Startup porn: A collection of entertaining, stimulating, and worthless activities that distract an entrepreneur from focusing on what really matters, hindering future achievements.
Running a startup is like jogging in a hurricane: Stuff flies at you from every direction. Separating the immediate from the important – and the important from the critical – largely determines success.
Here’s a list of things that won’t help you succeed:
1. Michael Arrington’s view on anything other than your startup
2. Responding to comment trolls
3. The daily fluctuations in your Twitter followers
4. Comparing yourself to Mark Zuckerberg (or any other founder)
5. Repeatedly using the term “killing it” or “crushing it”
6. Cat videos
7. Complaining about virtually anything
8. Blaming _______ for your profound lack of traction
9. Internet stalking people you don’t like
10. Reading five blog posts on the same topic to make sure you “got it”
11. Stereotyping
12. Focusing on your next pivot
13. Bringing up your degrees
14. Prioritizing legal fees over your product
15. Designing a killer startup T-shirt
16. Posting political rants
17. An NDA
18. Researching how to elevate your Klout score
19. Understanding the difference between convertible debt and convertible equity
20. Basking in vanity metrics
21. Expensive business cards
22. Arguing the merits of PowerPoint vs. Prezi vs. whatever
23. Checking your email 27 times a day
24. Bragging about your lack of sleep
25. Focusing on head count
26. Imagining what you’ll do with $10 million
27. Non-paying users
28. Being intimidated
29. Obsessing over your logo colors
30. Second-guessing your decision
31. Your 50-page business plan
32. Micromanaging
33. Focusing on your revenue
34. Feigning interest in people for gain
35. Your amazing product that goes un-marketed
36. Gossip
37. This article. Now get back to work.
[Editor’s Note: This is a republication of the article from Forbes]
