In a startup, both the problem and solution are unknown.

You know how people always talk about how vision is the key to entrepreneurship and perseverance and really seeing what other people don't see? We can actually redeem a fair amount of that folk wisdom.

This is one of the most important lessons of the scientific method: if you cannot fail, you cannot learn.

The only person who can put you out of business, in the early days, is yourself.

As you consider building your own minimum viable product, let this simple rule suffice: remove any feature, process, or effort that does not contribute directly to the learning you seek.

Don’t be in a rush to get big. Be in a rush to have a great product.

Here in Silicon Valley, I have taken part in hundreds of conversations trying to convince people to dive in and become entrepreneurs. All too often, innovators with good, safe, jobs are unwilling to put their family's access to health care at risk by walking away from company-backed medical insurance.