Any entrepreneur can tell you, launching a startup is a learning process. Therefore, one of the best things you can do prior to launching a startup of your own is to learn from those who have blazed the trail. We were fortunate enough to hear some valuable insights during our interview with Olly Jones of elmo that will inspire, motivate, and teach aspiring and established entrepreneurs alike.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
“You won’t regret the journey.”
What is the best method you’ve found to avoid burnout as an entrepreneur?
“You may not be able to get as much time off or downtime as you like. That’s almost inevitable. But if you surround yourself with brilliant people who can share the load and inspire you every day, it makes the journey more energising.”
What is your advice for coming up with a unique startup idea?
“The idea you come up with probably won’t be unique (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing). You’ve just got to make sure that your execution of that idea is better than everyone else.”
What is your advice for overcoming challenges and failure?
“Launching a startup is an exercise in risk management. There will be failures and it will be the resolution of those failures that ultimately makes the startup successful. The key when making any decision [that] could result in failure is to assess how terminal any resulting failure would be and try to take steps to minimise that risk. In other words, try things in a way that allows you to learn and survive!”
What is the biggest lesson you learned and what can aspiring entrepreneurs take from it?
“The difference between success and failure is often quite small. I think there are two lessons in that. One, every minute of productive toil will impact your ultimate success, so don’t hold back. Two, the margins are so fine that you should mentally prepare mentally for not succeeding as a result of things beyond your control.”
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Hire people who are smarter and more competent than you and make them feel valued. I’m not the only person to have received this advice, and for good reason — your people are the lifeblood of the whole venture.”
- Check out elmo’s company profile and ways to support them!
- Keep up with more startup companies by following Startup Savant on Google News!
- Start your own cybersecurity startup by reading our guide on how to start a startup.
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