Dave McClure lists 11 reasons why someone should not do a startup, arguing that most startups fail. The reasons include being a "wantrepreneur" focused on money rather than solving problems, being too comfortable with an existing job, having an undeveloped idea or product with no customers, lacking leadership skills, inability to raise money or market the product, and preferring to watch TV rather than work hard to change the world through a startup.

1. Why NOT To Do a Startup
… because You Will FAIL, Loser.
Dave McClure
500startups.com
International Startup Festival
Montreal – July 2011
@DaveMcClure

2. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#1: Yer a WANTrepreneur.
 You’re in this for all the Wrong reasons:
 You think it’s “So Fucking Cool” to do a startup
 You want to make LOTS of Money.
 You have Teh Awesome Technology Solution.
 The Right Reasons:
 You Live in Fear.
 You Can’t Get Laid.
 Something has been PISSING you off FOREVER.
YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT [SOLVING] A [CUSTOMER] PROBLEM

3. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#2: You are a FAT and LAZY SLOB
 You’ve worked at Microsoft for >5 yrs.
 You Drive a Nice Car & It’s Paid For.
 You Live in a Big House.
 You Don’t Worry About Paying Bills.
 You Want to Kiss The Kids Goodnight.
 You Your Spouse > Your Startup.
tip: Doing a Startup is a Lesson in Pain & Sacrifice.

4. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#3: You Have a BUSINESS PLAN,
But No Product and No Customers.
See: “Startup Metrics for Pirates”
Bullshit Revenue
Projection ----->
(up & to the right)

5. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#4: Your Idea SUCKS
(and even your Mom thinks so)
 You Don’t Have a
Working Prototype.
 Worse: Have Prototype,
But No One Uses It.
 It Sucks a Lot More than
the Competition.
See: “Lean Startup (Ries) &
Customer Development (Blank)”

6. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#5: You Have Teh Awesome SOLUTION…
to a PROBLEM that does not exist.
See: “Your Solution
Is Not My Problem”

7. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#6: You’re a LOSER, not a
LEADER.
 You Procrastinate. A Lot.
 You’re not Charismatic.
 You Get Beaten [Up] Regularly.
 Your Vision is usually Wrong.
 You’re Scared of Change.
 When Other People Tell You That
You’re Wrong, You Believe Them.
 …and you’re Ugly too, bitch.
Watch: “Kick-Ass” or “Glee”

8. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#7: Your Pitch Sucks & You Won’t Raise Money
(or SuperAngels Collude to Screw You Over)
 50 slides in your deck
 Technical Jargon
 Demo FAIL
 Clueless Investors
 EVIL Investors
See: “How To Pitch a VC”

9. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#8: Your Team Sucks, and You Have
No Idea How to Hire (or Fire).
 No Technical Founders / Coders
 No Design / UX / Usability
 No Internet Mktg (Search, Social)
 No Mobile expertise
 No Enterprise Sales / Biz Dev
 No Recruiter, or They Suck… Bad.

10. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#9: CoFounders & Employees = Whiners.
 You WILL miss a payroll.
 Someone WILL eat last slice of pizza.
 There WILL be Office Politics.
 People WILL discover and compare
salary & stock options.
 Someone WILL sue yer ass:
 Sexual Harassment
 Wrongful Termination
 Unhappy Customer
 Jealous Competitor

11. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#10: You Can’t Sell or Market 4 Shit.
 You Don’t Know Marketing.
 You Think Marketing = TechCrunch.
 You Don’t Know What SEO stands for.
 You Think SEM = SEO.
 You Don’t Know or Use Social Platforms
(Facebook, Twitter, YouTube).
 You’ve never built Facebook or iPhone
App, or a Social Game.
 You’ve never sent an email campaign,
written a blog post, or run an affiliate
marketing campaign.
See: “Startup-Marketing.com (Ellis)”

12. DON’T DO A STARTUP… YOU WILL FAIL.
#11: You’d Rather Change the Channel
Than Change The World.
 Wouldn’t you rather watch
GLEE or Monday Night Football?
 Sure you would, Loser.
 Just relaaaaaxxxxxx.
Fuck.
 That.
Noise.