Earlier today I was talking to several college students at the Atlanta Tech Village and one of the people asked “what’s the most important advice you have for these budding entrepreneurs?” Easy, I said, here are the most important lessons I want every entrepreneur to know:
- Stay Close to the Customer – Too many entrepreneurs fail by building a product without customer input from the beginning. The challenge of finding product/market fit is real, and even if you find it, you can lose it. Forever, it’s important for entrepreneurs to stay close to the customer.
- Culture is King – People like to debate what’s most important: shareholders, customers, or employees. The answer: employees. How do you attract and retain great people? Build a great culture.
Yes, there are a number of other important lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur but these are easily the two most important. While these two ideas sound pretty straightforward, most entrepreneurs fail before they can appreciate them.
What else? What are your two most important lessons learned as an entrepreneur?
David Cummings on Startups 