StartUp Porn

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]

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