Meritocracy Is A Good Thing. Whenever Possibly,

What Differentiates The Success Stories From The Failures Is That The Successful Entrepreneurs Had The Foresight, The Ability, And The Tools To Discover Which Parts Of Their Plans Were Working Brilliantly And Which Were Misguided, And Adapt Their Strategies Accordingly.

In My First Start-up, I Had An Initial Advertising Budget Of $5 Per Day Total. That Would Buy Us 100 Clicks Per Day. At $5 Per Day, Marketing People Scoffed And Said That Is Too Small To Matter. But If You Think About It, To An Engineer, 100 Real Humans Everyday Giving Your Product A Try Means You Can Really Start Improving.

The Goal Of A Startup Is To Figure Out The Right Thing To Build-the Thing Customers Want And Will Pay For-as Quickly As Possible. In Other Words, The Lean Startup Is A New Way Of Looking At The Development Of Innovative New Products That Emphasizes Fast Iteration And Customer Insight, A Huge Vision, And Great Ambition, All At The Same Time.

Start-up Success Is Not A Consequence Of Good Genes Or Being In The Right Place At The Right Time. Success Can Be Engineered By Following The Right Process, Which Means It Can Be Learned, Which Means It Can Be Taught.

Entrepreneurs Can't Forecast Accurately, Because They Are Trying Something Fundamentally New. So They Will Often Be Laughably Behind Plan - And On The Brink Of Success.