StartUp Founders: Find Your One Titan

Dear Reader,

Founders. Get a mentor. Get an advisor. You don’t know it all. Every legendary entrepreneur will tell you, the real cheat code was finding that one guru, that oracle who has been there, done that, and was willing to share the playbook. (𝕏 Tweet)

Accelerate everything. Step on less landmines. Get there quicker: You just need one titan in your corner to change everything.

TLDR; Rowing solo will get you moving, sometimes in a circle, but real acceleration in the right direction is a tribe of the right people rowing with you.

STARTUP FRAMEWORK DOWNLOADS:

• 1.2 Why Does My StartUp Exist: Problem Validation
• 1.3 Does The Market Care: Problem Impact Analysis
• 1.4 Investor Update Template: You Are The First Investor
• 1.5 The StartUp Value Chain: Where Do You Fit In?
• 1.6 StartUp Founder Tribe: Cultivating Your Circle
• 1.7 Solution First Glance: Reality Check
• 1.8 The Minimum Delightful Product: Creating Delight
• 1.9 The 5 Pillars: Empathetic Thinking
• 2.1 Market Sizing: Is The Market Big Enough?
• 2.2 B​reaking Into Your Market: Barriers To Entry
• 2.3 Your Atomic ICP: Looking For Nemo
• 2.4 Leadership Principles: Your Modus Operandi
• 2.5 Activating Your ICP 5:5:5: Colliding With Reality
• 2.6 Red Ocean vs Blue Ocean: Create or Steal
• 2.7 Ecosystem Mapping: Partners

LETS GET INTO IT:

Don’t wait for organic chance encounters, manifest it, be proactive, actively seek. The greatest talents, those seasoned veterans who’ve weathered storms you’re approaching, they’re out there. They’re looking for mentees like you. Great mentors don’t just happen upon you; it’s a two-way street.

Until $1m ARR, going alone feels like the fastest route. Time and again, founders discover a universal truth: the right advice, at the right time, changes absolutely everything.

More than support; it’s having the right support. You wouldn’t seek sex therapy from a nun*.

No one owes you anything. No matter where you are in your journey, do more, reach wider, climb higher, start to formalize your network with people who have a vested interest in your success. Every founder wishes they had been more proactive sooner.

Some things are binary: There are millions of ways StartUps succeed, but a handful of ways they almost always fail, having people in your circle a few steps ahead, who can guide, advise, and sometimes even course-correct for you, is invaluable. Not every hill needs to be your battleground.

At some point you have to pay. Equity isn’t just a token; it’s a statement of trust and partnership. Advisors that give upfront value and don’t see reciprocity will just disappear…. (The 2.5x rule – With advisors and mentors, I think after 2 1/2 times they “help” … you need to “pay” or they go away)

Go out there. get in front of senior or talented people – on LinkedIn, at events, wherever. People who align with what you are building, that genuinely might give a shit about you, your journey, your mission, your values, your anything and then – put in the work to earn the right to call them your mentor, your advisor, part of your tribe.

I hear the “too busy building” excuse a lot when it comes to networking or hunting down the right people. It’s an “and” not an “or” – this is part of your job.

As always, you are welcome to grab time with me.

— James

(LinkedIn | Twitter | Tiktok)​