startup advice – Dispatches From The Front

So: you have a great new idea and you’re on the verge of launching your own business? Off you go! Be warned, though: few startups last more than a few years. What gives? Peter Thiel gives us his take on what’s big when you’re small. This might be a brave new world of enterprise, but traditional business smarts still matter.

This is why it is worth listening to advice from successful founders and entrepreneurs. Certainly, one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time is Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and now a prominent venture capitalist. He was the first outsider to invest in Facebook, and he manages Founders Fund’s $2 billion assets.

We read Peter Thiel’s bestselling book, Zero to One, and pulled out its most important tips for new startup founders.

Nearly half of all adults have worked in the restaurant industry at some point, and 46 percent of restaurant employees say they would like to own a restaurant someday.

Clearly many people dream of owning a restaurant. No one dreams of owning a failed restaurant, though.

That’s why I asked Tyson Cole, one of the Food &Wine magazine’s 2005 Best New Chefs, 2011 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest, and co-owner of the Japanese restaurants Uchi and Uchiko in Austin, Texas, for tips for would-be restaurateurs.

Just keep in mind Cole’s background is varied, extensive–and unusual.He quit one job after he was told he couldn’t make sushi because he was white; he was rehired two days later but told he had to work in the back where guests couldn’t see him. He was also fired for giving a guest a free dessert; he was rehired when the manager found out the guest was Denzel Washington.

Heres what he says, in his own words, about how to start a successful restaurant:

Tag: startup advice

4 Unconventional Pieces of Startup Advice from Peter Thiel | Page19

How to Start a Killer Restaurant: 6 Tips | Inc.com