What should most startup founders not waste their time doing?

As an entrepreneur, I learned the hard way. This is what I learned from brutal experience, and it has stood me in good stead:

Forget quantitative research: 95% confidence level in a survey tells you nothing. People are strange animals….we say we would “definitely buy” something if the product or service were available, but then we never do when it does become available.

Do NOT build product until you’ve validated the idea: This is akin to saying “go straight to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200”. Building a product that nobody wants remains the biggest cause of startup failure. Go validate the idea first.

Do not raise money from outside investors until you really need to: That means that until you have real proof of validated learning, then forget the seed round. Investment funding at an early stage tends to take the wind out of the entrepreneurial sails and you can become lazy very quick…

Forget trying to find a co-founder, unless you’ve known someone for a very, very, very long time: Another reason for high business failure is the dysfunction in early stage teams. If there is a high failure rate in marriages, why would it not be any different with co-founders? And besides, there’s enough evidence out there that startups can be run with just one founder.