Lessons From My Startup Journey

Lessons From My Startup Journey When I was 20, I started my first company in Hong Kong. My idea was simple: buy wholesale goods in Asia and sell them on eBay in Germany and Spain. This was even before Alibaba was well-known. Running this business was tough and definitely not something I wanted to do forever, but it introduced me to entrepreneurship. It also played a big role in me leaving my job at Deutsche Bank a couple of years later. I haven’t been “employed” in the normal sense since.

Since then, I’ve started or joined over a dozen tech startups in all sorts of areas. There’s a saying that 9 out of 10 tech startups fail within their first two years. That fits my experience, and it’s even more true in the crypto world. Most of my startups didn’t turn a profit, but I learned something valuable from each of them.

These are the main things I picked up over the years, and I hope they help someone starting out:

Money is a Bad Motivator

After a certain point, money stops being a strong reason to do something. Honestly, as an IT consultant, I could have earned more per hour than by working on my startups. Chasing the dream of hitting it big is exciting at first, but it’s not realistic. When you remember that only 1 in 10 startups even make it, your time and energy are really only worth a fraction of their potential return.

Plus, even if your startup survives, you won’t get to relax and watch the money roll in. You’ll have to work even harder and longer. And you never know how much of that revenue will end up in your pocket anyway. The worst-case scenario is putting your time—your most precious resource—into something you don’t even enjoy. That brings me to the next point.

Do What You Love

I read a great article that said we’re all a bit crazy. Only someone a little crazy would stick with something for years, day after day, that most people would find boring or painful. That’s the kind of commitment you need. You have to be all-in, ready to say no to other opportunities, family time, and even your free time because you believe in your idea so much.

Otherwise, you’ll end up resenting what you do, and might even sabotage your own project, sometimes without realizing it. Your passion also affects those around you. People feel the difference when someone loves what they’re doing. There’s a special energy in businesses run with real care.

Treat Your Business as a Living Being

This is a different way of looking at things, and it follows from loving what you do. Think of your business as something alive that needs care, like a bonsai tree. Sometimes, you just have to do the regular work—watering and fertilizing. Other times, you look at the tree and decide to trim some branches to shape it better. Often, your decisions need intuition and a feel for what the tree needs from you that day.

This is how you should treat your business. It’s your tree, your creation. Don’t get stuck on rigid goals. Instead, ask every day: what does my business need from me today to grow? That way, your focus moves from just hitting milestones to building good habits and healthy routines. When the basics are strong, success becomes a natural side effect.

Play in Decades

Like a bonsai, you can’t expect quick results. Growing something lasting takes years. Don’t start your journey hoping to sell after just two years. If money is your main reason, you’re already thinking in the wrong way. Building something just to sell it fast leads to choices that hurt your business in the long term. Chasing a quick exit and chasing quality are not the same thing, and they often clash.

Think about it this way: say you take money from investors to make the business look attractive, just so you can sell it quickly. You might boost your numbers with expensive marketing, but if the product’s substance isn’t there, those customers will leave as fast as they came. And buyers, investors, and even customers can sense when a business is just fancy packaging with nothing inside.

Good businesses have a certain essence. Have you ever bought something from a family-run shop that just felt right—from the quality, the service, the way you were treated? Sometimes you can sense that something is genuine, even if you don’t know why. That’s what you want to build, even in tech.

It’s like old-school bodybuilders—you can see and feel the difference between someone who trained steadily for decades and someone who tried to shortcut the process for quick gains. These days, there’s a lot of “plastic” out there—shiny on the outside, empty inside. Smart customers care about quality. I do too, and I’d always choose a business with a long-term plan, even in tech.

Focus on Processes

Tech changes super fast. As a startup, you’ll probably need to pivot a few times to really find your place. If you obsess over certain goals or timelines, you can get stuck. Instead, pay attention to your daily and weekly routines. What does your “tree” need today? Keep improving these routines. Make sure everyone knows not only what you’re doing, but why you’re doing it.

Strong, healthy processes are a worthy goal on their own. Good routines allow you to change direction if needed—without feeling like a failure or defending an old plan out of pride or fear. When it comes to fitness, it’s not about the exact program you follow but how you follow it: consistently, and with steady improvement. Success comes naturally when you make this your approach.

Stay Lean as Long as Possible

Managing too many resources and people can slow you down. If you grow too fast, you might lose sight of what made your business special. Taking on big investments usually means chasing someone else’s goals. Those goals might not be right for your business. Stick with the bonsai idea—your business really runs on your love and attention. Sure, it needs a bit of water and fertilizer (money and resources), but you can often get what you need by working a side gig for a while. Oftentimes, you do not need the resources you take, which force you towards goals that are incompatible with your businesses well-being.

If you do bring in investors, make sure they share your vision and give you the time and space to grow. Don’t grab piles of money and end up forced to grow in ways your business can’t handle. If you push too hard, you might end up with a half-grown, awkward business that needs tons of effort just to look respectable.

Not every tech company can be built from a garage, but many can. Try to build the smallest useful version of your idea first. Only get extra help once you truly need it. Don’t worry too much about the competition—when you focus on time and good processes, your results will speak for themselves.

Protect Your Integrity

Trust is everything, and it’s fragile. In the digital world, you can lose it even faster than in old family businesses because online connections aren’t as strong. Be honest in your communication—never overpromise. Stick to your core business, then try to add little "delighters" for your customers. These happy surprises build stronger connections, and positive experiences will bring people back.

If you let your business mature naturally, you won’t need to shout for attention or spend a fortune on marketing empty promises. Satisfied customers and word of mouth can do a lot of the work.

Plan for the Worst

Things go wrong. Markets crash, new competitors show up, life changes overnight. If your goal is to have strong, flexible processes and grow slowly, you automatically make your business more resilient.

The simpler and lighter your operation, the easier it is to adjust when things change. If things really go bad, it will be easier to pause, cut costs, or even “hibernate” your project until things improve.

If you’re not under pressure to deliver results to a lot of people, and you don’t have a huge team depending on you, you’ll find it easier to make tough choices without regret.

Be Different

Playing it safe is dull—the world is overflowing with lookalike logos and brands, repetitive songs, generic cars and products. What’s missing is the courage to be different and to take the less traveled road.

Sure, it’s easier to play to the mainstream and hope for average success, but then you’re in the most crowded field, fighting to get noticed and spending more just to stay visible.

If you try something new, you might fail. But you might also create something unique or stumble onto a new trend. And if you build in a flexible and practical way, you’ll be able to change course and experiment without losing your footing.

Dance like a butterfly—be light, adaptable, and quick. And once you see your chance, strike like a bee—with focus and strength.