A pre-mortem meeting allows teams to identify potential failures before they happen, creating psychological safety and a shared vocabulary for discussing risks.

The initial prompt in a pre-mortem meeting is to imagine the project has failed and work backwards to identify what went wrong.

I encourage teams to identify 'tigers' (real threats), 'paper tigers' (seeming threats), and 'elephants' (unspoken issues) during pre-mortems to enhance discussion.

Founders being honest about their mistakes fosters an open culture where team members feel comfortable sharing their own mistakes.

Having a culture of debate within your team is crucial; if team members are afraid to disagree, you won't receive valuable input, especially in the early stages.

I believe in being honest with my team during tough times; involving them in decisions helps get the best ideas and buy-in, even when half the team doubts the project.

Having early conversations about what might go wrong in a relationship can help prevent misunderstandings and resentment from building up over time.

The most counterintuitive lesson I've learned is that sharing information openly with the team fosters a sense of partnership and collective ownership, rather than demoralizing them during tough times.

When issues arise between co-founders, it's important to address them early rather than letting them fester, as this can prevent larger problems later.