The Silent Killers of Startups No One Dares Admit

E574: The five silent killers of startups that founders never admit. This is an expansion of the viral short video I previously made on this.

When startups die, it’s not with a bang but with a whimper. These are the five most common reasons why startups fail.

1․ The Expert's Curse ◦ Being an industry expert becomes the biggest liability. ◦ You solve yesterday's problems. ◦ You know too much to see new patterns.

2․ The 90-Day Death Clock ◦ Days 1-30, vision leads. ◦ Days 31-60, you need validation. ◦ Day 90+, still no validation? You're already dead. ◦ You don't die when money runs out, you died three months ago.

3․ Reality Distortion Debt ◦ Every assumption equals debt. ◦ Every we know better equals interest. ◦ Every delayed user test equals compound interest. ◦ Most startups are bankrupt before they're broke.

4․ The Competence Trap ◦ More competence = more procrastination. ◦ Building becomes an escape from selling. ◦ You're perfecting code instead of getting feedback. ◦ This is death by beautiful products that nobody wants.

5․ Time Perception Disorder ◦ Soon = never. ◦ Perfect timing = fear. ◦ The market is not ready = we're not ready. ◦ While you wait, the market moves on.

The hard truth.

Startups don't fail when you run out of money.

They fail when you choose: ◦ Comfort over truth ◦ Planning over testing ◦ Knowing over learning

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00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup 00:39 Silent Killer #1: The Expert's Curse 02:31 Silent Killer #2: The 90-Day Death Clock 05:37 Silent Killer #3: Reality Distortion Debt 06:34 Silent Killer #4: The Competence Trap 07:23 Silent Killer #5: Time Perception Disorder 08:05 Conclusion and Podcast Information

The Edward Show. Your daily digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#startups #ycombinator #foundermode #venturecapital