Kelly's Blog
I was asked today what are the most common errors made by first-time entrepreneurs and here is my list:
1. Financing. Don’t be undercapitalized. Raise more money that you need and spend like you didn’t raise enough.
2. Product. Don’t sacrifice time to market striving for perfection. This is obviously industry specific, but you should get something up asap and start getting feedback from your customers. A month in production and that feedback is worth more than a year in development.
3. People. Don’t scrimp on people. Get the best people involved.
a. Employees. Get people to work for equity (easier to do now than ever). Conserve as much cash as possible.
b. Advisors. Get an array of firepower in this section. Typically, the bigger the name, the less work they do.
c. Influencers. Befriend the influencers in the industry and make them part of your team. Co-opt them however you can.
4. Customers. You DO NOT know more than your customer. LISTEN always.
5. Plan and Measure. If you don’t have a plan that you’re measuring against, how do you know how well you’re doing? How do you know when to change direction? How do you even know which direction you’re going?
Let me know what you think!
Absolutely right on. I have been in the trenches of my start up and I could not agree more with you.
In the end the key is having a unique something that a lot of people want or think they need. Also listen to your gut and always do business with integrity.