Before 20 or 25 employees, most companies are structured with everyone reporting to the founder. It's totally flat.

You want to sound crazy, but you want to actually be right.

Don't let the company get distracted or excited about other things. A common mistake is that companies get excited by their own PR.

The idea should come first, the startup should come second.

Why couldn't it have been done 2 years ago, and why will 2 years in the future be too late?

You also want to fire people who a) create office politics, and b) who are persistently negative.

Stay focused and don't try to do too many things at once. Care about execution quality.