With 9 years of experience helping tech founders grow their companies, we tend to see patterns, trends and we also repeat ourselves a lot. So we thought it would be useful to break down those things we say so often, and explain why it is we say them.

“It’s Not About You”

Startup founders tend to focus, particularly at an early stage, on what they want, and what kind of company they want to be, instead of the problems that they will solve for their users. When they first start talking to their customers, they will talk about “we,” and “us,” instead of “you,” and “our customers.”

So it’s almost always necessary to refocus your messaging early on to make sure that you’re focusing on your customer’s problems, and are bringing them something of value, not just attaining a goal that you have as a company. Less “we need your support,” and more: “you need this product.”

“You Are Not Your Customers.”

Banish this aphorism from your speaking vocabulary. You created a business and risked everything to run a startup on the strength of one idea. You are not like the people who will be your customers. You may know a lot about them, and you may even use your product, but you also created it yourself. That does not give you an excuse to not talk to users, and try to understand them better than you do.

“No One Will Believe Your Projections”

When we talk about projections (user growth, revenue), founders can get too caught up in how to make projections that investors might believe in.

But that’s backwards. Investors will never believe in projections, because they are just that- projections. Instead, you need to develop a plan that makes those projections seem attainable. Investors don’t invest in your projections- they invest in your plan, and if that plan makes sense, it doesn’t matter whether the projections are believable or not.

“How Will This Help You Grow?”

Startups come across a lot of ideas about things that might help them grow. It’s important to keep in mind the goal of doing anything connected with so called “growth hacking,” which is to actually grow.

Vanity statistics, like Facebook likes and Twitter followers, are not growth (not alone). But the logic often goes like this: Step 1: Likes on Facebook (or whatever), Step 2: …? Step 3: Growth. Focusing on how something will lead to growth is important- you can’t go from step 1 to step 3 without taking step 2. So what is step 2?

“What’s the Next Step?”

Just like startups have to focus on how doing things will help them grow, they have to also make sure that every step they take has something after it. Everything has a desired result. You got a meeting with a potential partner? Great. What’s the next step? If there is no next step, then what will that meeting accomplish? What will that partnership accomplish without a clearly stated goal?

“Where’s the Call to Action?”

Simply put, you shouldn’t be communicating with your customers if you aren’t giving them something to do, or something they value.

Startup founders usually get a sense that they have to be activating their customers, but they also have to activate them to do clear and understandable things. There also has to be a clear way of measuring whether that activation is actually working. Enter the Call to Action: if you don’t have one, in an email, a post on social media, or a landing page, then you are wasting your users’ time and attention for nothing.

“You’ll have to test this and see”

Founders are prone to confusing advice with directions. As a mentor, I can give good and actionable advice, but just because I think it will work, doesn’t mean it works. The only way to see if the advice is sound is to try it, and pay attention to the results. Testing can’t tell you everything, but not testing tells you nothing.

“I can’t hear you.”

When you meet with employees, with investors, or with anybody, remember that you’re the founder of a company. Your opinion matters, and you need to be heard, loud and clear. Some founders just don’t know how to make themselves heard, and make their presence felt. Instead of owning the room and controlling the conversation, they react passively, and let others lead. Instead, be the boss, and say what you think in a clear, audible voice. You’re the boss.

“It’s Your Company.”

Leading from that, remember that whatever you’re doing, make sure you believe in it. In an accelerator, you get a lot of advice, and a lot of direction. But it’s your company. If you aren’t happy with things a certain way, then the last word is ultimately yours. You should listen, and be open, but you shouldn’t do things just because people tell you to. If something doesn’t feel right, ask for help, but don’t “go with the flow.” It’s your company.

“Stop Selling, and Start Creating Visions”

Selling isn’t about getting money from people. It’s about giving them something they can believe in, and are willing to pay for. To sell in the long run, you have to build a vision that people can relate to, and that people want to be a part of. If you focus on your vision, and on communicating that vision to people, then the money conversations -the selling- are just a detail. A small part of the overall experience, and not the focus.

“You Need to Control This Process”

B2B sales are very different from B2C sales. In B2B sales, you need to remain in the driver seat, not waiting for the customer to decide that they’d like to work with you. You need to own the process: move each separate piece like a conductor, anticipate every question and issue, and close the deal. Going at the pace that the client picks is, in effect, accepting the client’s own objections and doubts as your own. If you don’t set the pace, then no one will, and many deals that could happen just won’t.