Dharmesh Shah posted 47 pieces of “Three Word Startup Advice” in January of this year. I picked these seven out as the most applicable to bootstrappers:
Watch your cash.
Pick founders carefully.
Guard your time.
Decide with data.
Accept imperfect data.
Protect your health.
Build a brand.
See also “Dharmesh Shah’s Pithy Thoughts for Startup Co-Founders”
Ed Weissman added these seven when it was picked up on Hacker News
Find a customer.
Satisfy their needs.
Get their money.
Use their feedback.
Improve your software.
Hit your deadlines.
Never give up.
See also “Ed Weissman on B2B Opportunities” and Part 2
Here are seven I extracted and boiled down from the Cluetrain Manifesto
Markets are conversations.
Markets are human.
Networked markets self-organize.
De-cloak, get personal.
Talk with customers.
Listen to customers.
Share community concerns.
My contributions, none of which are original. I like all of the above as well, these are meant to address additional areas:
Go ugly early.
Relationships not transactions.
Amplify positive deviance.
Appreciate your prospects.
Cultivate and coordinate.
Nurture your community.
Understand learning curve.
No good links for learning curve. I need to blog about learning curve effects, both in customer sites and their importance in considering competitive posture. See also Self-Mastery, Expertise, Connections, and Perseverance.
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