On risk-taking:

“You need to take big bets. Some will pay off some won’t. It’s ok. The ones that work will make up for the rest.” … “You are doing too much”

On goal setting:

“Growth above all else” … “How much revenue are you generating?”

On cash management:

“Manage your burn. Profitability is the new mantra.” …. “Hire better. You need senior people who can deliver on big mandates.”

On priority setting:

“You need to work on your revenue pipeline.” … “Let’s talk about hacking explosive growth. Something that’s a game changer.”

“Conserve cash.” … “Run experiments all the time”

On fundraising:

“Raise when you don’t need the money. … “Fundraising is your job. You are always fundraising.” …. “Don’t dilute too much”

As an entrepreneur, conflicting counsel is par for the course. It’s always well intentioned. It’s all sound advice.

You get it from everyone – people you’ve just met, potential investors, advisors, peers or that random cousin you meet once a year.

It was never meant to be easy. If it were easy, everyone could do it. Right?

So you go all in. You take the above advice – as a result – you are attempting to conserve cash, grow at a breakneck speed AND take bold decisions – doing all these (often) conflicting things at the same time.

It’s a recipe for failure.

As an alternative you can choose to breathe.

Keep your focus.

Choose to stay YOUR course.

It’s your startup.

Fail or Fly.