Sunday, November 28, 2004
Concise article on common start-up mistakes
I like this article in Entrepreneur.com that covers "What Not To Do" for the start-up entrepreneur.
Along with 17 Common Mistakes, the article also outlines 5 Tips for Success.
What interests me is how much the article focuses on Management/Leadership skills and Marketing, and not so much on development and execution.
In other words: know your market, analyze your concept in a brutally honest way, plan well and accurately, hire the right people, ask for truth not toadying, and have multiple strategies. You need strategies to get going, contingency strategies and exit strategies.
How many of you have worked somewhere and the bottom line comes down to phrases like: "missed the market", "squandered opportunities", ""poor management" or "technology no one wanted"?
VCs are starting to loosen up again acccording to some sources. I think personal experience and the pitfalls enumerated in this article should serve to remind prospective entrepreneurs (and the VCs that may invest in them) that the time to get strategic marketing input is at the very beginning, not just when you want to launch your product.
It all comes back to delivering something the market wants when it wants it, beating out the competition. And it's Marketing's job to help you figure that out!
Along with 17 Common Mistakes, the article also outlines 5 Tips for Success.
What interests me is how much the article focuses on Management/Leadership skills and Marketing, and not so much on development and execution.
In other words: know your market, analyze your concept in a brutally honest way, plan well and accurately, hire the right people, ask for truth not toadying, and have multiple strategies. You need strategies to get going, contingency strategies and exit strategies.
How many of you have worked somewhere and the bottom line comes down to phrases like: "missed the market", "squandered opportunities", ""poor management" or "technology no one wanted"?
VCs are starting to loosen up again acccording to some sources. I think personal experience and the pitfalls enumerated in this article should serve to remind prospective entrepreneurs (and the VCs that may invest in them) that the time to get strategic marketing input is at the very beginning, not just when you want to launch your product.
It all comes back to delivering something the market wants when it wants it, beating out the competition. And it's Marketing's job to help you figure that out!
// posted by ElisaC @ 10:50 AM 
