7 Lessons Every Startup Should Know

1. Be open

William Wolfram, founder of ecommerce company DealDash, which is valued at $100, believes startups shouldn't be put off by criticism from venture capitalists in the search for funding.

"It's basically free advice," Wolfrom said. "A founder should walk away from a meeting with what they need to work on and what they should do. You can get so much value and feedback from VCs, even if they don't want to invest."

2. Differentiate

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen found much success with his 3-year-old company, which is the force behind two of the most popular iOS apps worldwide right now: combat strategy gameClash of the Clans and social farming game Hay Day. But his advice to startups is to stay creative and celebrate failures.

"Don't just look at what's popular in the App Store and see how you can do something along those lines," he said. "Try and create something new and exciting."

Supercell also embraces each product failure with a bottle of champagne. "We celebrate failures," Paananen said. "We don't pretend failing is fun — people dedicate their lives to gaming production and sometimes the products get killed — but we get so much from that failure. We analyze and talk about what went well and what didn't. We pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate what we learned."

3. Stay selective

Many will offer advice, but be selective with what tips you actually follow.

"Listen to the right advice," said Jukka Hilvonen, a producer at Nitro Games. "While going through incubator programs, we met a lot of talented people from different fields and received a lot of advice. But if we listened to everyone, we'd be chasing our own tails. Some said making free-to-play apps is the only way to approach mobile, but because we are doing interactive storytelling, that would have been really hard to do."

4. Get balanced

Markus Haltunnen, whose startup Small Giant launched in February, said a well-rounded founding team is crucial for success.

"Make sure your founding team is well balanced. It's not enough that you have a group of talented people working together," he said. "We had two graphic designers and one developer, but we knew we needed something more. It's important to identity gaps in skill or knowledge. We were lucky to get someone else on the team who had experience talking to investors and that was key while we looked for funding."
5. Think years ahead


Tiina Zillacus, founder of the Yoga Retreat app, said it is key to consider what you need to keep your company thriving beyond the present.

"If you need investors, raise enough money for the next level while still playing the current one," Zillacus said. "Even if someone isn't interested now, they could be later. It's about building relationships and thinking ahead, not just what you need now but what you might need two years from now."

Zillacus also said to approach investors who might have a specific interest in your category. "When you walk into a room of suits, they might not make decisions based on what you want (such as, for our company, their health)," she said. "Once I developed an eye for who might be right for our own interests, it was much easier to gain awareness."

6. Forget the competition

Knowing your competition is one thing, but don't let it fuel your every move.

"You're more likely to be killed by lack of focus than competition," said Juha Paananen, CEO and cofounder of Singapore-based Nonstop Games. "Some companies look too much at what competitors are doing and don't focus on themselves."

7. Market yourself

Will Kassoy, CEO at AdColony and former senior VP of global marketing at gaming company Activision | Blizzard, said many early startups believe a strong concept is enough to get really noticed — but it's not.

" The slogan 'if you build it, they will come' doesn't always apply," he said. "You need some form of marketing."


Hire a team or allocate internal resources to get the news of your brand in front of influential eyes.

5 Ways to Train Yourself to Be a Great Leader

There aren't many natural born leaders. Most leaders take responsibility for training themselves to be effective. Whether you learn from the wisdom of others or get insights from personal experience, becoming a more effective leader is about what you do, not what know.

Here are five things you can do to train yourself to be a great leader:

1. Keep promises, period.

Never make promises you're not sure you can keep. Nothing kills your credibility quicker than a breached promise or unfulfilled expectation.

Sometimes keeping promises can be challenging, if not downright painful. This commitment will develop discipline and integrity. Practice it with your kids as well as colleagues.

2. Dress to influence.

Don't dress to impress, dress to influence. That means making sure your appearance is consistent with your personal and professional brand. Begin by asking yourself how a leader with your aspirations should appear to others.

And don't limit appearance to just yourself. Apply it to your company. Butler Amusements, a Fairfield, Cal.-based carnival company, has always prided itself on having the cleanest trucks in the business and has built a brand around the slogan: "The Cleanest Show in the West."

3. Treat your team as you expect them to treat customers.

Asking your team to be courteous to customers and being a jerk to them is incongruent and hypocritical. Being the leader doesn't give you a free pass to indulge your base instincts. The way you treat people is a barometer to everyone on your team.

Robert Greenleaf coined the term "servant leadership" in the 1960's. It isn't about being servile, but about finding ways to support your employees so they can become successful. Periodically ask: "What can I do to help?"

4. Show your commitment to personal growth.

There are ultimately only two ways to grow your business: grow yourself and grow your team. As you and your team improve, so do service levels, operational efficiency and everything else.

Suncoast Coffee Service and Vending is a small company of twenty employees based in Tampa, Florida. The founders pay employees to read books that benefit both their personal and professional lives. Through the company's reading program, called Making People Better, books are distributed to employees, along with a "read by" date. Employees have approximately one month to read the book and are given $50 after completing it. At the end of the month, employees meet to discuss the book.

5. Ask rather than wait for feedback.

Some leaders react to unsolicited feedback as criticism and miss an opportunity to learn. But waiting for your employees to become brave enough to offer you feedback is a risky proposition. Don't ask employees what they like or dislike about you. You'll get better information by asking: "In your opinion, what might I do to become a more effective leader?"

Listen for actionable behavior. If someone says you'd be more effective by communicating more clearly, ask for an example of when you haven't, so you'll understand what he or she means.

Which of these actions will you take first to train yourself to be a better leader?

10 Tips for the First-Time Business Owner

1. Focus. Focus. Focus. 

Many first-time entrepreneurs feel the need to jump at every "opportunity" they come across. Opportunities are often wolves in sheep's clothing. Avoid getting side-tracked. Juggling multiple ventures will spread you thin and limit both your effectiveness and productivity. Do one thing perfectly, not 10 things poorly. If you feel the need to jump onto another project, that might mean something about your original concept.

2. Know what you do. Do what you know. 

Don't start a business simply because it seems sexy or boasts large hypothetical profit margins and returns. Do what you love. Businesses built around your strengths and talents will have a greater chance of success. It's not only important to create a profitable business, it's also important that you're happy managing and growing it day in and day out. If your heart isn't in it, you will not be successful.

3. Say it in 30 seconds or don't say it at all. 

From a chance encounter with an investor to a curious customer, always be ready to pitch your business. State your mission, service and goals in a clear and concise manner. Fit the pitch to the person. Less is always more.

4. Know what you know, what you don't know and who knows what you don't. 

No one knows everything, so don't come off as a know-it-all. Surround yourself with advisors and mentors who will nurture you to become a better leader and businessman. Find successful, knowledgeable individuals with whom you share common interests and mutual business goals that see value in working with you for the long-term.

5. Act like a start up. 

Forget about fancy offices, fast cars and fat expense accounts. Your wallet is your company's life-blood. Practice and perfect the art of being frugal. Watch every dollar and triple-check every expense. Maintain a low overhead and manage your cash flow effectively.

6. Learn under fire. 

No business book or business plan can predict the future or fully prepare you to become a successful entrepreneur. There is no such thing as the perfect plan. There is no perfect road or one less traveled. Never jump right into a new business without any thought or planning, but don't spend months or years waiting to execute. You will become a well-rounded entrepreneur when tested under fire. The most important thing you can do is learn from your mistakes--and never make the same mistake twice.

7. No one will give you money. 

There, I said it. No one will invest in you. If you need large sums of capital to launch your venture, go back to the drawing board. Find a starting point instead of an end point. Scale down pricey plans and grandiose expenditures. Simplify the idea until it's manageable as an early stage venture. Find ways to prove your business model on a shoestring budget. Demonstrate your worth before seeking investment. If your concept is successful, your chances of raising capital from investors will dramatically improve.

8. Be healthy. 

No, I'm not your mother. However, I promise that you will be much more productive when you take better care of yourself. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, not a 9-to-5 profession. Working to the point of exhaustion will burn you out and make you less productive. Don't make excuses. Eat right, exercise and find time for yourself.

9. Don't fall victim to your own B.S. 

Don't talk the talk unless you can walk the walk. Impress with action not conversation. Endorse your business enthusiastically, yet tastefully. Avoid exaggerating truths and touting far reaching goals as certainties. In short, put up or shut up.

10. Know when to call it quits. 

Contrary to popular belief, a smart captain does not go down with the ship. Don't go on a fool's errand for the sake of ego. Know when it's time to walk away. If your idea doesn't pan out, reflect on what went wrong and the mistakes that were made. Assess what you would have done differently. Determine how you will utilize these hard-learned lessons to better yourself and your future entrepreneurial endeavors. Failure is inevitable, but a true entrepreneur will prevail over adversity.