The Art of the Start

Guide for Starting a Business

1. Make Meaning Focus on making meaning,
not money.
Three kinds of meaning:

Increase the quality of life

Right a wrong
Prevent the end of something good

2. Make Mantra
Wendys Mission Statement
Our guiding mission is to deliver superior
quality products and services for our customers
and communities through leadership, innovation
and partnerships.

Mantra
Preferably three words or less that, succinctly
describes your core values.
Wendys: Healthy fast food
FedEx: Peace of mind
Nike: Authentic athletic performance

3. Jump to the next curve

Reboot your brain
Kill the cash cows
Polarize people

4. Get going
Dont type, prototype
Dont worry, be crappy
Find soulmates

5. Niche thyself

High value, low uniqueness

Low value, high uniqueness
Low value, low uniqueness
High value, high uniqueness

6. Let a hundred flowers bloom

Sow fields, not window boxes
Look for agnostics, not atheists
Dont be proud

7. Follow the 10/20/30 rule

10 slides
20 minutes
30 point font

8. Hire infected people

Ignore the irrelevant
Hire better than yourself
Do the shopping center test

9. Lower barriers to adoption

Flatten the learning curve
Dont ask people to do something you
wouldnt do
Embrace your evangelists

10. dont let the bozos grind you down