Need someone to lead product management at your software company? I build high-craft software and the teams that build it. I'm looking for my next opportunity. Check out my resume and get in touch.

Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

Startup myths

26 Oct 2007

Ron Garret has a list of 11 business myths he hears from first-time entrepreneurs.

  1. A brilliant idea will make you rich.
  2. If you build it they will come.
  3. Someone will steal your idea if you don’t protect it.
  4. What you think matters.
  5. Financial models are bogus.
  6. What you know matters more than who you know.
  7. A Ph.D. means something.
  8. I need $5 million to start my business
  9. The idea is the most important part of my business plan.
  10. Having no competition is a good thing.
  11. After the IPO I’ll be happy.

Ron then goes on to detail the realities of these myths with tidbits such as "You don’t want no competition, what you want is bad competition. And there’s plenty of that out there."

I constantly hear from entrepreneurs some variation of 1, 3, 5, and 10.

This has been sitting in an open tab for weeks, I wish I could remember where I saw it so I could give credit.

Recently Written

Should individual people have OKRs?
May 14: A good OKR describes and measures an outcome, but it can be challenging to create an outcome-focused OKR for an individual.
10 OKR traps and how to avoid them
May 8: I’ve helped lots of teams implement OKRs or fix a broken OKR process. Here are the 10 most common problems I see, and what to do instead.
AI is Smart, But Wisdom Requires Judgement
May 3: AI can process data at lightning speed, but wisdom comes from human judgment—picking the best imperfect option when facts alone don’t point the way.
Decoding Product Leadership Titles
Mar 18: Not all product leadership titles mean what they sound like. ‘Head of Product’ can mean anything from a senior PM to a true VP. Here’s how to tell the difference.
What branding can teach about culture
Jan 8: Culture is your company’s point of view in action—a framework guiding behavior, even in the unknown. You can’t copy it; it must reflect your unique perspective.
Think Systems, not Symptoms
Dec 15: Piecemeal process creation frustrates teams and slows work. Stop patching problems and start solving systems. Adopting a systems thinking approach helps you design processes that are efficient, aligned with goals, and truly add value.
Your Policies Aren’t Your Culture
Dec 13: Policies guide behavior, but culture is the lived norms and values of your team. Policies reflect culture -- they don’t define it. Netflix’s parental leave shift didn’t change its culture of freedom and responsibility. It clarified how to live it.
Lighten Your Process Burden
Dec 7: Everyone hates oppressive processes, but somehow we keep managing to create them.

Older...

What I'm Reading