First-time Entrepreneurs: The Litmus Test

Source : Rajesh Setty's Blog (CEO of Suggestica)

The complete article can be found on Rajesh Setty's Blog

Some excerpts from the article are given below:

Every entrepreneur was a first-time entrepreneur once. So, it seems odd but its true that support for first-time entrepreneurs is not that great. One reason is simply that odds are not in the favor of first-time entrepreneurs.

There is another problem though that often gets overlooked. First-time entrepreneurs sometimes can get into "fantasy" mode. Without proper guidance, they can go off on a wild-goose chase and think that they are working VERY hard on their idea but because of <add something like economy, market conditions, outsourcing, luck etc.> they are not going anywhere.

Some of the interesting points from this article(along with my comments) are given below:

Here is what they say: I am just waiting for a cool idea. Everything else is ready.
What they might actually mean: I am not ready yet.
Rajesh's $.02: Don't wait for the "best" idea. There is usually none. Instead focus on building a great team that can execute.
My $.02:Everyone of us have a good idea but only issue is when should we execute the idea.As pointed out in "The high Performance Entrepreneur by Mr Subroto Bagchi" ,only our gut feeling tells us when we want to execute our plan and start our venture.

Here is what they say: We had a great meeting with the VCs
What they might actually mean: VCs are in love with their company and soon we will be discussing the term sheets.
Rajesh's $.02: Unless the money is in the bank, the money is not in the bank. Most of the times you will have a "great" meeting with the VCs even when they think the idea is crap. So don't read much into how they made you feel at the end of the meeting. What actions they take after the meeting is what determines whether it was really a "great" meeting.
My $.02:When is the right time to meet a VC.If a VC is willing to invest money in your venture at the start,than you will be driven by the VC.On the other hand,once your startup is in a good shape,VCs would run behind you to invest money in your venture :-)