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How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
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The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table

Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?

Wil Schroter

Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?

Why do Founders seem so reluctant to ask for help?

We'd think in a business that involves nothing but unanswered questions, our arms would be tired from raising our hands to ask for more help. But instead, we tend to constantly motor through problems that we have no idea how to solve, or have very little experience with, as if we're the best person to solve them.

The source of this tends to be a lack of understanding. In many cases we simply don't realize that the problems we are solving already have readily available solutions, and more so, super experienced people who are more than willing to hand them to us.

It's All Been Solved Already

What if I were to tell you that nearly every problem that you're solving is only new to you as the Founder. Struggling with fundraising? It's been done a million times before. Trying to find product-market fit? Been done. Considering how to break up with your Co-Founder? Yep, a gazillion people have figured it out.

A good analogy that I like to use is when we are teenagers going through our freshman year of high school. In the early days, it feels like all of the coming-of-age trauma is unique to you — the uncomfortable social circles, the misguided romances, the invasion of pimples. Yet later on, when you reach adulthood, you look back and realize that it's the same exact journey every high schooler goes through — it was only new to you.

The reason it's so important to realize that these problems aren't new isn't to minimize those problems; it's to realize there are solutions floating out there — lots of them. Our job as Founder isn't to figure it out for ourselves as much as it is to mine every possible source of good intel to arm ourselves with the right answers.

Zero Value in "Going it Alone"

Given how many things we have to get right as Founders, the value of "going it alone" and figuring it out for ourselves is pretty much zero. Not only is it a giant waste of time and resources (something we have very little of, to begin with), but it's also a show of poor leadership.

If you could follow two sherpas through a mountain pass, would you rather follow the one that has a detailed map of how to get through the rough terrain or the one who's all cocky and "will figure it out on their own"? That's essentially what we are to all of the people who follow us in the organization — a sherpa guiding them through tough and unyielding terrain.

Our job as "Founder Sherpas" is to find the damn map. We need to seek out every clue we can find as to what people have learned before us and extract all of that intel we can. It doesn't matter if it makes us seem like we don't know what we're doing (we don't, BTW). It matters that we get to where we're trying to go.

Who Loves Helping Founders? Um... Founders!

The best source of intel is almost always other Founders. But what's even cooler about that is how much Founders love helping each other. I've yet to experience this in any other professional community, but within the Startup community, it's a badge of honor to be able to help other Founders, which means lots of them love helping.

The thing is, most Founders are doing this for the first time, so they are totally unaware of how much help is available to them, at almost every experience level. The issue isn't whether or not successful Founders are willing to lend a hand, it's that we never ask for that help to begin with.

So, really there's no excuse for not asking for help, considering we all need it and there are so many smart people willing to give it. It's literally what we do all day long at Startups.com, and there's a reason it's our dream job. If you're stuck — ask. I'm wil@startups.com, and I'm not hard to find!

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In Case You Missed It

How To Write A Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide A step-by-step guide on writing a business plan to catch an investor's attention & serve as a guiding star for your business.

How Do I Leave My Startup Stress at Work? (podcast) As a Founder, running a Startup is inherently stressful, right? Wrong! Listen in to learn how to relax!

How to Create a Founders Agreement for Your Startup What is a founders agreement — and do you need one? (Spoiler alert: You do.) Here's everything you need to know.

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Kattia Bolanos

As a fellow Founder, I completely relate to this struggle. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking we have to figure everything out ourselves, but the truth is, seeking help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of wisdom. I've learned that tapping into the experiences of others—whether through mentors, peers, or networking communities—can provide invaluable insights and solutions that I wouldn't have discovered on my own. Embracing this mindset not only accelerates problem-solving but also fosters stronger leadership and growth within our startups. Kudos to Wil for highlighting this important aspect of entrepreneurship!"

Kattia Bolanos
ARC Pointe Group
https://www.arcpointegroup.com/

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