Matias @ OINO.cloud

Advice to founders in their 20s, from someone in his 40s I’m closing in on 20 years of building in this space, and I could’ve avoided some hard lessons if someone taught me these pieces of advice earlier: 1. Friends and family are some of the worst people to test your idea on. You're either gonna have people kissing your ass, or you can have people telling you you're retarded. For example, my wife will laugh at the sh*t I’m doing because she has no idea. Friends and family aren't very objective. So, testing ideas with them is dumb and stupid. 2. Clarity comes from climbing, but advisors are the shortcut. Clarity doesn’t come from climbing alone. You can climb as much as you want. That's the path to learning; you figure out what works and what doesn't. But knowing the right people, having advisors, that's a shortcut. Take seeding product to influencers, building that content flywheel where you take the winning stuff from TikTok and move it over to Facebook. Sure, you could learn it inside out from scratch. But if you're friends with somebody or paying somebody who already knows what they're doing, they can pretty much give you the standard operating procedure. You don't have to go around and find out yourself. 3. Pick your circle carefully. The people you spend the most time with are going to shape who you become. If you're on the corner smoking crack with junkies after hours, they're going to suck you into smoking more crack instead of doing what you actually want to do. There's massive value in your network. I used to hop on a call almost every day talking to somebody new. They'd ask what they could help me with, and my answer was always nothing. I'd be the one trying to help them with as much stuff as possible. It’s the quickest way to create valuable relationships. 4. Don't be a ladder climber. Don't try to connect with Gary Vee, or whoever's at the top rung. They've got too much noise. You want to find people who are around your level, or maybe one level above you, who aren't living in a world full of noise, where everybody's trying to get their attention. Specifically, people you can provide value to. 5. Connect with the person, not just the business. Part of the reason I'm able to meet so many people and build these relationships with them is that I'm not sitting there being serious. I'm joking around while everybody else is “business, business, business” to them all the time. Remember: These are real people. They have real, everyday lives. Most people want to connect with people as people, not as "what can you do for my business?" Don't just be a business bro. Be a person. Ask about their kids. Find out what they like. Talk to them about what they're interested in, not just what they've done. 6. Figure out a better way to be interesting. You have to stand out. If you want to get other people’s attention, you can't just be nice or helpful. You have to find a way to set yourself apart. There's an interesting book called Giftology. It talks about giving gifts, and I think it's a really interesting way to make people appreciate you. For example, if you become friends with someone, give them a personalized gift instead of the usual greeting cards. It doesn't need to be expensive most of the time. Just find out what somebody's interested in, customize something around it, and send it to them. I'm not talking about bribing people or anything like that. But it's thoughtful, and if it's something they're interested in, chances are it'll be on their desk. You just get remembered. This is what I'd tell myself if I were back in my 20s. Take it seriously. It might save you some of what it cost me.