Startups · by Minh Nguyen · 2026-09-28

A beginner mistake I am weirdly glad I made without making it complicated

I had a disappointing first try, a surprisingly good second try, and then a third attempt that taught me humility. So, naturally, I now have opinions.

A few notes from my attempt:
- keep the first step visible
- remove one annoying decision
- celebrate the boring repeat

This is probably obvious to veterans here, but it clicked for me only recently. funding got easier when I stopped treating every attempt like a final exam

50 sparks · 15 comments

Comments

Pixel Comet · 8 likes

Agree completely. The simple version is underrated. My only addition is to make the first step visible

Cedar Fern · 2 likes

my wallet felt that

Jonas Schneider · 6 likes

Beautifully put. I needed that reminder today. The Cairo example makes it feel concrete

Jiho Lee · 3 likes

I would love a follow-up example

Ren Suzuki · 1 likes

@lanternMender86 Kind of wild how often example is the whole issue

Diego García · 1 likes

fair pushback

Maya Williams · 2 likes

agree completely. The simple version is underrated. I would write it down before changing anything else

Tola Ibrahim · 2 likes

Agree completely. The simple version is underrated. The 3-minute rule is underrated

Minh Nguyen · 1 likes

I had the same reaction to simple

Tomás Gómez · 2 likes

The boring logistics are always the hidden part. That is the kind of detail beginners miss

Ren Suzuki · 1 likes

I wish more posts had this much context. That is the kind of detail beginners miss

Siti Lestari · 2 likes

This is the gentle version of my rant

Minh Nguyen · 1 likes

I am stealing that phrase

Gentle Rider · 2 likes

good clarification — I read it differently at first

Khalid Al Zahrani · 1 likes

This is useful for some cases, but terrible advice if the stakes are high. My friend tried it in Melbourne and had the opposite result