

This Is The #1 Reason Startups Fail - pbreit
http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-the-1-reason-startups-fail-2011-8

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daniper
This report by the Startup Genome Project builds on the argument that
execution and not the quality of the idea is the most important determinant of
a start-up's success. It argues that premature scaling is the biggest reason
why so many start-ups fail.

If this is the case -- and I do agree -- my question is: At what point do you
know you're done with the discovery, validation, efficiency parts of your
growth/learning process?

Second question is: Given that so many start-ups self-destruct because they
scale before they're done with these first three steps, what are the best ways
to avoid this? Is it by creating an advisory board very early on? Is it by
spending a lot of time conceptualizing your minimum viable product before
launch -- or does it mean relaunching/rethinking your MVP several times? If
you want to scale should you focus on monetization early on as opposed to
thinking just about the product? (The report says sales-minded start-ups are
6.2x more likely to successfully scale.)

