I Spent A Lot of Time Not Doing These 4 Things When I Started My Business

Starting a business in college sounds easy, glamorous, right? The freedom to experiment, the hope of youth and the abundance of resources at your fingertips. But in reality, there’s a flood of conflicting advice on how to spend your time and prioritize tasks when you’re just starting out and trying to launch your business.

I founded my own business – BOND, a mobile app for remote and hybrid teams – as a student at Babson College. When I started growing my business, I realized how much time I was spending trying to do everything instead of focusing on what really matters.

Here are four lessons I learned building my business and what I would do differently if I were to start over.

Related: You Don’t Need Thousands To Turn Your Business Idea Into Reality – Here’s How I Can Do It On A College Kid Budget

Use your time effectively

In the early stages of starting a business, you will encounter many ideas about what you should be doing. But the truth is, it all comes down to two things: understanding your customer and building your product as fast as possible. That’s all.

When I first started, I didn’t have the technical skills to build my product – and that was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to think of creative, countless ways to validate a concept. For example, in the first version of BOND, I manually sent prompts and responses to over 80 users every day via WhatsApp for 206 straight days. At 9 in the morning, I would send the information, and at 9 at night, I would send the results. It wasn’t until Day 150, when I had 89% active users every day that I even thought of creating a technical solution, a semi-functional product, to start measuring those necessary daily tasks.

Doing things that can’t be measured in the beginning forces you to understand your customer at a deeper level and improve your product with real-world feedback, which forces you in the right direction.

Surround yourself with the right crowd

If you want to accelerate your growth, surround yourself with people who are on the same journey. For me, living in the Tower – the founding student house at Babson – was the best decision I made. Being around entrepreneurs 24/7 has changed the way I work. I quickly realized that successful entrepreneurs share a few key characteristics: tenacity, deceptive confidence and a relentless work ethic.

Tenacity comes from being deeply attached to the problem you are solving or having a burning desire to do it no matter what. False confidence, which may sound strange at first, also helps. Confidence comes from many sources, but keeping you going through tough times is all about having the right people and support around you. It’s about surrounding yourself with those who truly believe in you while not being afraid to give you the solid and honest feedback you need. You need people who will challenge your ideas, push you to improve and have faith in your ability to create something truly impactful. And finally, consistent smart work is a skill honed by learning from others who have been in the game longer than you and using their hacks – while also developing a few of your own.

Having like-minded entrepreneurs and other experienced supporters in your corner provides ongoing guidance and direction to help keep your business thriving and growing.

Take advantage of funding and resources

As a college student, raising money can feel like climbing a mountain with no top in sight. But here’s the thing: not growing up early is a blessing. You don’t want a huge amount of money when you are still figuring out what you have to pay and what you need to do right before outsourcing.

Learning to be scrappy is a great strength for student inventors. There are countless resources – pitch competitions, accelerators and funding opportunities – just waiting for you to tap into. Pitching, in particular, is one of the best investments you can make for yourself. It forces you out of your comfort zone, teaches you to think on your feet and helps you improve your storytelling skills.

As a CEO, you need to be able to answer three important questions with certainty: Why? Why is this? Why now? Mastering the art of pitching has helped me raise over $50,000 in tournaments alone.

Related: 5 Strategies to Build Your Business Fast

Don’t wait for your product to be perfect

Here’s the kicker: Your product will never be perfect. The worst thing you can do is keep expecting perfection while delaying the opportunity to learn from real customers. I wish someone had told me earlier that it’s okay to start charging it before you think it’s ready because it’s a good sign that you’re on the right track and it gives valuable real-time feedback.

When I started BOND, I was afraid of rejection. I delayed the launch for six months, I think I need everything to be perfect before I ask anyone to pay. What I’ve learned is that the answer you’re afraid to hear is often exactly what you need to hear.

My advice to anyone sitting on an idea: just start. Starting BOND was the best decision of my life because it was a quick way to grow my knowledge, skill set and network. Remember, for entrepreneurs, “The only failure is not trying.”