t. That is progress for everyone.

Have the team in one room

I will ensure that our team works in one room, every single day. If we are going to do weekend work, then we will do it at the office, right next to each other. This is important because it will not only let us help each other but also create a culture of accountability. We will know exactly what everyone else is doing and ensure that we call each other out if we slack. We will not be distracted by our homes, our errands, our pajamas and in effect breathe down each other’s neck. This responsibility is good.

No videos, no power-point just product and customers

I will not make any videos or power-points and pitch using an email that is 3 sentences long. Pitches, videos and power-points take an incredible amount of time that is better spent on building product and developing customers, especially when all you have is the founding team. Besides if I can’t synthesize the sell in 3 sentences then I probably don’t have the value proposition as firmed up as it has to be. Forcing this brevity is a good use of our time and focus and will undoubtedly please the receiver of my email.

So what’s next?

Sitting down to write this article has already ensured that I will be more successful in my next start-up. I have not only been able to acknowledge failure but also have a perspective on what went wrong. I will be more aggressive, motivational, focused and humbler and my next start-up will be better for it. You may even get to read all about it if we make it big. Or you may read about the one after that. The point is that one my start-ups will make it someday and these lessons will have played their role. I hope they can play a role in your success too.