When I first dived into entrepreneurship, my ambition was purely technical. I wanted to write great code, build innovative software, and solve real-world problems by using the appropriate technology. But as I grew multiple tech ventures from zero, I discovered that success was about far more than writing elegant code or designing a robust architecture. The insights that mattered most weren’t purely technical; they were about how business operates, collaboration, and self-discovery.
In this post, I’ll share 9 lessons I learned the hard way - lessons that apply not just to technologists, but to anyone starting (or scaling) a venture from the ground up.
- The Journey Is Never a Straight Line:
Before you get your first paying customers, you will zigzag through countless pivots. One consistent pattern I’ve seen is that finding a few early believers is crucial. These customers won’t necessarily pay you huge sums, but they will invest in you through collaboration, feedback, and testing. If a customer engages too quickly, or immediately writes you a massive cheque, take care, it could mean they aren’t truly invested in or understand your vision.
Technical takeaway: Early adopters are your real-world test lab. Build quickly and refine rapidly based on their input, but don’t rely too heavily on a single group’s viewpoint. Be ready to pivot.
- The Customer Is Always Right Until They’re Wrong:
Good entrepreneurs listen to customers. Great entrepreneurs listen to them but also anticipate what they’ll need next. If you only cater to immediate needs, you’ll end up playing constant catch-up. True innovation requires looking at the larger market landscape, anticipating tomorrow’s problems and delivering tailored solutions quickly.
Technical takeaway: While user stories drive product roadmaps, you should also reserve bandwidth for R&D. Experiment with emerging technologies that customers may not yet be asking for, but that could differentiate you in the future.
- Do Everything You Can to Build Trust:
Even if your product delivers amazing features, none of it matters if it’s unreliable or buggy. In the early stages, a handful of trusted customer testers can give you critical feedback while you establish credibility. Aim for diversity amongst those testers so you uncover edge cases to ensure the reliability of your solution.
Technical takeaway: Automated testing, continuous integration, and robust QA processes are a good start. But in addition, make sure that you obsessively use your own software through exploratory testing. Your code and your reputation depend on stability and that requires a mix of testing strategies.
- Pricing Is Really Difficult:
The inclination to undersell your product is common among founders, especially technical founders who may feel they have done just enough to solve a problem. But once you set a low price, increasing the price back is nearly impossible. Remember: for a successful software business, you should target around a 75% gross margin. That margin isn’t just about profitability it’s about ensuring you have the resources to keep innovating.
Technical takeaway: Pricing goes hand in hand with your product roadmap. If you’re continually under-pricing, you might never have enough budget to invest in advanced features or next-gen infrastructure.
- Embrace Mistakes as Learning Opportunities:
I’ve never learned much when everything went according to plan. When things go wrong, you learn what not to do and that’s the kind of insight that prevents bigger disasters down the road. Think of each failed release or misguided product assumption as data fuelling your next iteration.
Technical takeaway: Incorporate robust error logging, metrics, and monitoring in your systems. Post-mortems aren’t about blame; they’re about identifying root causes and ensuring they never happen again. Also, your commercial errors are likely to be far bigger than your technical ones. You have been warned!
- Know When to Seek Funding:
Funding can be a significant accelerant, but it also becomes a major distraction. Pitching, negotiating, and investor relations all take time that could be spent with customers or building product. My rule of thumb is delay external funding as long as you can. Establish real traction and a validated product before inviting outside voices and obligations.
Technical takeaway: Be judicious with burn rate. Maintain a lean infrastructure, leverage low cost services and cost monitoring, to keep your monthly expenses manageable.
- Be Patient! There Are No Real Shortcuts:
In today’s hyper-accelerated tech culture, it’s easy to fall for the myth of overnight success. In reality, most success stories involve years of behind- the-scenes work. Fast progress can be great but is also risky if it outstrips your ability to deliver consistent quality and maintain trust.
Technical takeaway: Move forward in small steps and be prepared to rewrite code and business plans as you gain insight and knowledge. Be a pragmatist rather than a zealot.
- Collect Data, But Trust Your Gut:
Data can guide you on small, incremental decisions such as which user interface tweak works best or which feature is more popular. When deciding on big strategic moves like pivoting your entire product line or entering a new market you must listen to your intuition and experience.
Technical takeaway: Instrument your product with analytics tools from day one but understand that not all decisions are purely quantitative. Qualitative insights, user interviews, and your own gut feelings also matter.
- Balance Creativity with Delivery:
My best ideas never appeared when I was furiously coding or hunched over a laptop for 12 hours straight. They came while I was walking, exercising, or simply taking a break from work. Overworking leads to burnout and stifles creativity. Make time for a life outside of your startup, your product will be better for it.
Technical takeaway: If you have a leadership role, create a culture that respects personal time. Encourage flexible schedules, occasional mental health days, and open forums where new ideas are discussed and celebrated.
Final Thoughts
Scaling a tech venture from zero to millions in revenue is a marathon, not a sprint. Yes, you’ll refine your tech stack and perfect your engineering practices. But ultimately, the journey is just as much about building relationships, validating ideas through real customer feedback, and trusting your own instincts.
Your biggest growth will likely come from the mistakes you make along the way. Embrace them, learn from them, and stay curious. If you do, you’ll find yourself not just building a product that reaches millions in revenue but also building a sustainable, fulfilling life for yourself and your team in the process.
Need Fractional CTO Support?
If you’d like expert guidance in crafting a roadmap that balances bold innovation with real-world feedback, I offer fractional CTO services at bytesizedcto. My goal is to help organisations of all sizes build tech and product strategies that align with their business goals and grow sustainably.
Contact me if you’d like to discuss your vision.
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