The obsession of the world with startups just does not seem to fade. It is always waiting for the next unicorn, raising the bars even higher, turning entrepreneurship more fashionable than ever. New ideas and strategies float all around constantly, and everyone is trying to build something new.
But it is not as glamorous as it seems. A serial entrepreneur residing in San Francisco, Gilad Shamri makes it crystal clear. Hailing from Israel, he is the founder of a leading startup consulting agency called Growth Artists. Gilad helps top brands and startups to reach their most ambitious business goals, capitalize on opportunities, and create a new game to grow and sustain market leadership. His client portfolio includes a prominent international NGO, Greenpeace, and the world's most popular visual communication platform, PowToon.
Gilad has hands-on experience in startup entrepreneurship. In a period of only 12 months, he has launched three successful business initiatives: Interp.me - a marketplace connecting deaf people with ASL interpreters; Washti - an on-demand car wash service; and SolarGroupBuy - group-buy solar panel installations. Eventually, he took a bold leap into growth marketing and started Growth Artists. Gilad realized that it could help startups to grow like never before, improving innovation and competitiveness of the local market. An industry leader, Gilad's expertise lies in data-driven, experiment-driven processes.
With his remarkable experience and unflinching eye for detail, Gilad Shamri shares his most powerful tips with the people who are just leaping the sheltered spaces and stepping into the real world.
Entrepreneurs Must Kill Their Ideas.
"Most startups fail. It's the sad truth", says Gilad. He explains that entrepreneurs tend to believe that their startups will beat the odds. He continues with how entrepreneurs hold that their startup - their cultivation - will be the one that makes it to the finish line, either through an acquisition or an extensive scale. But Gilad recommends taking an unbiased, informed reality check and distinguish between one's idea for a startup vs. potentially a successful business
"Facing the truth is not an easy thing to do." But entrepreneurs constantly have to confront tough decisions. He suggests possessing the awareness of a simple fact that one's startup venture might fail
Therefore, entrepreneurs must kill their ideas from day one. How startups can crash are limitless. Shamri provides a few elements for reviewing perspectives: the user, the investor, the market, and the entrepreneur himself
The Startup Mindset for the Millennials to Succeed.
Merriam-Webster defines a startup as a "fledgling business enterprise". Gilad claims that the same can be applied to one's life. Millennials have witnessed their growth in the fastest-paced developing years. In a span of fewer than three decades, the world has become unrecognizable; the metamorphosis of the world has been stunning. Technology is propelling the changes like nothing in the past.
Millennials are often urged to approach life as a business venture or build five-year plans for themselves. "These are advice one may have encountered before, and they're great!", he puts forth. Yet, the current worldly circumstances do not provide any safety cushion for the people who are just beginning with their lives. "As a fledgling human being trying to navigate the career in 2021, an (almost) post-pandemic world, it is difficult." He recounts how most people in his age group ventured out in the world around 2008, during the biggest financial crisis of the century. "It was not easy then; it is not easy now", he declares.
Hence, Shamri asserts that as an entrepreneur, he thinks of life in terms he uses on a day-to-day basis: MVP (minimum value propositions), retention, product-market fit, and the like. He says that one does not need to know all these terms right away but reading about them will grant one some perspective on how they can be applied to their career trajectories - in exploring new realms or figuring out while making the first steps.
Making Your Personal Life Adept with Startup Methodology
People often think of their past and remark if they had only known then what they know today. The phrase is almost ancient now but continues to hold value. Knowledge is an underrated, underappreciated resource. And it is only with its accumulation that one realizes its significance.
Career decisions are tough for everyone. Getting them right is even more difficult. Shamri clarifies that he does not regret even a shred of his career endeavors. Yet, he upholds that if someone would have told him a few things early in life, he would have been better equipped at navigating his career and more informed, rational choices.
His extensive, decade-long experience working in the startup atmosphere has bestowed him with a lens to trace the trails to his milestones. These drills he now shares with diverse cohorts of people. He believes the startup world harvests multiple lessons to contribute to those who are just starting, irrespective of their fields. "You cannot imagine what you don't know exists", he states. He elaborates that one learns about the option and then stumbles upon more options and opportunities. He cites this as the first step.
"The Next Unicorn Could Arise From..."
One of the few things that the pandemic has fashioned us with is time. We are saving so much of it; it is the greatest gift.
And so, Gilad offers a recommendation: "Do something with the time you previously spent commuting". He believes the next unicorn can start as a gig - launching a startup with minimum resources. He apprises that having a good idea is only the first step and that the audience goes beyond the entrepreneur.
