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Dear Entrepreneur,

Both you and I aren’t very special or iconic manifestations of the beauty of the free market. We are often misfits, beneficiaries of inherited wealth or education or just plain lucky. My last business – which sold for $60m after four years – happened because my builder talked to the builder of my future partner. Never underestimate the role of serendipity in success, despite everything else that may be stacked against you.

There is maybe a right way to do this start-up thing and a number of wrongs ways. Most of which I have probably tried. I am imbued with a sense of optimism over the most ridiculous ideas. Remind me to tell you one day about the themed pizza delivery business (Margherita’s delivered by a girl called Margherita, American Hot delivered by… well you get the picture!). It never got off the ground. Nor the Love Egg you could use to relay your email. And. And. And.

So read on with that in mind and take what you need and leave the rest behind.

1 Embrace failure since it shows you what you should be doing right. There is nothing wrong with making bad decisions if the only other option is not to make a decision at all. Creating new stuff is very Darwinion and natural selection will easily cull the ideas that can’t or won’t work.

2 Hire people that are better than you. A very simple rule that builds great teams. And great teams build great businesses.

3 If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Suggest opportunities to people you want to work with. Then suggest again. And again. It may piss them off but it hasn’t cost you anything but your pride. And sometimes, just sometimes, they may finally say yes.

4 Be nice. You don’t have to be a wanker or a bully to succeed. It may help in the short term but it doesn’t make anyone’s life any easier or richer. Including your own.

5 Be good. Always think what you can do to help others if your idea works. It’s great to be successful and hopefully be rich. It’s also better to know that you have the power to affect a change – in one person’s life or in a nations’ – that someone working for a company can never do.

6 Don’t fret about valuation when raising money. If investors are going to shaft you then they will find an opportunity regardless of how much you stand up to them. That’s called having the wrong investors. Just focus on the opportunity you may miss if you obsess with a perceived value.

7 Change the plan when you have to. The first soldiers on Utah Beach on D-Day in 1944 were blown off course and considerably south of their landing point. They could have manoeuvred slowly back to where the plan stated. Instead they landed where they were and famously stated, “We’ll start the war from here!” Do the same.

8 Have fun. Or try your best to have fun. Or, at the very least, wake up in the morning hoping you’re going to have at least a slight bit of fun. Despite the pressure and pain of starting something new, when you don’t enjoy it anymore it’s a sign it’s time to sell out or move on.

9 Stay close to your family and friends. Being an entrepreneur is the loneliest job in the world. You need the people that love you despite yourself to stay dear to you.

10 And finally, believe in yourself. Because a lot of the time no one else will until a certain moment in time is reached. It was William Gibson who said, “The future has already arrived — it’s just not evenly distributed yet.” You may just have to wait a bit longer than you thought for your success and vision to shine through.

Regards, and watching out for your future success that ignores each point here.

Mark Rock

Founder & CEO, Audioboo Ltd

www.audioboo.fm