Unfortunately, these advice statements often conflict. Ever heard any of these?
- Startups are unstable. Get a real job.
- There's no stability in the workplace, so starting your own company is more stable.
- All you need is an idea.
- A business is more than an idea.
- Most startups fail.
- The statistics about failing startups are not accurate.
- It's hard to get funding.
- You can get funding easily.
- The VC/Angel/Board will at some point boot the founder/CEO.
- The founder/CEO needs to manage the VCs.
- The entrepreneur/the founding team should be willing to work for no pay.
- Good employees won't work for nothing.
- You can find awesome employees who will work for free.
- Don't hire a lot of people.
- Don't understaff.
- Hire slow, fire fast.
- The business plan is not important.
- The business plan is important.
- You only need a PowerPoint pitch.
- You need a business plan based from your PowerPoint pitch.
- Only the executive summary matters.
- Only sales matters.
- Only marketing matters.
- Make projections that are realistic.
- Most projections are basically vaporware.
- Don't launch too early.
- Don't launch too late.
And the advice continues... Ultimately, you can go either way on most topics.
If you find that any of these statements prohibit you from daring to take the next step, well, you're an entrepreneur. Consider forgetting about "the rules" and just do your thing.
