Startups Matter

Why Try?

In startup land you may hear the phrase "rich or king" used to describe the motivations of a founder. This originates from, business school dean, Noam Wasserman, who wrote The Founder's Dilemma. While understanding your objectives and preferences is important, neither wealth nor control are the primary motivations for most founders I know. Rather, the quest for self-actualization is what many founders, knowingly or not, are seeking.

This is in some ways a much harder path, but the good news is there are as many ways to self-actualize as there are people in the world. Starting a company may be your way or you may find another one. Whatever you do, do not imitate others. Create and maybe you will find meaning. The only way to know is to try.

Startups Are Hard

Don't make them harder by making mistakes others have already made! Here are some things I've learned from my startup journey:

• You don't have to do everything from scratch. In fact, only do one new thing at a time.
• All businesses require four things:
  1. A place to sell (where do people go to give you money?)
  2. An audience (how do peole know you exist?)
  3. A customer (who wants to give you money?)
  4. A product (what will people give you money for?)
• There are three sources of capital you can use: profits, equity and debt.
• What kind of business you run will determine your funding options and vice versa.
• The single greatest risk to your business is lack of clarity around people's roles.
• You are going to have to put yourself out there. Starting a business is not a single player game.

Not scared off yet?

Great! Here are some helpful resouces:

• Figure Out What Your Customer Needs
• Join a Community (here's one, but any is fine!)
• Learn User Experience Design
• Go from Zero to One (essays)
• Do a Venture Capital Deal
• Meet Other Founders