Mistakes

Fourteen real mistakes, and what prevents each

Founder Indus explains why a mistake happens; Startup Indus gives the procedure. Where the middle column says '(none)', there is no psychology in it.

Customers
Kept building and polishing; sold nothing until the money ran out
Why: ↗ Surrogation: progress measured by what was built, not sold; possibly the IKEA effect and sunk cost (to check)
Gated path: no new version until the current stage's sales test is passed
Hiring
Harder questions for early candidates, easier later; hired people who mirrored the founder
Why: ↗ Unstructured interviewing; similarity bias
Three-layer hiring with a scoring sheet written in advance
Hiring
Exam toppers froze under a 2-hour deadline
Why: ↗ Interviews measure talk, not behaviour under pressure
A timed work sample like the real job
Hiring
An employee shared company work outside to show off
Why: no psychology in it
Confidentiality clause in the offer letter; onboarding talk on what can be shared
Customers
Customers said "we like your product"
Why: ↗ Courtesy bias
Interview script about past behaviour and past spending
Money
Quoted a price the product couldn't be made at
Why: no psychology in it
Cost sheet, floor price per volume tier, GST added correctly
Operations
Vendor delivered in 6 months instead of 1
Why: no psychology in it
PO or MOU with date, penalty, payment tied to delivery
Money
Pen-and-paper accounts; no invoices or salary slips
Why: no psychology in it
Accounting software from day one; invoice and salary-slip templates; statutory calendar
Money
Didn't know the run rate
Why: no psychology in it
Monthly one-page numbers: cash, burn, runway
Operations
Fake work: meetings and discussions all day
Why: ↗ Surrogation, if activity is counted instead of output
Daily written outputs; weekly review of promises
Hiring
Ad hoc salary talks and promotions
Why: ↗ Fairness perceptions (to check)
Written criteria before the quarter; raises on one fixed date
Money
Missed scheme windows such as SISFS
Why: no psychology in it
Scheme calendar with eligibility deadlines (being checked by a CA, CS or patent agent before it goes up)
Legal & IP
Showed a product's inner design before filing a provisional patent
Why: no psychology in it
File first, show later; NDAs; patent-agent check (being checked by a CA, CS or patent agent before it goes up)
Legal & IP
Interns built the website on their own accounts; ownership fights
Why: no psychology in it
Company owns every account; IP assignment signed before day one