Be
AMAZING
10
4.
Control Your Equity
I was too generous with equity and
ended up giving up half my company
to a former business partner. If I had
been smarter, I would have saved on
equity and instead created a
performance-based bonus scheme.
Never go 50/50. Always make a list
of what each partner is bringing to
the table and split accordingly.
Don’t just give away a part of your
business to a friend just to have a
company. Always make them buy
their stake. Use a vesting period:
your partner should commit to X
number of years and only earn the
equity upon completion. Have a
shareho l der ’s agreemen t t ha t
stipulates exactly how much to buy
back each share when the time
comes to part ways.
5.
Forge Networks and
Learn to Connect
I join a lot of networking groups.
Much of my inspiration comes from
the people I’ve met in these groups.
I ’ m a m a z e d a t h o w m a n y
e n t r e p r e n e u r s s u g g e s t t h a t
conferences or networking groups
are useless. The trick is to get into
the right ones. I didn’t join my first
group till 2008, FIVE years after I
started out. My business exploded as
a result. It wasn’t just the contacts.
You can accelerate your business by
meeting others who inspire you
because they’ve already done the
things you dream of.
6.
No other Skill is as
Impor tant as Sales &
Marketing
If there is one skill I feel is most
crucial to entrepreneurial success.
It’s the ability to sell. I used to scoff
at the idea, but in 2001 the bubble
burst in Silicon Valley and 14,000
people lost their jobs. I blasted my
r esume t o nume r ous ads on
Craigslist and finally got a job at a
startup. But here’s the catch – it was
pure sales. If I could not close, I
would not get paid. Ever see the
movie Boiler Room? There were
days that reminded me of that movie.
But boy did I learn to sell and market.
That made ALL the difference.
7.
Don’t Build Crap for the
Sake of Making a Buck.
If I ran a company like Coke or
McDonalds, I’d be depressed.
Exactly what benefit would I be
providing to the world by making
high-fructose corn syrup and junk
food seem cool? I believe these
companies were started with good
intentions but have since lost their
soul, existing for stockholder value.
In that famous Apple ad, “Here’s to
the Crazy Ones”, Steve Jobs
contributed only one line – “push
humanity forward”. That’s what real
entrepreneurs do. Peter Diamandis is
taking mankind to space. Richard
Branson adds fun, quality service
and cheekiness to old entrenched
industries. I believe in teaching the
world new things that enrich the
human potential. You don’t have to
save the world – just try not to mess
it up for our children.