I grew my business from my basement to the NASDAQ index — here's the best advice I have for aspiring entrepreneurs by Caren Merrick on Apr 21, 2016, 1:32 PM Advertisement
 So, you think you want to start your own business? Good for you! People will tell you that 90% of all startups fail. That doesn’t mean yours will. Starting a business can be one of the best decisions you will ever make. And I’ve found there are a few actions you can take that will give you an advantage and multiply your odds of success. I cofounded the company webMethods and grew it from a basement start-up to global company with 1,100 people and $200 million in revenue. In the process, I have also invested in and advised dozens of businesses. Of course, as with any advice, one size doesn’t fit all. Make these ideas work for you and it will increase your probability of succeeding. SEE ALSO: 10 things I realized after I quit my job without a plan  1. Do a reality check to verify that your idea can fly When starting our business, we didn’t have a resource like Google Ventures Sprint available, but this is a great guide you can use to assess nearly any business idea in just 40 hours. Next, build the smallest version of the product possible. This is also known as a minimum viable product, or MVP. The objective of an MVP is to get customers using your product, so they can give you their honest feedback early in the process. For our MVP, we built a simple, working prototype, offered it for free online, and immediately gained customers.
2. Focus, focus, focus You’re energized by your idea and want to accelerate on every front. You must develop a product, raise money, win customers, build a team, promote your business ... the list goes on. Yet, if you try to do everything all at once, you’ll spread yourself and your resources too thin. How can you find the discipline to focus and set clear priorities? As you grow, stay focused by asking three key questions about everything you do each day. If what you are doing doesn’t answer these questions clearly, you’re focused on the wrong things. These are: - What problem are we solving for our customers?
- Where’s the leverage?
- How do we measure this?
3. Surround yourself with the right people You are known by the company you keep, so choose wisely. Nearly every relationship in an early-stage startup should be strategic! Don’t give into the temptation of surrounding yourself with a bunch of your friends. For example, don’t hire your sister-in-law to do your bookkeeping unless she has experience in your industry and contacts that are valuable to your company’s market and growth potential. There are five key characteristics everyone in your business must have: integrity, good reputation, intelligence, generosity, and a network that intersects with your business. Each person you work with represents a hub with spokes of relationships. One of our early investors was the former CEO of a software company for whom my cofounder worked. He became a mentor and introduced us to several smart and generous people from his network, including his accountant, lawyer, and other prospective investors. Each introduction he made led to additional investors, prospective customers, partners, and even potential employees. Another option is to look into accelerators or incubators in your city, such as 1776 in the Washington, DC region where I live.
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