Startup Founder? Some of the worst things you can say or write

by Startacus Admin

We know it’s a bit idealistic to think that saying a few things here and there can ultimately destroy your startup morale and practices. Only a bit though. There are a few things that should never be said by anyone in a startup, least of all the founder or the head honcho. We may as well take a look at a few and explain why they’re a bad idea...

1. “There’s no way to fund that idea...” 

Stop! Right there! That’s entirely wrong, on every level! Announcing to your team or potential investors that there is no way to fund an idea is basically a concession of defeat. No one wants to hear that, anyone involved in your startup, family, friends, supporters and investors all want you to succeed. Only the Moriarty to your Sherlock wants you to fail, and even then, if you fail, they have nothing else to scheme about.
With crowdfunding platforms, local support, investment and networking options, finding funding for ventures is always a way forward. It all comes down to putting in the work to make these campaigns successful.

2. “I’m the one calling the shots here...”

Mistake. True as this may or may not be, such a notion should never be made public knowledge, not to your employees nor your potential investors. It basically shows the lack of a managerial structure, and some apparent need to lord dominance over others. If you can’t play well with other kids, investors will take your money toys away and employees won’t play with you any more.

3. “You’re lucky to have been hired here...”

Take a chill pill, Skippy, you’re lucky to have this chance in life to actually start your own business. As with most people who work in a startup, they didn’t like their previous career, and so decided to pursue a career that they came up with themselves and they actually care about. The question then falls, who are you to say that to any of your employees? Better than that, what if an investor were to hear it? Would you put money into a company that will likely lose its team due to a founder having a superiority complex? Didn’t think so.

4. “That/It/He/She was stupid...”

If anyone has to explain this one to you, then there’s a problem. Don’t insult or belittle anyone at your startup. Ideas, notions, plans or aspirations are some of the most important and personal things anyone can offer. Shooting that down, especially in a rude way, will only result in them refusing to offer more ideas or any sort of input. On top of that, they may even be right, and investors may see it that way, choosing not to invest due to decisions made about business practices and ideas. Of course, worst case scenario, the person you belittled may just go ahead, start their own startup, end up outdoing you and ruining everything, but that’s the worst case scenario. Really.

5. “No...” (at least immediately)

Burning bridges is always a terrible idea. Unless there is a remarkable mitigating circumstance (illegal or unethical), like a potential client is a known con artist and you pick up on the swindle, a straight up “No” is a terrible strategy in any business measure or discussion. Future endeavours may require the help of other businesses, and they’ll remember your lack of willingness to work with them in the past. On top of that, not even considering or discussing ideas / suggestions can often times end in disaster. If nothing else, negotiating on anything that may warrant a “no” is viable, even if just for a few minutes, you should at least explain why you don’t want to do something and provide sound reasoning to it.

There are a million and one things a startup shouldn’t say, these are only a few. Here at Startacus we have the utmost respect and highest hopes for anyone founding a startup or anyone who works on the team of one, and like we said, we only want to see you all succeed!

Hope this Helps! Good Luck!

And remember, it's just an opinion!! 

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Published on: 11th December 2014