Rule #-2. A profitable business will require lots of smart schlepping. There is no reward for hard work unless it's produces value. Rule #-1. Build a defensibl

Rule #-2. A profitable business will require lots of smart schlepping. There is no reward for hard work unless it's produces value. Rule #-1. Build a defensible business, not something that's trivial for competitors to copy. Rule #0. Don't make a big, absolutist list of "dating rules". Be flexible and use good judgement. Rule #5. Freemium can be good in many situations: when just out of beta, revenue is plateauing AND marginal user app infrastructure costs are low. You wouldn't do a cloud backup with unlimited storage like BackBlaze as freemium. You would with LucidChart because it costs almost nothing (so long as there aren't huge file attachments). It is smart in certain instances because of long-term economics, free word-of-mouth advertising, future sales and because it builds goodwill that enhances the brand. It's vital to steer enterprise users away from freemium because they have more needs that are better served with pricier support subscriptions (the "Enterprise" version). Rule #22. If you're selling a physical product or b2b service through channels, then trade-shows are a must. It's incredibly foolish to shut the door on distribution when you don't have it. Then again, physical products are a PITA. If it were me, early on, I would corral all the other founders for brainstorming on the Business Model Generation chart to consider what's needed right now and in the near future with some sticky notes. Then, revisit it regularly with periodic founder meetings to make adjustments.