
A startup escape path - what advice would you add to this? - ColinWright
http://swombat.com/2011/12/15/startup-escape-path?src=tw
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adrianhoward
It's a good list.

 _Register a business_

Check.

 _Connect to the local startup community_

Hmmm... That assumes that there _is_ a local startup community. For many
people in many locations there won't be. Even when there are startups, there
may not be a startup community yet (that's pretty close to true where I live
for example - although we're beginning to change that).

Maybe "Get involved in the startup community, the more local the better. If
there isn't a local one - consider starting it".

The local business community can also be, accidentally, quite startup
unfriendly. You're not going to get the right sort of advice for a web-based
technical startup, where most of the local businesses are light industry, or
franchises, etc. You have to know enough to figure out when advice is good,
and when it only good for people in a certain context. That can be tough at
the start.

 _Read Hacker News regularly_

Is only good advice if the kind of startup you're interested in starting is
the kind of startup hacker news folk are relevant for :-) For example I've
been spending some time over the last year with a good old fashioned hardware-
technology startup. They've been spending the last seven years developing a
new kind of sensing technology (it's cool - they have GIANT LASERS :-).
Relevance of hacker news to their business - pretty much zero.

Reminder of points.... Great if you're an internet web-based startup. Not so
great if that's not where your tendencies lay :-)

Although I think I'd take "Sell something online" and "Sell something
intangible in person" and move them _way_ earlier no matter what the business.
Being able to talk to customers and sell stuff is a vital skill. If you can't
or don't want to do that - the startup world isn't for you.

Actually - thinking on it - maybe "Talk to customers face to face" should be
the early point. Forget the selling part. Just getting out and talking to folk
is a bit step.

------
nerd_in_rage
Registering a business is a waste of time and money until you actually have a
business to register.

