You need to get the right balance between cash and equity when rewarding employees:

• Cash is about compensating people for the job they are doing today.
• Equity orients people toward increasing the company's value in the future.

H...

The future is a time when the world looks fundamentally different from today.

We need two types of progress to create the future:

1. Horizontal progress/Globalization (from 1 to n) - Copying things that work somewhere and making them available everywhere.

1. Technology - Can you create a breakthrough technology instead of incremental improvements?
2. Timing - Is now the right time to start your particular business?
3. Monopoly - Are you starting with a big share of a small market?
...

Choosing a co-founder is a crucial decision at the start of every company - one that's very hard to correct. You should team up with someone that has complementary skills and with whom you share a prehistory.

A great founding team is critical for th...

Startups should start with a very small market because it's easier to dominate than a large one. Once you dominate it, scale up and move into adjacent broader markets.

The perfect target market for a startup is a small group of particular people that are served by f...

• Attract people by explaining why your mission is compelling and why your company is a unique match for them.
• Select only people that match your criteria and can be involved full-time.
• Build a team of skilled people that can w...

Competition narrows your focus on beating the other companies. While this makes you good at that which you are competing on, it doesn't guarantee success.

You risk losing sight of the big picture and of what is important for future growth, if you keep relat...

Aim to build a company that is so different and ahead of the others that it's not even competing.

A monopoly enables you to:

• Allocate more resources towards innovation and long-term plans.
• Stop focusing on generating revenue to survive.