A friend of mine graduated from Cambridge University 13 years ago, went on to work at a top consulting firm. Just as his career advanced rapidly, he abruptly quitted and invested all his $20k saving into his new venture. $20k quickly dried up and one morning, he woke up to $3 left in his bank.<p>Miraculously, the next day after, he found $30k in his bank, giving him the breathing room to continue. Today, his company has staff close to 100 with offices in three countries, aiming at disrupting an age old industry.<p>That $30k is not god sent, he simply earned it. Months before that $3 day, he already anticipated empty bank account, so he offered to work for free for his "imaginary" client. He busted ass all month, and this client loved his product/service so much and he voluntarily put $30k into his account, hence miracle I mentioned earlier.<p>Today, I sat across table from him, asked him, whats your advice for an early stage startup.<p>He did not hesitate: flawless execution. cash flow. Ideas, products are secondary, the most important is your will to find that first customers who really love your product.<p>I further asked him: what if I'm so indecisive, I don't know who will be my customers, my product can do so much.<p>He replied:"Find that customer who badly need your service, and simplify it for this customer."<p>It reminds me what Groove founder Alex Turnbull said: "the fundamental keys to success are simple but hard: first and foremost, make something that people badly need or want."<p>P.s. Please have a look at our product offering in the link, and let me know in the comments what you think. Any feedbacks are appreciated. Thanks!<p>http://audiencemojo.com