Being in the startup business community I listen to the brightest minds in the world and follow their advice regarding the topic title.

It all starts with the idea so it’s obvious that the idea is the most important thing for any startup. Good ideas win, bad ideas lose.

Execution of the idea doesn’t matter, but it’s so much more important. Forget the idea, you can build anything as long as you execute it the right way.

Which leads me to the team, nothing happens without a great team therefore the team is the most important for any startup company success. How do you know if your team is good? If you can drink beer with them and they don’t piss you off you are fine.

Since I’m a product guy, it’s clear for me that the product is the most important thing for any business. Nothing happens without a great product. Build it and they will come  (the customers).

If you think about it there are suckers everywhere, so we can sell them anything. Forget the product, the sales and marketing is what matters the most.

The investors know everything and fund projects the successes of which are impossible without them, so they are most important.

Profits and cashflow are so important that they are close to most important because for some unknown reason they can raise the valuation of the company. It’s strange but it’s true.

What really matters is growth. There is nothing more important for tech startup than growth. If it’s not growing every week, it’s not working and won’t attract investors.

The key to everything is to love what you are doing, as Steve Jobs has said. If you don’t love what you are doing you are not going to do it and by far that’s the most important thing. There is no reason not to believe Steve Jobs.

And focus, don’t get distracted. It’s much more important than anything else. Lack of focus is a guarantee for failure.

You have to start now, your startup company won’t build itself. To act now and not waste time is actually the most important thing for a startup business. And if you fail, fail fast. Be lean, bootstrap and change the world.

As you see the so called “most important thing for any startup business” is one big bullshit. There are many important elements in order to achieve success with your business, that’s why it’s not easy.