It was six times quicker to launchRnwl, my current startup, than my previous one.
The level of complexity, product novelty, and financial requirements are particularly similar between the two.
What was it that allowed me to deliver so much faster?
And why is it that serial entrepreneurs seem to execute far faster than they did their first-time around?
Sure, experience is key.
But what is it that serial entrepreneurs do differently when building a new company?
More importantly, how can it be replicated by first time entrepreneurs?
The good news is that they can mostly be replicated by first-time entrepreneurs.
[Read:4 things all managers should avoid doing during the coronavirus pandemic]
1)Read.
I stepped down from the role of CEO of SR last Summer.
And I read a lot.
And I mean a lot.
I read on the matters I felt I needed the most.
Most of the important details behind Rnwl came to my mind as I was reading.
The time spend reading before starting to work on building Rnwl gave me time to learn and think.
To prepare to execute quickly.
You should hire the very best founding team you’ve got the option to afford.
Attitude and personality will only take you so far.
Unfortunately, this is easier said than done and its probably one of the toughest challenges for entrepreneurs.
Hiring without capital is tough.
Raising capital without a team is even tougher.
This challenge becomes slightly less hard for serial entrepreneurs with a good track record for two reasons.
Firstly its easier to raise pre-seed rounds without having a team in place.
In Rnwls case, investors bet on my ability to execute and hoped for the best.
Secondly, potential hires also take a bet on the entrepreneurs track record and vision.
The highly experienced team behind Rnwl is making a huge difference in terms of speed and quality of execution.
So my advice to you is to hire the very best you’re free to afford.
Use them to your advantage.
When I founded SR I had to spend far too much time trying to raise capital.
Raising capital is always time consuming, but with Rnwl I was able to strike a much better balance.
I was able to focus far more in understanding what customers valued in the product.
Get the value proposition right.
Use these time saving tools and move on.
Focus on what adds value to the company: the customers.
Im very guilty of this.
However, this is rather counterproductive when building a startup.
Serial entrepreneurs are far better at focusing on the core vision and product.
They define what the value proposition is and then stick to it.
They check that they deliver and leave satellite opportunities alone.
Its powerful to say No.
I mean, how am I supposed to resist the latest shiny new opportunity?
Except this time I did and the team behind Rnwl is laser focused on one common goal.
The difference is noticeable.
Story byGoncalo de Vasconcelos
Goncalo is a serial entrepreneur who founded Rnwl, his third company.
