On Twitter I was writing a small burst of truisms that I'd like to share here too. Please note that this isn't advice, you can and should get that from people you look up too, who have accomplished stuff and who are overall more intelligent and experienced than both you and me.

If you're not located on Silicon Valley don't think or act in a Silicon Valley way

This is an easy one. We all read Techcrunch and whatnot and begin to think we can replicate what we imagine we'd find in Silicon Valley if we just build a community and act the way we perceive them to. Let me tell you something: this isn't quite as simple as monkey-see-monkey-do. Governments, local groups, etc. all of them, throughout Europe, have been trying to build up their own version of "Silicon Valley" and so far every single attempt has failed. This has failed even in the US.

So if you want Silicon Valley, move there.

Avoid seeking institutional investment for your startup, instead have a customer pay for the project that you'll turn into a product

All products have customers, so start there if you're planning on creating something. It should be easier to build up on existing technology and deliver a project that covers what your first customers actually need, which later you can turn into the proper product you've been mulling about. People will pay you to deliver those projects and you get to own your company fully. Something else to consider is that if your take investment, you not only still have to sell to customers but you also have to answer to the investors. Do your best to have as few "masters" as possible.

Ryan Carson once said it took Carsonified 1 year of projects to finance a product they came up with. Is this not better than getting institutional investment right from the get-go? Also, on a TED talk Joachim de Posada explained the link between delayed gratification and future success. I'll leave it for you to think about that.

Failing fast is bad advice, fail cheap!

I've seen this written and heard it being told, time and time again, but the more I think of it the more I believe it's stupid advice. If someone tells you to "just fail fast" just tell them to f*ck off and stop blabbing and in the majority of times you'll be doing them a favor. What you really want is to fail cheap! Does it really matter if you fail after 1 year of hard work but only spend 10.000 USD or Euros? Of course not. It may make a dent to your family budget for that year but that's it. On the other hand it sure as hell matters if you fail fast (eg. 6 months) but burn through 1 million USD or Euros along your way down. Of course, what they actually mean - the smart ones that is - is that it's preferable to spend $1MM and fail after 6 months, than burning through $10MM for two years only to find out that there isn't really a market for your product. But then, you're still failing cheap. Also, why does that kind of math just feel wrong? Anyway...

Stay clear of people who tell truisms

You shouldn't really be reading this blog post. For that matter, you shouldn't really read Guy Kawasaki's books either. As I have none and he has many, go burn his.

Studio musicians also have a ball doing what they love

We all want to be innovative and change the world, just like all musicians would love to be real rock stars. Likewise, it's just as ok to start a lifestyle business as to be a studio musician. And I can assure you that studio musicians also have a ball doing what they love and taking enough money home.