Startup to Scale Up Logo

The One Golden Rule of Startup Success

Published April 26, 2024

Core Takeaway

There is only one golden rule to building a successful startup: build a winning team, build something people want and will pay for, and do it fast and lean.

TLDR

  • Either you'll embrace someone else's method and grow, or you'll disagree so strongly it brings clarity to your own approach - either way, you win.
  • There is only one golden rule to building a successful startup: build a winning team, build something people want and will pay for, and do it fast and lean.
  • All the frameworks and growth hacks are just methods others created to solve their challenges - they're the how, not the what.

Newsletter

Hey Reader,

Every founder is driven by the pursuit of advantage. The shortcuts, insights, frameworks, and sparks that, just maybe, ignite the one idea, the one insight, the unlock code that can be leveraged. One goal. Move faster, smarter, better.

Last week's newsletter, on founders navigating the space between what was and what will be... resonated... <join in>

The great thing about someone else's method is that one of two things will happen:

  1. Either you'll embrace it, find that it works for you, and grow because of it.
  2. You'll disagree so strongly that it brings clarity to your own approach.

Either way, you win.

There is only one golden rule to building a successful startup - it's a universal truth:

Build a winning team.
Build something people want and are willing to pay for.
Do it fast, keep it lean.

That's the whole playbook. Everything else is just details.

The frameworks, growth hacks, bits & things are just methods others have created to solve their own challenges and might help you execute these core principles better. They're the how, not the what.

Take a second, step back, and make sure you are not making this more complicated than it needs to be.

Have an amazing week.

LFG,

James

P.S. Back to frameworks next week. For sure.

Thanks for reading!

More Newsletters

Continue Your Founder Journey

Explore all the resources available to help you build and scale your startup

Startup Frameworks Library

A comprehensive collection of frameworks, tools, and templates to help you build and scale your startup. Each framework is designed to address a specific challenge in your founder journey.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Join 140,000+ founders getting exclusive strategies, frameworks, and founder stories every Sunday.

Get instant access to the 50-Step Founder Playbook downloaded over 1M times

About the Author

James Sinclair

James Sinclair

Founder Coach

3x Exited Founder and Founder Coach helping entrepreneurs navigate the startup journey.