Formula for entrepreneurial success | Hacker News Reader

Formula for entrepreneurial success

medium.com

9 pointssidi7 comments

Drivel. Who knows, there might be a real formula lurking behind this post but you won't find it in this feel-good checklist of mostly obvious nothings.

This article is crap. Here's a good rule of thumb - if you could write this entire article (a "1 min read") without having ever built a startup before, and not having the apparent authority someone like Ev Williams has, then it's bullshit. Similar to math and science, real advice shouldn't be obvious to the uninitiated without experience.

Giving people advice like "focus", and "don't put up with egocentric personalities and downers" is just rephrasing the problem with a shiny veneer. It's not wisdom, it's just stupid and unproductive.

If you want advice, look for information that isn't vague and easily codifiable. It you're building a startup in the health insurance industry, read about actual problems in that domain, and actual solutions.

For entrepreneurial success you need to deliver something many people (or a few people who will pay a lot) want.. in the way they want it.. when they want it. If you figure out what that thing is, then it's all about doing it (or presenting it) well enough for them to want it, then getting it to them. There is no entrepreneurial success if you don't deliver what they want.

1. Find out what they want.

2. Find a way to get/make it at a cheaper price than you'll charge for it.

3. Ensure that the product is good enough to be desired.

4. Get the product in front of those people that want it.

5. Sell, sell, sell.

5a. If the product is good enough, then you will mainly be eliminating fear, uncertainty, and doubt, because the product will sell itself.

6. Profit.

When you don’t sleep, eat crap, don’t exercise, and are living off adrenaline for too long, your performance suffers. Your decisions suffer. Your company suffers.

Houston, we have a problem...

The way I see it, you "use what you've got". If Fogbeam Labs is ultimately successful, it'll be because we were powered by a continuous flood of caffeine, adrenaline and heavy-metal. \m/

Now excuse me while I go back to sipping Red Bull, listening to Kickstart My Heart[1] and pounding out code...

[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ9unxXxoJo

Why is HN getting filled with these "genius" medium.com posts, which are basically just crap?

Because lists filled with vague, circular advice are easily digestible and codifiable, which leads to page views and a validation of the author's authority.

I believe it was posted here because it was written by Ev Williams. Your barrier for genius must be pretty high if founding Twitter doesn't get you there.

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