How to build a bulletproof startup

Got a great idea? There’s never been a better time to turn it into a great company. Here’s a 16-step guide to help you do it right.

It’s the spring of 2006, and the sweet scent of entrepreneurship is in the air. Growing numbers of Americans are pursuing their startup dreams. According to the National Venture Capital Association, seed-level VC funding nearly doubled in 2005. This year, based on current trends, it could double again. In Delaware, the country’s incorporation capital, new business formation was up 19 percent last year, the highest one-year growth rate on record.

In other words, there’s never been a better time to start your own company. New technologies are creating new business opportunities on the Internet, on mobile phones, in consumer products, and in information services. At the same time, many of these technologies have radically reduced the costs associated with launching a new venture. In the late 1990s, a typical VC-funded startup needed roughly $10 million to amass the infrastructure and staff required to carry the company from its first business plan to its first product launch. Today that cost has been reduced to just $4 million–and in many cases way, way less. The barriers to entry have never been lower.

Business 2.0 Magazine
by Michael V. Copeland and Om Malik, Business 2.0 Magazine

Full Story: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/06/01/8378491/index.htm

(Many thanks to Mike Sparr for passing this along. Russ)