8. Ne vous laissez pas abattre. «Ce n’est pas parce que le Time ou Newsweek existent que vous ne pouvez pas lancer le Huffington Post», a rappelé Ken Lerer, «ce n’est pas parce que quelque chose d’autre existe que vous ne pouvez pas le créer». Et Steven Johnson de conclure: «Il s’agit de trouver les points de friction», ce qui cloche, ce qui manque, et de se jeter dessus.

9. Ayez de bons amis. A Columbia, nos profs et l’administration passent leur temps à nous dire de «networker», dans et hors de l’école. Il faut dire que quand vous songerez à lancer votre site, vous aussi vous aurez envie qu’un ami vous dise en passant, au détour d’un déjeuner, «Super! Je te donne 50 000 dollars, fonce.»

10. Lancez-vous. ça paraît tout simple, mais Ken Lerer et ses invités ont l’habitude de jeunes entrepreneurs qui parlent beaucoup et n’entreprennent pas grand chose. «Commencez!», a ordonné Steven Johnson. «D’une part vous évitez la procrastination, et d’autre part vous comprendrez bien mieux votre produit en le lançant, vous verrez exactement où il peut aller».

People ask me all the time how they can get more readers to their blog. The answer is that you have to be learning on your blog. If you’re not learning, no one else is learning. You can’t fake it. It’s safe to talk about what you know, but it’s not that interesting; no one likes a know-it-all. My favorite posts are the one’s when I was doing something scary, but doing it with grace. In fact, I actually think those are my favorite times of life.

Of our five fundamentally flawed business plans, this one is perhaps the most difficult to spot. The archetype is the failed Internet business Pets.com, which offered pet supplies via the Internet. Simply put, the economics of delivering large, heavy bags of dog food one at a time could not compete with the economics of putting pallet-loads of the same bags of dog food on supermarket or discount-store shelves and letting the customers do the delivery. Such business plans often contain detailed spreadsheets showing why the numbers would work. That’s why these kinds of plans are difficult to spot the numbers look like they work. As one entrepreneur told me, “With a couple of beers and an Excel spreadsheet, you can make a lot of money in no time,” or so it will seem. While consumers certainly liked the idea of having Fido’s dog food delivered, they were not prepared to pay a price that would enable the economics to work. Savvy investors not only tear apart the spreadsheets but ask fundamental questions. Does the revenue model depend on making a large number of small transactions (think Amazon.com) or a small number of large ones (automobile manufacturing)? Do its profit margins depend on high gross margins to cover high product-development costs (think Microsoft), or lower margins to cover slimmer operating costs (Costco)? Is a large investment in development or other fixed assets required (a manufacturing facility, for example)? Is the working capital cycle favorable or unfavorable (do you expect to be paid in advance), or will you have to carry inventory and receivables that can tie up scarce cash (manufacturing and distribution businesses)? Some combinations of these factors are clearly attractive. Others are obviously flawed from the start.

How to Grease a Palm : It’s all about attitude and need. You have to have the attitude. You must discern the need. If you are the least bit hesitant or apologetic for offering the money, you are doomed. No one likes to take money if he feels as though the person is stretching himself to give it away. Remember, the more public the favor, the more private the pass. Whip out the bill, move swiftly. Fold it in quarters for discretion. Use the right palm. Smile knowingly. Wave it flat, like a flag, when you’re after more favors, more fealty. In this case, use the fingertips. Either way, it’s really just a sort of greeting. Treat it like a how-do-you-do and nothing more.

When you have a predominate feeling, write it down. Pissed off? Write it down. Feeling blue? Write it down. Feeling anxious? Write it down. What were you thinking about when this feeling came up? What part of your body did it come from? What does it make you feel like doing? Write it down.