Startup Anti-Patterns

An anti-pattern is a commonly used process, structure, or pattern of action that, despite initially appearing to be an appropriate and effective response to a problem, has more bad consequences than good ones. Simeon Simeonov first wrote an introduction to the value of startup anti-patterns back in 2013. To sum it up, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact set of reasons startups succeed, but experienced entrepreneurs and investors have a good sense of what drives startups’ failures. Startup anti-patterns are all about that — patterns that increase the risks associated with startups (hey, it’s a risky business to begin with). Pursuing an anti-pattern doesn’t mean that your company will die tomorrow or in the next year, but each anti-pattern adds-up and could lead to clouding your focus and hampering your ability to execute. Together with Itamar Novick from Recursive Ventures, Simeon Simeonov is bringing the Startup anti-pattern series to life. Stay tuned for more in this series as we work through each anti-pattern with tangible examples from our experiences as founders and investors in 100+ startups, and the experiences of guest founders from our portfolio. Startup Anti-Patterns full list (work in progress…) Studying repeatable patterns of startup failure (startup anti-patterns) is more useful than studying non-repeatable strategies for startup success. Top Startup Anti-Patterns: Elephant hunting Ignorance Platform risk If you build it, they will come Bad revenue Chasing the competition Chasing Blue Oceans Analysis paralysis (Founder) Arrogance Boiling the ocean Bridge to nowhere Design by committee Confirmation bias Bleeding on the edge Attribution risk Changing strategy instead of execution Confusing activity with results Consulting to product Death by pivot Deathmarch Delayed scaling Demand generation Designing for investors Drag Escalation of commitment Escape to the familiar Escapism Featuritis Forward thinking Founderitis Groupthink Hail Mary Ivory tower Lack of focus Lagging indicators Learned helplessness Long feedback cycles Lying to investors Magic salesperson Mentor whiplash Missing your exit Myopic bootstrapping Next round only Not knowing your investors One-off customization Oooh, shiny! Overengineering Overselling Oversteering Platform trap Premature optimization Premature scaling Promiscuity Proof by anecdote Pushing a rope Raising too little Random founders Scapegoat Second class citizens Seed extensions Secrecy Silver bullet Spreadsheet Bingo Stovepipes The one idea entrepreneur Top-down planning Uber pivot Underqualifying Unicorn hunting Unrealistic expectations Warm bodies Weak board Yes man Zombie Outsourcing your architecture (via Alan Neveu) Note: the list is not “drawn to scale.” Some anti-patterns occur more frequently than others and some are more likely to cause a startup to fail than others.