1. Be OK with NOT knowing things

Startups are amazing because they fully accept that they are at the beginning of their journey. They know they have a lot to learn and they choose to tap into all available knowledge and experience sources. They ask questions. All questions. 

Lesson: Know your worth/your product and accept continuous growth scenario. Ask questions – it’s the fastest way to learn.

2. Get a mentor!!!

Example: I am a part of DTU Skylab mentor group. We do this for free – FREE advice!!! We make an offer to startups that interest us and where we have experience to share and then the startups make a pick. There are multiple hubs aimed at just weaponizing startups with hands on advice about product development, go-to-market, sales & marketing and more.. 

Personally, I have a few mentors, people I found inspiring, smart, knowledgeable or able to open doors. It can be a powerful career accelerator and a fantastic way to get new perspectives.

Lesson: Find a mentor. Don’t be shy to ask. I am a fan of following the principle ‘what is the worst that can happen’? If there are no negative consequences why not try? Consider what the person can do for you (give advice, share experience, open doors) and what you can do for them(give an insight into a different part of the organisation, understanding of a different career path, sometimes it is also just about joy from supporting someone else). Try!

3. Experiment and fail

Startups test and try and then.. they try again. That goes for everything from product development to sales strategy. 

Lesson: this goes for everything outside of startups too. What should your career be? – try different roles! Try different environments. Honestly: try different leaders. Ask for different tasks and responsibilities. This is not advice for constant change but rather to allow yourself to test things and to fail. We learn more from failures than from successes. Finally: Most people don’t have it all figured out even if they seem to.

4. Set your mind to be in it for the long game

The whole concept of delayed gratification.. – have you heard of it? Startups have it pretty well figured out. When you join/found a startup you know that the exit will be in f.ex. 10 years or that you will become profitable by xx years. 

Lesson: this applies to work goals, investment goals, couple goals… Success usually takes time.

5. Be OK with ‘no’ and learn from each rejection.  After enough ‘no’s’ there is a ‘yes’.

Startups ask for funding, ask research questions, are usually early in their sales experience so they get a lot of “no’s” when trying to sell their products.. 

Bottomline, the lesson is: “no” can be a powerful fuel for growth. Use it as an accelerator. Ask for feedback. Adjust your product, CV, way of working, sales pitch, and try again.