Budget conservatively Create for your customers

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When you have money for a startup or raise capital through funding, it's easy to assume that you'll always have money. Don't make that assumption.

Startups are always more expensive than you think. Multiple problems can come together and cost you more money than you think.

Always budget conservatively and you'll be less likely to run out of money in your startup.

When I founded my company, Kissmetrics, I made a big mistake that many startup founders make.

I created a product that I needed. Doesn't sound like a mistake? But it is.

Create a product for your customers, not for yourself.

Many startups fail. Before you go too far, you need to make sure there is a buyer for your product.

Who pays for your product and pays your salary? Your customers. Not you.

If you're building a product that you need, it's easy to purchase linkedin user data fall into the trap of assuming that the market needs it. This is rarely the case.

At Kissmetrics, I spent a year building a product that analyzed analytics better than Google Analytics. It was a product I wanted, so I built it.

Since it was (and was) better than Google Analytics, I knew people would be willing to pay a small monthly fee to use it. I would! So of course they would.

I was wrong. God, how wrong I was.

Customers wouldn't buy it. Google Analytics was good enough. And of course it was free. Why would they pay for anything else?

I spent a whole year making a product that no one would buy.

My third iteration of Kissmetrics took 30 days to build a minimum viable product. It's a lean startup. And it worked.

Don't waste your time creating a product that no one will buy just because you like your own idea.