StartUp Saboteurs Quotes

“Nobody wants a sales pitch. So instead of trying a hard sell, focus on telling a story that captivates your audience by painting a vivid picture of your vision. When you get good at storytelling, people want to be part of that story, and they’ll want to help others become part of that story too.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Time matters; if you cannot do everything on your own, stick to your strengths, outsource the rest, and focus on customers’ ease of doing business.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“It’s one thing if a mistake occurs because of circumstance or a miscalculation or the unexpected or inexperience; it’s another if it’s part of a pattern of carelessness or ineptitude or laziness. Then it becomes a choice.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“One of the most common mistakes that start-ups make is not focusing on building a brand starting on day one.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Growing a company is a marathon that requires patience, dedication, knowledge, good decision-making, vision, and the ability to see the big picture.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“The key to most start-up successes is seeing a need and filling it.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Too often entrepreneurs are reactive to the challenges inherent when building a company... the most successful founders are proactive.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Just as no two entrepreneurs are alike, there is no one-size-fits-all start-up.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Humility is the flipside of pride. It doesn’t mean suddenly being selfless; it means realizing that others might have a better answer than you or a better solution. It means accepting you might not always be the smartest person in the room. Being confident and humble are not mutually exclusive. Embracing humility will help give you an open mind and a clearer vision of how to beat the odds and make your start-up a success.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“It is time for a wealth creation revolution. And it starts with you.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“At times it’s as if the Silicon Valley inmates are running the VC asylum. But what might seem like unicorn-crazed chaos from the outside looking in is actually carefully structured.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Character counts. A lot. The right leadership can be more important than the right idea, the right team, or even the right business model.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“No amount of VC money or good marketing can save a bad product. Period.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Starting a business without a well-thought-out, realistic, highly-detailed business plan that factors in all aspects of rollout is a recipe for disaster.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Instead of looking for one specific market gap, think much more big picture about what kind of market you want to be in for the long run.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Keep in mind that pitching investors is a process that requires preparation, data, vision, and honesty. And even if an investor passes on this particular start-up, don’t burn the bridge.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“People do business with people, and it’s essential that entrepreneurs understand this going into any venture.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“My take is that smart financiers wait until aha before they climb aboard the bandwagon. Entrepreneurs need to bridge the capital gap from idea to aha with expertise, not capital or sophisticated market research.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“If you don’t envision your business growing one hundred times in size, your start-up probably won’t generate much interest [from venture capitalist]”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“You don’t need an MBA from an elite Ivy League school to find funding and be successful, but you do need to understand the start-up ecosystem.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Ego is a double-edged sword. On one hand it is vital...But too much of a good thing can be dangerous.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. Before you raise your first dollar in capital or make your first sales call, the odds are already against you.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“Make no mistake about it; money is first and foremost about freedom.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation

“You don’t need to come up with a game-changing solution to every problem. If you develop tunnel-vision on each and every hiccup, you will inevitably lose sight of the big picture and not be able to sustain your business. Those who think more in terms of turning a negative outcome into a positive potential have a much better chance of riding out the rough times.”
― Ziad K. Abdelnour, StartUp Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation