COMMENTS
I like point 5 most.
"It’s lonely at the top, but even lonelier at the bottom"
and point 16
" You choose your destiny, because you choose your team. "
This point makes it clear that whatever step you take, you HAVE A CHOICE.
Nice one. Thanks
These are great. I'd add Sth Godin's to the list :"Being safe is risky, and being risky is safe"
Great list, although as non-native English speaker I have to look up the defintion of pithy!
Rob: Well said. I wish I had half the wisdom and pithiness of Mr. Godin.
i have been reading many of your posts.
I find my thoughts getting matched with yours. So, It hasn't been hard to accept others that make it in your well written posts.
It’s lonely at the top, but even lonelier at the bottom"
I knew it "the way on top is lonely"
and there is another one.
"everythings look like a big mistake until something right comes out of it"
Another one, though I can't say it in a pithy way.
Avoid big-company types. They don't get that your funding is finite and that if you don't make something someone will buy, everyone will be out of a job.
You can't have "half the wisdom". Either you have or you don't, big boy!
A briefer opening would be:
"I have no talent for brevity, but here are some pithy lessons I learned from 12 years of working with startups."
"The problem you solve should be ugly. The solution you build should be beautiful." Best one - definite mantra material.
I liked this one very much as I am facing this problem right now ....
1. Even the most successful startup ideas had 100 reasons not to pursue them. There is no perfect idea.
I have to check if my idea is perfect...
And this one tells me not to worry if I ever be in a situation where nothing is working in right direction..
2. At least once every year or so, your startup will almost die.
I read this somewhere and liked it:
CQ + PQ > IQ
Curiosity Quotient + Passion Quotient > Intelligence Quotient
And one more:
Believe in what you are doing else don't do it.
This is a great post, with some great information. I am going to print this and use this to guide myself as I get closer to my launch.
Hey...was referred to your blog by Noah, who's blog I recently ran across. Just trying to familiarize myself with the startup and tech industry as I just got an intern position at a startup email security company. Check us out!!
Let me know what you think about our product as it ties in with point 6...Thank you!!!
"8. Until you are profitable, time is working against you. Once you are profitable, time is on your side."
I always thought it was more like this:
"Until you are profitable, time is working against you. Once you are profitable, time is working against you."
Like another commenter said #5 seems to be one that we can all relate to.
Breathe, sleep when you can, eat well...eat light, stretch your imagination, your limits, and your body...and if you must work for someone else make certain it melds with your personal intentions. I like #9, and will add this...even if you lose the bet you learn something for the next go round!
#7 - hands down. But they're all good. How's about a 17-part series??
type:
If you’re changing direction ften
O is missing in ' ften
An old one and not very original (as it came from my dad):
If you did not face 4 customers' complaints and solve their problem, either you are out of the market or aren't working hard enough.
#10 "To improve the quality of your output, improve the quality if your inputs. Read, converse and connect with the right people." I see this as an extension of the part in #6 where the "product will need to work and do something useful."
I interpret "work" in #6 as "be usable" and to ensure a product is usable in the hands that matter the most (the user's). It takes quality methods - such as user-centered design and usability testing to get quality inputs. 10 & 6 are my favorite! Do you have more posts coming in related areas?
Great list!
I love point no 17.
"Be who you are. do what you love.join people you like"
Exactly this will decide the fate your decision rather than your startup.
I like no.11. often i force myself to write down what i was thinking and encourage my teammates to do so. If you can not write download it clearly, you must be not clear at it at all.
point 6 is one of the best and which i "feel" hardly cared about by many.
Dharmesh,
Can you elaborate on #8? I get the first part, but why is time on your side once you achieve profitability? Seems like it is no longer working against you, but there are still competitive pressures, liquidity pressures, etc. Thanks!
Until you are profitable, time is working against you. Once you are profitable, time is on your side.
Well I may as well comment on this one as well...
#7 is one of the best principles for startups I've heard in a long time. I've printed it off in big font and taped it above my desk. Great post.
Congratulations, you made it in the top list of lists. Please take a look here: http://uberlogging.blogspot.com/2006/10/top-list-of-top-lists.html
I would love to hear your opinions on how startups should structure their marketing. A general marketing template that would be an optimal way to apply marketing. Especially towards a startup with 3 or 4 employees and maybe $5k a year in marketing budget. By showing how to have the highest impact under extreme constrains, you can show the best ROI.
Or do a marketing equivalent of this blog which reviews Startup's entire business.
http://www.startup-review.com/blog/
You could do the same with the details of how they spent their marketing effort and what worked for each different business model. An important aspect is how much of their companies resources were spent on each area: people/time/money.
I'd love to hear your insights.
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I like #9 it's tough to make decisions with a large risk but you don't get to the top by playing it safe. Bookmarked!
I would tend to disagree with the last one. While you have to enjoy the people you spend so much time with (well captured in #16), you should try to find people that complement you rather than the usual yeasayers.
Otherwise a great list of useful wisdom. Bravo!
here's some more from the trenches,....
- hire smart, hire often; fire often, fire offsite.
- be wary of VP's bearing methodologies
- be wary of VC's bearing VP's
- there are 17575 TLA's remaining, choose one.
- be what you are. stay what you were
>>will add this...even if you lose
>> the bet you learn something for the next go round!
of financing!!!
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printing
Thank you very much! This is a very helpful piece of blog entry!
Paddy Tan
BAK2u.com
I am a cofounder of a startup and I wish I had read these comments prior to a lot of commitments I have made. I have the passion and dedication but realised a bit too late that my partner is not as sincere.
great list. very practical and down to earth. we @
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"The problem you solve should be ugly. The solution you build should be beautiful."
What problem did Twitter solve? Nintendo? I don't think you need to be looking for a problem to solve to create a good or awesome business! Creating tech that is fun and brings us closer as the two companies mentioned are worth pursuing too! I managed fine without either company, but now can't imagine life without their product or services.
point 3 contradicts your experiences with rug dealers from Istanbul. Reality is - it is a human judgement we take
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