Shawn W.’s Post

🚀 Stepping back into coding after years of leading as a founder is a wild ride! 🤯 Ever wondered how to balance tasks when you're the founder of your dream? Here's my take: 1. Identify critical needs 2. Evaluate your skill set 3. Consider the impact 4. Leverage your team 5. Draw the line What's your strategy for balancing tasks as a founder - do it yourself or delegate? #Startups #Leadership #FoundersDilemma #TechLeadership #TeamManagement

🚀 Exciting advancements in video production! 🎥 Google DeepMind’s technology can generate rich, synchronized audio from video pixels and text prompts. Create dramatic scores, realistic sound effects, and dialogue effortlessly, unlocking endless creative possibilities from enhancing archival footage to producing cinematic experiences. 🌟 #VideoProduction #AI #CreativeTechnology #DeepMind https://lnkd.in/gZP-ahKb

Ever wondered why your startup’s first few hires should be seasoned professionals? Here’s a lesson I learned the hard way from my project. Hiring seasoned professionals from the get-go can make all the difference in startup success. In my experience, a team member’s lack of direct experience with our tech stack resulted in the project taking more than twice the planned time – a costly mistake in the fast-paced startup world. Here’s why bringing in experienced builders early on can benefit your startup: - **Time and Money:** Seasoned professionals can hit the ground running, knowing shortcuts and pitfalls from past projects. This translates to less time spent on training and more focus on productivity. - **Team Alignment and Efficiency:** Experienced team members facilitate smoother progress alignment. They can anticipate bottlenecks and proactively address them, ensuring cohesive advancement for the entire team. In the startup ecosystem, time is a precious commodity. Choosing experienced professionals as your initial hires can be the catalyst for rapid growth, steering clear of costly slowdowns.

CRM is so crowded. Ever wondered what it takes to grow a CRM startup from scratch to 100,000 users in just four years? 🚀 Dive into the journey of folk, a next-gen CRM that achieved 5x year-on-year growth, and learn the secrets behind their success. My Take away: 1. Start with user research before building. 2. Don’t be afraid to iterate on pricing. 3. Use manual onboarding to deeply understand your users. 4. Leverage influencers and affiliates wisely. 5. Keep your team lean to stay efficient. Here’s the TL;DR: 1. 📋 Attracted a waitlist of 10,000 before writing a single line of code. 2. 🛠️ Spent 18 months building before beta and another six months before the Product Hunt launch. 3. 💸 Doubled prices every six months to find the right pricing strategy. 4. 🌐 Leveraged influencers and affiliates to stand out in a crowded market. 5. 🤝 Manually onboarded hundreds of users to ensure high conversion rates. https://lnkd.in/gR6xyKCg #Startups #GrowthHacking #Entrepreneurship #CRM #SaaS #ProductHunt

I'm reviewing my first paragraph of startups. Personal resilience is probably one of the most important secrets sauce to support the founder to keep moving. Here’s what I’ve summarized: 1. Embrace Setbacks as Stepping Stones: The founders don’t just endure challenges; they leverage them. Every setback is a setup for a comeback. 🌱 2. Cultivate a Growth Mindset: Resilient leaders see failures as opportunities for growth. They ask, “What can I learn from this?” instead of “Why me?” 📈 3. Build Emotional Stamina: Staying calm under pressure is key. Top leaders practice mindfulness, seek support from mentors, and maintain a balanced life. 🧘♂️ 4. Adapt and Thrive: Flexibility is vital. Whether it’s pivoting business models or adjusting strategies, resilient leaders are agile and ready to evolve. 🔄 5. Lead with Empathy: Understanding and supporting your team’s emotional needs creates a robust, united front ready to face any storm. 🤝

Ever felt bummed by a team dinner when you really wanted a bonus? Or got a quiet cash reward when you wanted a shout-out? 🙄 From reflecting on what matters to having open chats with your manager, find out how to make your work rewards work for you.

As a founder, stay humble is always needed. Observing those around you for implicit feedback can be time-consuming but essential. Getting feedback is crucial for growth and success, whether as an employee or founder. Even within small teams, receiving feedback can be challenging, especially at higher levels. The technique mentioned applies to all team roles. TL;DR 1. Choose a specific area to improve 2. Pick a specific skill 3. Set a timeline 4. Give people to observe and ask for feedback in time and in detail.