Blipp Business Start Up

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survive and thrive by being the best in your niche. A big part of 500px’s success is that its customer service has been winning raves while Flickr has been racking up complaints lately. “The (user) community appreciates that,” Gustol says. When to let your startup die Yang: “ When the founders just don’t feel that passion anymore.” “Doing this sucks so badly sometimes that it better be something you really (bleep)-ing care about,” warns Payne. When in serious self-doubt, get out. In the immortal words of the pre-surgically reconstructed Kenny Rogers, you gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.

The power of no Yang: “ Learn how to say no. You have to set boundaries. (For me), every minute I spend with someone else is a minute away from my wife and daughter.” One founder vs co-founders Tchebotarev: “ It’s always great to have a partnership,” he says of being a duo with Gustol. But Payne prefers the flexibility to make the key decisions quickly herself: “I have a great team but no partner…There isn’t this whole managing by committee ( thing).” Yang professes he has “a strong bias towards single founders” but adds that an ideal startup structure can be comprised of three people: a clear leader with two very committed followers who have complementary core competencies. So the jury’s still out on this one. Failure 101 Know that your odds suck; statistically, most startups fail. If your startup is successful, expect glitches to keep cropping up along the way. Gustol: “ Even when things go right, there’s things going wrong.” Kind of like doing a $100-billion IPO one day, getting married the next, and then facing a class-action suit from investors a few days later. Be best, not just first Gustol: You don’t have to be the first to market in order to succeed; you can