David Cummings on Startups

Speaking about Entrepreneurship

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David Cummings

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Tomorrow I’m giving my Iterate or Die talk at a Georgia State entrepreneurship class. I’ve given the talk several times now at Emory and once at a TAG/ATDC event, so it is pretty smooth. My main emphasis is that entrepreneurial success, defined as building a million dollar plus company, comes after most of the following are met:

  • Tons of hard work
  • Never giving up
  • Belief in the vision
  • Constant iterating and pivoting
  • Luck (very important!)
  • Market timing

Most of these sound like common sense, and they are, but it can’t be reiterated enough: it isn’t easy. Fortunately, the journey makes it worth it.

Comments

4 responses to “Speaking about Entrepreneurship”

  1. B2B Blog Avatar
    B2B Blog

    When a person is hardworking, committed towards achieving success and has the market timing I do not feel there is any need of luck because the person has made every possible effort to change the fate in his favor. Do u still think that luck is important after meeting all other requirements?

    Reply
    1. davidcummings Avatar
      davidcummings

      I do think luck is still needed but I agree with your sentiment that have those three you mentioned does get you most of the way.

      Reply
  2. Adam Avatar
    Adam

    David, thanks for sharing this presentation.

    Do the ideas of “never giving up” and “constant iteration” ever clash? I’ve seen many entrepreneurs pivot very quickly, almost too quickly, and don’t give themselves enough time to refine their products and selling strategies.

    Yet, many entrepreneurs wait too long to make the pivot, perhaps because they don’t want to “give up” on a product. Any thoughts on when the right time to pivot is?

    Reply
  3. davidcummings Avatar
    davidcummings

    Thanks Adam. Great questions. I’ve definitely seen entrepreneurs hang on too long to an idea or market that isn’t going to work out. I should probably do a better job of clarifying that “never giving up” is about figuring out how to be successful using the continually changing stream of information. The “constant iteration” is about not being afraid to change mid-course over and over again.

    Reply

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