10 Ways to Winning in 2014: An Entrepreneurs’ Guide to Startup Success

By Melissa Thompson / TalkSession.com 

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2014 will be a formative year for new business owners and early-stage entrepreneurs. For those would-be entrepreneurs debating the startup leap?  There is no time like the present. For current founders, in our hyper-pressurized worlds of being incubated, accelerated, and constantly switching modes between pitching and executing, how do we successfully navigate the labyrinth to success?

First, an important note of change from a year ago: the funding landscape changed with the JOBS act in 2013.  Continuing into 2014, there will likely be a shift in the role of the investor into a more hands-on player in businesses.  More non-professional investors will become angel investors and entrepreneurs will benefit from their domain expertise.  And finally, in Darwinian fashion, competition for market share amongst the venture capitalists as a result of increased numbers of angel investment syndicates will clear the decks of the low-value add venture capital dollars.  All of these attributes will effectively benefit the entrepreneurial community.  Now, how do we become successful founders?

Below are 10 tips for the entrepreneur (or entrepreneur-to-be) to make 2014 the winningest year yet.

1)        Don’t fear Goliath

At some point founders will be asked after a pitch, “Why can’t Google/Facebook/Apple do this?”  The answer lies in the story of David and Goliath; in the notion of all frogs started as tadpoles.  A startup is a nimble entity that can pivot, grow, change and ideate more quickly than large companies.  In Malcolm Gladwell’s newest book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, he examines our misconceptions about what constitutes an advantage.  Gladwell says it best himself,

“We have a definition in our heads of what an advantage is — and the

definition isn’t right.  And what happens as a result?  It means that we

underestimate how much freedom there can be in what looks like a

disadvantage”

Tightly defined budgets, small teams, and offices in “the cloud” may seem like a weakness, but these are also these are the attributes that can drive us to success through being “lean and mean;” more efficient and more maneuverable.

2)        Maintain a 95% / 5% focus ratio

We are entrepreneurs because we have visions of how to make something better; usually, many things better. Always keep two active lists. The first consists of core focus areas – those that are integral to our businesses. We should try to focus 95% of our time and effort on this list. The second is the 5% list; the list reserved for the ideas that get us temporarily excited, but ultimately are distractions. In order to maintain open minds, keep creativity flowing, and continue to develop long-term visions, the 5% list is very important. As a startup with a small team and limited resources, if we spend 95% of our time on core needs and responsibilities, we will be more successful.

3)        Learn from Breaking Bad

Inspiration can be found in unexpected places, like in the addictive series Breaking Bad based on the life and work of a man in the business world of crystal meth.  Star-of-the-show Walter White exemplifies the importance of creating a perfect product, the value of loyalty to one’s team and business partner, and how in business, there will be many challenges through competition, life/work balance, and risk-taking.  Of course a few viewings of Locked Up Abroad based on real-life law enforcement should provide sufficient inspiration to not become engaged in the illegal and illicit recreational pharmaceutical industry.  Bottom line: as entrepreneurs, we should look to other industries or life for inspiration to gain fresh perspectives.

4)        99 Problems? Just fix one

My excitement over my company sometimes leads me to talk about the problems we are going to address in what I call, “phase 27”.  Investors don’t want to hear about “phase 27”, they want to know in simple terms, what one problem our idea will fix, how we will fix it, how much will it cost to fix it and how much is that solution worth.  Our musings might excite clients on the possibilities of “phase 27,” but in reality this is harmful, since an entrepreneur cannot deliver these dreams right now in “phase 1.”  Preserve sanity and reputation by not over-promising and under-delivering . No matter what the situation, remember to set expectations properly with regards to what we can do right now, and maintain the focus of solving just one problem.

5)        Clear the clutter

Clutter includes: toxic people, time drainers, unnecessary events, and non-crucial product features.  Founders must wear many hats, and choosing the ones that bring the highest value is critical to success (and maintaining sanity).  Ridding our lives of physical clutter and learning to gracefully remove the social clutter will leave more room in our lives for new thoughts, perspectives and positivity.

6)        Work harder than anyone

Be the first one to work and the last one to leave.  As an entrepreneur, we set the tone for our teams. Also, resources for startups are limited and precious. The more an entrepreneur can do personally, the more the entrepreneur is investing in the venture, and can allocate financial resources elsewhere.

7)        Simplify it

Get product feedback from an eight-year-old, an eighty-year-old, and every decade in between.  No one will ask for more complexity.  My app started as 36 pages of detailed wireframes.  The current design consists of one large circle with a call to action written in a large font with an accompanying icon.  An eight-year-old knows what it means, and an eighty-year old can read it and knows what to do without instructions.

8)        Talk less, listen more

To get to the user-interface described above, I have to thank my client. In a seminal meeting, a client tested my app’s prototype and asked, “Can the whole platform just be one button?  If I press the button, I get the service.”  I replied, with “of course you can,” then sprinted to the office to improve the interface.  One person’s musing substantially improved our user-experience.  Often, as entrepreneurs we are too deep in the weeds of our own visions, and could benefit from listening to users, testers, investors, potential clients and anyone not directly involved in the product’s creation.

9)        Nurture your network: they are an entrepreneur’s most valuable asset

It is the assets not listed on balance sheets that can often drive the biggest growth.  Networks grow from friends, coworkers, peers, former teachers, bosses, and clients. It is this network that will help entrepreneurs the most in the early stages to turn napkin ideas into successful businesses.  Find other entrepreneurs in your particular industry and watch your network grow exponentially.  We need to find those who believe in us, believe in our ideas and together with other entrepreneurs in our networks, grow successful businesses.

10)      Implement digital detox

I became addicted to my company this year. Zeal is great, but beware of diminishing returns. I was not sleeping well (or much at all) nor socializing.  So, I took a vacation – one without access to Wi-Fi or cellular service. I felt like a mother leaving her child with a babysitter for the first time.  It was nerve-wracking, but the stress lifted after a day. And after a week of startup sobriety, I returned to find my business completely under control. That week did wonders for me and for my business. I slept more regularly, got fresh air, and interacted with people outside my startup bubble. I believe the physical and mental renewal of a digital detox will far outweigh a founder’s inclination to “work-til-ya-drop”.  We should regularly do our businesses and ourselves a favor by powering-down, and rebooting from time to time.