11. The first step to building a sustainable company is to build a sustainable life.
10. The best day of a startup is the first day. After that, it is all ridiculously hard work, and every day tests the entrepreneur’s character and resolve.
9. Stop planning and talking and start doing.
8. Starting a business is the beginning of opportunity, because market opportunities only come to people who are already in business.
7. Want my attention? State the problem first. I don’t care what you do until I understand why you do it.
6. Customers don’t buy slideware. They don’t buy an idea. They buy software.
5. Getting paid proves you found a need and are on your way to building a sustainable business. Anything short of payment is just interesting.
4. As the founder, you must do your own fundraising, because it clarifies your vision, sharpens your strategy, and builds your key investor relationships.
3. Once you take an angel’s money, you are married. You aren’t going anywhere, and neither is the angel.
2. Success will come. It just never comes in your time frame.
1. If I have learned anything in startup investing, it is this: People are everything. The people create value. The people hit goals.
I am using point 7 today in messaging I am writing: "Want my attention? State the problem first. I don’t care what you do until I understand why you do it."