First up we have TechCunch’s Loic Le Meur’s Ten Rules For Startup Success (which I had written up but not posted) which had a number of points (10 actually) :
● 1 Don’t wait for a revolutionary idea.● 2 Share your idea. ● 3 Build a comm…

Wow! Our Big Brother really did it. We are so proud of him! He is a great example of remaining intensely focused on an entrepreneurial dream. For 15 years he stuck with it. Most hopeful entrepreneurs lose interest after a…

I came across a post recently on TechCrunch that really appealed to me because I saw it as especially useful for association folks, especially those that are involved in new product development, technology, process improvement, member services, or real…

Note for Michael; we, french, do like when other do jokes about us so you
So you can remove the comment “many French people don’t understand the humor when people make fun of them”… Ask Loic ; you ll see.

About the advices; i think they re good for Web companies maybe not for a real product which has a long life cycle

Back to work now for me… Bye and nice debate !
I may come back and read the following..

“Don’t plan a big marketing effort. It’s much more important and powerful that your community loves the product.” LOVE IT!

10 Regeln für den StartUp-Erfolg…

1. Don’t wait for a revolutionary idea.

BS revolutionary ideas do happen. The real trick is to find something that is defensible and actually adds value.

2. Share your idea.
This is utterly foolish you need to protect your core ideas

3. Build a community. Use blogging and social software to make sure people hear about you.

Great for websites, just about useless for any other business

4. Listen to your community.

No listen to your customers not to what ever yob shouts loudest on your blog.

5. Gather a great team.
After four bad ideas he finally comes up with one good one.

6. Be the first to recognise a problem. Everyone makes mistakes. Address the issue in public, learn about and correct it.

here he gets two in a row

now for le creme de le merde!
7. Don’t spend time on market research. if something has no value to a market it is worthless- unless you are just puffing up your number of users before passing the feces to a Web 1.0 buyer

Launch test versions as early as possible.
Great send out a defective product your customers always want that and will reward you by moving to a competitor who takes their time and gets it right

Keep improving the product in the open.
why have a business and product plan? just wing it! that is hwo all great products are made

8. Don’t obsess over spreadsheet business plans. They are not going to turn out as you predict, in any case.

translation: be flexible you cant predict the future. Why didn’t I think of that? The discipline of building that plan is what makes company’s function properly rather than crater when the inevitable change comes It also separates kids who should not be in business from adults who actually know something

9. Don’t plan a big marketing effort. It’s much more important and powerful that your community loves the product.

Marketing is important because word of mouth is not everything

10. Don’t focus on getting rich. Focus on your users. Money is a consequence of success, not a goal.

a no brainer

So six of his ideas are just useless, dangerous and counterproductive or not going to build value and two are just self evident business truths and two others are ok advice that may not fit your circumstances.

you ought to be able to make a lot of money in the stock market, with that rule.

There are no 10 rules for startup success, no 5 rules or 150 rules either. So don’t bother with the simplistic and worthless business advice.

Take one of those rules maybe and discuss it in depth, otherwise apply rule #12: Keep your 10 rules to yourself.