Running a startup is about maximizing the resources you have. Unless you’ve already have previous successes, chances are you’re just barely getting by. Here’s some overgeneralization I recently heard: there are three things that you want, but usually you can only have two: Time, Information, and Money.

For example, if you’re young and out of college, you probably have time and information, but no money. You don’t have to rush to put food on the family table and you are probably following the newest technology trends. Because you are inexperienced, you’ll probably have a hard time finding funding.

However, when I think about it more, I realized all three factors are just as hard to maximize. Firstly, let’s take a look at time. Running a startup requires more discipline than anything you’ve learned in a school. You set your own hours, deadlines, and agenda. You probably aren’t very experienced at running an efficient process, and will waste a lot of time at the beginning solving the problem. For example, some people work too hard and burn out too fast; while others just a lot overhead time between normal life.

Secondly, information is an interesting one. At school, you’ve learned all about the latest technology as well as groundbreaking research. You keep up with all news and technology blogs. Now, you’ve got to think practically. You think you have the perfect at idea, but chances are it’s going to change as you run your business. Moreover, there will likely be a competitor working on the same idea. If you’re good enough to have scaling issues, you will battling for the best talent to expand the team.

Lastly, money is an obvious problem. Even to get funding, you will have to bootstrap a little firstg. Going out and pitching can be a long and strenuous process. A lot of times, people forget that there still needs to be work done at the end of the day. If you’re still in school, I’d recommend taking the time develop your prototype. Once you graduate, depending on how supportive your parents are, it can be very stressful living off of their money.

Wow, that’s a lot of bad news. However, the good news is that everyone are facing these problems. Some people will be more ahead of the game than others. Think about what they have and what you can do to beat them.

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