Posted in Startup on November 27th, 2006 | No Comments »
Chris Campbell of Particletree on 5 Reasons to Create Your First Startup and why it may be a good experience even if you fail:
1) It Prepares You for How Much Work Is Involved
2) It’ll Teach You What to Look for in a Cofounder
3) It’ll Show You How Flexible Your Ideas Need to Be
4) It’ll Teach You the Importance of Passion
5) It’ll Show You How Little You Know About Money
Chances are very high that you will fail with your first company. But this may not be such a bad thing after all. If you realize the failure early enough without sinking too much money, you can propably get out of the business without too much damage.
You are now much better prepared to make your next company a success. Much better than someone who hit a “lucky punch” once.
So, start small, follow your ideas with passion and get out, if it does not work out. Don’t get discouraged and apply what you’ve learned to your next startup, and always remember: failing makes you smarter than succeeding.
Posted in Startup on November 8th, 2006 | No Comments »
The VentureBlog has a great piece extending on a recent presentation by Paul Graham of YCombinator a venture firm specialized in funding early stage startups. Paul talks about key success factors for startup companies and their founders. I want to pick out three points which I consider the most important ones:
- make something people want
- with focus and determination
- and the ability to listen and react
This really captures the essence of a good start. It sounds simple, but lets look at the potential pitfalls in a bit more detail:
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Posted in Startup on October 11th, 2006 | No Comments »
My favorites from Ian Landsman on 10 Tips for Moving From Programmer to Entrepreneur.
- Code is 5% of your business
- Design is everything, relative to the competition
- Love your customers
- Remember to design for ease of use. Even advanced users like easy.
Having been in the software business myself, I can only support his points. Coding has become more of a commodity nowadays. You need to focus on other areas to differentiate yourself from competition. There is good input in his article for anyone planning to start a software business or trying to succeed as a freelancer.