What’s the worst mistake a founder can make?

Over-complicate an otherwise good, simple, idea. By listening to too many voices they can screw up a product or proposition, or add too much functionality. Keep it simple. The thing that excited you - and those around you - when you first had the idea? Capture that and stick to it!

What’s the most common Startup error?

Analysis-paralysis: don’t get so obsessed with plotting hypothetical scenarios and long-term business planning that you delay executing your idea. Launch in beta and test; adapt your idea in front of real customers.

What does “fail fast” mean to you?

Making a mistake is fine; just make sure you recover quickly and learn the lessons.

If you could fix one thing in the startup eco-system right now, what would it be?

I think we need to make the startup world more accessible, getting rid of the jargon that confuses people and get back to basics. We should make the world of startups more accessible to the ‘I have an idea’ folk sitting scribbling ideas in the corner coffee shop and show them you don’t need an MBA to launch a startup.

What should startups be focusing on right now?

In terms of ideas and products - focus on fixing a problem. Your startup idea should fix a problem, preferably a common enough - or big enough - one that others will happily pay to have fixed. Again, keep it simple. For example, look at the entrepreneur Tina Roth Eisenberg - she developed her TeuxDeux to-do list app for herself, because she wanted to fix the headache of organizing her to-do list. The app that she designed for herself was made available to others and quickly got hundreds of thousands of users.

When’s the right time to seek funding?

I’m not sure (I won’t pretend to be an expert in something I’m not!).

Thoughts on crowd-funding?

It depends on your idea or product but - funding aside - it can be a good way of building a loyal supporter base that is incentivized for your startup to be a success.

Best advice you’ve ever gotten?

Marketing your startup product or business relies on one thing: your point of difference. And if you don’t know your point of difference, you have a problem. Harry Drnec, drinks marketing expert and former CEO of Red Bull UK told me that.

Guess who’s coming for dinner…who would be your dream dinner guest(s) and why?

1. Tom Peters, management writer/thinker. Tom’s work has influenced me for over twenty years and helped guide me when I’ve got ‘lost’. His advice is still valuable today.

2. Anita Le Roy, founder, Monmouth Coffee. Anita is the founder of one of my favourite independent coffee shops in London. She’s a wonderful entrepreneur, who almost started the business by accident back in the late 70s. I love her understated style; you can learn a lot about management and leadership from her.

3. Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter. Billy - along with Mrs Thatcher - helped politicise me when I was a teenager. He was also one of the first people I interviewed when I worked in local radio and I still buy his records today. He’s got some interesting lessons about how to survive the changes in the record industry, and hopefully will bring his guitar to the dinner table.

4. Maria Popova, Brainpicker. I’m driven by curiosity so I love Maria’s work as curator of Brainpickings. I’m interested in not only what she’s learned on her own journey of curiosity but also how’s she turned it into a one-woman online business.

5. Lena Dunham. Lena is so talented: to devise, write, direct and appear in a show like Girls is very smart and I’d love her around the table. I’m a big fan!

6. Ben Drew aka Plan B, singer, rapper, filmmaker. We should be investing more time and energy in helping young people achieve their ambitions and dreams – how to turn their ideas into businesses. But the press is full of pessimism about young people today. I saw Ben speak at a TEDx event, about how the young working classes have been demonized and I think he can help us get focused on helping school-leavers fulfil their potential.

About Ian Sanders: Ian’s a Business storyteller, Opportunity Explorer, Financial Times writer, and Author. @IanSanders

This post was created by Raine Dalton, WIM’s editorial and community innovation intern. Raine is passionate about finding creative ways to empower women globally through tech. In addition to WIM, Raine has written, tweeted, and posted for the Global Banking Alliance for Women, WITNESS, and 90.7 WFUV News. You can find her work at www.rainedalton.com or get in touch with her through Twitter @rainedalton, or by emailing raine@wim.co.