Starting a new business can be a daunting task. There are myriad issues a new entrepreneur will encounter: legal issues, financing, marketing, product development, intellectual property, human resources—the list is endless. Many new entrepreneurs are simply overwhelmed by all the things they are expected to know.
Having been involved in hundreds of startups as an entrepreneur, lawyer, venture capital investor, angel investor, and Board member, I have learned a number of real-world lessons. In this article, I share 17 of the most important ones, along with references to other helpful articles that can offer you a more in-depth discussion of each topic.
1. Come Up With a Great Name for Your Business.
Finding the right name for your startup can have a significant impact on your success. The wrong name could result in insurmountable legal and business hurdles. Here are some quick tips for naming your startup:
- Avoid hard-to-spell names.
- Don’t pick a name that could be limiting as your business grows.
- Conduct a thorough Internet search on a proposed name.
- Get a “.com” domain name (as opposed to “.net” or another variant).
- Conduct a thorough trademark search.
- Make sure you and employees will be happy saying the name.
- Come up with five names you like, then test market the name with prospective employees, partners, investors as well as potential customers..
2. Understand That Raising Financing Is Difficult.
Raising financing for your startup will likely be more difficult and more time consuming than you imagine. It takes a great deal of effort to convince angel investors or venture capitalists to invest in your company. So you need to anticipate the time delays involved.
Don’t waste your time trying to require prospective angel or venture capital investors to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) so that they won’t steal your idea. It’s counterproductive and will slow down your fundraising. And many investors will refuse anyway. It’s hard enough to get a meeting with an investor, so don’t put another hurdle in your way.
See also: 28 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Pitching to Investors
3. Focus on Building a Great Product—But Don’t Take Forever to Launch.
Your product or service has to be at least good, if not great, to start out with. It has to be differentiated in some meaningful and important way from your competitors’ offerings. All else follows from this principle. Don’t dawdle on getting your product out to the market, as early customer feedback is one of the best ways to help improve it. But you do want a minimally viable product to begin with.
