52 Bicycles

As trackback to Dharmesh Shah’s helpful 17 Pithy Insights For Startup Founders, I offer the following anecdote:

About 18 months ago, I attended a get-together of serial and first-time entrepreneurs who have all presented at the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Startup Clinic (a great experience for many who are looking to pitch to equity investors). As part of the introductions, we were all asked to give our name, company and the one piece of advice tha we wish we had heard (or heeded!) at the start, and what we would say now. We all had the same, pithy answer for both, and while a word to the wise will suffice, I offer five to budding entrepreneurs:

Don’t quit your day job.

Not until you can support yourself in the new endeavor, ideally on current income, or at least on the basis of savings that you can rationally justify as a short-term bridge to current income should you leave. Hear this, heed this - and you will have a much more likely success!  

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