Recently I have been approached by a newly minted entrepreneur who has started asking me about my experience in building a company. That started me thinking about some of the lessons that I have learned along the way. These are not exclusive, of course, and I can probably come up with another 10, but I will let these stand…
1. There are 4 M’s in business: Marketing, Manufacturing, Management, and if you have those three… the Money will come.
2. Inventing is easy, building the product is hard… but building a successful business around the product is hardest of all.
3. Entrepreneurial experience in anything can be worth far more than corporate experience in your area.
4. There is nothing so motivating than “skin in the game.”
5. Always ASK QUESTIONS before making statements.
6. You are NEVER fully ready for primetime: Do it anyways!
7. Build ONLY what the customer needs, then double check
8. Cheap and free is often of better quality than moderately expensive
9. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your Management Team prince (princess).
10. Entrepreneurship is just an exciting string of near-death experiences. Live it up!
10.5 NEVER GIVE UP–just change direction 
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