Courtesy of citybizlist -I revisited our conversations of this past year and thought the first column for the New Year should synthesize some of the themes explored not only as a summation of what folks were thinking about in 2012 but as a touchstone for 2013. It’s hardly comprehensive, but it’s an interesting indication of how much of what was on the minds of many entrepreneurs last year remains relevant as we head into this New Year.
On Risk. A number of conversations revolved around the concept of risk and its two edged doppelganger: success and failure. From these conversations, I saw these recurring themes:
• Don’t be afraid of taking risk, which is often regrettably measured by the noise level emanating from others (those who generally take few risks) and not from what you hear from yourself or from the investors, partners or customers that believe in you
• Fail often, learn fast, adjust, try again – there is a growing sense that the best product development strategy is a highly iterative one, designed to evolve as much from what doesn’t work as from what does
