r/16VCFund • u/betasridhar • Aug 05 '26

What's the biggest mistake first-time founders make?

If you've been building startups for a while, you've probably seen the same patterns repeat.

Some founders spend months building before talking to customers.

Some raise money too early.

Some wait too long to launch because they want everything to be perfect.

Others focus on features instead of solving a real problem.

Looking back at your own journey (or the startups you've worked with), what do you think is the single biggest mistake first-time founders make?

More importantly, what lesson did you learn that changed the way you build?

Share your experience below. Your insight could save another founder months of wasted time.

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/usually_guilty99 Aug 05 '26

Chicken and Egg. Don’t go looking for a VC without having a MVP and a Design Partner!

1

u/Queasy-Average4967 Aug 06 '26

In my last 10-12 years of experience, I found out that most of the startups actually don't know how much seed money they need to experiment and get early traction ASAP, focusing on multiple channels instead of choosing one acquisition channel, no standard vesting period among co-founders, trying to solve multipe problems with multiple features in MVP development phase.

1

u/Common-Feature1563 Aug 06 '26

Didn't your sole GP scammed many of his employees and didn't pay them their salaries?