Next part of the Prisma lessons.

Next part of the Prisma lessons. Deeper in meaning, or something.
I think the main thing I was missing was the ability to listen to a second opinion. On which exact questions was it important too:
- yeah on literally all of them :) in general you’ve gotta use your own head first and foremost, and having one piece of advice was often “the answer” for me, and yeah, that second opinion is me. A lot of people really underestimate their own decisions and lean on the market/advice/experienced founders. Know how to listen, but also know how to use your own noggin. The simplest advice in this regard that I’d give myself: take a pause, pin every important decision to yourself (so nobody except you can broadcast it), think for a few days. Even in an environment where I had to make hundreds of decisions a week, it’s possible.
- focus, yes yes, running in all directions means you don’t know where you’re running and it shows. Any normal fund understands that and feels it instantly. Where to run to build retention—there were no answers, well not “no,” there was one but it was cringe — we were making our own feed where it would show you photos in the feed by proximity and you’d unlock new styles by taking photos in different places. Like, viral. And don’t try to work two jobs.
- learn to be жестить, toward your own team too, fire people, don’t like it — the door’s open. Only this way can you get a culture of efficiency at an early stage (you won’t manage to hire only top people all the time).
- if your market is the US — go to the US, all of you (no explanations)
- networking has to produce results
- close deals fast, dragging it out is like the death of the term sheet
I’ll pay special attention to hiring and people. But for now we still need to pick other questions.