7 Lessons for Startups Tuesday, December 12, 2006
David Beisel always has interesting things to say on his blog, Genuine VC. This post covers Sevens Lessons Learned for Startups, which is part of a series aimed at Startups. My favourites from the list are
- Input not consensus. Being decisive is essential - its easy to always defer executing and wasting the time advantage you have. Likewise whilst you may feel you need to be "nice" to everyone and incorporate their view, this can simply leave you with a muddled outcome, often with a lack of clarity about where accountability lies.
- Be authentic. I've written recently about being honest in your funding pitch, emphasising that there is no point being false because you just can't maintain it. David rightly extends that to all your dealings.
- Dead Cats don't bounce. Knowing when to drop your idea is probably the hardest thing of all for any entrepreneur - "if we just do XXX or spend a couple more months everything will come good!". It hits your pride hard, acknowledging that you've "failed". Yet you've undoubtedly learnt a huge amount. Indeed some investors will sceptically question someone that has not failed as it suggests they've not taken enough risks!
posted by John Wilson @ 10:27 PM Permanent Link
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