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Ten Rules For Startup Success
techcrunch.com — Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Loic Le Meur's Key To Startup Success...
ponstars- 666 diggs
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- BradCoy, on 12/06/2007, -7/+2like the direction this company is going in.
- RexMaxus, on 12/06/2007, -2/+4Is there any hope for a logical 'first post'?
- curtistheory, on 12/06/2007, -7/+1Dugg. Great article! Thanks for submitting.
- Zen888, on 12/06/2007, -7/+0I'm digg 50
- RexMaxus, on 12/06/2007, -1/+2go on...
- julienlegeard, on 12/06/2007, -7/+2Ok I am following Loic now for almost 2 years, since the take off his blog, then his support to Nicolas Sarkozy, I participated to the Blogakademy, now I try to be a Beta Testeur of Seesmic and I am using almost all the tools that his previous company did. I hope that I will be chosen for the trip between NY to Paris to meet him at Leweb 3. I think he represents the real Entrepreunariat 2.0 :) So Nice to meet you Mr Lemeur and "longue vie au Roi !!"
- tightscrummy, on 12/06/2007, -2/+3You're so gay.
- realjames, on 12/06/2007, -2/+17Really interesting, I especially like #10 "Don't focus on getting rich. Focus on your users. Money is a consequence of success."
- G-RaZoR, on 12/06/2007, -6/+1It is very interesting, I am confused why one person would want to take a massive risk by starting up a company just to focus on users.
- nobodyfresh, on 12/06/2007, -3/+1zzzzz..........
- Rikkochet, on 12/06/2007, -2/+3I dunno why, but any time I see a black and white photo near an article about the tech industry I immediately think that the advice is out of date.
- Kazbaeden, on 12/06/2007, -2/+15Uhhhhh, this is some of the worst advice I've read about startups (and I've read a lot.)
Don't do market research? Hate to break it to you but no matter how great your product is, if there's no market there's no business. If I had to point to one single reason as the greatest factor contributing to business failure it would be lack of a market. You don't know about the market without market research.
Don't plan because it won't turn out like you expect? This is a common mistake many entreprenures make, assuming that planning is about about the plan. The planning is about the PLANNING. If you don't force yourself to go through the processes of planning, you're missing many opportunites you might not otherwise stumble upon. It doesn't matter if things don't turn out the way you planned, planning gives you scope and context.
If you want to know about business plans, go look up Tim Berry, CEO of Palo Alto Software. Granted, he has a vested interest in keeping business plans alive, but he's well respected in the industry and with the entrepreurial community.
He has to say on this issue "You want business planning not because things will go according to plan, but because they won't. If that seems ironic or contradictory, consider walking or steering; both are constant corrections, falling in and out of balance, and revising. Good planning isn't guessing right, it's managing the process of revising and reviewing."
So yeah, next time you go to pitch your idea idea to a VC, go without a marketing plan or business strategy and tell me if you get the 3 mil you're looking for. I'll be waiting.- centran, on 12/06/2007, -0/+5How about "share your idea".
Yes he is right about getting others ideas and views on your idea but...
Why is there always a Burger Kind near a McDonald's?
I can personally attest to seeing people try to screw several of my friends and families businesses. "They" will steal your ideas, marketing strategy, undercut your prices(sometimes at a loss!), even try to set up shop next door.
Always watch how much information you reveal to others. It is easier for people to steal and "copy" others then come up with something original. Plus, after you are successfully they know there is money in it. - HalfGiraffe, on 12/06/2007, -0/+3To be fair, he didn't say not to have a business plan, just not to obsess over it. Of course, that's pretty nebulous advice. Who's to say what's a reasonable amount of attention and what's obsession. Same with "assemble a great team". Gee, I was thinking a mediocre team would be more successful.
- centran, on 12/06/2007, -0/+5How about "share your idea".
- tibbon, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1Loic's got some great stuff going. Seesmic is shaping up nicely and he's a great community member. This advice is pretty solid if you think over why he's saying it all. It's impossible in a startup to do a ton of market research and pinpoint exactly the targeting/demographic that your end user will have. Seriously. Facebook at first didn't think they were going to have 14 year olds or 80 year olds on it eventually. Hell, they never thought at first it would grow outside of Harvard. His main point is get to making the product! Make it rock!
- databoy, on 12/06/2007, -1/+10Rule number 1: Do not take any advice from web pages. Successful people do not advertise how to on the internet.
Rule number 2: If you have a great idea and it is marketable, keep your mouth shut and keep it to yourself.
Rule number 3: There is always some unscrupulous person who will find a cheaper and unethical way to market your product so know who your competition is.
I think you get the idea; keep your mouth shut and eyes open.- DeathfireD, on 12/06/2007, -0/+6I agree with you on Rule number 2. I had a profitable idea and I ended up making it public, asked for input from the community I was making it for, talked with knowledgeable people before having any work done on it. Because of that, a competitor popped up and made an exact copy of my idea thanks to everyones public input within the community. His site ended up becoming "the go to place" leaving my site idea in the dust and basically pointless to continue. So my advice would be to avoid talking about your idea or asking people for their opinions unless you trust them 100% or if their a partner. As soon as you have a beta going, then it should be fine to start asking the publics opinions...etc because your already more then halfway done.
- melvin_u, on 12/06/2007, -1/+3Why have I never heard of this guy before?
- munky100, on 12/06/2007, -2/+3"So even though he’s French, his advice, when given, is worth listening to."
- mrtrick, on 12/06/2007, -1/+1Nothing new to see here... please move along
- restaurantlar, on 12/06/2007, -2/+0To be lucky brings success
http://benvarim.blogspot.com/ - joejoeknows, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1Maybe Facebook should have taken some of this guy's advice
# Be the first to recognise a problem. Everyone makes mistakes. Address the issue in public, learn about and correct it.
# Don’t spend time on market research. Launch test versions as early as possible. Keep improving the product in the open.
# Don’t obsess over spreadsheet business plans. They are not going to turn out as you predict, in any case.
# Don’t plan a big marketing effort. It’s much more important and powerful that your community loves the product. - tibbon, on 12/06/2007, -1/+1Kazbaeden- And how many startups have you done? Reading a lot on startups doesn't mean jack ***** when it comes to experience and finding what does and doesn't work. Loic has experience. You? Perhaps not. Like everything other person on Digg they think they know the 'best' way to do everything, but yet aren't doing it themselves and have little experience. Are you the biggest blogger in France? Have you started an innovative video company? Did the president of France and the US invite you to hang out? Has Obama invited you to meet him? No. Loic has his ***** together. You I'm guessing, don't.
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