hey,
if it's at all like a 169, it pre-heats the air / combustion chamber that there's warmth when the fuel tries to be ignited. I would pre-heat the cylinders with compression release, cranking for about 10 secs. Then I would turn the counter-clockwise for about another 10 secs, then turn to right to start. I would only use thermostart under 40F in my case. Should fire right up otherwise.
e.g. this am it was 48F, pre-heated cylinders, and fired right up.. Anyway, i hope this helps a bit.