Between Startups: Regrouping for the Next Venture

Yesterday I went on a bike ride (my Facebook friends already know) and I'm writing this text in the sun at the outdoor pool. What else does an entrepreneur do after the first startup is complete but the second one hasn't yet been founded?

Since the startup phase is always very intensive, I firmly believe that between two companies you should, if possible, prepare and catch up on what you otherwise don't have time for. Recharge your personal batteries, so to speak.

Not enough in a startup: exercise and relaxation

In the hectic everyday life of a startup, there is rarely time for enough exercise, and there is often an unhealthy diet. Relaxing is usually neglected because there is always a fire somewhere that urgently needs to be put out. That's why I'm now consciously doing things that I definitely won't have time for at the next startup: I go biking and swimming, recharge my vitamin D stores on Lake Zurich, meet friends, finally play the piano again and watch a film every now and then so that I have enough energy for the upcoming startup phase. Doing sports in nature gives you an incredible amount of strength and stimulates creativity - I want to draw on these reserves for as long as possible.

Personal startup training: Reading

There is usually far too little time left for reading important startup literature. I've already read some good books, but now I'm going to take some time to read them again and get ready for my next startup.

I'm currently reading the following books (some for the second time):

Eric Ries - The Lean Startup

Clayton M. Christensen - The Innovator's Dilemma

Peter Thiel - Zero To One

Tony Hsieh - Delivering Happiness

There are also a variety of blogs on technologies and business models.

Check business models

I've been keeping a list of startup ideas for a long time, which I'm now examining in more detail. For each individual idea, I collect data on market size, competitors, scaling potential, etc., evaluate them and create a shortlist. I subject these ideas to a more targeted review and look for an exciting business model for my next startup.

The next startup will definitely come

Until I decide on an idea, I want to make the best use of my time to do what I won't be able to do in the next startup I'm going to found, startup due to lack of time.

This is the freedom I mean when I rave about entrepreneurship and startup life.

I'm very curious to hear your opinion: Am I taking the right approach? Would you do everything differently? I look forward to a lively discussion in the comments or in person!