Why startups fail, according to their founders

Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by bjelkeman-again on Sunday March 01, 2015 @06:00PM (#9129301)

I agree, but I think 7) a great team, is missing from that list. It really helps avoid problems with 1, 2, 4 and 5. For some markets, 3 media vitality, isn't required and if you get the other things right you need less luck.

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Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by dushonok on Sunday March 01, 2015 @10:28PM (#9130179)

How would a great team help you to make money out of a product nobody wants? Market fit (#1) is the most important thing

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Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by epa on Monday March 02, 2015 @02:20AM (#9130723)

They have the knowledge, collaboration, and commitment to change the concept and push on.

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Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by semerda on Monday March 02, 2015 @04:52PM (#9134591)

That's assuming the cofounder/s are not dictators. More common issue than you think. Ego issue of Power. Hence why I dislike titles (labels) when one is a small team.

Market fit should be worked out ahead of the team by the cofounders. The great team will contribute to it and over time everything evolves. Should the market shift fruit when you have the team, team transparency will help everyone steer the ship in a different direction. Otherwise the company will run out of cash chasing the founders fixed mindset.

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Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by LiweiZ on Sunday March 01, 2015 @08:57PM (#9129883)

Great team is one's multi-entry ticket. Just like the non-zero digit before a number of zeros. Unfortunately, it's not easy to have a great team.

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Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by softdev12 on Sunday March 01, 2015 @06:09PM (#9129328)

right. 7) a great team is probably even more important than luck.

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Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by tjradcliffe on Monday March 02, 2015 @01:47AM (#9130640)

I've managed great teams in companies that have failed because they built a product for a market that turned out to mature at about 1% of the level it had been predicted to grow to.

It was a great product, delivered on time. It fulfilled a genuine need and it did it better than anything the competition had to offer. But the market wasn't there to sustain the company, and there was no reasonable way to know that far enough in advance to do anything difference.

This is the essence of luck. People hate that, but it's the truth.

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Re:Why startups fail, according to their founders by semerda on Monday March 02, 2015 @05:07PM (#9134668)

Cash rich companies can afford these experiments. A startup cannot. A poorly planned investment with great execution is a disaster waiting to happen.

So basically to your point. Market fit is pivotal to the health of a startup.

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