It wasn't the product or the invention. It was you. Sorry.

Is there just one? Yes, if you look at 99.999% of the worlds most promising applications and inventions. Just one. What is it? It wasn't the product or the invention. It was the inventor.

Let's imagine you were not the one popular kid in school. And lets imagine you discovered the most ergonomic, arch supporting, econically reasonable, sneaker with the longest lasting rubber sole poly-compound. Did you ever figure out why nobody else bought that same shoe? Did you ever figure out why everybody insisted on wearing those ugly vans-off-the-wall that tore-on-the-sides?

It wasn't the product or the invention. It was you. Sorry.

Do you think that if Facebook was not made by a popular Harvard University kid, it would be so big? Do you think that if Twitter was not made by a Google Exec, it would be as big? In other words, if you wrote the software for twitter and facebook, everyone would still be wearing multipatterned crappy sneakers.

But cheer up. This post is designed to give you visibility into why 99.999% of developers and inventors fail. Now that you know, you can succeed. ... I know web 2.0 people who make checkers and polkadots fashionable. Contact me about your webapp. I'll see about getting you connected.

In otherwords, NDA's, confidentiality agreements, and keeping a project hush hush is worthless

In otherwords, NDA's, confidentiality agreements, and keeping a project hush hush is worthless. Even if a thousand people duplicate my web app, The person with the right connections always wins. Think about it. How many brilliant novels never get discovered like J.K. Rowling? CONT Startups | Venture Funding

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http://twitter.com/mattcutts/statuses/2317526112

Brings up a resonnant concern. Many of you developers wonder if it's worth your time submitting apps to directories. The rule of thumb is that people always flow to the "point of lowest resistance."

What I'm saying is that people will look for what they need in the closest, fastest, easiest place.

"For a tree to flourish, it must plant itself by streams of flowing water." - King Solomon

When Yahoo sucked, the Human Directory Project was that place.

Now that Google rocks, directories don't. I mean seriously, when was the last time you personally went to a directory? I just got a tweet asking me how to raise CTR so, "I can make a lot of money with google adsense." I asked him, "When was the last time you clicked on a Google ad?"

You are a human too. You are not immune to the "point of lowest resistance" rule. If you don't use directories, nobody does. Not CTOs, not IT guys, not your customers. Nobody.

So, go to the point of lowest resistance.

"For a tree to flourish, it must plant itself by streams of flowing water." - Solomon

Next post: how to find your "point of lowest resistance and grow roots." You'll remember this if you RT it. @journik

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contrary to popular naivete, people don't buy products. People buy experiences.

#10 Most startups start with a brilliant idea. If you're product is ingenius, then you have a 100% chance of failing.

#9 This is because, contrary to popular naivete, people don't buy products. #8 People buy experiences.

#7 You can have the best idea in the world and the best product in the world and prove it to the world. #6 But if the worst and ugliest product in the world makes someone feel like a part of a rebelution (bell bottoms, vans off the wall, cabbage patch kids, prius, ...) #5 people will pay for feeling over logic.

Your idea is worthless.

Now, if you start with the end in mind, #4 conventional wisdom (is dumb) tells you that you will succeed. You won't. You will fail.

#3 You will fail because there is not just one end. You may be smart enough to realize that "the end" refers to your exit strategy. If you did, congratulations. You too will fail.

You will fail because there must NOT be an #2 "exit strategy." What happens if you set your exit strategy as the "IPO," but before you can even go get Round B funding, you hear a rumor that Apple and Twitter are closing off their API's. You're screwed. But not in a good way.

To not-NOT-SUCCEED, you must have multiple "exit strategies." You must be prepared to profitably sell at every single major intersection (especially the blind ones). This means that you must have predefined suitors waiting in the wings at every potential major event (market downturn, upturn, death of a principal, lawsuit, finding Jesus, hot chick, hot chicks, unexpected competitor, disruptive technology, new legislation, etc...). Now, if you've done all this, then, more than likely, You Will Fail.

#1 THIS is "how to successfully plan a startup."

And if you follow me I'll give you stuff like this all day long, so click http://twitter.com/journik

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