Wil Schroter

About

Wil Schroter is the Founder + CEO @ Startups.com, a startup platform that includes Bizplan, Clarity, Fundable, Launchrock, and Zirtual. He started his first company at age 19 which grew to over $700 million in billings within 5 years (despite his involvement). After that he launched 8 more companies, the last 3 venture backed, to refine his learning of what not to do. He's a seasoned expert at starting companies and a total amateur at everything else.

Articles

We Can't Fight at Home and at Work

As said many times, don’t bring your work problems home the same way you can’t let your personal issues affect your work performance. You can’t deal with issues from both ends because it's unhealthy.

Let's Kill the 40 Hour Workweek

If you work for 30+ hours each week, what would you worry you won’t get done? Now, if you won’t sit eight hours in the office — can you possibly do more somewhere more comfortable than in your office? The answer? YES!

How to Find Minimum Viable Happiness

In most cases, Founders find happiness when they feel safe, when their efforts are validated, and when people appreciate their accomplishments. It doesn’t require much, yet the effort put forth to achieve happiness is basically blood, sweat, tears, and years of hard work.

The "No Man's Land" of Funding

What happens when funding is scarce? In the world of Startups and the struggles of keeping your business running, the fight is for you not to win. It’s more of a fight for you not to lose!

What Does Founder Success "Feel" Like?

Most people focus on hiring more people, settling in a bigger office, or getting additional funding as a form of success. But for most Founders, at the early stages of their business, it’s all about taking away liabilities one at a time.

The Risk of Trading Vulnerability for Opportunity

At the early stages of a startup, Founders often seek to partner with a co-founder in the hopes of growing the company. But what Founders don’t realize is that it may be too early to look for a partner, or even too risky.

Can a Founder Take a Sabbatical? | Startups.com

I need a hard reset. I'm thinking about doing something more extreme like a sabbatical, but is that really an option for a startup Founder to take a sabbatical?

Am I Lying or Just Being Optimistic?

Having a strong conviction that what we’re building will lead to success mixed with a strong sense of positivity and optimism can often feel like being dishonest if we haven't actually achieved anything — but honesty and optimism don't have to be a competing moral quandary.

Stop Glorifying Hustle Porn

The adrenaline to overexert and overwork yourself so you can get more things done is a hustle that no founder should be investing into. Here’s why.

Our Startups Amplify Our Social Lives

Wherever you may be, you’ll always meet another founder. Surprisingly, your Startup is helping you build these connections, a space where you can meet and create relationships with people who share the same experience as you and probably have similar views as well.

We Only Get to be Great at One Thing

Oftentimes, Founders are stuck in the idea that they need to add more features to make their product appealing and saleable. Instead, our focus should be on making sure that we’re doing the core product right — and nothing else matters.

Flee Your Overpriced City

Years ago, when a business needed to expand, they often moved to a big city, brought key employees in, and raised funding to cope with a much higher cost of living. But times have changed.

In Our Darkest Hour Where Do We Find Hope?

Despite the onslaught of negativities, failures, and success seemingly slipping away, when a Founder remains optimistic, they can always redirect focus on what to do next.

Great Ideas All Start As Dumb Ideas

It’s no surprise that most of the successful Startups today started off as a completely bad idea. As it turns out, given the right circumstances, the dumbest idea can become the most profitable company.

Why is Everyone Counting My Money?

We worked for it, sacrificed our health and time, and at some point, even settled for less compensation for the company to grow. Still, Founders can't flaunt the money we make because some people find it appalling just because they don’t have it.

Beware the Absentee Landlord of Equity

You can’t simply assume that you’ll still be compensated for the equity without continuously providing value to the company’s growth. It’s a simplified Math problem. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid.

Startup Culture is a Reflection of its Founders

Everything you do has implications and if you let instigators of negativity be, you’re allowing a nasty culture to spread.

Why Co-Founders Often Don't Last

Likened to marriage, having a cofounder requires a commitment that comes with consequences when and if the Startup fails — and coming up with an action plan when the business turns out to be a total flop.

The Case for Growing Slowly

Instead of going full force too fast early on, take the time to understand whether the bets you’re paying back or not and when it’s time to change direction.

Don't Rush into Your Second Act

After a successful exit, most Founders are overly eager to start their next big idea and land another win. But is that the best approach to take?

It's Not What We Own, It's Whether It's Liquid

Owning 100% of an asset is the same as owning 0% if it's never liquid.

That Founder Sold For Too Little!

Why is it that people are constantly belittling the outcomes of startup Founders when they exit?

When Can I Feel Good About Taking a Break?

It’s critical that you take a break in between milestones — unless you want to get stuck on productivity and run dry on creativity.

Forget "Big Ideas" — Start with your North Star

The most impossible task for a Startup Founder is to "invent a big idea."

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