10 takeaways from Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of the Start”

1. You can make meaning (change the world) by increasing the quality of life, righting a wrong, or preventing the end of something good. Companies that are successful make meaning.
2. A company’s mantra has to be short, unique, and memorable.
3. To be revolutionary you have to think different and not be content with doing things 10-15% better. You have to reach further and do things 10x-15x better.
4. The concept of a solo entrepreneur is false. You need “soul mates” who are people to balance you off.
5. Keep your business model simple, specific, and ask women about it because men always want to “kill the competition” which is not realistic.
6. The priority for an entrepreneur is milestone, assumption, and task.
7. Marketing is about having the ability to provide a unique product or service and its value to a customer. You want both of these metrics to be high simultaneously.
8. You should have 10 slides in your presentation. You should be able to give it in 20 minutes. The smallest font you should use is 30 point font.
9. Don’t ask people to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself.
10. Don’t let “bozos” drive you down – there are bozos that you won’t listen to because they are not credible. The dangerous bozo is powerful, intelligent, and rich, and you may be tempted to listen to them, but don’t.