15 Startup Laws that every founder must know
The Peter Principle, The Lindy Effect, The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs, The Cold Start Problem and 11 others
I came across this article by
about the The 13 software engineering laws and I thought it would be great to do the same for Startups.These are 1b
Curious to know how many of these 15 laws were new to you:
1. The Peter Principle
2. The Lindy Effect
3. The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs
4. The Cold Start Problem
5. The Trough of Sorrow
6. Segal’s Law
7. Shirky Principle
8. Premature Optimization
9. Goodhart’s Law
10. Parkinson’s Law
11. Conway’s Law
12. The Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
13. Murphy’s Law
14. Gall’s Law
15. Hofstadter’s Law
For each, I’ll share:
The law
A relevant comic (if I found one)
Why does it matter to founders
Let’s go.
1. The Peter Principle
🧠 People get promoted until they’re no longer good at their job.
Don’t assume top performers in one role will succeed in another. Match responsibilities to skills, not loyalty.
2. The Lindy Effect
🧠 The longer something has survived, the more likely it is to stick around. Prioritize durable strategies (like email, SEO, or cold outreach) over fleeting trends.
Why it matters
Founders love shiny things — but some old tools (email, SEO, even cold outreach) outperform the hot new thing. Mix reliable with experimental in your GTM.
Mental shortcut
Bet some of your growth on TikTok, but make sure you still have your Google Analytics and email list humming.
3. The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs (by Andrew Chen)
🧠 Every marketing channel decays over time. Your best-performing campaign will eventually flop. Always be testing new channels.
Why it matters
That one post that blew up? Probably a one-off. Growth channels fade as they saturate. Founders need to constantly test and rotate.
Mental shortcut
If you found a channel that works, squeeze it and look for the next one now — not when results drop.
4. The Cold Start Problem( by Andrew Chen)
🧠 Network-effect products aren’t useful until people use them. Focus on small, atomic groups that can get value early. Seed demand and manually jumpstart the network.
Why it matters
If you’re building a network-effect product (social, marketplace, SaaS with collab), you need an initial wedge — a use case that works with just a few people.
Mental shortcut
Start with a niche you can dominate. Small, dense networks win.
5. The Trough of Sorrow
🧠 After the hype, you’ll likely face a depressing growth dip. It’s normal. Survive it by iterating, talking to users, and staying lean.
Why it matters
This emotional slump is normal — but most founders quit here. Expect it. Plan for it. Use it to iterate your way to PMF.
Mental shortcut
Launch → Slump → Learn → PMF. You don’t skip the trough. You build through it.
6. Segal’s Law
🧠 More data isn’t always better. Too many metrics or opinions lead to confusion. Choose one north star and stick with it.
Why it matters
More dashboards ≠ more clarity. Founders need a single North Star metric to focus execution and rally the team.
Mental shortcut
Pick one thing to win this quarter. Ignore the noise.
7. The Shirky Principle
🧠 Organizations tend to preserve the problem they were created to solve. You can win by doing what incumbents won’t. But don’t fall into the same trap as you grow.
Why it matters
Big players leave pain on the table — that’s your opportunity. But don’t become the thing you’re disrupting.
Mental shortcut
Solve the customer’s problem even if it means cannibalizing yourself.
8. Premature Optimization
🧠 Don’t polish before you prove. Validate demand before scaling infra or perfecting your product.
Why it matters
Founders waste time perfecting systems or code before validating that people actually care. Nail value first, polish later.
Mental shortcut
Make it work → Make it good → Make it scale. In that order.
9. Goodhart’s Law
🧠 "When a metric becomes a target, it stops being useful."
Why it matters
Vanity metrics creep in fast. If you’re chasing registered users, CAC, or MAUs without context, you’re gaming your own dashboard.
Mental shortcut
Always ask: “Are we serving the metric — or is the metric serving us?”
10. Parkinson’s Law
🧠 Work expands to fill the time available. Deadlines create urgency. Set tighter timelines to force focus.
Why it matters
Founders have infinite todo lists. Unless you constrain yourself, you’ll drag projects out and kill momentum.
Mental shortcut
Set aggressive deadlines. Scope to fit. Ship fast.
11. Conway’s Law
🧠 Your team structure shapes your product. Want a seamless experience? Organize teams around the user journey—not silos.
Why it matters
Messy org = messy product. Misaligned teams = misaligned UX. Build your org to reflect your ideal user experience.
Mental shortcut
Design your team the way you want your product to behave.
12. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
🧠 "80% of outcomes come from 20% of inputs."
Why it matters
Most features, meetings, and tasks are irrelevant. As a founder, your job is to spot the few that drive the most impact.
Mental shortcut
Weekly: review your todo list and cut 80%. Double down on what’s working.
13. Murphy’s Law
🧠 If it can go wrong, it will. Prepare for failure. Have backups, test thoroughly, and keep a Plan B ready.
Why it matters
Demos fail. Contracts fall through. Fundraising closes late. Expect problems — and build backup plans.
Mental shortcut
Hope for the best. Plan for chaos. Always have a fallback deck, demo, and timeline.
14. Gall’s Law
🧠 Complex systems that work evolve from simple ones that worked. Start with an MVP. Prove something small before you build big.
Why it matters
Startups fail when they try to build the big, shiny version right away. Build the ugly version that works first.
Mental shortcut
MVP = Maximum learning with minimum effort. No more. No less.
15. Hofstadter’s Law
🧠 "It always takes longer than you think — even when you account for Hofstadter’s Law."
Why it matters
Startup time is slippery. Everything takes 2–3x longer than you estimate. Don’t burn out trying to stick to the first plan.
Mental shortcut
Add time buffers. Scope flexibly. Forgive missed timelines — and learn.
Final Takeaway
Startups are chaos.
These laws won’t make things easy—but they will make you wiser. Focus on what matters, plan for the unexpected, and always keep moving forward.
You got this.
Loved this. Substack should consider a “bookmark” feature.
Gracias!