10 stupid things.public

10 Stupid Things Entrepreneurs Do To Mess Up Their Startups*

*With apologies to Dr. Laura Schlessinger

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Think Like a Guppy

You’re not a little fish; you’re a whale that’s not yet gotten big.

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Confuse Vision and Focus

Dream big, focus tightly. You can eat an elephant – one bite at a time.

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Fall in Love with Technology

Fall in love with customers and they’ll tell you what to make.

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Focus on Fund Raising Instead of Building the Business

How will you use your time?

What brings more value to the company?

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Let Investors Run the Company

Seriously, how much does your investor really think about your business?

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Fail To Measure

Where are you going and how fast are you getting there?

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Ignore Yellow Lights

Your optimism can not be allowed to trump your reality.

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Hire Good People

Founders have got to be the dumbest ones in the room.

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Neglect the Details

Pay now or pay a lot more later.

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Lose Site of Values

Every company has a culture.

Is yours accidental or deliberate?

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Waste Time

While you’re killing time,

time is killing you.

© 2009 Chris Shipley

Chris ShipleyChairman and CEO

Guidewire Group, Inc.

@cshipley

© 2009 Chris Shipley