Any advice/tips for a 1st time founder?

I think you already have very good answers. Just adding a small tip: Start meeting potential users/ buyers now. This will always add up.

I have done multiple products and I write about building products at https://microsaashq.com Here are some pointers. - Start marketing early in the journey or even before building where ever possible. - Don't build full blown products or even MVPs unless they are very much needed. - Start with landing pages, build waitlists and talk to signed up users 1:1 (Read The Mom's Test book) - If you are doing for the first time, pick a smaller idea.

My advice is for him to surround himself with a community of people who will support his work. Additionally, he should be willing to share his journey on Twitter or whichever social media platform works best for him. He also needs to actively seek feedback. Wishing your friend all the best!

Tell him to read Lean startup by eric reis. And to remember that as long as you have access to an audience, and you can talk to them about problems they're facing, there will always be opportunity to create a business. True failure is when you have no audience to talk to about providing a solution. MicroConf vids have also been so helpful, they give alot of hope, for a founder, hope and resilience is the make or break for many businesses Good luck to them

1. Ideation --> (How big is the problem, the bigger the better, does he have domain know-how (ideally yes)) 2. MVP --> Build as fast as possible (also fail fast) 3. Don't do things that scale at the beginning (e.g. people are interested in the solution of your problem, not in the way you solve it) 4. Talk to as many customers as possible

Please share Co-space for him: an emerging community of like-minded startup humans - it can be exactly what he needs https://discord.gg/RNqsxPs8mS All the best to him!

Just as naval ravikant say it, "Who you work with and what you work on is far more important than how hard you work."