The #1 Reason Why Most Startups Fail | “Captain Hoff” Steven Hoffman on We Do Hard Things
Channel: Mark Drager
Date: 2022-08-30

Why do most startups fail?  And what can you do to avoid the traps that slow many startup entrepreneurs?

On today’s show, Steven Hoffman, AKA Captain Hoff shares wisdom from his decades of experience as a venture-backed entrepreneur and Silicon Valley startup incubator/accelerator CEO.

Getting stuck, that’s part of the problem.
Not growing your network, that’s part of the problem.
Fearing to share your ideas with others, that’s part of the problem.
Not knowing when to shift, pivot, and learn from mistakes, that’s part of the problem.

But the real problem is this: we fall in love with the idea that we need a big idea, when what we really need is an opportunity we can start with, tweak, and shape as we learn what people want, what they don’t like, and what they’ll pay for.

More About Steven Hoffman AKA Captain Hoff

Steve Hoffman (Captain Hoff) is the Chairman & CEO of Founders Space, a global innovation hub for entrepreneurs, corporations, and investors, with over 50 partners in 22 countries.

Hoffman is also a venture investor, founder of three venture-backed and two bootstrapped startups, and author of several award-winning books. These include “Make Elephants Fly” (Hachette), “Surviving a Startup” (HarperCollins), and “The Five Forces” (BenBella).

Starting his career in Hollywood, Hoffman worked as a TV development executive. He went on to pioneer interactive television with his venture-funded startup Spiderdance, which produced interactive TV shows with NBC, MTV, Turner, Warner Brothers, History Channel, Game Show Network, and others.

In Silicon Valley, Hoffman founded several startups, in the areas of games and entertainment, and worked as Mobile Studio Head for Infospace, with such hit mobile games as Tetris, Wheel of Fortune, Tomb Raider, Thief, Hitman, Skee-Ball, and X-Files.

Hoffman went on to launch Founders Space, with the mission to educate and accelerate entrepreneurs. Founders Space has become one of the top startup hubs in the world. Hoffman has trained hundreds of startup founders and corporate executives in the art of innovation and provided consulting to many of the world’s largest corporations, including Qualcomm, Huawei, Bosch, Intel, Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC, Gulf Oil, Siemens, and Viacom.
Check out Captain Hoff’s books → https://www.foundersspace.com/books/