On Getting Started
“Learn as much as you can about your industry immediately. Become an expert in that industry. Obviously, there are plenty of resources out there between your library and the Internet, but also try to find a mentor who directly answers your questions. Any information is always good information.”
Daymond John, Founder / Fubu
“A common mistake I see many startup founders making is they aren’t solving a real problem. You should try to solve a real problem that people have or identify a much better way for people to do things than they’ve historically done before. That is often a good place to start…That’s why the motto of Y Combinator is: ‘Make something people want.’ If you can do that, you’re probably onto something.”
Alexis Ohanian, Founder / Reddit, Hipmunk, and Breadpig
“Having first mover advantage is over-rated. MySpace was a first mover. It’s more important to have an idea BEST than have it FIRST. There is always room for disruption. Constantly better yourself to stay ahead of the game.”
Jack Dorsey, Founder of Twitter and Square / Twitter
“If you really want to earn you need to be in the top 3-4 in the company. Best to be a founder. Very few people can do this. It’s a rare skill. Be realistic about your skills, background and ideas.”
Mark Suster, Partner / Upfront Ventures
“Pick a good market. The idea for approaching that market may change, but find a meaty problem to solve. You can try to attack it a bunch of different ways. Don’t be too narrow.”
Caterina Fake, Founder / Flickr
”You have a viable business only if your product is either better or cheaper than the alternatives. If it’s not one or the other, you might make some money at first, but it’s not a sustainable business.”
Jim Koch, Founder / Samuel Adams
“Solve a real problem that creates real value in the world. Focus on the problem => solution => value => profit chain of events, and try to make a pass through this sequence sooner than later. Also, be strategic. Find a competitive advantage. At Dribbble, we stumbled into ours – we were just building a side project, but it was a site for designers, and Dan is a designer with lots of recognition and credibility. As a result, we attracted a great set of initial users who posted incredible work. Things snowballed from there.”
Rich Thornett, Co-Founder / Dribble
On Building
“The joy is in the getting there. The beginning years of starting your business, the camaraderie when you’re in the pit together, are the best years of your life. So rather than being so focused on when you get big and powerful, if you can just get the juice out of that… don’t miss it.”
Barbara Corcoran, Investor / Corcoran Group
“Don’t Drink Your Own Kool Aid – There is a hype curve in any company. Press, journalists, analysts, friends and family can reinforce the sense that you’re “killing it.” As Public Enemy says…Don’t Believe the Hype. The only way to build a sustainable customer is to listen to customers, partners, suppliers and employees.”
Mark Suster, Founder/Investor / Upfront Ventures
“What is the simplest version of this app that can solve your problem? When you have the simplest version in mind, you build it, and put it out in the world and see what the response is. See what people are using it for, see what they’re not, and start iterating. It’s not easy, but it’s doable and that’s the really exciting thing.”
Alexis Ohanian, Founder / Reddit, Hipmunk, and Breadpig
“The key aspect for entrepreneurs today is either to identify extraordinary opportunities or go very fast and build as many possible barriers of entry as they can imagine.”
Ben Silbermann, Founder / Pinterest
“Never buy swag. A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo-embroidered polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, it’s okay to buy for your own employees, but if you really think people are going to wear your branded polo when they’re out and about, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money.”
Mark Cuban, Investor / Dallas Mavericks
