10 Tips Guaranteed to Improve Your Startup Success

This piece originally appeared on my personal blog on March 28, 2013. Given its continued relevance, I’ve reposted a lightly edited update here.

Having had the good fortune to work with many entrepreneurs and get a front-row seat to see their success, I thought it’d be valuable to share 10 key tips that I’ve found work 100% of the time to increase your odds of startup success. Try to execute on as many of these as you can!

1. Be raised with access to clean drinking water, sanitation and vaccines. (Every tech billionaire I’ve ever spoken to has a toilet!)
2. Try to be born in a region that is politically and militarily stable, to a group that is not marginalized.
3. Grow up with a family that is as steady and secure as possible.
4. Have access to at least a basic free education in core subjects.
5. Avoid being abused by family members, loved ones, friends or acquaintances during the formative years of your life.
6. Be fluent in English, or have time to dedicate to continuously improving your language skills.
7. Make sure there’s enough disposable income available to offer you access to learning technology at a younger age.
8. If you must be a member of an underrepresented community or a woman, get comfortable with suppressing your identity. If not, follow a numbingly conventional definition of dominant masculinity.
9. Be within a narrow range of physical norms for appearance and ability, as defined by the comfort level of strangers.
10. Practice articulating your cultural, technological or social aspirations exclusively in economic terms.

By following these ten simple tips, you’ll massively increase the odds of success of your startup! I guarantee it, or your money back.