Entrepreneur Corner: 5 startup pitfalls to avoid, and how to position yourself against your competition

August 28 2010, 2:41pm

Heres the latest from VentureBeats Entrepreneur Corner: Using contractors? Lock down their work as your IP Owning intellectual property is the most important thing to a startup. But if youre using a mix of salaried employees and contracted labor, you might be in murky waters. Attorney Curtis Smolar runs down how to protect yourself. When should you turn on the marketing faucet? Turning on the faucet is a metaphor for flooding your market with marketing, but timing is everything. Chris Drake, founder of FireHost, discusses how to know when your company is ready. The right way to position your startup against competition Some entrepreneurs claim they have no competition, while others define their company by the competition. Angel investor Jason Cohen says both hurt you in the funding process. He lists the reasons why (and tells you what you should be saying instead). Stability or startup: Keys to making the choice Deciding whether to make the plunge into a new industry or a fledgling startup is tough. Ro Choy, CEO of PeePong, has done it twice and gives his thoughts on thresholds you should use before you make the decision. The 5 biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make If youre starting a company, youre going to screw something up along the way. Serial entrepreneur Jerry Kaplan runs through the list of five mistakes to be most wary of. Tags: entrepreneur corner

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