Seven mistakes that repeatedly show up in post-mortems. Each is specific enough to catch as you make it, rather than vague enough to only recognise in hindsight.

1. Building before talking to customers

You've imagined the product, imagined the user, imagined the problem — and haven't verified any of it. The fastest way to waste six months is to skip the conversations that would cost a week.

2. Raising too much, too early

More money means more expectations, more pressure to scale prematurely, and more dilution. Raise what you need to reach the next real milestone, not what you'd love to have in the bank.

3. Hiring for titles instead of work

"We need a VP of marketing" is often what founders say when they mean "marketing is broken and I don't want to figure it out." Hire for the work that needs doing; title it later.

4. Confusing traction with signal

Early users who love you doesn't mean there's a market. Measure retention, referrals, and willingness to pay — not signups.

5. Treating every customer as equally important

10 % of customers produce 90 % of insight. Know who they are; talk to them first; solve for them specifically.

6. Running culture by accident

Culture forms whether you design it or not. Decide what yours should be; write it down; act accordingly. The first 10 people decide what the next 100 will tolerate.

7. Not firing fast enough

Every founder knows the hire they should have let go six months earlier. The pattern repeats because firing is hard and slow appears kinder short-term. It's not.

Seven mistakes; each avoidable; each one of them has killed more companies than market conditions. Read the list monthly for the first two years; it takes that long to internalise the patterns at the point of decision.