Tip 6: “Don't trust your taste

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Tip 5: “Create experiences, not screens”
Of course, we want a beautiful design for our product: one that invites and stimulates and is pleasant to look at. But above all, we want a design that facilitates 'experiencing your product', that is aimed at satisfying the needs of your users, that turns the use into an experience. How do my users experience the product, how can we strengthen that experience, improve it, make it as simple or pleasant or crazy or effective as possible?

Something you find beautiful or clear, someone else might not like at all. This is where tips 1 (Build a great team) and 3 (Listen) play an important role. Diversity in your team ensures a healthy internal discussion about taste and results in a stronger product: and by actually listening to your users, you learn what works and what doesn't. After all, you are not making your product for yourself, but for others. Others, who look at your product in a completely different context, are much less patient and loving, and with possibly plenty of alternatives to choose from.

Tanje KufnerTwo tips from an investor: Tanja Kufner
Tanja ( @TanjaMunich ) is very active in various Venture Capital Firms and as an investor involved in numerous start-ups (including GetMobile, Gate5).

Tip 7: “Ideas are cheap, execution is everything”
Sit in a public place for a day – a restaurant, a tunisia phone data cafe, or a busy street – observe the problems people face every day, and you will have ten ideas for products that can improve people's lives. Getting ideas is easy, the crux is in the execution: how do you turn your idea into a good product, with an effective business model? Therefore, do not be afraid of others who are working on 'the same idea': there is a big chance that they will not know how to bring it to the market in the right way.

And vice versa: if someone has tried to create the perfect calendar app for the iPhone and it didn’t work, that doesn’t automatically mean that such a calendar app is a bad idea. It simply means that this attempt at a better calendar app was poorly executed. The idea is just the beginning, all the work of your startup comes after. So focus your time and energy on execution: that’s where the recipe for success lies.

Tip 8: “Join a business accelerator”
Why go it alone? There is a lot of knowledge and expertise, and not least financial resources, that you can leverage with your startup. Research what government programs, private investment clubs or business partners exist in your area. Or consider moving to a place where these are available for your startup (such as Berlin or London).