Most entrepreneurs in corporate clothing don’t do well with complex sales models, product review boards, rigorous budgeting of finite funds, and managing trade-offs between products. Entrepreneurs are all about the new and never been done – in particular, new markets, products, technologies, and customers. Therefore, talented executives leave the world’s great corporations and bravely take on the quest of creating the next Microsoft, Google, Cisco, or Sun.
Read MoreHigh tech CEOs face a “One Trick Pony” dilemma. After all, birthing that first product was incredibly difficult, and the customer response has been great. Your company is making enough money to stay in business, so why wouldn’t your company just do more of the same? Because becoming a one trick pony can happen overnight, and the impact can be catastrophic.
Read MoreThankfully, entrepreneurs are optimistic creatures. Most launch their companies on a wing and a prayer and then work with their radically under resourced teams to create their first product and gain initial customers. Sometimes, things go smoothly. Funding comes in, customers sign up, and product reviews come back positive. A majority of the time, however, young companies struggle and ultimately don't survive to fight another day. In fact, most start-ups hang on longer than they should, because, as I said before, entrepreneurs are optimists. They glom on to any shred of evidence that might indicate that they could be successful and ignore or minimize the rest.
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