The Biggest Mistakes Made by Startup Entrepreneurs

If your startup isn’t growing like you hoped, it’s probably already on the wrong path - and you don’t even know it.

And this could quietly kill your startup before you even notice.

I’ve coached over 50 startups and built 2 myself - let me show you the 5 biggest mistakes startup founders make, how you can avoid them, and what successful founders do differently.

By the end, you’ll know exactly how to grow your startup with confidence. But first, let me show you how most founders build their startups - and why it doesn’t work.

Here’s how it usually goes:

→ Founders have a cool idea.
→ They get excited.
→ They start building right away.

Maybe they raise some money, hire a team, and just keep building... and building... and building.

❌ But there’s no real plan.
❌ No go-to-market strategy.
❌ No idea how to get customers.
❌ No idea what to focus on first.

It feels productive - but it’s chaos under the surface. So what they’re actually doing is running at full speed - in the wrong direction.

And here’s the scary part: Startup mistakes cost more than time. They cost momentum, confidence, and cash. And you don’t get unlimited shots.

To avoid all that chaos, you need to know these 5 mistakes. Let’s jump into mistake number one.

We start with a super common trap. You launch your product and obviously want everyone to love it. So you add as many features as possible and cover as many use cases as possible.

Sounds smart, right?

But that's a mistake. Here’s the issue:

Your product becomes generic and your messaging becomes diluted. So when people visit your landing page, they just get confused because they don't know if it's the right product for them.

But why does this happen?

Because founders fear that if they narrow their focus, they will lose an opportunity. They think broader equals more customers. But the opposite is true.

The best startups win because they speak directly to a very specific group of people with a very specific pain point. So instead of adding feature after feature to your product and trying to appeal to as many people as possible, here is what you need to do instead:
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✅ Pick a clear target audience and a clear niche.
✅ Truly understand what their pain point is.
✅ Build everything for them - starting from your product to the message on your landing page.
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So when your ideal customer finds you, they should instantly think:

"This is exactly what I need."

Before we move to the next big mistake, ask yourself:

If so, try to niche down and make your solution even sharper.

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This one’s sneaky because it feels like growth.

Quick story time – I once coached a startup that was building an app to help managers get more done during the workday. They were running ads, creating content, and getting signups – it all felt like they were doing everything right.

But then they showed me their dashboard and their churn rate. People were signing up and pretty much immediately leaving. So they got a lot of new customers but couldn’t keep them.

That's the classic leaky bucket problem. You keep pouring water in, but it just flows out the bottom.

You can see the numbers go up and it just feels great.

"Wow, we got 300 more users this month" sounds awesome at first glance. But retention is quiet. Nobody says, "Wow, out of 100 users you kept 95 this month."

But you should, because that’s how you make real money. Remember that. The real growth lies in customer retention, not acquisition.

That’s why the most successful startups do everything to keep their customers. So here’s what you need to do right now:

✅ Nail your core experience:
Make your product so good that people want to keep using it.
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✅ Know your retention metrics:
How many people you keep within 7 days, 30 days, 60 days.
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✅ Figure out where and why people drop off - and fix it:
For example, if people drop off when they see a signup form, you need to get rid of it or reduce it as much as possible.
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✅ Make your happiest users your promoters:
Word-of-mouth is the most powerful growth engine you’ll ever have, so reward people for recommending your product.

Remember, customer retention is the way to grow your startup. So make sure you keep your customers for as long as possible.

Now - let’s talk about money. Because most founders get this next part dangerously wrong.

Most founders work like this:

They start with some cash upfront – maybe from family or an investor – and they go, "Ok, let’s start spending - revenue will come soon anyway," or "We'll raise another round."

So they ...

✅ Hire new team members
✅ Get a fancy office
✅ Buy a business car
✅ Spend months building their product

But then reality hits.

❌ Revenue takes longer
❌ They can’t get customers
❌ The fundraise doesn’t close

And now... they are out of cash. Bye-bye, successful startup.

It’s a typical mistake many founders make, and I’ve seen it happen too many times. And it really hurts me to see because it’s unnecessary. So how do you avoid this? I’ve made an extra video about this, but here are 3 quick tips:
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✅ Build a 6-12 month cash flow forecast:
You need to know exactly what costs you will have and how much money you need to stay alive.

✅ Keep your burn rate low:
Don’t buy a business car or rent a fancy office. Only spend money on things that drive growth.

✅ Monitor your expenses weekly, not monthly:
At all times, you need to know how much money you’ll need in the coming months and whether any unexpected costs have come up.
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So here’s something to ask yourself:

Have you ever seen a founder who doesn’t love their idea? I haven’t. And to be fair - they should. Passion is important.

But it can become a problem when that passion turns into blind spots. Because you basically think you know what’s best for your product, so you just build what you think is right.

I’ve seen founders spend 6 months building features and then launch, only to find out that none of their users wanted those features.

And here’s the issue:

❌ They never talked to users
❌ They never tested their idea

They just built it. Here’s what to do instead:
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Talk to users all the time - before, during, and after you build. Make it a habit. Ask them questions like:

• What’s the biggest challenge you face?
• How would this feature help you?

These insights will show what features you should build next.
I like talking to people in person the most because you get the best responses, but if that’s not possible, use online surveys or remote interviews. Anything that gives you real insights.

Build your product based on that feedback. Not assumptions. Not ego. Not gut feelings. That’s how you build a product people really love and keep using.

We have one more key mistake to go. It’s the hardest call a founder ever has to make.

This one hurts. But it’s real.

Sometimes...

→ The idea just isn’t working
→ Users don’t care
→ The market isn’t responding

But instead of facing it, many founders keep pushing. And I’m guilty of this myself. The first startup I joined was doomed. We all knew it, but we kept running it for months instead of shutting it down.

Why did we do it?

Because we’re founders. We’re emotionally invested. We think, "We’ve come this far, we can’t stop now."

Here’s what I learned after shutting that startup down - and trust me, it was one of the hardest calls I’ve ever made:

Instead, moving on frees you to build something better later on, with all the lessons you’ve learned.

So the best way to avoid this issue is:
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✅ Measure your traction honestly:
Not with hope - but with real data.

✅ Think like a CEO:
You’re not just the founder. You’re also the CEO. Your job is to make it work. And if it doesn’t, it’s time to pivot.

✅ Accept that pivots are normal:
Most successful founders didn’t get it right the first time. You only need one idea to work. You can fail 10 times, but when you make it the eleventh time, it will all be worth it. Don’t let the wrong idea drain your time, your money, and your energy.

Now you know the mistakes most founders make - but that alone won’t save your startup if you don't have a clear plan.

So how about an actionable, proven system - full of worksheets, cheat sheets and templates - to guide you to startup success? You can get it in my Startup Success Bundle.

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