Top 13 Tips from Successful Tech Entrepreneurs Around the World

Building a successful tech startup is no trivial endeavor, but if it’s any consolation—you aren’t alone in your trials and tribulations: over 1.35 million tech startups are founded yearly. Sadly, 90% meet an untimely demise, but yours doesn’t have to be one of them.

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13. “The product that wins is the one that bridges customers to the future, not the one that requires a giant leap.”– Aaron Levie, co-founder of Box 12. “If you’re trying to do something successful and unique, the only advice that really matters is not to listen to advice—including that advice!”–Markus Persson, creator of Minecraft 11. “User experience is everything. It always has been, but it’s still undervalued and under-invested in.”–Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter 10. “Scale is important for a startup. Think big, but take one day at a time.”–Kunal Bahl, founder of SnapDeal 9. “Opportunity lies in the place where the complaints are.”–Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba 8. “If you create value, at some point you will be able to extract value.”–Nicolas Brusson, founder of BlahBlah Car 7. “If you’re kicking ass, make sure you’re on stable ground.”–Marina Kolesnik, founder of Oktogo.ru 6. “A better service is keeping the promise you made to the customer.”–Sachin Bansal, founder of Flipkart 5. “Optimize for more than just iPhones.”–Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, Cofounder and CEO of Criteo 4. “The last 10% it takes to launch something takes as much energy as the first 90%.”–Rob Kalin, cofounder of Etsy 3. “Put your consumers in focus, and listen to what they’re actually saying, not what they tell you.”–Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify 2. “’Make something people want’ includes making a company that people want to work for.”–Sahil Lavingia, founder of Gumroad 1. “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”–Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos Source(s):

Here are 13 tips for building a successful startup, according to the world’s top tech entrepreneurs—from the founder of the world’s largest retailer to the co-creator of Twitter.

13. “The product that wins is the one that bridges customers to the future, not the one that requires a giant leap.”

– Aaron Levie, co-founder of Box

Source: Enterprise 2.0 Conference / Flickr Creative Commons.

12. “If you’re trying to do something successful and unique, the only advice that really matters is not to listen to advice—including that advice!”

–Markus Persson, creator of Minecraft

Source: Official GDC / Flickr Creative Commons.

11. “User experience is everything. It always has been, but it’s still undervalued and under-invested in.”

–Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter

Source: Christopher Michel / Flickr Creative Commons.

10. “Scale is important for a startup. Think big, but take one day at a time.”

–Kunal Bahl, founder of SnapDeal

9. “Opportunity lies in the place where the complaints are.”

–Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba

Source: World Economic Forum / Flickr Creative Commons.

8. “If you create value, at some point you will be able to extract value.”

–Nicolas Brusson, founder of BlahBlah Car

7. “If you’re kicking ass, make sure you’re on stable ground.”

–Marina Kolesnik, founder of Oktogo.ru

6. “A better service is keeping the promise you made to the customer.”

–Sachin Bansal, founder of Flipkart

5. “Optimize for more than just iPhones.”

–Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, Cofounder and CEO of Criteo

4. “The last 10% it takes to launch something takes as much energy as the first 90%.”

–Rob Kalin, cofounder of Etsy

3. “Put your consumers in focus, and listen to what they’re actually saying, not what they tell you.”

–Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify

2. “’Make something people want’ includes making a company that people want to work for.”

–Sahil Lavingia, founder of Gumroad

1. “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”

–Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos

In short, the odds may be against you, but no venture worth pursuing is ever easy to begin with. These 13 tips from the world’s most successful tech entrepreneurs—derived from their own successes and failures—may help you avoid some of the pitfalls that most tech startups fall into.