6 pieces of advice that could secretly destroy your startup

Advice is one of the few things a startup CEO will never run out of. It comes from investors, board members, colleagues and even your own employees. And usually it sounds convincing. The challenge is that not all advice is useful. Some of it can even quietly put your business at risk if you watch it too closely. Over time, many founders discover that ignoring bad advice is just as important as following good advice.

Below I discuss some common examples that may sound good in theory, but in practice can cause real damage.

Related: 8 Practical Tips for Successfully Launching Your Startup

1. “Just talk to ten investors. If none of them bite, quit.”

On paper this seems logical. If 10 people don’t believe in your startup, there might not be a market. But here’s the reality: Investors are not an arbitrary piece of wisdom. They pass on most places for reasons that have nothing to do with you.

The math alone makes this bad advice. A typical venture capitalist might meet a hundred companies to invest in one company. Quitting after talking to ten investors is like quitting a marathon after running 200 meters. The odds haven’t even had a chance to play out yet.

Many founders only raise money after dozens – or even hundreds – of rejections. It doesn’t mean their idea was bad; it just meant that they hadn’t found the right match yet. So if you hear “no” after “no,” don’t assume it’s a verdict.

2. “Don’t worry, we will support you.”

This usually comes from investors and always sounds reassuring. Until you remember, there is an invisible second half of that sentence: until we decide not to support you anymore.

It’s not that investors lie. At this point, they probably believe what they’re telling you. The problem is that circumstances are changing: markets are shifting, funds are drying up and priorities are being rearranged. By the time you rely on that “support,” it may no longer exist.

The smarter move? When someone says, “We support you,” the follow-up question should be: Great, how much and under what conditions? It is not confrontational. It just removes the gray area that could expose your startup later.

Related: I wish I got this advice as a young entrepreneur

3. “Hire engineers abroad. They’re cheap.”

This advice looks great on a spreadsheet. Labor costs drop, production theoretically increases, and your investors think you’ve discovered gold. But the real world doesn’t match the spreadsheet.

Hiring a remote team across the globe adds complexity at a time when your startup can’t afford distractions. You’ll spend endless hours managing time zones, quality and revenue. Cheap labor isn’t cheap when you add in the headaches.

Yes, many large companies have offshore teams. But they also have the infrastructure, budget and middle management to make it work. A young startup rarely does that. Typically, what you save in money you lose three times over time.

4. “Choose another company. That saved company X.”

You hear that when things don’t go well. Investors like to throw out examples of companies that “pivoted” and then became successful. But the truth is that for every success story, there are hundreds of crucial points that went up in flames.

The real danger here is distraction. If you start chasing the shiny new market that someone proposes, you are no longer building your business; you just try random outfits until one fits. Most of the time you’ll be broke before you ever find the right one.

That doesn’t mean you should ignore reality if your business is truly dysfunctional. But pivoting should be your decision, based on evidence from your customers and your market, not because some frustrated board member thinks it’s a quick fix.

5. “Let’s compete with our biggest competitor.”

Sometimes bad advice comes from within your own team. A well-meaning colleague might suggest that you go straight after the giant in your industry, arguing that you’ll prove your strength by taking them down.

That’s a quick way to get crushed. Big companies have deep pockets, brand recognition and teams whose full-time job is protecting their turf.

A smarter path is to discover where they are weak or distracted. Focus on the parts of the market they are ignoring. Build strength in the shadows. Once you’ve figured out your own base, you can decide later if you want to stand toe-to-toe. Until then, avoid this step.

Related: Founders keep getting this one piece of advice, but it’s setting them up to fail. This is what they really need to hear.

6. “Spending a lot now, it prepares you for later.”

There are few things more dangerous for a startup than having money to burn. The temptation to buy large systems, adopt faster than necessary, or invest in tools you won’t use for years is great. Someone on your team will always say, “We might as well get it now so we’re ready.”

The problem is that you are never actually ‘done’. Startups are constantly on the move. That shiny ERP system you thought would solve your problems may be irrelevant by the time you grow up enough to need it. In the meantime, you just took out money that could have extended your runway.

The trick is to listen without obeying. Ask yourself: is this advice right for my business right now, with the resources I actually have? Or is it just someone projecting what worked (or didn’t work) for them? So stay skeptical, trust your judgment and remember that no one knows your business better than you. Success!

Advice is one of the few things a startup CEO will never run out of. It comes from investors, board members, colleagues and even your own employees. And usually it sounds convincing. The challenge is that not all advice is useful. Some of it can even quietly put your business at risk if you watch it too closely. Over time, many founders discover that ignoring bad advice is just as important as following good advice.

Below I discuss some common examples that may sound good in theory, but in practice can cause real damage.

Related: 8 Practical Tips for Successfully Launching Your Startup