The Daily Founder

Questions are the new answers!? Asking the right question at the right time to yourself, your team, the market, your AI…. is a key skill for founders. The entrepreneurial world is a whirlwind of decisions. From product development to team building, every step is crucial. But in the frenzy of "what to do," it's easy to forget the power of "what if.” The quality of your questions determines the quality of your solutions. A vague question like "How can we grow our user base?" might lead to generic marketing tactics. But a sharper question like "What specific user needs are we not meeting, and how can we address them?" opens doors to targeted innovation. So for today’s challenge, let’s cultivate our question-asking superpowers. • We want to challenge our Assumptions: to not accept the status quo and ask "why" behind every "how." • We want to Embrace Open Ended Questions: Instead of yes/no, ask questions that spark discussion and explore possibilities. • And we want to Get Specific to tailor our questions to the situation. We can't ask generic questions and expect specific answers. Pick a decision your facing today, pause and ask yourself: What questions can I ask that will truly illuminate the path forward?” The answer might just surprise you. Happy question quest on Day 041 of The Daily Founder. Have you joined the community group on austrianstartups.com yet? Let’s do this.

Do you like clarity? You dream up solutions, craft roadmaps, and chase that ever-elusive vision. But the reality of an entrepreneurial journey? It's a swirling fog of uncertainty. New markets emerge, pivots become necessary, and unforeseen challenges pop up left right and center. So, what's a control-craving founder to do? Embrace the ambiguity. And here's why: • Innovation thrives in the gray zone. Disruption rarely emerges from perfectly defined spaces. Ambiguity allows you to explore uncharted territories, test unconventional ideas, and stumble upon groundbreaking solutions. • Agility is your superpower. The ability to adapt quickly is a founder's secret weapon. When you embrace ambiguity, you become comfortable with course corrections, allowing you to seize fleeting opportunities and dodge unforeseen roadblocks. • Resilience is your armor. The startup journey is paved with setbacks. Learning to navigate ambiguity builds mental toughness, allowing you to bounce back from the inevitable bumps and bruises. Ok so, how do you transform ambiguity from an enemy into an ally? That’s our challenge for today. See which one of the following points resonate and where you apply one small step today: • Befriend the question mark. Instead of freaking out about unanswered questions, view them as springboards for exploration. Embrace research, gather data, and conduct experiments to illuminate the path forward. • Build a culture of "what if." Encourage your team to brainstorm alternative scenarios and contingency plans. This not only fosters creativity but also equips everyone to handle the unexpected. • Focus on agility, not rigidity. Ditch the overly-structured plans and embrace flexible frameworks. Prioritize clear goals over micromanaged processes, allowing you to adapt as you learn. • Celebrate calculated risks. Don't let the fear of the unknown paralyze you. Taking calculated risks in ambiguous situations can lead to exponential growth Remember, ambiguity isn't the enemy. It's the fertile ground where groundbreaking ideas take root and resilient founders flourish. So, take a deep breath, step into the fog, and embrace the beautiful mess that is your entrepreneurial journey. Thanks for tuning in, this is Day 40 of The Daily Founder. Find more good stuff in the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

As a founder, you're constantly pitching your vision. Whether it's to investors, potential customers, or even your own team, you need to be a master storyteller. But simply telling people how great your idea is won't be enough. You need to show them. Today, we’ll try to improve how you can better showcase what you got. Here are 4 ways I’ve encountered that do just that. Pick at least one today and try it out! 1: Paint a Picture with Data & Facts Instead of saying your product is "revolutionary," back it up with data. Showcase impressive user growth statistics, positive customer testimonials, or market research that highlights a clear gap your product fills. Let the data do the talking and paint a picture of the potential. 2: Demonstrations Over Descriptions Don't just describe your product's features – demonstrate them! Have a working prototype and showcase its capabilities. If it's a software product, walk through a real-world use case. For a physical product, highlight its innovative design or functionality. A visual demonstration is far more impactful than a lengthy technical explanation. 3: Use Customer Stories to Show Impact Numbers are important, but stories resonate. Find early adopter customers who are excited about your product and let them share their experiences. These real-world examples showcase the positive impact your product is having and its potential to scale. 4.: Show Your Passion & Expertise Beyond the product itself, you, the founder, need to be captivating. Your passion for the problem you're solving and the deep understanding of your market should be evident. Demonstrate your expertise through your presentation style, responses to questions, and the overall confidence you exude. This is Day 039 of The Daily Founder. Join us in the community group on austrianstartups.com, like, comment subscribe. See you tomorrow. Let’s do this.

Looking to create a meaningful and lasting solution? Well, a solution starts with a problem. So before looking into solutions, you gotta identify and understand the problem. Today, we’re looking for pain points and let them be the driver for creativity and innovation. Identify a pain you face as a customer, user, community member, or any other role you might have. Answer these two questions: - Is it a big enough problem to justify big efforts to solve it? - Would you pay for a better solution and if so, how much? Both yes? You may be onto something. Try to truly understand where the problem or pain comes from and the impact it has. Then you’ll be set up to let your creativity run wild and start building a solution. A quick solution to a pain point I’m having would be for you to like, comment, subscribe and join the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

Do you trust your gut? I think in many situations it’s wise to trust your instincts. But on an entrepreneurial journey there are so many uncertainties that it’s also wise to recognize when to question your initial gut feeling and get some data to back it up. Don’t ignore a gut feeling, there’s probably something there to investigate, but don’t think it’s enough to take big decisions.  So today’s challenge: Follow up your gut feeling about something that’s been on your mind with curiosity. Where does it come from? Why do you have it? Do others feel the same? Why?  Enjoy investigating and understanding your gut feelings! Thanks for tuning in to Day 037 of The Daily Founder, please help us out to keep going with this by liking, commenting and joining the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this. 

Let’s build a prototype today! Why? Prototypes allow you to test if your ideas and assumptions are actually true. It saves you time and money to first build prototypes and test with them before building and designing your full product or service offer. Going on a prototyping journey gives you more confidence and actual data if it’s technically possible, if anybody would actually want it and how it should look like. So let’s create one today. I suggest to define 4 things for your prototype: First: The right question aka the hypothesis. Which assumption do want to test? Secondly: Define the minimal feature set. What is the MINIMUM requirement, the cheapest and fastest way to get to an answer to your question? Number 3: Design your experiment. Are you just testing if it can be done technically? Do you need two versions to show to people to see which one is better - an A/B test? Is it a questionnaire? Unleash your inner scientist and try to figure out which setup is best suited to give you the answers you need (not the answers you want!). And for number 4: Define the success metric. How will you know whether your assumption is true or false? Define how you measure and at which number or result you’ll count it as confirmed or not. Voila. This is it for Day 036 of The Daily Founder. Comment, like, subscribe and join the community group on austrianstartups.com Always be prototyping. Let’s do this.

Nobody really gives a flying f*** about what you do - a very liberating realization, at least it was for me. It just means you should do you, go do your thing, make stuff happen, don’t overthink it. But what will other people think? - Nobody cares! Of course your friends and family care about you, but we tend to drastically overestimate how much others actually think about us and what we do. In reality, everybody’s got their own stuff going on and perceive everything through their lens. And other people are not on the same path you are on. You’ve got to walk your own path. And nobody can stop you, but yourself. For today’s challenge. Every time the thought arises “What will other people think?” slap yourself on the wrist and ask yourself instead, is this the right thing to do for me right now? Care less about what other people might think. Just keep going and be kind along the way. It would be very kind if you left a comment and like. Join us in the community group on austrianstartups.com. This is Day 035 of The Daily Founder. Let’s do this.

Let’s celebrate today! It's so important to celebrate your wins. In entrepreneurship we’re experiencing frequent and unpredictable ups and downs , which can be rather unsettling. Every day is a journey and the low moments of uncertainty and doubt are inevitable. You will question yourself, your model, your team. When that tide turns again (and it will), then take the time to celebrate and reflect on that win. It will serve as your foundation for the next bumpy ride and give you more appreciation for the journey and achievements along the way. So for today! Celebrate something, anything, focus on something good and enjoy! Do that regularly. It will be worth it! We’re celebrating making it to Day 034 today! And would definitely celebrate your contribution in the comments of the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

How does your network look like? How much time do you spend with whom and why? The 33% rule is a great way to maximize your networking potential. The 33% rule states that one third of your network should be people you can learn from, who once stood where you stand. The benefits are obvious. Use the wisdom and experience of others who have done it before. One third should be people in the same boat as you, peers who inspire you, people you can share comparable insights and experiences with for mutual growth and collaboration. The last third should be people who can learn from you, so you can give back to the community that nurtured you. Teaching is a great way to learn yourself and strengthen your own knowledge. So for today, aim to follow the 33% rule and network with one person from each third. Thanks for tuning in on Day 33 of The Daily Founder. You can find a great network of entrepreneurial minds on austrianstartups.com in our community group. Come join. Let’s do this!

Plenty of ideas, but not sure where to start? Here comes the ICE score. ICE, for Impact, Confidence and Ease, is a simple framework to help you pick your next battle. Rate your ideas, features, options or whatever you want to prioritize on a scale from 1-10 in these three dimensions, add up the points and sort for the highest, there you go. You got your winners. So for today, try out the ICE score for whatever it is you want to prioritize. Please do the thing, you know, comment, like, subscribe and join the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash Let’s see where our minds can take us today with this little exercise: Step 1: Where do you think is your limit? Step 2: What do you think is needed to break through it? Step 3: Let’s assume for a second that this would be easily solved. What would be next? What would open up to you? What would be the next limit? Let’s keep going through the steps 1,2,3 for two more rounds. Where are you now? Can you imagine it? Can you believe it? Allow yourself to, nobody is stopping you. There's also no limit on comments in the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

Just build it and they will come. Sounds very risky and overly confident, don’t you think? Here’s a better way: The Lean Startup - the methodology created and championed by Eric Ries helps us build products better and faster. The core principle is to keep going in the iterative and continuous cycle of Build - Measure - Learn. The idea is to only build small iterations of your product to then measure the impact and learn as fast as possible if your assumptions are actually true. This helps you fail fast and save time and money as you’re not building something nobody actually wants. The approach reduces risk, increases efficiency and is more customer-centric. Are you using the lean startup method? Define a small iteration of your product or idea and think how you can measure and learn if one assumption you have about it is actually true. Thanks for tuning into The Daily Founder on Day 30. Join us in the community group on austrianstartups.com and comment, like and subscribe. Much appreciated. Let’s do this!

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” - Henry Ford Feeling strong resistance? Make it your friend and let it lift you up as today’s challenge! What is it that is going against you? Can you think of a way you can use it to your advantage somehow? Let me know in the comments wherever you’re getting this and consider joining and sharing in the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

We’re all biased. Whether we like it or not, but it helps to know and how our mind works. This is where Daniel Kahnemann’s groundbreaking book “Thinking, fast and slow” offers great insights into the two systems guiding our thinking. ​ System 1: Our intuitive, automatic thinking that relies on heuristics and biases to make quick judgments. It's fast, efficient, but prone to errors. System 2: Our slow, deliberate, and logical thinking that requires effort and focus. It's slower but less susceptible to biases. Today, try to get a feel for it. For the next decision you’re facing, big or small, take a step back and challenge yourself where your first instinct came from and how it might be biased. Enjoy figuring out how your mind works and how to overcome your biases on Day 28 of The Daily Founder. I might be biased, but I think it’s a great idea to comment, like and subscribe and join the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this!  

As a founder you get a lot of advice from many different people, wanted or unwanted. Investors, coaches, customers, employees, friends, partners, the neighbor’s uncle…everyone has an opinion. Some of it is very valuable. Most of it is not. And that’s the challenge with advice: high variability of value and high volume. Today, let’s take a first step figuring out which pieces of advice you may want to take up. List the people in your network you trust to give you advice on specific topics as a first filter to manage it all. In further steps you may want think about the psychology of advice, yours and that of the advice givers. You may also want to look at which type of decisions lend themselves for which kind of advice from whom. As you become more strategic about receiving advice you’ll become better judging whether it’s good or bad advice. My advice on Day 027 of The Daily Founder, join this community of entrepreneurial minds on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this!

As a founder, questions like: How do I acquire customers? How much should I spend on marketing? Am I actually making money? are central to the journey and you gotta be confident in anwering them. Enter Unit Economics. Think of unit economics as the profitability of a single customer acquisition, product sale, or any core unit within your business model. It's about understanding the revenue generated by this unit and the costs associated with acquiring and serving it. Breaking it all down to these units will give you key metrics like ARPU (Average Revenue Per Unit), CAC (Customer Acquisitions Cost), and CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value) By understanding and optimizing your unit economics you can make informed decisions, ensure your business is financially sound, and ultimately, achieve sustainable growth. So for today, figure out or check in with your unit economics and calculate your ARPU, CAC & CLTV. Happy number crunching. Let’s do this!  

The Comfort Zone - a cozy, familiar and safe place, sure, but it’s not fertile land to grow anything, it’s where you rest. Innovation, growth and resilience are built outside of it and in discomfort. So challenge yourself, regularly, deliberately, as calculated exploration and with a growth mindset. This doesn’t mean you should spend all your time outside your comfort zone and one can overdo it of course. The goal is not to run in constant panic mode and into a burnout. As with everything, it’s about finding a good balance overall that you can sustain. Let’s take a small step outside of your current comfort zone today. Whatever that means for you. Maybe it’s a cold sales call for you, or attending an industry event you haven’t been to before, maybe a new marketing tactic, participating in a professional development workshop or seeking advice from a coach. Whatever it may be, take a small step into something uncomfortable today and celebrate it! Do share your steps outside your comfort zone in the comments and join us as a subscriber or in the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this!

Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is king. Whether you like it or not, this saying, well, kinda says it all. Sir Richard Branson puts it this way: “Never take your eyes off the cash flow because it’s the lifeblood of business.” Peter Drucker: “Entrepreneurs believe that profit is what matters most in a new enterprise. But profit is secondary. Cash flow matters most.” Jack Welch: “If I had to run a company on three measures, those measures would be customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and cash flow.” In simple terms, cash flow is all the money coming in and going out. Cash is what allows you to do things and it can provide freedom and flexibility to act. In PT Barnum’s words: “Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.” So for today’s challenge, take a close look at your cash flow and try to figure out what your current situation means so you can take good next steps. Find our great community of entrepreneurial minds on https://austrianstartups.com and please comment, engage and like what we do here. Let’s do this.

The Golden Circle. Let’s circle back to Day 002, when we were talking about purpose - your WHY. Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle is a simple yet powerful framework that helps leaders and organizations communicate their purpose and inspire action. It’s made up of three concentric circles: The outermost circle is WHAT, representing the products and services you offer. The middle circle is HOW, representing the unique processes and values that differentiate you. Finally, the innermost circle, and the most crucial one, is WHY, representing your core purpose, cause, and belief. The idea is to think, act and communicate from the inside out. So let’s try this today! Pick any situation you will encounter today and approach it with the Golden Circle in mind and communicate in that order. Hope the Golden Circle helps you to inspire many people and communicate effectively! Let’s do this!

Being a founder is like juggling flaming chainsaws while sprinting uphill. Time becomes your most precious resource, constantly slipping through your fingers. Yet, even with limited hours in the day, tasks seem to expand to fill every available second. This, my friends, is the insidious reality of Parkinson's Law. Work seems to expand so as to fill the time available for its completion." In simpler terms, if you give yourself a week to write a business plan, it'll take a week. But, if you only have 2 days, guess what? You'll likely crank it out in that timeframe. So what can we do? We make it our challenge for today: Embrace deadlines seems to work. So set yourself a tight deadline for task you’re facing. Timeboxing is your friend: The next task you start or meeting you’re going into. Give it a clear time frame and don’t go over. Track your time. Really take a look at what you’re spending your time on today. Say no! Just once today. Learn to politely decline requests that don't align with your core priorities. Your time is precious, don't let others squander it. Share how you’re overcoming Parkinson’s Law in the community group on austrianstartups.com, where you’ll also find more strategies on how to overcome Parkinson’s Law. Let’s do this!

“No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story.” -Gary Vaynerchuk Storytelling is an essential skill for any founder and leader to communicate effectively. Pitches, presentations, leading people, …. it all comes down to how well you can tell your story. So what’s your story? What’s the clear central message/plot point/moral? What’s the conflict/obstacle/hardship that’s overcome in your story? Is the structure clear? Beginning (inciting incident leading into rising action), middle (building to a climax and twists), end (satisfying resolution)? Can you tell your story with personal experiences to make it even more relatable? Have you considered the specific audience you’re addressing and adapted your story to engage them in the best possible way? PS: Keep it simple. Remove any details from your story that don’t support your goals. Tell us your story in the community group on austrianstartups.com Let’s do this!

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”-Peter Drucker As founders, we pour our hearts and souls into crafting the perfect strategy. We meticulously research, analyze, and build a roadmap to success. But what if there's a crucial ingredient we're overlooking? The quote makes it clear already that culture is key to make s strategy work. It isn't about undermining the importance of strategy though. Instead, it highlights a fundamental truth: the most brilliant plan can't survive in a toxic or misaligned culture. Think of your strategy as the recipe, and your culture as the kitchen environment. Even the most delicious dish comes out burnt if the oven's broken or the ingredients are stale. So let’s work on our culture today!

There's nothing better than starting your own business but you have to be OK with the ups and downs. You are going to have higher highs and lower lows than you've ever had before. From an emotional standpoint, you need to be ok with this. But in the end I'd advise "just do it." - Will von Bernuth Sometimes it simply helps to zoom out and understand where you are on the rollercoaster ride. Self-awareness makes things much easier, while it’s hard to get there and understand where you are actually at. But for today let’s try to figure it out. Where are you on the rollercoaster? Slowly climbing up? Right in the middle of an intense twist and turn section? Going super fast? Are you at the beginnng of the journey and are all excited, while uncertain what’s to come? maybe you’re just out of a wild section and feel a bit sick? Try to gain perspective and describe which phase you’re in and what you think comes next. Share your perspectives in the comments, ideally in the community group on austrianstartups.com Let’s do this!

What’s your priority today? It’s easy to get lost in the vast sea of todos, nice-todos, must-haves and nice-to-haves. The Eisenhower Matrix can help by distinguishing important and unimportant, urgent and non-urgent tasks. It’s rather simple: • Got a task with a deadline or consequences that’s important and urgent: do it now • Got a task that must be done, but doesn’t require your specific skill set? So something not that important, but urgent? Delegate it. • Got a task that’s important, contributing to long-term success, but which doesn’t have a clear deadline? Schedule it • Got a task that’s not necessarily important and not urgent either? Sounds like a distraction. Delete it.   Let's do this on https://austrianstartups.com/topics/40289 

"Entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital, so that you can do more of it and move forward with it." - Richard Branson While there is more to an entrepreneurial journey than creating excitement for your customers, partners, team and yourself, it is a key component to making it all work. I’d be very excited if you shared your experiences in our community group on https://austrianstartups.com/topics/40289 Enjoy building some excitement! Let’s do this!

“Focus on the problem as intensely as you can rather than the solution. You may get lost working on the solution and never really solve the problem you intended to solve.” - Rachel Lauren At first this may sound counterintuitive, we want to be solution oriented and all, but the idea is to prioritize problem-solving, not just solution building. For today’s challenge, I’d like you to focus on a problem and answer the following questions: Is the problem big enough? Is it a true pain point people are willing to pay for to be solved? How do people currently solve that problem? Please consider getting support from our wonderful community of problem-solvers on austriantsartups.com. Happy problem-solving. Let’s Do This!

Your Value Proposition: Think of it as your elevator pitch on steroids. It's a clear, concise statement that articulates the unique value you offer, why it matters to your target audience, and how you stand out from the competition. This isn't just marketing fluff; it's a cornerstone of your strategy. To find out if you’re on the right track, the only way is to test it out and gather feedback. Looking forward to reading your value propositions in the comments and in the community forum: https://austrianstartups.com/topics/40289/  Let’s do this!

Cui bono? Who stands to benefit? Who is it all for? ”Everyone is not your customer.” - Seth Godin And your target audience isn't just a faceless statistic – they're the lifeblood of your venture. A great way to understand them, their needs and their desires, is to create customer personas. Imagine your ideal customer – their age, interests, challenges, even their favorite coffee shop order. Now, condense that picture into a detailed profile. That's a persona! These fictional representations embody your target audience, helping you see the world through their eyes and tailor your offerings and marketing accordingly. And that’s your challenge for today. Grab yourself a persona template from somewhere and dive deep into the pysche of your customers to truly understand who you’re doing this for, and who you are not addressing. Enjoy the process! And guess what, it’s even more fun with like-minded people. So join our community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this!

AARRR - these are the Pirate Metrics, an acronym and framework that stands for Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue. These are the main categories of metrics you should be tracking as they give you an overview as the overall funnel or the stages of how your customers experience your offers. In Acquisition you want to look at metrics like traffic, signups, how many customers are coming from which marketing channel and how much that cost you. In Activation you’ll want to measure how many customers are taking the key actions you want them to, like completing their first purchase or sharing your content. In Retention you’re tracking your churn rate, engagement metrics and user satisfaction to figure out if your customers are hooked and stick around. In Referral you want to figure out how many customers spread the word for you by tracking your referral programs and social mentions for example. In Revenue you are looking at figures like sales, conversion rates, average revenue per customer. The Pirate Metrics framework should help you prioritize what to measure and how it’s all interconnected to see where to put your focus to make your customers happy and your business a success. Today, take a look at your customer lifecycle through the looking glass of a pirate and check your metrics or set them up! Let's do this!

The growth mindset - it's the belief that your talents and abilities are not fixed traits, but rather malleable skills that can be developed through effort and perseverance. Unlike a fixed mindset, which equates setbacks with personal failure, a growth mindset sees challenges as opportunities to learn and improve. In an entrepreneurial environment, where pivots and setbacks are inevitable, this shift in perspective can be the difference between giving up and achieving breakthrough success. Join the conversation in the community group: https://austrianstartups.com/topics/40289 

Are you spinning in circles in meetings? Stuck in a seemingly endless loop of perfectionism or analysis paralysis? Embrace GEMO: Good Enough, Move On. No it’s not about mediocrity, it’s about prioritizing progress over perfection. It’s about striking a balance between quality and efficiency. So for today’s challenge. Ask GEMO! Once in a meeting. Once to yourself. Let's do this!

Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values, we’ve been talking about them here at The Daily Founder in the first few episodes. But what’s the difference? It can get confusing very fast and they are too often used interchangeably, but they do hold distinct meanings and serve unique purposes as the four fundamental pillars of the identity of your organization. Purpose: The Why – It’s the foundational force and drive, the underlying reason for it all. Vision: The Where - Your grand plan, the final destination, the future state you’d like to contribute to and ultimately reach. Mission: The What – It’s your roadmap, the activities and initiatives you’re doing today and tomorrow as milestones, stepping stones, towards your vision. Values: The How - the bedrock of your organization’s culture, your guiding principles for how everybody in your organization is working on the mission, to get closer to the vision, to ultimately fulfill the purpose. Now that we have defined and mapped the four pillars, on to today’s challenge: Paint that picture for someone! When talking about any task to be done, try to give it the overall context: How to do it, for what, to end up where and the ultimate why. Hope this helps! Enjoy building the future and join the many entrepreneurial minds in our community group on austrianstartups.com for more. Let’s do this!

You’ll need to be able to look at what you’re doing from many different perspectives to make it amazing. An essential way to that is getting feedback. The key to getting valuable insights you can act on lies in asking the right question at the right time. I highly recommend reading the book “The Mom Test” to get your questions right. But here a few questions to get you started right away: For customers: What value do we provide to you? For team members: What is the most meaningful part of your job? For investors and partners: Which expectations have we met, which ones not yet? Go out and ask your questions to harvest all the valuable feedback!

Core values and principles describe HOW you and everybody in your organization go about things. They shape the culture, which is a key factor for long-term success. Defining them will help you take hiring and people leading decisions, they will translate to your brand image and influence your marketing and customer service and how you are perceived by everybody if you take them seriously and actually live up to them. So no, they shouldn’t be just nice words you put up the wall for inspiration, they should actually guide your and your team’s behavior and attitude, they should be something you all connect with, want to live up to and try to demonstrate every day. So what is it that you value? Share your values in the community group and check out this blog post on how to not drown in the Sunk Cost Fallacy.

Setting clear and achievable goals is essential for an entrepreneurial journey (especially if it is very ambitious). SMART goals, an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound or Timely, provide a simple and structured framework for defining objectives that you can actually work with and pursue. Clarity is key to effective goal setting. Avoid vague or general statements. Instead, craft specific, actionable goals that provide a clear roadmap for achievement. For instance, instead of aiming to "increase sales," target a specific percentage or revenue figure. Establish quantifiable metrics to track progress towards your goals. This allows you to assess performance objectively and make adjustments as needed. For example, instead of measuring "customer satisfaction," track specific feedback metrics like positive reviews, repeat purchases, or customer engagement rates. Set realistic and attainable goals that align with your current capabilities and resources. Avoid setting goals that are overly ambitious or unrealistic, as this can lead to discouragement and hinder progress. Consider your available time, skills, and resources when defining your objectives. Ensure your goals align with your overall business objectives and contribute to your long-term success. Avoid setting goals that are disconnected from your core business strategy or distract you from your primary goals. Prioritize goals that drive growth, enhance customer value, or strengthen your competitive position. Attach deadlines to your goals to create a sense of urgency and accountability. Set specific timeframes for achieving each milestone, breaking down larger goals into smaller, manageable steps. This allows you to track progress and make timely adjustments to stay on track. Today’s challenge? Do a SMART check! Take a look at the goals you are pursuing or you’re about to set for yourself or your team. Are they SMART?

“When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.” - William Clement Stone Your mission describes WHAT it is you’re actually doing to get closer to your vision and to fulfill your purpose. Typically it’s an ambitious yet achievable position in the market or in your customers’ lives and a good mission statement makes explicit what business you’re in. It will help you prioritize and get to work. So what is it that you do? Write a short mission statement starting with “Be the most …” Does your statement clarify what business you’re in? It should. Go and tell 3 people about your mission. Do people have many questions about what you’re actually doing? Not good. Rephrase, you gotta work on clarity. Do people ask how exactly, compare this to others or even ask how they might help? Good. For more information on how to write a great mission statement, do check out our blog post: How to Create an Effective Mission Statement Share your mission and challenge results! Let’s Do This!

“One of the most commonly cited human irrationalities is the sunk-cost fallacy, in which people continue to invest in a losing venture because of what they have invested so far rather than in anticipation of what they will gain going forward.” - Steven Pinker Why do entrepreneurs fall prey to this cognitive bias? For one, it’s the emotional investment. Entrepreneurs often have a strong emotional attachment to their ideas and ventures, making it difficult to detach from past investments and make rational decisions. Paired with a Fear of Loss, losing the time, money, and effort already invested it can seriously cloud our judgment and lead to a reluctance to cut losses. And then there’s the typical Confirmation Bias many Entrepreneurs have as they selectively seek out information that confirms their initial decision and ignore evidence that suggests a change in course. A tricky mix that can have heavy consequences Wasted Resources, Losing time & money mostly, Delaying Pivoting, damaging your reputation (often more so than changing course), … So how do we overcome the Sunk Cost Fallacy?

“You’ve got to visualize where you’re headed and be very clear about it. Take a Polaroid picture of where you’re going to be in a few years.” -Sara Blakely, Founder Spanx WHERE are you going with this? Your vision describes the difference you’ll have created in your customers’ lives or the larger world when you ultimately realize your purpose. Zoom out and take the long-term view of where you want to end up in the end. Once you’ve got your vision statement figured out, it will help you and everybody involved stay the course and guide and inform many strategic decisions along your journey. What’s your vision? Where to you want this to go? What will have changed?Write a short vision statement starting with “We will …” Will this statement inspire people in AND outside your organization? It should. Go out and tell 3 people about your vision and see how they react.A bit crazy? Good. Overly ambitious? Good. That would be amazing! Good. Share your vision in the comments somewhere and make use of the community in the Daily Founder Group on austrianstartups.com Let’s Do This!

The Pareto Principle states that oftentimes 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Other names for this principle are the 80/20 rule and the law of the vital few. Joseph M. Juran developed the concept in the context of quality control and improvement after reading the works of Italian sociologist and economist Vilfredo Pareto. For business one can apply the rule of thumb that 80% of sales come from 20% of clients, or 80% of outcomes come from 20% of activities. What are your 20%? What can you do today to make use of this principle? Share your results of today’s challenge in the comments wherever you are and join the conversations in the Daily Founder Group on austrianstartups.com Let’s Do This!

Having clarity on WHY you do what you do and being able to communicate it well is truly powerful. It gives you context, meaning and helps you inspire others to join you and take action. Can you communicate your why? Let’s figure it out in today’s challenge.

Let’s start with expectations. You probably have expectations. So do I. So do the people you work with. And then there’s reality. What will actually happen. And reality will probably be a whole different kind of situation than what is expected. As a founder you can expect that something unexpected is waiting for you around every corner and I suppose that makes it all so exciting....

Welcome to The Daily Founder, your daily dose of entrepreneurial inspiration and guidance. Whether you're a seasoned startup veteran or just starting to explore the world of business and the impact you can have, we're here to help you navigate the challenges and triumphs of the rollercoaster ride that is an entrepreneurial journey. Join us on this daily adventure to explore and discover practical frameworks, methods, concepts, tools, quotes, inspiring stories and useful mindsets with small challenges for you to become the best founder you can be. You may use this as your personal founder journal, as every weekday, we'll deliver a thought-provoking prompt to spark your creativity, challenge your perspectives, and help you become a better founder, leader, and person to turn your dreams into reality, while staying sane along the way. You’ll find us as wherever you get your podcasts, on the AustrianStartups YouTube channel and especially in the dedicated community group on AustrianStartups.com, where you’ll also find the blog, forum and extra content & discussions. This is Day 0, get ready, be bold, expect the unexpected, let’s do this!