We entrepreneurs make mistakes without any help. Then we get advice that is easy to mis-interpret. Here are 24 popular start-up advice that lets us make costly mistakes with confidence!

1. Never give up: This was designed for fickle minded entrepreneurs to stay the course when things get tough. It turns to a trap once it is time to really back off from your idea and look for another one

2. Money will come if you do what you love: You are better off reading it as “money will come if you do something others (customers) love”. It is easier to do it if you love it. But most things you love won’t make any money

3. Impress Investors first: Some folks work on investor pitch before testing the idea with prospective customers. Happy customers can get you investors, but impressed investors can’t get you customers

4. Passion is everything: Conviction & passion build great companies from good ideas. But being too passionate about own ideas (features, strategies) makes it difficult to pick up good ideas along the way

5. Tech company CEO must be a techie: This was popular among techies in Silicon Valley before a marketing guy named Steve Jobs started his current run. So, non-techie CEO for a tech company is possible

6. Build a great product, and customers will find you: Well, odds are much better if you find your customers before you finish making that product

7. One needs to fail to succeed: For Larry & Sergey, the first idea (Google Search) made a lot of money. Though the next dozen ideas lost money, they stayed rich. There are folks who succeed before failing

8. Network with start-up guys: It is a good place to find ideas, inspirations, collaborators, tools etc. But if you know what you are doing and you are short of time, why waste time away from work?

9. You should be in the Silicon Valley: It was the Bay area realtor association that started this (not the access to investors, advisers & partners). It worked well – check home prices around here

10. Have singular focus: I think it was meant for folks like me who get distracted by other ideas while pursuing one. Don’t use it to singularly focus on peripheral details

11. Founders with successful past exits succeed: This is for lazy VCs to select ventures to invest. But they miss Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix and many others created by folks with no prior blockbusters

12. Team is everything: If there is one thing that is everything, it is the idea & opportunity pursued. I will give you two teams for one lucrative & practical idea

13. To succeed, the product should apply to you as a user: It is sufficient to understand what turns on the customer – email me if you need examples

14. We need large markets: It is misleading at early stages when the market size is not clear. Making the product appeal to everyone at that stage (for large markets) could make it difficult to enter the market

15. In and Out in 6 months: There is no such thing as a start up idea that you can exit in 6 months. If you are planning to be in an out of a start up in a year, dream on

16. Does Entrepreneurship run in family?: Forbes magazine recently had this as the cover page. There are countless such correlations about entrepreneurship & background. Every moment spent on them is a moment away from finding a viable & lucrative idea

17. Business plan first: In early stages, every discussion changes the idea, its customers, value proposition & profitability. Business plans are best written after the idea shapes up

18. Don’t start business with friends: Hewlett & Packard did not pay attention to this and it turned out well

19. Someone has already done it: In the valley it is impossible to talk about an idea that none has talked. Until others have won market share or mind share among customers, the idea is as good as new

20. Entrepreneur’s freedom: I heard someone say “I left my job & started this so I don’t need to answer to anyone”. But entrepreneurs answer to everyone – customers, partners, employees, & investors

21. Quickly iterate: Some use this advice to get steady visible progress & to avoid doing down the wrong path. Some others use this to release crappy products – promising a better release in the next iteration

22. Stuff posted in social networks grow virally: Post your links, but don’t count on it as the sole marketing tool. Most links & shares don’t get as many clicks & likes as you would think

23. Ignore all start-up advice: You got to ignore this advice, because some are useful. Keep the good ones and pass on the rest to fellow entrepreneurs

24. Take more funding than you need v/s Constraints force creativity: Well, one of them is wrong

If I missed your personal favorite wrong advice or if you disagree with one, please add to the comment. If you like this list, please click the like button below