The Art of the Start

Guide for Starting a Business

1. Make Meaning Focus on making meaning, not money.

Three kinds of meaning:

Increase the quality of life

Right a wrong

Prevent the end of something good

2. Make Mantra

Wendys Mission Statement

Our guiding mission is to deliver superior quality products and services for our customers

and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships.

Mantra

Preferably three words or less that, succinctly describes your core values.

Wendys: Healthy fast food

FedEx: Peace of mind

Nike: Authentic athletic performance

3. Jump to the next curve

Reboot your brain

Kill the cash cows

Polarize people

4. Get going

Dont type, prototype

Dont worry, be crappy

Find soulmates

5. Niche thyself

High value, low uniqueness

Low value, high uniqueness

Low value, low uniqueness

High value, high uniqueness

6. Let a hundred flowers bloom

Sow fields, not window boxes

Look for agnostics, not atheists

Dont be proud

7. Follow the 10/20/30 rule

10 slides

20 minutes

30 point font

8. Hire infected people

Ignore the irrelevant

Hire better than yourself

Do the shopping center test

9. Lower barriers to adoption

Flatten the learning curve

Dont ask people to do something you wouldnt do

Embrace your evangelists

10. dont let the bozos grind you down