How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World's Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs

by Guy Raz

“Some people say, ‘Give the customers what they want.’ But that’s not my approach . . . People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

You need a partner whose skill set complements yours. Someone who not only shares your vision but elevates it and holds you accountable to it; who does what you cannot; who thinks and sees things in a way you don’t; whose strengths compensate for your weaknesses, and vice versa.

Find a cofounder

the difference between the apps at the top of the power curve and those near the bottom—or the businesses that make it past the five-year mark versus those that can only get to one year—rarely has much to do with the quality of the idea, or the passion of the entrepreneur, or even the size of the market. More often than not, the success of a new business depends on its ability to get attention—specifically, its ability to build buzz and to engineer word of mouth.

Build buzz

when catastrophe strikes a business—whether it’s a storied multinational conglomerate that has been around 100 years or a scrappy upstart just getting its footing at the national level—the only reliable way through that critical “before and after” moment that Jeni Britton Bauer described is through quick, decisive, transparent action that puts people first and public perception second.

During catastrophe, aim for public's trust.