“Rules of Business”

Pretend like you’re a human being

With the possible exception of artists and architects, no one is more full of shit than designers. We can find a way to justify anything. Blah blah blah. That means no matter what you end up with, you can come up with some reason why it’s a good design. The best advice I have for designers is to practice being not-designers: stop what you’re doing, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and then look again like you’re just a regular person encountering this product/service/user interface/object/page/poster for the first time. Where do your eyes go? What do you think it is at first? How do you figure out what you are supposed to do?

Today, there’s a complete disrespect for what it takes to build a business. Too many people think they can become an entrepreneur overnight and establish a real business in a 1–2 year window, but it’s just not realistic.

And I get it, because that’s what’s portrayed in the media we see every day. With Shark Tank, The Social Network, and all of these “unicorns” with quick exits and huge payouts, I can understand why the sentiment is skewed. There’s a misconception that just because a VC or “angel” throws cash your way, hoping that you’re the next Zucks, that your startup is going to be successful. But that’s not how it works. It’s the market that decides what works and what doesn’t.