

Startup lessons from serial entrepreneur Norm Brodsky - prakash
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081001/street-smarts-secrets-of-a-110-million-man_Printer_Friendly.html

======
mixmax
Another important lesson is that successful people don't have much higher
batting averages than everyone else, they simply try to hit more balls, and
eventually one will be a strike.

Hewlett and Packard started a number of unsuccessful companies before they
started HP, Seth Godin invented the first fax board for the Mac, invented a
version of the wireless music player and much more before he became
successful.

This seems to be a common trait among a lot of serial entrepreneurs. Get them
drunk, ask them about their previous attempts and prepare for a lot of great
stories.

~~~
wallflower
I just bought and read a very interesting but slim tome called "Go for No" An
interesting opinion of the book is that the most successful people are those
who not only take on (1st level) or accept (2nd level) or want (3rd level) or
truly desire failure (4th level) - it's those who organize others to take on
risk or failure (5th level).

As someone who is probably just barely 2nd level and logical to a fault, I am
starting to open my eyes and see that the 4th level is a characteristic that I
see in all of my successful friends (and almost everyone I've read about- from
Sylvester Stallone with "Rocky" (the story behind how he got the first one
made) to...)

~~~
DenisM
can you elaborate? thanks.

~~~
wallflower
It's really a great small book, and I fear that I am undercutting their ideas
by elaborating (too much). However, I am typing in their valuable content
(apologies to the authors if they come across this) in the hope that you will
be inspired. And be able to rate honestly, which level you are at now.

Incorrect model: Success <\--- Me ---> Failure

Correct model: Me ---> Failure ---> Success

"Most people get to the sign marked 'failure' and they figure they're heading
in the wrong direction, turn around and head back home. They think that
success must be back the other way, but it's not! _It's_ _straight_ _ahead_!"

"The best way to desensitize to a word is to use it, and the best way to
desensitize yourself to an action is to do it."

Level 2 explained verbatim: "Develop the willingness to fail, which means they
come to _accept_ failure as a natural by product of the process of seeking
success."

Level 3 explained verbatim:

"Having the wantingness to fail goes beyond mere tolerance and acceptance of
failure as a part of life..Wantingness means developing the desire to fail
with the inner faith that personal and financial growth will follow"

Level 4 explained verbatim: "The people who ascend to Level Four are those who
have come to the conclusion that if failing is _good_ , then failing faster is
_better_!

And not just failing faster, but if one is going to increase their failure
rate, do it going after BIG goals that are worthy of the effort"

"Instead of avoiding rejection, what if we made the decision to seek
rejection? Instead of avoiding _no_ or perhaps simply tolerating it, what if
we went out of our way to actually _go_ _for_ _no_!"

If these failure-tome nuggets strike the tuning fork in your head, please buy
the book!

~~~
DenisM
That's very unorthodox. Thanks for sharing.

------
skmurphy
I really like Norm Brodsky's Inc column and find it consistently insightful. I
thought this one was very good and blogged about it when it came out
[http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2008/10/26/norm-brodskys-
guidel...](http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2008/10/26/norm-brodskys-guidelines-
for-entrepreneurs/) In particular his definition of successful resonated with
me:

"By successful, I mean a business that lives off its own cash flow, provides a
good living for its owners and employees, and generates the profit it needs to
keep growing."

------
apsurd
This is a great read. I'm currently trying my hand at my very first internet
related business. I'm an aspiring hacker (I figured out programming is what I
love) but before this I started a traditional business. It was a lifestyle
business and I did it mostly just to "learn how to build a business", so the
point is, I can attest to every one of these insights. Business is all about
the data. That's definitely something a hacker can appreciate! The operational
cost of running a traditional brick-and-mortar business is what usually does
the company in. Fees for everything, permits, bills, bills, bills, equipment,
employees, insurance, taxes ... it really literally kicks your ass.... So like
this article encourages ... please pay attention to your numbers!

------
electric
I'm currently reading The Knack. It is a great book on how to actually _build
a business_ instead of a get-rich-quick, build-to-flip scheme.

Talks about important things like cash flow. Ironically I don't know of many
startup/business books that talk about such important practical stuff.

Highly recommended!

------
taylan
This a solid no-nonsense list that applies well whatever your startup about is
about, be it in biotech or software. "#10. The life plan has to come before
the business plan." was recently discussed here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=411693>

------
mnemonik
_"Rather, what we have in common is a certain mentality, a way of thinking
that allows us to overcome many obstacles and take advantage of many
opportunities as they arise. I call it the knack."_

Does this remind anyone else of that Dilbert episode (yeah back when it was a
TV show, too) where Dilbert loses The Knack?

Good read though.

------
trickjarrett
Number 4 is great advice for web startups. Just because it's easier to take
shortcuts in programming than it is in construction, doesn't mean it's any
less sacrosanct.

~~~
Andys
For me, it conflicts with Number 5 too much. How do you decide what counts as
"not taking shortcuts" versus what is a luxury you can't yet afford?

------
gcheong
His book "The Knack" which is basically a chapter devoted to each of these
topics is a great read.

