Stay focused and don't try to do too many things at once. Care about execution quality.
We pretty much won't fund a company now where the founders don't have vested equity because it's just that hard to do.
Here's a good rule of thumb: don't worry about a competitor at all, until they're actually beating you with a real shipped product.
Experience matters for some roles and not others.
You'll get more support on a hard, important, project than a derivative one.
Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers.