E34: Start Founder: My Company Failed. Learn From My Mistakes!

In this episode, Sara talks about the challenges and realities of startup entrepreneurship with guest Megan Murphy, a former product manager turned founder. Megan shares her journey from the corporate world to launching her own startup, focusing on the pitfalls, learning curves, and eventual decision to shut down her venture. Megan has held the VP Product role at Hotjar, where she led and scaled its product organization, and led the team through M&A. She previously held product leadership roles at N26 and Skyscanner. In 2022, she co-founded a startup that never found product-market fit. She decided to cut her losses and return capital to investors so that she could move on with her life. She is currently moving on before exploring what’s next. 00:00 Intro02:40 Background & entrepreneurial shift07:59 Problem identification & validation13:24 Team building & product development18:10 Product-market fit challenges23:00 Iteration decision-making28:07 Addressing product limitations33:19 Market impact on startups38:00 Growth from startup experience43:18 Vision vs market reality48:27 Closure decision & outlook📚 OTHER RESOURCES MENTIONED: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well - https://amzn.to/3T1FMaL🔗 CONNECT WITH MEGAN:👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmurphy9/🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@polywebhq🎧 Listen for free on your favorite Podcast platform - search "PolyWeb" on your podcast app, or click these links:Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3Jp6NA3Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3OZlfC8 Google Podcasts - https://bit.ly/polyweb-googlepodcastRSS - https://www.podpage.com/polyweb/FOLLOW POLYWEB:🎥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@polywebhq/💻 Website - https://www.podpage.com/polyweb/💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/📱TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@polywebhq📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/polyweb/🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/PolyWebHQ🙏 LEAVE A REVIEWIf you enjoyed listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.