20 Lessons From Living with 20 Founders

For the last month, I have lived in a NYC apartment building with 20 fellow founders at a residency program hosted by Launch House. I lived with entrepreneurs ranging from creators with just ideas to founders with millions of dollars of funding all the while being supported by a rising company backed by some of the top VC firms in the world. It was one of the most rewarding, exciting, uncomfortable, insightful, and humbling experiences of my life.

Here are 20 lessons from living with 20 founders that have helped me take the next step in my personal founder’s journey:

1) Surround yourself with people smarter than you. If you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.

2) Pay it forward. Many people will help you along the way. Make sure to return the favor every chance you get.

3) Discomfort can lead to the best growth opportunities. Lean into what scares you, unchartered territories provide the most lessons and experiences to be gained.

4) Say yes. You never know what a late-night conversation or early morning coffee will lead to.

5) Be decisive. The worst decision you can make is not making any. Execute fast, fail faster.

6) There’s never a perfect time. Just start, your future self will always thank you.

7) The founder’s journey is a marathon, not a sprint. Building an empire won’t happen in a day.

8) Appreciate the journey. It’s not all about where you’re going. Enjoy the people and experiences you make along the way.

9) Do things that don’t scale. Your company won’t grow itself and virality is hard. Go out and find your customers. You never know the effect of adding 1 additional customer.

10) Focus on your own path. We are all heading in different directions and that’s okay. Focus on the path you’ve chosen and compare yourself solely to your own goals.

11) Have a bias towards action. The cost of inaction is way higher than the cost of failure.

12) Stay level-headed. Things are never as good or bad as they seem; the reality is somewhere in the middle.

13) The belly rules the mind. The dinner table is like a bridge between friends, family, and loved ones. Food is like a magnet; it attracts us.

14) Launch, launch, launch again. Ship products as quickly as possible and test them with customers. You want to make sure you’re going down the right path before you’ve spent too much time going down the wrong one.

15) Talk to users every day. The most important person in your company is your user. Get them involved.

16) Your network’s success is your success. Startups are a positive-sum game. When your fellow founders succeed, you all succeed.

17) Momentum is everything. Avoid losing it at all costs.

18) Your personal brand matters. The company is not your entire identity, make sure you uplift your person as well.

19) Empower your employees & their personal brands. Your employees are an extension of you & the company. Support them in every facet.

20) Take every opportunity seriously. Check every email, inquire in every conversation. You never know who will lead you to your next big win, or you lead them to theirs.

Thank you to Launch House for helping me learn 20 lessons from living with 20 founders. I am beyond grateful for the experience. These 20 lessons are just the tip of the iceberg for the memories & friendships I made over the last month. They, and the many others that didn’t make this page, have given me greater guidance on how to become the leader I am working towards today better than any experience I’ve had thus far.

Just like #2, please let me know how I can help you take the next step in your own founder’s journey. We, the founders of the world, are all here to help!