Letting go

NO MAN HAS A CHANCE TO ENJOY PERMANENT SUCCESS UNTIL HE BEGINS TO LOOK IN A MIRROR FOR THE REAL CAUSE OF ALL HIS MISTAKES.
- Napoleon Hill.

So empty and vast
When we soar high and mighty
fall down just as quick and fast
rescue me,
for I do not want
this pain to last,
let my words not be empty
and my thoughts blossom with the joy that is underneath
in this struggle,

Change, renew
does anyone really care?
go ego go.

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." Winston Churchill

Autopsy of a Start-up Disaster

Lesson 1: have a go

As children grow up they learn from their mistakes. I don't know why that should change when we become adults.

Lesson 2: know your risk

The risks were considerable. Genetraks needed to create an entirely new market rather than take a share of an existing one. It didn't help that the company also began to focus development on a diagnostic product for which the originally-funded technology was not suited.

Lesson 3: passion will only take you so far

"I think that passion is essential, but it's only half the ingredients. Passion, connected with the right technology, connected with a large market is probably the best set of ingredients for success,"

"Business is business, and until we have products in the market with customers paying for those products, we don't have 'success',"

Lesson 4: learn your lessons

15 INSIGHTS FROM A BATTLE-SCARRED START-UP CEO

1. Be brutally honest with yourself. Be wary of hearing 'what you want to hear' and not 'what you need to hear'.
2. Pay attention to those things that wake you up at night – they are usually important.
3. Have a complete understanding of all the risks at all times (with contingency plans formulated and updated regularly).
4. Keep a low public profile. Stay out of the headlines until you at least have product near to or in the market.
5. Stay humble and open-minded about any advice that is given or offered. You can always learn from anyone and everyone.
6. High quality governance and mentoring is critical. The right independent and commercially-focused Chairman is worth his/her weight in gold.
7. Insist on performance appraisals for individual Directors and the CEO on at least an annual basis.
8. Directors of the Board should be selected for the commercial value each can bring to the organisation's future development and success.
9. All Directors should be required to step-down after one year of service. They may be reappointed by a two-thirds majority for further years, but only on a year-by-year basis.
10. VCs may not necessarily make good Board members and are ultimately faced with a conflict of interest due to their exit focus and excessive workload.
11. Crawl before you can walk. Walk before you run. The first product is important – it has to be "a humdinger" – and all the resources of the company need to be focused on getting product to market as cheaply and as quickly as possible.
12. Hire slowly and fire quickly. When hiring – especially overseas, use a reputable recruitment consultant even though it will cost you more - and listen to their advice.
13. Never agree to a payment ofany up-front fees for the conduct of due diligence. If a VC is really interested in the deal, due diligence will be conducted at their expense until the deal is sealed.
14. Keep in touch with your 'inner voice'. If it feels right, it's right. If it feels wrong, then do not proceed. All the logic in the world can tell you it's right, but if the inner voice is doubtful, don't do it.
15. Some bright ideas are just that – they are too expensive, too risky and too time consuming for a start-up to commercialise (in Australia, in particular).

source: www.australiananthill.com