I'm surprised that after learning all those lessons, he still writes: "We started Sonar with a belief that everyone has the potential to be amazing and that technology can unlock that potential." And doesn't take away any lesson from that.

Building your business on making everyone amazing through technology is a conceit. Most people I know have no desire to become "amazing." They want to make ends meet, they want to be good parents to their children, they want to make the world a little bit better. Being amazing is nowhere on their list of priorities.

Maybe he should focus on a start-up that solves problems people face in everyday life and do that with technology.