12 Tips for Making Your Startup Fail

Mission-driven startups fail in predictable ways every year because good intentions are no substitute for a theory of change, money, and community involvement. As I found out the hard way, “At least we’re trying to do good” is the most dangerous sentence in social entrepreneurship, because it lets founders skip the boring, specific work that decides whether a venture actually helps anyone. I wrote the first version of this almost twenty years ago for undergraduate students starting their first socially-conscious nonprofit or mission-driven company. I hope this update is still useful, and would welcome feedback. Tip 1: Fall in love with your mission, not the actual problem. Solve the problem you want to solve, not the one the community says it has. The people you’re “helping” don’t need to be consulted: you already know what’s best for them, so skip community interviews and design the solution in the dorm room. Start from the solution that excites you (“an app to raise awareness!”) and…