“The greatest opportunities around new technologies are not in making things possible, but in solving the myriad little problems that prevent widespread adoption.”

The Sony ebook reader was first released in the U.S. over a year before the Kindle. It was lightweight, used the same E Ink display technology, and was similar to the Kindle in almost every way. But it was missing wireless connectivity and the backend that enabled one-click access to the impressive Amazon catalog. Buying and loading new content was a major hassle, and the product floundered. While Sony was in the business of making e-book readers, Amazon was in the business of solving the customer’s problem of buying and reading books, even when the solution meant going outside the device.

Most Successful Products First Languish in the Marketplace, Missing One Crucial Ingredient

To find the missing element, try creating a hassle map. List every step, decision, hassle, and potential for making mistakes involved in using your product or service. The key to unlocking the market is probably on that list. The hassles most likely to be overlooked are outside of the obvious functionality of the product, but inside the experience of using the product.
– The Startup Daily

Hand a venture capitalist a copy of your business plan and chances are the first section they turn to is not going to be the one about your product, the market, or your capital requirements. They will go straight to section that describes the key people on your team.

Above All Else, You Have to Sell Investors on Your Leader and Your Team

A great team will be able to solve any technical problems that come up. If they were wrong about the market, they will find a new market. But if the founding team is not up to the task of leading an early stage startup, even the best business plan won’t save them.
– The Startup Daily

Every year people make New Year’s resolutions. They tell their friends and family, feel good about them for a few days, but before they know it they find themselves backsliding.

As a self-regulating system, we have a built-in push towards equilibrium called homeostasis.

Homeostasis Works to Keep Things the Way they Have Always Been, Regardless of Whether a Change is Good or Bad

If you have developed a bad habit, homeostasis will resist your efforts to break that habit. The bigger a change is from your normal equilibrium state, the stronger the resistance to that change will be.

So how can you make a change last?

The first step to combating homeostasis is to be aware of it. Learn to negotiate with your natural resistance. If you take one step backwards, take two steps forward. You want to push your state of equilibrium towards your goal.

The longer you are able to fight the resistance and maintain the change, the easier it becomes. Over time your equilibrium adjusts and homeostasis will be on your side. Maintaining the resolution will become easier than backsliding.
– The Startup Daily

People are often persuaded to buy something they otherwise wouldn’t when the alternative is to lose their chance forever.

The Threat of Loss Is More Motivating than the Promise of Gain

Alarm gives people a surge of adrenaline that provokes them to act. The threat of negative consequences combined with a deadline can be very effective at strengthening your argument and giving people the last push they need take action.
– The Startup Daily

Even the best employees have strengths and weaknesses.

If you have a talented employee who is not performing as well as they should, perhaps they have not yet been placed in the right role.

You Have to Have the Right Employees in the Right Positions

It’s the leader’s job to understand each employee’s strengths, and to place them in the role where they can add the most value.
– The Startup Daily

Employees who are mediocre and insecure about their own abilities tend to hire others who are not as good as they are so they can feel superior to them. B players will hire C players, C players will hire D players, and so on down the line until your organization is filled with bozos.

Hire Only People Who Are Better Than Yourself

Hire only A players, who will have the confidence and self-awareness to hire people who are better than themselves, and prevent the bozos from getting a foothold.
– The Startup Daily

When you start a new business you default to handling everything yourself. As your business grows so does the list of new responsibilities. There is an endless stream of new skills to learn, new problems to solve, and new decisions to make.

If you continue to do everything yourself, you will eventually reach capacity and have no more time or attention available for new tasks. The growth of your business will stall.

Your Business Can Only Grow as Fast as You Delegate

Free your time and attention for the challenges of continued growth by delegating everything you possibly can. Make yourself as unnecessary as possible for the day-to-day operations of your business.
– The Startup Daily

When making a request of someone, be sure to leave them a graceful way to decline your request. You may have failed to ask in the right way, there may be circumstances you aren’t aware of that affect their ability to fulfill the request, or they may not like feeling forced into doing something.

People Are More Likely to Comply with a Request When They are Offered a Graceful “Out”

When making the request, acknowledge that they may be too busy or the request may be too much to ask.

If you fail to leave them a face-saving way out, you may burn that bridge for any future requests. Giving them a graceful “out” means you still have a potential “in” with them next time.
– The Startup Daily

Shouting is not the best way to be heard, nor is it the best way to convey passion. Raising your volume also raises people’s defenses.

The best way to get people to listen carefully is to lower your voice.

People Speak Softest When it Matters Most

To further emphasize a statement, leave plenty of silence both before and after.

This is true in visual design as well. If you want something to emphasize a message, it needs to be surrounded by plenty of whitespace.
– The Startup Daily

Many people postpone their plans because they don’t yet know the details of what they will create, how to get where they are going, or how the industry they will be entering works. A little preparation is helpful, but don’t overdo it.

The Stuff You Learn Along the Way Is Ten Times More Valuable than What You Could Learn Beforehand

You don’t need to be an expert in everything that you might face in the future. You don’t need a plan for every contingency. And you don’t need to gain the approval or permission of industry insiders.

Everything that you really need to know can be learned along the way.
– The Startup Daily