15
Apr

Top 10 Tips from the Best Entrepreneurs for Success – Part 2

In the previous article we saw 5 tips for success introduced by some of the most inspiring businesspeople in the world, here is your second dose of inspiration that will boost your motivation and help you while you are developing your start-up

6- Tell a (Nice) Story

Simon Sinek said that “very few organizations really know what is their reason for existence, their cause, their positive belief”. It is essential to define the values ​​to which the company adheres, not only for the internal cohesion of the team but also at the outside. Seth Godin (Tribes) says he is not interested in the numbers but in the message that companies are sending. “What story are you telling? ». So, take care of your storytelling: even before your product or service, your customers or investors will pay attention to your story.

7- Speak Up and Accept Criticism

Are you afraid that someone will poke your idea? As we said before, everyone has ideas but few people really put them into action. So according to Benoît Feron (Modizy.com), “an idea is worth nothing”, so you have to talk about it and not be afraid to do it. Hélène Quaniaux (MeetmyJob.fr) recommends not to hesitate to seek advice from those around you. Everyone is more or less expert in a field, and however far it is from yours, each opinion can shed new light on you: “Great leaders ask the opinion of everyone they meet” as Chris Sacca says.

Then, as Elon Musk states: “continually seek criticism because a criticism of what you do is worth gold”. On the other hand, Marc Pincus advises you to choose “the five to six smartest friends” and ask them to judge your idea.

8- But Only Constructive Criticism!

Mark Svenson once said, “Know when to listen to others and when to listen only to yourself.” Learn to distinguish constructive criticism that will move you forward and negative criticism that will simply discourages you. Dennis Crowley (Foursquare) advises us not to “get side-tracked by people who don’t like your idea. There are always people who either won’t like it or think it will never work”. For Mark Twain, only the worst people will always try to belittle your ambitions while “big guys make you feel that you, too, can become big.”

9- “Try, Fail, Fix”

Even if it is starting to spread, the “culture of failure” is much more integrated in the United States than in many other countries. We will tell you: it is okay to fail, it is even highly recommended …! Mark Zuckerberg said it himself: “A lot of times I get asked what mistakes to avoid, I usually say don’t even try to avoid making mistakes because you’re going to make tons of them anyway.” So, take failure as an opportunity to build your resilience. Try, fail, repair and then start again. As Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) says: “It is not enough to test your idea at the beginning, you have to verify it throughout the process”.

10- Don’t Raise Too Much Money at the Start

Another of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make is wanting to raise a lot of money right away. For Renaud Visage (Eventbrite), it is better not to raise too much money at the start because “the valuation is difficult to justify afterwards”. Jean-David Chamboredon (Isai) advises him to be realistic and credible in the eyes of investors: “It is easier to say that we want to raise 300,000 euros and finally get 500,000 because investors are motivated rather than doing less than what was initially announced”.