DRM - Daniel’s Random Mutterings

Recently, I found myself sharing some of my ideas about successful startups with a former colleague I met downtown. He’s seriously considering going for a startup and I felt that a chat over a nice cup of Cappuccino was the perfect opportunity to bore him with my “insights”. He didn’t seem to mind. Here then, in no logical order, are a couple of the points. Maybe I can get some feedback and you can help me come up with more points to add to the list? Or maybe you disagree with me and let me know where I’m wrong, which is also good.

Don’t Do It On Your Own

I know there are several successful startup founders who set off on their own and managed to build a successful startups. I admire those people. Hats off to them! In my opinion, starting a business on your own is a lot harder than doing it together with at least one other Pig (see above). In order to start a successful business on your own, you need to be really focussed, driven and determined.

Starting a business is an uphill battle. You will run into problems and obstacles. If you’re going for it on your own, there’s a danger you will get bogged down in details, become overwhelmed by some problem and totally lose your way. You need someone to discuss with. You need people to bounce your ideas off of. Often, just explaining to someone else what it is you’re doing (or planning on doing) can get you to think about your plan and maybe show you a better way of solving a problem.