Startup Myths – I shall not be fooled again by gurus

http://sparknlaunch.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/startup-myths-i-shall-not-be-fooled-again-by-gurus/

by sparknlaunch • 14 years ago

7 5 14 years ago

sparknlaunch.wordpress.com

sparknlaunch• 14 years ago

tl;dr

Lots of startup advice being published and preached by "gurus".

Be careful of taking advice that is not tailored specifically to your circumstances.

Careful judgement needed to pick out and implement advice.

Ensure advice is actionable and measurable.

Silhouette• 14 years ago

Lots of startup advice being published and preached by "gurus".

That's true in any field. It's just that lately we've created a new kind of "guru", the Internet-famous blogger, who can reach a wide audience very easily but not necessarily because what they have to say is particularly valuable or widely applicable. For better or worse, the subset of such people who write about start-ups tends to get a lot of front page time on sites like HN.

Just remember when you read their highly opinionated writing that for every one of them, there are probably 1,000 other people with just as much skill, experience and wisdom who don't choose to spend so much time writing about it even though they are just as qualified to do so, and there are probably 10 other people who are much more qualified but who you won't hear from because they chose to spend the equivalent time improving their skills and gaining more experience instead of writing about what they already had.

regomodo• 14 years ago

I gave up on these "startup advice" posts a while back if it was their 1st startup. If I could be bothered to read them I'd just read them as anecdotal evidence to their success/failure.

tomgallard• 14 years ago

I think the key point is that no-one is in a better position to know your business than you are. You'll get lots of conflicting advice which you should listen to carefully. Ultimately you are responsible for the decisions you make.

And for those that are successful- when you are giving advice, remember that everyone's situation is different, and you are just one datapoint.

carsongross• 14 years ago

On average, there isn't a lot of money in startups.

However, there is a lot of consistent money in selling advice, coverage and hype of startups.

Startup Myths – I shall not be fooled again by gurus

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