Garry Tan is an experienced entrepreneur who has founded two companies and advised hundreds of others in the startup scene. His work has given him invaluable insights into the startup world which he is now eager to share with aspiring entrepreneurs.
This article will explore what Garry Tan has learned about startups after founding two companies and advising more than 700.
Garry Tan’s background
Garry Tan is an experienced entrepreneur and investor in the tech industry who has built and advised many successful startups. Tan’s track record includes founding two companies, Posterous and Instagr.am – both acquired by Twitter – and sitting on the board of multiple private and public companies. His portfolio includes investments in over 25 startups, including big successes such as InVision, Slack, Lambda School, Postmates and Stack Overflow.
Furthermore, Garry provides high-level startup consulting to over 700 companies worldwide.
Given his extensive experience in the startup world, Garry offers valuable perspective on how to build a successful business from scratch – from ideation to monetization to fundraising – you name it! He also brings years of understanding about what it’s like to be a founder and how entrepreneurs can best leverage their resources for maximum effect.
In this article, we will discuss what Garry Tan has learned about startups after founding two companies–and advising more than 700!
Founding 2 Companies
Garry Tan is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has founded two companies: Posterous and Initialized Capital. His experience founding and growing these two companies has given him insight into creating a successful startup. Garry has also advised more than 700 startups.
Let’s dive into the lessons he has learned during the process.
Challenges faced
Garry Tan is an entrepreneur, angel investor, educator and venture capitalist. He has founded two startups; Posterous and Inventuum, and as of 2012 had advised more than 700 companies. Garry’s firsthand experience in starting up two companies gives him an invaluable perspective on entrepreneurs’ challenges today.
Although similar in some ways, each startup posed unique challenges for Mr. Tan. Whether it was the physical infrastructure or software development for a web-based venture, complications and hurdles were rarely few or without heavy investment of time and energy. Other top frailties included lack of capital support from investors, mismanagement of resources due to inexperience, lack of public relations leading to difficulty in gaining customers or guidance from mentors even with years of success in the domain.
In highlighting these struggles and obstacles faced by entrepreneurs before founding their first business venture which could have been easily avoided if made aware beforehand, Mr. Tan has handled many tough situations through effective management decision-making skills, mostly as a result of his prior practical experience within the startup world or processing advice from knowledgeable team members with possible outcomes through critical thinking models evaluating risk versus reward such as Lean Startups methodology or Agile Project Management philosophies commonly used during product iteration cycles. All this comes together to ensure that his current tips offer growing businesses victory over similar adversities experienced during their journeys.
Lessons learned
Garry Tan is an entrepreneur, investor and advisor who has launched multiple companies, including Posterous and Instapaper. He also oversees Y Combinator’s Startup School, an online educational program for new entrepreneurs. Tan has acquired much knowledge about the startup process as someone involved in hundreds of startups. Here are some of the lessons he has learned about founding two companies and advising more than 700 startups over the years:
1. Fail fast: To succeed as entrepreneurs, Tan says it’s important to be willing to fail quickly when an idea or product doesn’t work out. Trying to adjust and pivot if something isn’t working will help you learn what works sooner rather than chugging along on a failing strategy without realizing it until much later.
2. Focus on product first: Instead of focusing solely on business plans or revenue models immediately, put energy into creating a great product or service first and foremost. If the consumer doesn’t find your product valuable they won’t use it regardless of your strategy or business plan.
3. Don’t rush decisions: Many founders are anxious to move as quickly as possible to get their business off the ground; however this can lead them into making rushed decisions that could have serious consequences further down the line once their company is up and running, such as not taking enough time before hiring staff and deciding upon partnerships that may not end up being beneficial for the business in the long run.
4. Diverse perspectives matter: It can be easy for founders with certain backgrounds – often male-dominated fields like tech – to become too comfortable in their point of view and lack true diversity within their team both in terms of race/ethnicity/gender etc as well as ideas regarding ways they could approach problems and develop solutions without taking a risk with something new or different that may result in a better outcome overall for all involved going forward.
5. Always be learning: It may sound obvious but good businesses never stop learning; even after launching products or services that are wildly successful there is still room for improvement as society changes – it is important for founders never not keep evolving with these changes so that their business remains relevant throughout its journey into adulthood and beyond!
What Garry Tan Has Learned About Startups After Founding 2 Companies–and Advising More Than 700
Garry Tan’s journey in the startup world began when he co-founded a photo-sharing site in 2005. Since then, he has found another company and advised more than 700 startups. Through this experience, Tan has gained invaluable wisdom about what works and what doesn’t when launching and running a successful startup.
In this article, we explore the lessons Tan has learned along the way.
Challenges faced
Garry Tan, a partner at Initialized Capital, has been a part of the startup scene for the past decade, founding two companies and advising more than 700 startups. While this journey has been immensely rewarding, it’s not always smooth sailing. In his experience working with startup founders, Tan has encountered some common challenges many have faced during the startup process.
One issue facing many startups is becoming over-invested in their original concept. Many founders are eager to move quickly from idea to execution without taking the time to research and evaluate different options. This often leads to companies making significant investments too early without knowing whether or not their product or concept is something customers truly want and need. Tan recommends conducting extensive customer research to avoid risky investments before diving into development or marketing activities for any product.
Another snag in the entrepreneurial journey is founder relationships — particularly when it comes down to splitting equity fairly between multiple co-founders. Initializing equity up front can be hard because it requires making assumptions about your future success together as a team while still being fair amongst yourselves today. Getting it wrong can cause tension and issues in the long run that harm your company’s progress and morale. Instead, Tan advises being honest and transparent with each other when discussing equity splits — this way you can approach potential issues head-on and avoid letting them become bigger problems down the line.
Finally, Tan cautions against measuring progress solely by vanity metrics like website visits or user registrations. While these metrics may provide interesting insights into customer behavior or interest, they don’t necessarily lead you closer to understanding customer needs and solving real problems for them — which should be your ultimate goal as an entrepreneur striving for success in your venture.
Lessons learned
Garry Tan has been founding companies and advising startups since 2006. He has founded two companies and provided advice to more than 700 other startups, making him one of the leading experts in the field. Tan has written extensively about his experiences and the lessons he has learned from this journey. This article will explore some of these lessons that Garry Tan has learned about starting a successful startup.
One of Tan’s insights was to think beyond the traditional venture capital model. While VC funding can bring immense growth opportunities, it can also be difficult to secure, especially for early-stage companies. Tan suggests broadening your funding sources by exploring angel investment, private equity groups, institutional investors, crowdfunding campaigns and even direct public offerings (DPOs) as viable alternative options to traditional venture capital investments. Additionally, putting money back into their teams through stock-based compensation is something that many entrepreneurs overlook but could make a huge difference in terms of employee retention and boosting morale over time while introducing a powerful incentive system.
Tan also highlights the importance of strategically leveraging partnerships and strategic marketing initiatives to increase customer satisfaction and product visibility respectively;. At the same time, most startups assume they have to do everything themselves or be able to do it all in house if they’re aiming for success, partnering with complementary businesses or hiring an experienced agency can help provide better customer satisfaction as well as determine effective long-term marketing strategies for more sustainable results overall instead of depending on quick fixes.
Advice for Future Founders
Having founded two companies, and served as an advisor to hundreds more, Garry Tan has invaluable wisdom to share about the world of startups.
In this section, we’ll dive into the lessons he’s learned over the years about founding and growing a successful startup. This section will cover Tan’s advice on creating a thriving enterprise from the things that worked well to the pitfalls to avoid.
What to do
Garry Tan, a former partner at Y Combinator and now the cofounder of Initialized Capital, has gained wisdom and perspective on creating an innovative company. Drawing on his experience as a founding partner of Posterous, a top 10 iOS app with 25 million users before its acquisition in 2012, and as an advisor to more than 700 startups across multiple Silicon Valley-based accelerator programs, Tan provides insights into what it takes to create an enduring business.
Below are five tips based on Garry Tan’s advice that can help any aspiring founder build their successful startup:
1. Embrace Failure – Don’t be afraid of trying something new or taking risks; sometimes the best way forward is through failure. As Tan suggests, “When starting a company, don’t be afraid to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and make tough decisions when it matters.”
2. Know Your Customer – When deciding whether or not to pursue a business venture or idea, take the time to thoroughly research your target customer base and conduct customer interviews so you can gain valuable insights into their needs and wants before developing an MVP. According to Tan’s advice: “Listening intently to every form of customer feedback you receive can save you from unnecessary steps down dead-end paths.”
3. Invest in People – Hire talented people who have expertise in building great products as early as possible so that you don’t overspend on non-essentials or misallocate resources that could be used for more important items like technology infrastructure or marketing efforts later down the line. “Hire strategically,” advises Tan; “it pays off in dividends at every step along the way.”
4. Get Moving – Don’t let too much analysis paralyze your team from making decisive decisions quickly to stay ahead of your competition while still prioritizing quality over quantity so you can avoid future product pivots after investing too much time and capital into development processes that may come out unused in the end. Garry offers this advice: “Move forward if there’s no viable alternative — sometimes faster is better than perfect.”
5. Focus On The Moment – Founders often succumb to paralysis when considering their options and extended timelines for future planning which isn’t always beneficial since circumstances can change rapidly within any entrepreneurial journey causing plans made months ahead of time irrelevant if not assessed after the fact which affects resource allocation practices frequently overruling long term considerations made early on.
What to avoid
Regardless of the type of business you’re hoping to build, it helps to understand what pitfalls to avoid and challenges come with developing a product, building a company and scaling. While many challenges are associated with founding and leading a successful startup, Garry Tan – founder of Posterous and Partner at Y Combinator – has learned some key elements throughout his career. Here are some key points that entrepreneurs should consider when starting their own business:
Business Model: Be sure your business model is well-defined, sustainable, and offers value in the market. Often, startups launch products without understanding what their customer base will look like or if they have enough demand for their product or service. Make sure you understand how your target customers want to interact with your product or service before you launch so that you can meet their needs efficiently and properly market your offering.
Team: Surround yourself with knowledgeable people who know what they’re doing. Your team is the backbone behind any startup’s success — they will be responsible for turning your vision into reality and participating in many different areas of the company. In addition, a strong team allows you to bridge skills gaps internally and provides invaluable advice during decision-making processes.
Leadership: Have a clear vision for where you’re headed as a leader and be honest about potential obstacles that may arise ahead. Businesses naturally encounter difficult situations; make sure you prepare accordingly with contingency plans in place should something go wrong or need to change quickly to stay competitive in the market. In addition to having resources available when needed, focus on defining roles within the team and hold everyone accountable for their part within those roles—no matter how small it might seem!
Focus: As an entrepreneur, focus is essential—especially given that competition today happens at such speed due to technological advancements like social media platforms playing critically important roles throughout almost any industry vertical nowadays where information spreads faster than ever. To remain competitive within this landscape requires entrepreneurial curiosity – stay true to one project at a time while looking ahead into future trends by staying organized managing projects’ pipeline based on priorities as each can lead different directions which can open unique possibilities!
Conclusion
Garry Tan is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has founded two successful companies, Posterous and Initialized Capital. Through his experiences and working with over 700 startups in various capacities, Garry has shared some key lessons he’s learned from his start-up journey and from supporting other entrepreneurs:
1. Talent is more important than the idea – Having the right team is always more important than having the ‘perfect’ idea. A great team can course correct on a good idea or create something out of nothing, but no one can do anything if they don’t have talented people onboard.
2. Measurement is necessary – Measuring user behavior helps build better products and services that cater to users’ needs. Therefore, companies must pay attention to their data to make sound decisions that can help improve products and customer relationships.
3. Focus on experience – Today, it is essential for companies to not only focus on providing quality products, but also developing an experience around them that customers desire or need at each stage of the customer journey. Talking about how you want your customers to feel when using your product–and designing for it–is incredibly important for forming deep connections with your users.
4. Build relationships with customers – Investing time into understanding customer needs concerning products creates deeper relationships with those customers which are mutually beneficial. Understanding customer preferences allows platforms to better align product designs in order optimize the user experience, resulting in higher engagement and surprise moments that delight users even further down the line; this builds trust between companies and their customers while fostering both continued loyalty & growth opportunities through product feature updates further down the line as well as invitations for additional features or services based upon improved understanding of what a customer wants or needs out of their product use experience..