15 Commandments for Startups

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Startup Commandments
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You Get What You Work for, Not What You Wish For
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• Hard work always wins. In the real world, effort
  trumps talent. Hope is not a strategy. We may not
  outsmart them all, but well certainly outwork
  them.

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Keep Raising the Bar
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• Constant iteration is the key. You get better by
  getting better. Successive approximation beats
  postponed perfection. Theres no finish line-
  ever.

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Shoot for the Stars
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•  
• Always ask for the best seat in the house. You
  miss 100 of the shots you dont take. If you
  dont ask, the answers always no.

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Dont Sell Yourself Short
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•  Feasibility will compromise you soon enough.
  Dont allow yourself to be defined by    the
  limitations of other people. Fueling your fears
  is a waste of imagination.

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 Keep Moving Forward
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•   Excellence is always anchored in perseverance.
  Its only a No for now. Over every hill is
  another hill. The only easy day was yesterday.

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  Start Now with What You Have
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•   Waiting doesnt necessarily get you to a better
  answer. The time will never be just right.
  Elaboration in planning is a form of pollution. A
  good plan executed today beats a perfect plan
  next week. Its easier to ask for forgiveness
  than permission. Only the winners decide what
  were the war crimes.

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  Nobody Said Life Was Fair
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•   In the world of startups, there arent rewards
  or punishments, there are only consequences. Some
  win, some lose, but those who dont constantly
  change die        for sure. Theres no such thing
  as a good excuse. Make smart mistakes and dont
  repeat them.

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  Never Play the Blame Game

•   People who blame their circumstances for their
  situation will never change things for the
  better. The ones who succeed look for the
  conditions they need to succeed and - if they
  cant find them - they make them. When you
  continually blame others, you give up your power
  to make things better.

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  Sometimes the Baby is Just Ugly

• Time is the scarcest resource. Opportunity costs
  are everything. If youre digging yourself into a
  hole, the first order of business is to stop
  digging. Dont be reluctant to change your mind.
  Dont try to do things cheaply that you shouldnt
  be doing at all. Stubborn on vision flexible on
  details.

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  Make Something that Makes a Difference
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• Focus on making a difference and making a life
  rather than just trying to make a living.     

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  Cheddar Breed Jealousy

• Unless youre a publicly listed company, you have
  no business flaunting your profits. What purpose
  does it achieve? Flossing? Chill. Focus on being
  great and delivering a great service or product,
  let people focus on that. You dont need and
  definitely dont need the negative energy that
  comes with people knowing how much profits your
  business is making. Its a distraction.

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  Do More. Talk Less
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• Quit the talking, let the actions speak. Let the
  services and products you ship from your startup
  do the talking.

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  Verify Validate Everything

• Once again, think about what matters for your
  startup. Validate everything. Sometimes trouble
  doesnt announce itself, it sweet talks its way
  in.

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  Never get high on your own PR

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• Your public relations is meant at best to tell a
  good story about your startup and hopefully get
  potential customers hooked on whatever it is you
  offer, but never get high on it. You know very
  well your startup has areas it needs to improve
  on so instead of basking in all those PR good
  stories, focus and keep working on getting
  better.

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  Money and Blood Dont Mix

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• You could say this rule (Keep your business and
  family separated) is debatable in terms of
  startups, but think about it from a diversity
  point of view.
• It is probably better from a decision making
  point of view to have people that are different
  from you (but have the requisite skills) helping
  you make decisions from a different perspective.
  With family, chances are you all believe in the
  same things and most probably view the world the
  same way.

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