Controversial bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki knows more about start-up mistakes than anyone.
This Vietnam veteran is definitely best known as the entrepreneur’s entrepreneur as a noted venture capitalist, albeit a very controversial one, with regards to his views on investments. But few can dispute that Guy Kawasaki has seen it all, from bankruptcy to runaway success.
In this talk with students and faculty of the Berekley Haas School of Business, the second oldest business school in the United States, he gives us what he feels are the most common mistakes start up entrepreneurs make.
It’s a bit long but you can scroll down to and click on the time at the end of each point to skip to that part of the video.
The Top 10 Mistakes of Entrepreneurs according to Guy Kawasaki
Mistake 1: Multiply big numbers by 1 percent (8:37)
Solution: Calculate from the bottom up
Mistake 2: Scale too fast (14:07)
Solution: Eat what you kill
Mistake 3: Form partnerships (17:50)
Solution: Focus on sales
Mistake 4: Focus on pitch (20:00)
Solution: Focus on prototype
Mistake 5: Use too many slides (22:40)
Solution: Obey the 10-20-30 rule
Mistake 6: Proceed serially (33:08)
Solution: Proceed parallelly
Mistake 7: Retain control (34:29)
Solution: Make a bigger pie
Mistake 8: Use patents for defensibility (39:48)
Solution: Use success for defensibility
Mistake 9: Hire in your image (44:29)
Solution: Hire to complement
Mistake 10: Befriend your investors (45:38)
Solution: Exceed expectations
Check out Berekley Haas School of Business’s YouTube channel for similar entrepreneurship and start-up topics from other speakers.