10 Ways to Winning: An Entrepreneurs' Guide to Startup Success

2014 will be a formative year for new business owners and early-stage entrepreneurs. For those would-be entrepreneurs debating the startup leap? There is no time like the present. For current founders, in our hyper-pressurized worlds of being incubated, accelerated, and constantly switching modes between pitching and executing, how do we successfully navigate the labyrinth to success?

First, an important note of change from a year ago: the funding landscape changed with the JOBS act in 2013. Continuing into 2014, there will likely be a shift in the role of the investor into a more hands-on player in businesses. More non-professional investors will become angel investors and entrepreneurs will benefit from their domain expertise. And finally, in Darwinian fashion, competition for market share amongst the venture capitalists as a result of increased numbers of angel investment syndicates will clear the decks of the low-value add venture capital dollars. All of these attributes will effectively benefit the entrepreneurial community. Now, how do we become successful founders?

Below are 10 tips for the entrepreneur to make 2014 the winningest year yet.

1)Don't fear Goliath.

At some point founders will be asked after a pitch, "Why can't Google/Facebook/Apple do this?" The answer lies in the story of David and Goliath; in the notion of all frogs started as tadpoles. A startup is a nimble entity that can pivot, grow, change and ideate more quickly than large companies. In Malcolm Gladwell's newest book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, he examines our misconceptions about what constitutes an advantage.

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