Startup Advice in just three words

http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/11539/Startup-Advice-In-Exactly-Three-Words-StartupTriplets.aspx

by smartbear • 17 years ago

86 53 17 years ago

edw519• 17 years ago

Very nice. I liked all of these.

Before I scrolled down the page, I wrote down a few that I expected to see. Oddly, none of mine were on OP's list. (Am I that weird, or do we just think differently?)

Here are mine:

  - Find a customer.
  - Satisfy their needs.
  - Get their money.
  - Use their feedback.
  - Improve your software.
  - Hit your deadlines.
  - Never give up.

dshah4• 17 years ago

Wow! Yours are really good, and have a nice rhythm to them.

Vindexus• 17 years ago

I don't think they fit your list because they're supposed to be standalone ones. Your second one is actually six words, not three, because it needs the first to have context and make sense.

Still great advice though. "Find a customer" is definitely a winner.

adamsmith• 17 years ago

'Never give up' is also awesome.

Technophilis• 17 years ago

Satisfy Customers' Needs. (this makes it three)

jpwagner• 17 years ago

you don't think differently at all...

  find a customer = sell something today (22)
  satisfy their needs = support customers maniacally (7)
  get their money = recognize revenue consistently (19)
  use their feedback = decide with data (17)
  improve your software = improve product daily (18)
  hit your deadlines (nice addition)

"never give up" is "persist through downturns" (16), but I'll give you this one for improved wording

acangiano• 17 years ago

Spell-check your posts.

dshah4• 17 years ago

Fixed, I think. Sorry about that.

andrewljohnson• 17 years ago

Nothing is absolute.

The following are often just wrong:

Hire generalists early. Hire specialists later. Write a blog. Avoid business plans. Delay raising capital. Make decisions swiftly.

Moreover, I don't even know what "invest in culture" means.

anigbrowl2• 17 years ago

Moreover, I don't even know what "invest in culture" means.

Supply free sodas?

dshah4• 17 years ago

#48: "Everything is debatable"

#49: "Beware trite advice"

RyanMcGreal• 17 years ago

Omit needless features.

joshu2• 17 years ago

An exceedingly good one, both for the advice and the reference.

SwellJoe• 17 years ago

"Omit needless..." was the first thing that came to mind for me before I even started reading the list. It applies to so many things. Words, features, expenses, options, etc. If it isn't absolutely necessary, omit it. You'll know soon enough if it turns out to be absolutely necessary, whatever it is.

philwelch• 17 years ago

"Omit everything needless".

anigbrowl2• 17 years ago

My three words appear to be 'waiting for onstartups.com'.

gcheong• 17 years ago

Beware of advice.

davidw• 17 years ago

Ignore silly lists:-)

jon_dahl• 17 years ago

Not bad, but personally, I prefer four words: "Build something people want."

gvb2• 17 years ago

Build something desirable.

sganesh• 17 years ago

Kind of skewed to software startups :)

Lose the dresscode.

Use Best Tools.

Dual Monitors. Period.

Listen, Sell Later.

Ignore Everybody, Create.

Limit the features.

Live = Real Test.

No C Levels.

Distribute Authority & Accountability.

Don't over engineer.

Don't debate forever.

Share the Champagne.

rokhayakebe• 17 years ago

No more advices.

Please no more.

pg• 17 years ago

If I had to get it down to only 3 words, they might be "iteratively satisfy users." Awkward, bad rhythm, and prone to double entendre, but you have to compromise to get all that into 3 words. (My first try was "understand your users," which sounds better but says less.)

dshah4• 17 years ago

Like yours a lot.

Variations:

iteratively create awesomeness

create happiness iteratively

nfnaaron• 17 years ago

Satisfy users. Iterate.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

jacquesm2• 17 years ago

How about "Keep satisfying customers"

By using the 'keep' twice you can compress more meaning in to fewer words.

It also works better for people that don't understand the word iterate, which is in common use in English but not one that non-natives or non-programmers would get immediately.

gruseom• 17 years ago

How about "Keep satisfying customers"

Less information. "Keep" doesn't necessarily mean changing what you do. In other words, "keep" could mean "x, x, x,...", while "iteratively" definitely means "x1, x2, x3,..."

The greater precision is worth the awkwardness, and anyone who is unwilling to look up a word probably shouldn't be doing a startup.

nostrademons2• 17 years ago

"Make something wanted", which is the passive voice for your "Make something people want." It's also technically more accurate, as many dog food and pet supply companies have found out. ;-)

byrneseyeview2• 17 years ago

How much dog food do dogs buy?

grellas• 17 years ago

Watch your back.

(Sorry, I am a lawyer).

davidmurphy• 17 years ago

I can't upvote this enough. Learned some real sad lessons this past year.

Le sigh....

dnewcome• 17 years ago

There should be a startup `oblique strategies' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies) app somewhere to give you a little something to reflect on when you are stuck. Brian Eno's original ones would probably work, but maybe there are better ones for startups?

Maro• 17 years ago

One word: persist.

leelin• 17 years ago

Don't Outsource Programming

alexro• 17 years ago

Forget about competition

Focus on customers

Don't cut corners

Stay agile forever

ams6110• 17 years ago

Eschew government customers

The long drawn out purchasing cycles and arcane requirements will suck time and attention that most startups can't spare.

ice_man• 17 years ago

Roll your own.

johnl• 17 years ago

Go team Go

b3b0p• 17 years ago

Solve a problem.

Make a market.

Follow your dreams.

Just do it.

noodle• 17 years ago

"be relentlessly resourceful"

/obvious

joshu2• 17 years ago

Breathe. In. Out.

sutro• 17 years ago

Ramen is delicious.

arithmetic• 17 years ago

Make epic products.

arnorhs• 17 years ago

I like this post, but I don't like the self-promoting aspect of the whole post-to-twitter thing...

dennykmiu• 17 years ago

My own contribution to this amazing list is "Avoid Negative People". When we do startups, we don’t just leverage. We levitate. We “will” our startups into existence. And we do so by defying all laws of physics and by tapping into the positive energy of our surrounding. We create opportunities; we don’t destroy. Be careful with whom you hang out with. Unfortunately, my own experience is to stay away from other failed entrepreneurs (who tend to be negative until they bounce back). And in particular stay away from people who hold a grudge on you or whom you have a grudge with. Don’t get mad; don’t even try to get even. With success, you can get them all. Misery breeds misery and success breeds success.

Startup Advice in just three words

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