dearJulius.com

A Bain employee-turned-startup-founder says money isn’t everything in the early days of a new business

Nicholas Miller Gather "You have to feel confident that becoming a better leader or manager is something you're committed to," says Gather CEO Nicholas Miller. Gather

By Aine Cain, INSIDER

Angel investors, boot-strapping, and seed money — unsurprisingly, a lot of startup jargon centers around cash.

Raising money is considered a crucial measure of success for any fledgling business.

But it's not everything, says Nicholas Miller, the co-founder and CEO of service industry software Gather.

In 2012, Miller left his job as a senior associate at Bain & Company to launch his event management software startup. Four years later, he raised $2.5 million in Series A funding. But, despite successfully raising these funds for his own startup, Miller says focusing too much on this step can be a serious mistake for entrepreneurs.

"I think a misconception is that funding is the be-all-end-all of success," he tells Business Insider.

So, what should people launching their own small businesses focus on instead?
[post_ads_2]
"People focus way too much on raising money and focus a lot less than they should on proving product market fit and getting their first 10 unaffiliated customers," he says.

According to Miller, whose Atlanta, Georgia-based company now employs around 50 people, startup founders should also focus on their own leadership development early on.

"You learn a lot about yourself during the early stages when you're just struggling to grasp at straws and find something that will be the path forward," he says.

So, instead of constantly fretting about funding, focus on your own development as a manager too.

"When people romanticize growing businesses, they forget that it's really so much about the people you have at the company and making sure that you not only bring the right people in, but develop them over time," he says. "You have to feel confident that becoming a better leader or manager is something you're committed to."

More from INSIDER

|Featured Content_$type=three$c=3$l=0$m=0$s=hide$rm=0


A Part of Julius LLC
Made with in NYC by Julius Choudhury
Name

Balance Work & Life,64,Be a Better Manager,32,Break Room,12,Burnout,1,Business Skills,124,Career Advice,307,Career Care,1,Career Choice,181,Career Growth,361,Career Paths,24,Career Problem,8,Career Tips,90,Education,129,Entrepreneurship,56,Featured,81,Features,469,Finance,13,Freelancing,3,Hiring,5,Internship,12,Interview Tips,76,Job Search,61,Leadership,98,Marketing,10,Money & Career,20,Resume,24,Retirement,3,Salary,15,Scholership,1,Side Hustle,15,Tools & Skills,19,Training,2,Work Environment,129,Work From Home,21,
ltr
item
Career Magazine: A Bain employee-turned-startup-founder says money isn’t everything in the early days of a new business
A Bain employee-turned-startup-founder says money isn’t everything in the early days of a new business
Gather CEO and former Bain & Company employee Nicholas Miller says that it's a mistake to focus exclusively on raising funds when founding a startup.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUO6uKHJ6zEE7YiPD3X-3OyYa6gRNm6KhdaTd_6Ou4lIcxA_Tedc50C-3au1XhGNHj7AmD9Xt9yWID-RWZXT_nWqoyuxVOW518B5EWKsA1-OZQAC50T_NtgL5Y9ojR93qqPAjO457ITzc/s1600/1.png
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUO6uKHJ6zEE7YiPD3X-3OyYa6gRNm6KhdaTd_6Ou4lIcxA_Tedc50C-3au1XhGNHj7AmD9Xt9yWID-RWZXT_nWqoyuxVOW518B5EWKsA1-OZQAC50T_NtgL5Y9ojR93qqPAjO457ITzc/s72-c/1.png
Career Magazine
https://career.dearjulius.com/2017/05/a-bain-employee-turned-startup-founder.html
https://career.dearjulius.com/
https://career.dearjulius.com/
https://career.dearjulius.com/2017/05/a-bain-employee-turned-startup-founder.html
true
709333744733904694
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Read More Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy Table of Content