Paul Graham famously said "Startups are so weird that if you follow your instincts, they will lead you astray".
And the same thing happens with a lot of startup advice you find online -
it sounds like common sense, but most of the time, it's just not true.
Let me share with you my top 10 startup myths and show you what's actually true. My name is Oskar. I've built 2 startups and coached over 50 founders.
Let's dive right in.
And the same thing happens with a lot of startup advice you find online -
it sounds like common sense, but most of the time, it's just not true.
Let me share with you my top 10 startup myths and show you what's actually true. My name is Oskar. I've built 2 startups and coached over 50 founders.
Let's dive right in.
Startup myth #1:
AI will build my startup for me.
AI is everywhere right now. You type a prompt. It spits out code.
And within a weekend - you have your entire product.
And it looks like a real startup.
It feels like AI can do everything for you.
But here’s what it cannot do:
AI cannot make the big decisions in your startup.
Because it doesn't know your users. It doesn't know your market.
And it doesn't know if anybody would actually pay for your product.
So, if you ask AI what features you should build next or what to do to get more users - and you just blindly listen … your startup will fail.
Here's my rule:
Use AI for speed, not for decisions.
Every time you use it, let it do the things that used to take weeks - brainstorming, research, the busy work.
But you make the big calls. You're the founder.
You know what's best for your startup - not the model.
Startup myth #2:
If I niche down, I will get less customers.
I hear this all the time. Let me show you something.
Imagine a big lake - that’s your market. Tons of fish in it.
You throw your rod in with a lure that’s just a little bit interesting to all of them. Sure you'll catch a few, but most of them swim right past.
Now think of a small pond. It’s way smaller.
But the lure in there - it's exactly what these fish want.
Every single one of them.
You'll catch more fish in the pond than you ever will in the lake.
Same is true for your startup. If you build your product for everyone, most people will not buy. But if you solve only this one big problem for the right people, they will buy.
A small pond of hungry fish beats a big lake of fish that aren't biting.
Startup myth #3:
Product-market fit is a milestone you hit once.
I’m sure you have heard it and be honest - maybe you have said it yourself. "We hit PMF." Like it's a checkbox. You tick it once, and you're done.
But that's not how it works.
→ Markets shift.
→ Competitors copy you.
→ And customers want something new.
And if you're not paying attention - slowly and quietly - fewer people buy your product. Because the product market fit you had six months ago… it’s just not there anymore.
PMF isn't a finish line.
It's something you have to work for - every single day.
→ Talk to your customers.
→ Improve your product.
→ Find new ways to reach people.
You don't find PMF once and relax.
You have to keep earning it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want help finding your product-market fit - and keeping it - that's one of the things we work on in my startup mastermind.
You get a clear roadmap for your startup, personal coaching from me, and a community of founders who'll show you what's actually working for them.
You can join here:
But that's not how it works.
→ Markets shift.
→ Competitors copy you.
→ And customers want something new.
And if you're not paying attention - slowly and quietly - fewer people buy your product. Because the product market fit you had six months ago… it’s just not there anymore.
PMF isn't a finish line.
It's something you have to work for - every single day.
→ Talk to your customers.
→ Improve your product.
→ Find new ways to reach people.
You don't find PMF once and relax.
You have to keep earning it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want help finding your product-market fit - and keeping it - that's one of the things we work on in my startup mastermind.
You get a clear roadmap for your startup, personal coaching from me, and a community of founders who'll show you what's actually working for them.
You can join here:
Startup myth #4:
If I build something great, users will find it.
Look, a founder in my mastermind built a focus app.
You install it on your laptop - and it blocks every notification so you can actually concentrate. It looked great.
So, I asked him: "What's your plan to get users?"
He said: "Well, it's a cool product. People don't want to get disturbed - they'll come automatically."
6 months later and he still had 0 users.
This product is dead now.
No matter how good your product is, it does not sell itself.
It never did.
And yes, I know the stories - "We launched on Product Hunt and got millions of users overnight." Yeah - sure, but most of the time, that's not what happens.
So, make this a habit.
Every single day - block two hours:
→ Reach out to people directly.
→ Post on social media so people see what you are building.
Do that consistently, and more and more people will come in.
You install it on your laptop - and it blocks every notification so you can actually concentrate. It looked great.
So, I asked him: "What's your plan to get users?"
He said: "Well, it's a cool product. People don't want to get disturbed - they'll come automatically."
6 months later and he still had 0 users.
This product is dead now.
No matter how good your product is, it does not sell itself.
It never did.
And yes, I know the stories - "We launched on Product Hunt and got millions of users overnight." Yeah - sure, but most of the time, that's not what happens.
So, make this a habit.
Every single day - block two hours:
→ Reach out to people directly.
→ Post on social media so people see what you are building.
Do that consistently, and more and more people will come in.
Startup myth #5:
I need to finish my product before I can sell it.
Let me tell you this much. I once burned €100K because I believed this myth. I thought I needed the perfect product with twenty features - before I could get a single customer.
So, I built it for 6 months - and when I released it - nobody wanted it.
Here's the smarter way:
Build a demo in five days. And sell it directly.
You don't need the perfect product - and you don't need 20 features.
A mockup, a prototype, even just a conversation is enough. Show people your concept. And get a commitment - like a pre-order or a deposit.
And if five people buy it - you build your product.
The key is to tell them it’s still in development and they will get an early bird discount if they buy right now. So, show a demo, sell it and then build your product. Not the other way around.
So, I built it for 6 months - and when I released it - nobody wanted it.
Here's the smarter way:
Build a demo in five days. And sell it directly.
You don't need the perfect product - and you don't need 20 features.
A mockup, a prototype, even just a conversation is enough. Show people your concept. And get a commitment - like a pre-order or a deposit.
And if five people buy it - you build your product.
The key is to tell them it’s still in development and they will get an early bird discount if they buy right now. So, show a demo, sell it and then build your product. Not the other way around.
Startup myth #6:
If I build more features, I will get more customers.
Every founder knows this feeling.
You check your dashboard, and the numbers are down again.
Fewer signups. Fewer sales.
So you think:
We need more features.
→ A new integration.
→ Dark mode.
→ An AI feature.
Surely that'll fix it.
It won't.
Every feature you add makes your product harder to understand, harder to sell, and harder to maintain. And the one feature that actually solves your customer's problem - the reason they came in the first place - gets buried under ten mediocre ones.
So instead of adding the dark modes and fancy stuff, understand why people bought your product in the first place - and hammer down on it.
Your product doesn't die from missing a feature.
It dies from doing ten things badly instead of one thing well.
You check your dashboard, and the numbers are down again.
Fewer signups. Fewer sales.
So you think:
We need more features.
→ A new integration.
→ Dark mode.
→ An AI feature.
Surely that'll fix it.
It won't.
Every feature you add makes your product harder to understand, harder to sell, and harder to maintain. And the one feature that actually solves your customer's problem - the reason they came in the first place - gets buried under ten mediocre ones.
So instead of adding the dark modes and fancy stuff, understand why people bought your product in the first place - and hammer down on it.
Your product doesn't die from missing a feature.
It dies from doing ten things badly instead of one thing well.
Startup myth #7:
Growth hacks fix my broken business model.
When my first startup wasn't growing as fast as I wanted, I tried every growth hack I could find. I changed the website design three times, added a free pricing tier - heck I even added a countdown timer on my sales page.
And none of it worked.
Because if people leave your product in one week because your product sucks - no growth hack in the world will help you.
All you're doing is getting more people in the door - and more people walking right back out.
So, before you look for growth hacks on Twitter, fix your business model first.
And only once it actually works - only when people really love your product - that's when you start using growth hacks.
And none of it worked.
Because if people leave your product in one week because your product sucks - no growth hack in the world will help you.
All you're doing is getting more people in the door - and more people walking right back out.
So, before you look for growth hacks on Twitter, fix your business model first.
And only once it actually works - only when people really love your product - that's when you start using growth hacks.
Startup myth #8:
AI will do the marketing for me.
"Hey ChatGPT, write me five LinkedIn posts for my startup."
Sure - here they are ...
And when you post them, they're sitting in the same feed as a thousand other AI-written posts that sound exactly the same, because everyone's feed is flooded with it.
People can smell AI content a mile away.
And the moment they do, they lose all their trust - before they've even seen what you're building.
The posts that actually bring you users are the ones you write yourself.
Posts about the milestones you've hit, the people on your team, the problems you’re facing in your startup every day - anything that shows people who you are.
I'm not saying don't use AI.
Use it to brainstorm and get a couple of ideas fast. Just make sure you add your perspective, your voice and your version of the story.
AI can write the content for you.
But it can't build trust.
Only you can do that.
Sure - here they are ...
And when you post them, they're sitting in the same feed as a thousand other AI-written posts that sound exactly the same, because everyone's feed is flooded with it.
People can smell AI content a mile away.
And the moment they do, they lose all their trust - before they've even seen what you're building.
The posts that actually bring you users are the ones you write yourself.
Posts about the milestones you've hit, the people on your team, the problems you’re facing in your startup every day - anything that shows people who you are.
I'm not saying don't use AI.
Use it to brainstorm and get a couple of ideas fast. Just make sure you add your perspective, your voice and your version of the story.
AI can write the content for you.
But it can't build trust.
Only you can do that.
Startup myth #9:
If I make my product super cheap, I will get more customers.
Founders often think that being the cheapest option is how you win.
But here's what actually happens:
When your product costs €5, people think it's worth about €5.
And the customers you attract are the ones who either leave after a week, or who complain about everything that they don’t like.
So, instead of building the cheapest product possible, charge more.
But provide more value.
Solve the one big problem people have really well and your customers will buy and stay with you longer. Cheap gets you customers who leave, value gets you customers who stay.
But here's what actually happens:
When your product costs €5, people think it's worth about €5.
And the customers you attract are the ones who either leave after a week, or who complain about everything that they don’t like.
So, instead of building the cheapest product possible, charge more.
But provide more value.
Solve the one big problem people have really well and your customers will buy and stay with you longer. Cheap gets you customers who leave, value gets you customers who stay.
Startup myth #10:
I need to raise money right away.
This is one I hear all the time. A founder starts their startup, and within weeks they're trying to raise money - because some guru online told them that's what real founders do.
Honestly, it might be the worst advice I've ever heard.
Until you have product-market fit, until you actually know people will pay for your product, you shouldn't raise a single euro.
In the beginning, your job is to make sure that your foundation is solid.
That people love your product. You only scale once you've actually proven your business model works. And raising money is part of scaling - not something you do at the beginning.
Honestly, it might be the worst advice I've ever heard.
Until you have product-market fit, until you actually know people will pay for your product, you shouldn't raise a single euro.
In the beginning, your job is to make sure that your foundation is solid.
That people love your product. You only scale once you've actually proven your business model works. And raising money is part of scaling - not something you do at the beginning.
Your next step
These are the 10 startup myths. If you ignore these, you'll spend months - maybe years - learning them the hard way. Like I did.
Now, if you want help with all of that - your PMF, how to build a quick demo, how to use AI in your startup the right way, etc. - that's exactly what we work on in my startup mastermind. You get a clear roadmap for your startup, personal coaching from me, and you can join a community of founders so you can see what worked for them.
You can join here:
Now, if you want help with all of that - your PMF, how to build a quick demo, how to use AI in your startup the right way, etc. - that's exactly what we work on in my startup mastermind. You get a clear roadmap for your startup, personal coaching from me, and you can join a community of founders so you can see what worked for them.
You can join here: