>I once saw one of my best friends fail his first startup. They had a kickass programming team, received investment and did a bunch of things wrong.

>5) They didn't do any market testing and validation = wrong product market fit.

How does this happen? How do startups receive funding without doing some level of marketing testing and validation?

I ask because in Canada it seems extremely hard to get even angel funding (beyond family members) without demonstrable traction and growth. Is that not the case in the US?