This is very rare - a title that has been way overused ("{x} mistakes {y} make") - but still very helpful and original. If you're hesitant that this is yet another worthless list of fluff, it isn't.
Mistake 15 makes me think of a quote that always struck me from Machiavelli's Prince:<p>"Since men for the most part follow in the footsteps and imitate the actions of others, the wise man should always follow the roads that have been travelled by the great, so that if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savour. This is like the skillful archer, who seeing that the object he would hit is distant, and knowing the range of his bow, takes aim much above the destined mark; not intending that his arrow should strike so high, but, in flying high, it may land at the point intended."<p>I tend to think aiming higher has a better chance of hitting a decent mark. So where he says to know your aim but also know your limit, perhaps you should still aim at $10 million if you're trying to hit $5 mil. Not saying everyone's goal should be to overtake Google or MS, but just aiming at your exact target means you're likelier to fall short.<p>The flip-side I guess is that you need to recognize what success is for you personally, and reaching your lofty goals 100% maybe shouldn't be a requirement of that, since if you're aiming at $10 mil, $5 mil is still quite successful by most peoples' standards :)
I've yet to meet at single software statup founder that "spend (s) enough time researching the business idea to see if it's viable".<p>I wonder if that is due to the very low barrier to entry with software.
"focused too much on sales volume and company size rather than profit"<p>In internet startup especially, I often think too many of us are too focused on growth and monetising "later" rather than slower growth which actually incorporates a revenue/profit model.
One of the best articles on this subject. Thoroughly prioritized and focused.<p>Something I will add is that the power of these observations are not obvious when you have never started your own business. But having been on this path I have to completely agree with what is being said.<p>Thanks for posting this great article.
I thought this was a great article because it was very thorough and to the point. For me, the business lessons from the internet startup world seem to be transmutable to brick and mortart business and back again. Sam Walton's autobiography (Sam Walton: Made in America : My Story) has a list of advice at the end of the book that describes what he thought made Wal-Mart successful. I think this list is something that would be very applicable to the internet startup world.
The best part of the article is this statement<p>They say 9 [out] of 10 entrepreneurs fail because they're undercapitalized or have the wrong people. I say 9 [out] of 10 people fail because their original concept is not viable.<p>Totally agree. I can vouch for this from my personal experience and also as I watch older business people who should have no business managing or running companies.
"They put together financial projections as part of a presentation to pump up their investors."<p>An important point for those of us who may seek angel or VC funding for our startups at some point. It's all too common to hear entrepreneurs say things like "Investors are going to be looking for better growth than that...."
I think this is an excellent article, the point about seeking confirmation instead of the truth strikes a chord for me. It seems like you can boil a lot of this down to making sure you don't lose touch with reality and focus on making a profit.
Mistakes 12 and 16 are two of the most key things. Especially with web based startups. I'd really like to see more innovative ways of advertising, perhaps developers should focus on this just as much as the service they are building?
Great post! I laughed as I read each mistake, thinking of the times I had seen it myself. I could almost pin names of people I know to each mistake.<p>As I hacker, I love #11 the most: <i>Accepting that it's "not possible" too easily rather than finding a way.</i> Whenever I hear that, I become that much more determined. My mentor once taught me, "We can always find a way to do the right thing." The words "find a way" still get that Pavlovian response from me. </wipes slobber from keyboard>