Curb your ego

I'm a tech person who recently ended a side project initiated at the end of 2018. I invested some money, but mostly my time, developing various components (apps, web, automation, etc.) for the concept. The startup focused on creating custom t-shirts from Instagram profiles in the B2C sector.

My background is in software development, having held positions such as senior engineer, tech lead, and CTO. While this isn't my first failed idea, it felt different. Despite believing I had the necessary knowledge to run it successfully and attempting to follow conventional practices, it didn't pan out as expected. The process itself isn't as crucial as the lessons learned.

Reflecting on what went wrong, I realized that my 'Ego' played a significant role.

I called it the Founder's Ego Trap.

• ego is the worst enemy of a technical founder
  Hi there, I'm not!
• ego denies its existence
  They are all wrong, you don't have any issues. Carry on.
• ego overrates technical side
  Do a great software and they will come.
• ego compares you with others
  Oh look, that guy over there is way better. I bet he did his product in single approach!
• ego pulls you away from non-technical tasks
  Marketing, validation, feedback: who needs this! Great app will defend itself.
• ego preys on your anxiety
  You should do it better. 'They' expect perfection. Iterations are for weak.
• ego will always overrate tiny missing feature
  Without that N-th feature your app is useless.
• ego will stretch your MVP
  People love to have more options. MVPs are for weak.
• ego will trap you in endless technical considerations
  You should do it better. Try to micro-optimize it. What will happen when millions of users come?
• ego doesn't like you doing stuff you are not best at
  You know nothing about marketing. Don't spend time learning it. You're a great developer so let's stretch that MVP instead.
• ego will always find someone to blame
  People were unable to see a value. It's their fault.
• ego will find reasons why you shouldn't ship
  Wait! We are still missing something, that one unique feature.
• ego looks for praise, doesn't like validation and criticism
  Don't hurt me! You are nothing without me.
• ego will push you away from current project to new better one
  Look, there is a new, better opportunity. You have already done the hard tasks. Leave it.
• ego expects you to create something revolutionary or unique
  Look at that code! We can extend it and make a library. People are waiting for it!
• ego makes you focus on future celebrations, not on the road to them
  After we succeed, we will…

Ego is your worst enemy. Ego will keep you in your bubble.

Be quick. Be open for feedback and validation. Test. Release quick and often. Prototype.

(it took me 2.5 months to hit the 'publish' button)

Cover photo by Orkun Azap on Unsplash.