

7 Teeth Gnashing Mistakes I Made With My Start Up - debtkid
http://blog.lendingclub.com/2008/08/26/7-teeth-gnashing-mistakes-i-made-as-an-entrepreneur/

======
tptacek
Loved the article. Ambivalent about the office advice. There's a false
dichotomy here between "basement" and "vanity offices". A couple hundred a
month will get you a couple rooms and an Internet connection. Having a single
place for everyone to work that is an office, and not your house, has
advantages. We find that they're worth it (and I dragged my feet for over a
year on this, forcing my team to work out of the library).

~~~
jon_dahl
Agreed. Some people can work just fine at a home office or basement. Others
(like me) find that a strict separation between work and home makes both go
more smoothly.

------
MicahWedemeyer
Another common mistake: Imagining your business will have a fairytale YouTube-
style ending.

------
debtkid
"Not Using Open Source" - I wish more small businesses would realize they
don't need a full custom website when they shell out 5K for a site that I
could do with a custom wordpress theme for a few hundred.

------
tedr
Best list on the topic I've seen in a while!

Living through a start-up for last 5 years they are all great. Here's a couple
thoughts on some of the items.

* Get book on managing people and read them

* If you dare hire friends, make sure you understand each others expectations to a 't' and check-in often.

* Spend as if you have to live on your own means

* Prove your business model early

* Dont define yourself by what your start-up is. Keep yourself intact.

------
mattmaroon
There's nothing wrong with raising money before you have customers at all. A
lot of great businesses started out that way. You just have to be adaptable.

------
trevorturk
I'm not sure I agree that starting a business with your friends is a bad idea.
If things go wrong, perhaps it would be worse, though?

~~~
ryanwaggoner
starting a business with friends and hiring friends are two different things.

~~~
debtkid
Exactly. Having a friend as a W-2 employee was a terrible experience for me. I
wouldn't be opposed to starting a business with a friend though.

------
binarycheese
Nos. 3,4 & 5 - Sounds just like the current startup I work for... Time to jump
ship!

~~~
tstegart
I don't know, it sounds like a sweet gig if Nos. 3,4 & 5 are the problem. I'd
say start saving and keep the resume polished though. Oh, and steal your chair
on the day it ends. :)

------
hbien
Can't the IRS get you for mixing personal finances with your business
finances?

~~~
tstegart
Mixing isn't the right word. Its more losing track of who owns what and who
owes what. Then when they ask you to prove something such as if it was your
business taking the deduction, or if it was your business receiving the
income, not you, then you can't. And then they get you.

------
luckystrike

      I wouldn't even recommend going into business with a friend.
    

But if the friend has a complimentary skill set, and clear expectations are
set from each person, the startup with a friend as a co-founder has the
highest chance of being successful.

------
VisuallyOn
Curbing too much diversification!

~~~
river_styx
What?

~~~
VisuallyOn
It is okay to diversify on napkins (concept stage) or after series A/B/C...
but stick to the plan in the middle path.

