If You Really Want to Change the World

CHAPTER EIGHT

Five Fatal Mistakes of Start-Ups

The most common venture killers are avoidable.

ALTHOUGH RELIABLE STATISTICS ARE LACKING, IT HAS been estimated that, on average, fifty thousand companies a year are seed- or angel-funded in the United States. A few thousand of them are funded by professional venture capitalists. Of those started each year, a few hundred will produce great returns for their investors, and a few have the capacity to greatly impact the commercial world. Many others will succeed in becoming financially rewarding—but without realizing their dream.

Many reasons explain the failure of start-ups. There are unavoidable events that can kill start-ups, and then there are avoidable mistakes. Unavoidable events might include ...