1. Get started - do it! One of the most rewarding experiences you can have is to start something new. You don’t need to wait until you have several degrees and lots of industry experience. Don’t let your inexperience stop you from starting something, but seek the experience of others early and often. Get as much experiential learning as you can. 2: Look to meet a need Focusing on a need that must be solved is much more important than the “invention” you may think you have. Rather than looking at tech in purely business terms, look at challenges we are facing and think of how tech can be used to solve them. 3: Ask lots of questions I was curious, and I started with a lot of naive questions. But I didn't let that worry me. If you ask questions, you will continue learn, and you will begin to ask better ones. 4: Research the market Do some work to understand and articulate this. Focus on the big picture and look for indicators that show you have an idea with commercial potential. Get validation from conversations with industry professionals. 5: Work on communication As a founder you’re going to have to get up and pitch your company. For me, debate in high school was a major step in developing my communication skills. A tech idea doesn’t end when you compile your code. It’s no good having an amazing invention if you can’t articulate your vision to others. 6: Learn how to network With ideas from class projects, do pitch competitions and business competitions. Schools and colleges often have these programs. Make connections from those. Get emails through startup fairs and list servers from the uni. Ask professors to make intros for you. Warm introductions are much better, but don’t be afraid to cold call. Stay in touch with people you meet. 7: Find great mentors Mentorship is super important because you learn faster from the mistakes and advice of others. Mentors helped me understand how the venture capital world works, that there are different phases of a company, and how each phase requires you to evolve as a leader. 8: Find balance Family, fun and travel can be sucked into the black hole of a startup. You have to find balance. You don’t have to work yourself to death. Yes, there are periods where you don’t take vacation time for a year, but you do need to be sure to take moments. I began to schedule something every quarter. Once I had wrapped up board results, I would take some time off. SID’S ADVICE FOR YOUNG FOUNDERS
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