# Ways to avoid being the one of the 80-90% of start-ups that fail ?? Please ??? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2018, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ways-to-avoid-being-the-one-of-the-80-90-of-start-ups-that-fail-please/808094 "2018-02-03T08:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ways-to-avoid-being-the-one-of-the-80-90-of-start-ups-that-fail-please/808094/21 "2018-02-07T10:10:03Z")
> [@squish7](#): > > I think it’s more useful to other readers to see generic information that applies to anyone (as opposed to a glow-in-the-dark, kiwi-shaped waffle-iron!). Actually, instead of generic info, I think it’s more important to see specific details. Then I can apply the lessons to other situations. Instead of a generic comment like “know your customer” (well, duuhhh), I think it would be more useful to raise a specific issue: " who will buy a glow-in-the-dark waffle iron?" That creates a specific and useful discussion, from which conclusions can be drawn, which apply to many situations. Possible answers: 1. college students who think it’s a cool fad. Which then leads to the discussion :how many students, and how much can they afford to spend", and how will I profit? 2. Rich suburban households living in McMansions, who think it’s fun for their kids. Which then leads to the discussion: how many are there, and , since I know they can afford it, how will I advertise to them, so I can make a profit. 3. Nobody is stupid enough to buy this product. Which leads to the discussion: how can I do market research and find a product which I can make a profit on. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ways-to-avoid-being-the-one-of-the-80-90-of-start-ups-that-fail-please/808094/22 "2018-02-07T14:51:33Z")
squish7 - focus. You can’t bulldog a dozen startups. one will be more than enough, and if it’s not more than enough, you shouldn’t be doing it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ways-to-avoid-being-the-one-of-the-80-90-of-start-ups-that-fail-please/808094/23 "2018-02-07T14:58:45Z")
> [@squish7](#): > > 1. Timing > 2. Team/Execution (this means you shoot to death team members who aren’t fitting in) > 3. the founding idea > 4. business model > 5. funding > > You guys are really wise. Any general entrepreneurial tips of your own on how to survive the infamously high death-rate of the start-up phase? The order in which these things are placed is preposterous. “The founding idea,” if I understand what that means, and funding are basically 99% of the information you need to know. If the business idea is fundamentally sound AND there’s enough cash to survive the tough initial years, the business has a very good chance of succeeding. If those aren’t in place the business is dead. Both these things come down to, as others have pointed out, math. I have known a lot of people who screwed up a lot of businesses, and I cannot think of any that failed because of the wrong “team.” **They all failed because of math**. Sometimes the devil was in the details, and sometimes the math didn’t work in broad strokes. AskNott’s point about the food truck operator is a good one. If you have a startup budget selling widgets, and I ask you what your profit on a widget is and you cannot tell me that in detail, I wouldn’t invest a dime in your business. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ways-to-avoid-being-the-one-of-the-80-90-of-start-ups-that-fail-please/808094/24 "2018-02-13T19:41:11Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Both these things come down to, as others have pointed out, math. I have known a lot of people who screwed up a lot of businesses, and I cannot think of any that failed because of the wrong “team.” **They all failed because of math**. Sometimes the devil was in the details, and sometimes the math didn’t work in broad strokes. That means the team lacked a detail-oriented mathematician/accountant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ways-to-avoid-being-the-one-of-the-80-90-of-start-ups-that-fail-please/808094.md?page=1)