Early-Stage Startup Success: 10 Tips from Your Peers
Based on a survey of 100+ early-stage founders, here’s what your peers are doing and what they’ve learned along the way.
Profile of the early-stage founder
This is not the first rodeo for some
First-time entrepreneur - 55%
Serial entrepreneur - 37%
Not applicable
Contrary to popular belief, many founders are 40+
30%
5%
65%
And a third of founders are female
Male
Female
Prefer not to say
Founder Tip #1
“It's a long journey. Motivation is essential. Giving up and co-founder conflict are some of the biggest existential threats in the early stages.”
Most early-stage founders don’t go it alone
50
%
One founder
38
%
Two co-founders
+
17
%
Three or more co-founders
Founder Tip #2
“Pick your co-founder(s) carefully.”
Early-stage startups aren’t in a California garage anymore
65
%
of early-stage startups are fully remote
39
%
of early-stage startups use international remote talent
Early-stage startup HQs are geographically dispersed
Founder Tip #3
“Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you start. Learn to iterate quickly, listen deeply, and advocate for yourself, especially when the room feels intimidating. Progress comes from persistence, not perfection.”
Founder Tip #4
“Your MVP is not just a set of features but also a revenue source. Viable means customers are paying real $$ for it. Most businesses fail to bridge the gap between building the idea and selling the product. For a startup to be successful, you need to be laser-focused on the real, not the imagined, and that’s real paying customers.”
Founder Tip #5
“Address a pain point - engineer backwards - solve a specific problem first, and build your startup around that.”
It isn’t as glamorous, but back-office operations matter too
97
%
of founders agree that effectively managing your cash flow and runway is key to startup success
76
%
of founders say scaling your startup with the proper HR, compliance, and operational infrastructure is key to success
Founder Tip #6
“Find the right people to build with because it makes the journey so much more rewarding and fun (even when things get tough.)”
HR Compliance is keeping founders up at night
Founder Tip #7
“Stay in compliance and always do your taxes.”
Money, money, money in the startup world
Don’t be in the dark about Treasury investing
45
%
of early-stage founders confessed they were unclear what Treasury investing is and how it can help them
15
%
Only 15% said they participate in Treasury investing
Founder Tip #8
“Once you've incorporated your startup and raised capital, one of your most critical responsibilities as a founder is implementing effective treasury management. Cash is like oxygen for startups — without it, even great companies with strong products and growing revenue will die.”
The founder back office gap
92% would love to spend more time on product development and fundraising rather than being mired in back office operations like HR, payroll, finance, and compliance.
But only 42% of founders have outsourced their HR and finance back-office operations to tools & platforms.
Founder Tip #9
“Cut your back-office workload with Every so you can focus on what matters: your customers.”
Founder’s back-office solution wish list
When looking for a back-office solution, here’s what your peers have cited as their top evaluation criteria:
Inexpensive and fits my budget
All-in one solution
Easy onboarding and intuitive UI
Minimal fees
Integrates well with other tools
Customer support
Founder Tip #10
“Prioritize sleep, nutrition, and touching grass, because there is no glory in burning out.”
Learn how Every’s all-in-one backoffice solution can help early-stage founders set their startup up for success from Day 1
Request Demo