QA问答：为了让你的事业成功，你需要学习哪些艰难的经验教训？
What hard lessons did you need to learn to make your business successful?
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网友：已经有成千上万本关于如何在商业上取得成功的书，还有上千本关于在生活中取得成功的书。您可以在网络上找到另外一千篇讨论该主题的文章，明天还会写一千篇。有如此广泛的主题和如此多的东西可以让我们快乐，很难将它归结为一个简短的列表，任何人都可以阅读并在他们的生活中应用。
正文翻译
What hard lessons did you need to learn to make your business successful?
为了让你的事业成功，你需要学习哪些艰难的经验教训？
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There have been thousands of books written about what it takes to be successful in business, and a thousand more about achieving success in life as well. You can find another thousand articles on the web that discuss the topic, and a thousand more will be written tomorrow. With such a broad subject and with so many things that can play a role in making us happy, it can be difficult to boil it down to a short list of things that anyone can read and apply in their lives.
However, across those thousands of books and articles, among the countless legends and stories, you'll find some common themes woven throughout. You'll find principles about us as human beings that many of us think about but never try hard enough to achieve. You'll hear about ideals and decisions that we all wish we could aspire to but often fail to understand. Here are ten of those things you'll find among the tales of those who achieved success in business (and in life) - which ones do you currently have and which do you need to obtain?
已经有成千上万本关于如何在商业上取得成功的书，还有上千本关于在生活中取得成功的书。您可以在网络上找到另外一千篇讨论该主题的文章，明天还会写一千篇。有如此广泛的主题和如此多的东西可以让我们快乐，很难将它归结为一个简短的列表，任何人都可以阅读并在他们的生活中应用。
然而，在成千上万的书籍和文章中，在无数的传说和故事中，你会发现一些共同的主题贯穿始终。你会发现关于我们作为人类的原则，我们中的许多人都在思考但从未努力去实现。您会听到我们都希望能够实现但往往无法理解的理想和决定。在商业（和生活）取得成功的人的故事中，您会发现以下十件事——您目前拥有哪些，您需要获得哪些？
2. Understand Finance
3. Grow As A Leader
4. Use Your Leverage
5. Acquire Partners
6. Having the Right Attitude
7. Showing Gratitude
8. Staying Healthy
9. Keeping the Right Friends
10. The Importance of Family;
Not everyone has the greatest of childhoods, and no one is expected to share wealth with their siblings just because of blood. Not every entrepreneur has a soulmate, not will we all have children. It is important, however, to think about success beyond just the material or power one might ultimately yield. Real success lies in having a positive influence on those who you call family and those who will eventually remember, and hopefully continue, the legacy you leave behind.
1.无所畏惧
2.懂金融
3.成长为领导者
4. 利用你的杠杆
5. 获取合作伙伴
6. 有正确的态度
7. 表示感谢
8. 保持健康
9. 结交合适的朋友
10.家庭的重要性；
不是每个人都有最美好的童年，也没有人会因为血缘关系而与兄弟姐妹分享财富。不是每个企业家都有灵魂伴侣，我们也不会都有孩子。然而，重要的是要超越一个人最终可能产生的物质或权力来思考成功。真正的成功在于对那些你称之为家人的人以及那些最终会记住并希望继续你留下遗产的人产生积极的影响。
The toughest lessons I learned:
Even very talented co-founders may leave. You need to also make sure they are 110% committed.
Very mediocre VPs are often very good at talking the talk. Mediocre execs often talk the talk even better than the best up-and-coming ones. You have to make sure they can actually do it. Especially at your stage.
Your first and even second release likely won’t be good enough. It just takes longer to get a true sellable product to market than most budget for.
Almost no products just sell themselves. How will you get folks to find it, let alone buy it?
我学到的最艰难的教训：
即使是非常有才华的联合创始人也可能会离开，您还需要确保他们 110% 投入。
非常平庸的副总裁往往非常善于说话，平庸的高管往往比最有前途的高管更能说会道。你必须确保他们真的能做到。尤其是在你的舞台上。
您的第一个甚至第二个版本可能不够好。将真正畅销的产品推向市场所需的时间比大多数预算的时间要长。
几乎没有产品是自动销售的。你如何让人们发现它，更别说购买它了？
Great folks will leave. I’m still re-learning this. But do whatever you possibly can to get them to stay.
Competition can main you, but it rarely kills you. If you truly have a better team than the other guys, you can still beat them. At least in one niche, one segment. Yes, worry about the competition. But worry more about how to close the next customer.
Pick VCs and investors you can truly trust. This is more important than adding value. This is much more important than being “nice”. Actually, investors that seem too nice are often just selling something. Folks you trust actually often give you some hard, tough advice.
作为首次创始人，很多人不会相信你。但没关系。你只需要几个主力客户，获得投资者。
伟大的人会离开，我还在重新学习这个，但是尽一切可能让他们留下来。
竞争可以使你受益，但它很少会杀死你。如果你真的拥有一支比其他人更好的球队，你仍然可以击败他们。至少在一个利基市场，一个细分市场。是的，担心竞争，但更应该担心如何接近下一个客户。
选择您可以真正信任的投资者，这比增加价值更重要，这比“友善”重要得多。实际上，看起来太好的投资者往往只是在卖东西，你信任的人实际上经常给你一些艰难的建议。
Discipline - u will not have any sword hanging on your head. It's not easy being a self starter every single day of your Entrepreneurial life.
You need to bend - it's all about being humble and understanding customer is always right. You need to give her respect, and it should be natural. You need her more than she needs you.
Money - if you think of money before starting your business, it's the right time for you to take a u turn and get back to your timely and well paying job.
You are alone - you can have a lot of well wishers supporters.
纪律——你的头上不会悬着任何剑。在您的创业生活中，每一天都要自我激励并不容易。
您需要弯腰——谦虚一点，理解客户永远是对的。你需要尊重她，这应该是自然的。你需要她胜过她需要你。
钱——如果你在创业之前就考虑到钱的问题，那么现在正是时候让你改变主意，回到你那及时、高薪的工作中去了。
你是孤独的——你可以有很多祝福你的支持者。
The importance of market research: It is important to conduct thorough market research to understand the demand for your product or service, identify your target audience, and analyze your competitors. Neglecting this step can result in a business failure.
The need to focus on the customer: It is critical to prioritize the needs of your customers and offer them exceptional customer service. Building strong relationships with customers can lead to increased customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth advertising, and repeat business.
The value of networking: Building a network of mentors, business partners, and industry experts can provide valuable insights and opportunities for growth. Surrounding yourself with knowledgeable and experienced individuals can help you avoid common pitfalls and learn from others' successes.
The importance of adaptability: The business environment is constantly changing, and it's important to be flexible and willing to adapt to new situations. Being able to pivot your business model or strategy when necessary can help you stay competitive and overcome challenges.
The significance of financial management: Understanding and managing your finances is crucial for the long-term success of your business. This includes creating a realistic budget, tracking expenses, and developing a sound financial plan. Neglecting financial management can result in cash flow problems and ultimately, business failure.
市场调查的重要性：进行彻底的市场调查以了解您的产品或服务的需求、确定您的目标受众并分析您的竞争对手非常重要。忽略此步骤可能会导致业务失败。
需要以客户为中心：优先考虑客户的需求并为他们提供卓越的客户服务至关重要。与客户建立牢固的关系可以提高客户忠诚度、积极的口碑广告和回头客。
网络的价值：建立一个由导师、业务合作伙伴和行业专家组成的网络可以提供宝贵的见解和成长机会。与知识渊博、经验丰富的人在一起可以帮助您避免常见的陷阱并从他人的成功经验中学习。
适应能力的重要性：商业环境不断变化，灵活应变并乐于适应新情况很重要。能够在必要时调整您的业务模型或战略可以帮助您保持竞争力并克服挑战。
财务管理的重要性：了解和管理财务对于企业的长期成功至关重要。这包括制定切合实际的预算、跟踪费用以及制定合理的财务计划。忽视财务管理会导致现金流问题，最终导致企业失败。
If you won't work, then nothing will, If I was going to be successful I needed to be willing to put in the necessary time effort and make sacrifices so I can have that time
Working really hard is not enough, It took me a long time to realize this but just because of your working for hours doesn't mean you're getting anything done, if your, going to dedicate your time and effort on something you need to make sure, that your spending your time wisely, this helps to have a mentor that's really knowledgeable on the subject,
If you want to know more about my mentor, you can watch this the video below
I hope that I was able to provide some wisdom for you, have a great day.
如果你不工作，那么什么都不会，如果我要成功，我需要愿意付出必要的时间努力并做出牺牲，这样我才能拥有那个时间
真正努力工作是不够的，我花了很长时间才意识到这一点，但仅仅因为你工作了几个小时并不意味着你完成了任何事情，如果你愿意，将你的时间和精力投入到你需要做的事情上确保你明智地度过你的时间，这有助于你有一个在这方面知识渊博的导师，
如果您想更多地了解我的导师，可以观看下面的视频
我希望我能为你提供一些智慧，祝你有美好的一天。
I had to learn how to handle my ego and that the value of a good team is priceless.
As a young entrepreneur in my late teens/early 20s, I was cocky and thought I could do it all alone. Unfortunately, ego gets the best of us at some point in our entrepreneurial life, whether we see it coming or not. In my 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, I’m still to meet an entrepreneur whose ego wasn’t his or her reason for failure, and not just once.
A business can fail for a number of reasons, be it the lack of market need, an unprofitable business model, lack of leadership and direction, poor financial management, etc. The majority of the time, (arguably every time because business is their responsibility) entrepreneurs themselves are causes for these fails.
我必须学会如何处理我的自负，一个好的团队的价值是无价的。
作为一名十几岁/二十出头的年轻企业家，我很自大，认为我可以独自完成。不幸的是，无论我们是否预见到它的到来，在我们创业生活的某个时刻，自我意识总是会在某些时候占据上风。在我 20 年的创业经验中，我依然会遇到一位创业者，他或她的失败是因为自负，而且不止一次。
企业失败的原因有很多，可能是缺乏市场需求、无利可图的商业模式、缺乏领导和指导、财务管理不善等。大多数时候（可以说每次都是因为企业是他们的责任) 企业家本身就是造成这些失败的原因。
But more often than not, we leave it unchecked and that’s when serious trouble begins. It doesn’t take much - just a nudge for you to explode and bite the proverbial dust.
Ego rears its ugly head in different ways, and you need to be aware of its many forms. Sometimes, it’s clinging on to a failing business, where your pumped-up ego doesn’t allow you to realize the idea wasn’t all that good, to begin with. You are too proud to admit the mistake and pivot the business. What you think will solve the problem(s) or a specific pain point doesn’t necessarily mean it’s entirely possible. Even when pivoting can help, some entrepreneurs tend to see it as a failure, a surrender of sorts.
作为一个企业家，你是负责任的。我们所做的事情本身就非常艰难和具有挑战性，而没有我们自己的妄想。这就是为什么我提到自负，因为我们常常无法意识到它的细微差别。这并不完全是坏事——自负可以是健康的，也是一种有价值的工具，尤其是在提升自尊和自信方面。
但通常情况下，我们会放任不管，这时就会出现严重的麻烦。不需要太多 - 只需轻轻一推，您就会爆炸并咬住众所周知的灰尘。
自负以不同的方式抬起丑陋的头，你需要了解它的多种形式。有时，它会紧紧抓住一家失败的企业不放，因为你高涨的自负让你意识到这个想法一开始并不是那么好。你太骄傲了，不愿承认错误，也不愿调整业务。你认为可以解决问题或特定痛点的方法并不一定意味着完全有可能。即使转向可能有所帮助，一些企业家也倾向于将其视为一种失败，一种投降。
See my mistake? I wanted to be THE man in the eyes of the world. I wanted to prove I wasn’t going to be stopped by pressure, adversity, or whatever I thought was against me. I was fully immersed in something I call the entrepreneurial tragedy because people around you force you to it, especially your family you count as a primary means of support. Their intentions come from the right place but they are misguided at the very core. It can transform you into a different beast, implant a different and fundamentally wrong mindset that you can do it by yourself, that success should be yours and yours alone. What we don’t realize that slowly, we become our own worst and biggest enemy.
I had such an opportunity - to maximize the potential and try to do everything and be everything because it was my idea. Naturally, I lost money because entrepreneurship doesn’t work that way.
It would be really easy to pin all of this on ignorance and not ego but at the same time, I catch myself thinking: isn’t that the same thing? A sustainable and scalable business has no room for ego in its original negative context. Failures are absolutely normal and more than welcome part of the entrepreneurial path because they teach us lessons we otherwise would have missed. We only grow and improve by learning and casting our hubris aside.
其他时候，是缺乏某些能力或知识。请注意我的个人经验。几年前，我想最大限度地发挥潜力，这样我周围的人——那些与我最亲近的人，也包括业内同行，甚至任何人，为了满足我被误导的骄傲感——会说：“你做到了，你做到了”
看到我的错误了吗？我想成为世人眼中的男人。我想证明我不会被压力、逆境或任何我认为对我不利的事情所阻止。我完全沉浸在我称之为创业悲剧的事情中因为您周围的人强迫您这样做，尤其是您的家人，您将其视为主要的支持手段。他们的意图来自正确的地方，但他们从根本上被误导了。它可以把你变成一个不同的野兽，植入一种不同的和根本错误的心态，你可以自己做，成功应该是你的，而且是你一个人的。我们没有意识到的是，慢慢地，我们成为了自己最大的敌人。
我有这样一个机会——最大限度地发挥潜力，尝试做所有事情，成为所有人，因为这是我的想法。很自然，我亏了钱，因为创业不是这样的。
很容易把所有这些都归咎于无知而不是自负，但与此同时，我发现自己在想：这不是一回事吗？一个可持续和可扩展的企业在其最初的负面环境中没有自我的空间。失败是绝对正常的，也是创业道路上非常受欢迎的一部分，因为它们教会了我们原本可能错过的教训。只有通过学习和抛弃傲慢，我们才能成长和进步。
“It’s the suckiest thing about being a startup CEO,” I said to “Bill”. I could see the sadness written all over his face.
“I can totally relate because I went through the same thing,” I said. “The people you start (your company) with are not necessarily the people you finish with.
“I know,” I said. “I’ve been there. But you’ve got to do it. You’ve got an obligation to the rest of the company and your investors to do the right thing.” And make no mistake, the right thing was to have his co-founder leave the company.
“Yeah,” Bill said. He looked completely defeated.
The crazy thing is I’d had this exact same conversation with two other CEOs in the past week. That’s why the hardest lesson you need to learn as a startup CEO might be:
“作为初创公司的 CEO，这是最糟糕的事情，”我对“比尔”说。我可以看到他脸上写满了悲伤。
“我完全可以理解，因为我经历过同样的事情，”我说。“你开始（你的公司）的人不一定是你结束的人。
“我知道，”我说。“我去过那儿。但你必须这样做。你有义务对公司的其他人和你的投资者做正确的事。” 别搞错了，让他的联合创始人离开公司是正确的。
“是的，”比尔说。他看起来完全被打败了。
疯狂的是，在过去的一周里，我与另外两位 CEO 进行了完全相同的对话。这就是为什么作为初创公司 CEO 需要学习的最难的一课可能是：
I know it sounds unbelievable to you; especially if you’re just starting out that one of your co-founders might not make it. I know you feel like you and your co-founders are thick as thieves.
I get it. I felt the same way. I would have never thought that I’d have to move on from two of my four co-founders, but they were gone within two years of us getting funding.
And, if you think I’m biased because of my own experience as a CEO, that’s not true. Over fifty percent of all founder relationships, based on my work with startup CEOs, end up in failure.
It’s just the facts. If losing your co-founders isn’t the hardest lesson you need to learn as a startup CEO, then maybe this is:
A：您可能不得不解雇至少一位联合创始人。
我知道这听起来难以置信;特别是如果你刚刚起步，你的一位联合创始人可能无法成功。我知道你觉得你和你的合伙人交情很深。
我理解，我有同感。我从没想过我必须离开我的四位联合创始人中的两位，但他们在我们获得资金后两年内就离开了。
而且，如果你认为我自己担任 CEO 的经历而有偏见，那不是真的。根据我与初创公司 CEO 的合作，超过 50% 的创始人关系以失败告终。
这只是事实。如果失去你的联合创始人不是你作为创业公司 CEO 需要学习的最难的一课，那么也许这是：
I can still remember telling my dad how important it was that we have Tier 1 investors. My dad just laughed and said, “Everybody’s money is green.”
Oh, how right my dad was. Tier 1 investors are the Sequoia Capitals of the world. However, you know what they say, you get what you pay for.
Tier 1 investors are supposed to solve all of your problems. They’ll introduce you to your prospective customers. They’ll help you round out your executive team. And you’ll never have to worry about getting funded again.
LOL.
Seriously, LOL. Our two investors in our Series A round were arguably Tier 1 VCs. One of the investors was everything you could hope for in an investor. The other investor, the infamous “Donald Ventures” did everything they could do to destroy us.
It was brutally hard lesson for me to learn. I’d have taken money from a Tier 3 VC instead of Donald Ventures if I could do it all over again. My dad was oh, so right.
So, fundraising is a blood sport as you can see. So, here’s one more really hard lesson to learn:
B. 获得一级投资者可能不是你想象的救星。
我仍然记得告诉我父亲，我们拥有一级投资者是多么重要。我爸爸只是笑着说：“每个人的钱都是绿色的。”
哦，我父亲是对的。一级投资者是世界红杉资本。但是，您知道他们在说什么，一分钱一分货。
一级投资者应该解决你所有的问题。他们会将您介绍给您的潜在客户。他们将帮助您完善您的执行团队。而且您永远不必担心再次获得资助。
哈哈。
说真的，大声笑。我们在 A 轮融资中的两个投资者可以说是一级风险投资公司。其中一位投资者拥有您对投资者的所有期望。另一个投资者，臭名昭著的“唐纳德风险投资公司”竭尽所能摧毁我们。
对我来说，这是残酷而艰难的一课。如果可以重来，我会从 Tier 3 VC 而不是 Donald Ventures 那里拿钱。我爸爸是哦，太对了。
因此，正如您所见，筹款是一项血腥运动。所以，这里还有一个非常难学的教训：
I have a saying I like to remind the CEOs I work with of: “You can’t control the environment you raise money in.”
In other words, don’t wait for the perfect time to raise money because it may never come. Look at the fundraising environment at the beginning of 2022. It was great. Money was plentiful and valuations were high.
Then in a blx of your eyes it all changed. The fundraising environment at the end of 2022 is really bad with money scarce, especially for growth stage funding, and valuations are much lower.
This lead directly to my next hard lesson:
C. 等待筹集资金的最佳时机可能会让你付出一切。
我有一句话想提醒与我共事的 CEO：“你无法控制融资所处的环境。”
换句话说，不要等待筹款的最佳时机，因为它可能永远不会到来。看看2022年初的募资环境，太棒了。资金充足，估值高。
然后一眨眼，一切都变了。2022年底的融资环境真的很差，资金稀缺，尤其是成长期融资，估值低很多。
这直接导致我的下一个教训：
Sequoia Capital issued another “R.I.P.” announcement, just like they did during the Great Recession, to their portfolio companies. After years of telling these companies to grow at all costs, now they were telling these same companies to be frugal because their next round of funding wasn’t guaranteed.
Remember, your investors interests may differ from your interests. That’s why you should always manage your company in an appropriately frugal way.
For example, you wouldn’t want to be Sequoia backed Graphcore, would you? Graphcore is a UK chip company that raised $730 million since its founding in 2015. And just as fast as Graphcore raised money they burned through it, losing $183 million in 2021 with revenues of only $5 million.
Then the bottom dropped out in 2022. Graphcore announced in September 2022 layoffs, and Sequoia is allegedly writing off their investment. They are in a death spiral they will never recover from.
There is another way to manage your company. You can be appropriately frugal. Appropriately frugal means you run lean and mean, but you spend where it’s necessary to spend.
That means you don’t have over 600 employees on $5 million in revenue like Graphcore had. At $200,000 per head, fully loaded, that means you’re spending around $120 million per year just in salaries and related overhead.
That’s insane when your revenue is only $5 million. The Graphcore cart was way ahead of the horse.
Now, you have to ask how could this happen. This leads to the next hard lesson:
D. 以适当节俭的方式管理你的公司总是值得的。
红杉资本向其投资组合公司发布了另一份“RIP”公告，就像他们在大萧条期间所做的那样。在告诉这些公司不惜一切代价发展多年之后，现在他们告诉这些公司要节俭，因为他们的下一轮融资得不到保证。
请记住，您的投资者利益可能与您的利益不同。这就是为什么您应该始终以适当节俭的方式管理您的公司。
例如，您不想成为红杉资本支持的 Graphcore，对吗？Graphcore 是一家英国芯片公司，自 2015 年成立以来筹集了 7.3 亿美元。Graphcore 筹集资金的速度与他们烧钱的速度一样快，2021 年亏损 1.83 亿美元，收入仅为 500 万美元。
然后在2022年触底，Graphcore 在 2022 年 9 月宣布裁员，据称红杉正在注销他们的投资。他们正处于永远无法恢复的死亡漩涡中。
还有另一种管理公司的方法。你可以适当节俭。适度节俭意味着你精益求精，但你花钱在该花的地方。
这意味着您不会像 Graphcore 那样拥有超过 600 名员工和 500 万美元的收入。满载情况下每人 200,000 美元，这意味着您每年仅在工资和相关管理费用上就花费大约 1.2 亿美元。
当您的收入只有 500 万美元时，这太疯狂了。Graphcore遥遥领先。
现在，你不得不问这怎么可能发生。这导致了下一个惨痛的教训：
I think we just established that your investors may not your best friends. So why would you think your board of directors is going to bail you out when your board is made of mostly, that’s right, your investors.
“But they (your board) have a fiduciary responsibility to act in our best interests,” you exclaim.
“Welcome to reality,” I respond.
Yes, each board member does have a fiduciary responsibility to act in your best interest. Yet, these same board members, who are investors, also have a responsibility to their partners and limited partners. Who wins this obvious conflict of interest?
Let me give you an example of how this plays out. Gill, one of my investors, took his responsibilities as a board member seriously.
He would ask, “Are we still in the board meeting,” if he was asked about something that might conflict with his responsibilities as an investor.
Now, as much as I love Gill, who would he side with in a conflict? Of course, he was going to support the goals of his fund.
You have to recognize there is a conflict of interest, and you need to manage your board (more here: How Do You Manage Your Board Of Directors? - Brett J. Fox).
Now your startup is up and running. And all the time you’d thought you have to do fun things like focusing on product development is instead spent on this next hard lesson:
E. 你的董事会不会有太大帮助。
我想我们刚刚确定你的投资者可能不是你最好的朋友。那么，当您的董事会主要由您的投资者组成时，您为什么会认为您的董事会会救助您。
“但他们（你的董事会）有受托责任为我们的最大利益行事，”你惊呼道。
“欢迎来到现实，”我回应道。
是的，每位董事会成员都有为您的最佳利益行事的受托责任。然而，这些作为投资者的董事会成员也对其合伙人和有限合伙人负有责任。谁赢得了这种明显的利益冲突？
让我举个例子说明这是怎么回事。吉尔是我的投资人之一，他认真对待自己作为董事会成员的责任。
如果有人问他一些可能与他作为投资者的职责相冲突的事情，他会问，“我们还在董事会会议上吗？”。
现在，尽管我很爱 Gill，但在冲突中他会站在谁一边？当然，他会支持他的基金的目标。
你必须认识到存在利益冲突，你需要管理你的董事会（更多信息在这里：你如何管理你的董事会？ - Brett J. Fox).
现在您的初创公司已启动并正在运行。一直以来，您认为自己必须做一些有趣的事情，比如专注于产品开发，但这些时间却花在了下一个艰难的课程上：
I guess the hiring piece didn’t surprise me because I’d already been spending most of my time on hiring before we got funded. However, all the drama around personnel issues really surprised me.
What truly made it worse was the drama didn’t come from the rank-and-file employees. Instead, the drama came from the executives.
Indeed, I’ve seen this same scenario play out, over and over again, with other startups that I’ve worked with. Here’s my basic rule. If you find yourself spending most of your time worrying about an employee that isn’t working out, it’s likely time for that employee to leave.
This leads directly to the next hard lesson you’ll learn:
F. 你将不得不花费超过 50% 的时间在招聘和人事问题上。
我想关于招聘的文章并没有让我感到惊讶，因为在我们获得资助之前，我已经把大部分时间花在了招聘上。然而，围绕人事问题的所有戏剧性事件确实让我感到惊讶。
真正让事情变得更糟的是，闹剧并非来自普通员工。相反，戏剧来自高管。
事实上，我已经看到同样的场景一遍又一遍地出现在我合作过的其他初创公司身上。这是我的基本规则。如果你发现自己大部分时间都在担心一个不工作的员工，那么该员工很可能是时候离开了。
这直接导致您将学到的下一个艰难的教训：
We’ve all made this mistake. At least, I certainly have. You’re desperate to keep building your technical team, and you come upon a candidate with a spotty resume.
The candidate has jumped from job to job, but the person vouching for the candidate assures you the candidate is brilliant. You and your technical team interview the candidate, and you decide it’s worth the risk to hire this person.
So you take the leap. Then, almost immediately, the complaints about this person start from your team. And, within six months you realize that you made a bad mistake hiring this person.
The brilliant jerk is gone soon after. There was a reason the brilliant jerk was jumping from job to job, and now you realize the brilliant jerk wasn’t that brilliant after all.
Firing a brilliant jerk is an indictment of you because you hired the brilliant jerk. A worse indictment of you is when this next hard lesson happens:
G. 你刚雇用的那个与你团队中的任何人都无法相处的摇滚明星工程师不会拯救你的公司。
我们都犯过这个错误。至少，我肯定有。您迫切希望继续建设您的技术团队，并且遇到了一位简历参差不齐的候选人。
候选人跳槽到另一份工作，但为候选人担保的人向你保证候选人很聪明。您和您的技术团队对候选人进行了面试，并且您认为值得冒这个风险雇用这个人。
所以你迈出了这一步。然后，几乎立即，关于这个人的抱怨从你的团队开始。而且，在六个月内你意识到你在雇用这个人时犯了一个严重的错误。
出色的混蛋很快就消失了。那个聪明的混蛋从一个工作跳到另一个工作是有原因的，现在你意识到那个聪明的混蛋毕竟不是那么聪明。
解雇一个聪明的混蛋是对你的控诉，因为你雇用了这个聪明的混蛋。当下一个惨痛的教训发生时，对你的更糟糕的控诉是：
Imagine your Graphcore’s CEO, Nigel Toon, and you have to lay off probably over 200 employees. You’re kicking yourself because believed that the money train would keep rolling forever.
It’s a classic mistake, and now your employees are paying the price. They’ll all be searching for jobs, thanks to you.
The lesson is to hire to your growth, and not your investors zeal to build a growth machine just in case you grow. In other words, don’t get too far ahead of yourself.
Sales rarely happen the way you expect. This leads to the next hard lesson:
H. 不要太快招人。
想象一下您的 Graphcore 的首席执行官 Nigel Toon，您可能不得不解雇 200 多名员工。你在催促自己，因为你相信赚钱的火车会永远开下去。
这是一个典型的错误，现在您的员工正在为此付出代价。多亏了你，他们都会找工作。
我们得到的教训是，为了公司的增长而雇佣员工，而不是为了防止公司增长而雇佣投资者。换句话说，不要做得太超前。
销售很少会按您预期的方式发生。这导致了下一个惨痛的教训：
This might be the toughest lesson for engineers turned CEOs to learn. You’ve never sold before, so you hire someone to run sales.
Then, the inevitable happens. The person you hired fails. The cold hard reality is that it’s next to impossible to find a great VP Sales when you’re starting out.
That leaves the job to you, and that’s as it should be. The reason is you’re the most knowledgeable person in your company about your products. And you’re the most passionate person about your company.
The combination of your knowledge and your passion more than makes up for lack of sales skills. That’s why you’ll find you’re the most effective salesperson your company will have for a long time to come.
So there you have it. Nine hard lessons you need to learn for your startup to be a success. Violate them at your own risk.
I. 一开始你必须是公司的销售副总裁。
这可能是工程师转型为 CEO 的最艰难的一课。你以前从未销售过，所以你雇了一个人来进行销售。
然后，不可避免的事情发生了。你雇用的人失败了。冷酷的现实是，刚起步时几乎不可能找到出色的销售副总裁。
这就把工作留给你了，这是应该的。原因是您是公司中最了解您的产品的人。你是对你的公司最热情的人。
你的知识和热情的结合足以弥补销售技巧的不足。这就是为什么您会发现自己是贵公司在未来很长一段时间内最高效的销售人员。
所以你有它。要使您的创业公司取得成功，您需要学习九个艰难的教训。违反它们需要您自担风险。