BATCH #1WORDS OF WISDOM

It may take 5-7 years to find success as a founder because it requires a great deal of skills and experience that can only be acquired on the job. Giving up early is the best way to ensure you walk away worse off than you started.

Will Dinkel, CEO and Co-Founder, Nova

Imagine you are with a group of people on a bus. Most sit in the back chatting, others help the driver find the way. It's kind of how we think about our business... We don't ask ourselves where the world is going, we ask ourselves where we can take it.

Tzachi Benayoun, CEO, Bud Mobile

After starting and building five businesses, the one thing that stands out to me is how truly difficult it is. That's why good advisors are better than gold—they are the most important thing to have to avoid mistakes and capture opportunities.

KG Charles-Harris, CEO, Quarrio

Raise money from investors who will be hard on you and hold you accountable in good times, but will bat for you when things inevitably go wrong. Many founders think a brand-name investor is all you need or worse, that all investment money is good money. Choose wisely, you are entering into a long term relationship that requires a lot of trust and compromise.

Deepa Subramanian, CEO, Wootric

A common mistake entrepreneurs need to avoid is to build a product in silo and launch it too late. Salesforce inspired us to think about customers first and build everything from that perspective. Being a customer-first company isn't just a slogan for us—we share our vision and are transparent with our customers. In return, they help us shape the company and understand the market we're in.

Gil Allouche, Founder, Metadata

It’s no secret that a majority of startups don't make it. Entrepreneurs fail when they don't have a plan with metrics to understand how they need to correct their trajectory. The winners are the ones who understand what needs to be achieved to get to the next level.

Carter Wigell, CEO, Ideator

There is no text book journey. If it were that easy, everyone would do it and succeed. I have not heard about a ‘standard’ journey from any successful entrepreneur I have spoken to.

Kris Moyse, Co-Founder, Proximity Insight

Entrepreneurs must realize that great customer interest in a product is one thing, building a sustainable business model is something completely different. Always focus on both aspects.

Emilio Bernabei, CEO, Leankor

Iterate quickly and keep your cost to try something out low. Prototype, build an MVP, do surveys. The more cheaply you can validate an idea the easier it is to walk away. Don’t be afraid to walk away.

Chuck Liddell, Founder, Kapuhonu