Home featured Featured Startup Tips | Advice Featured What I wish I knew before launching a start-up Alan Manly December 1, 2016 You’ve heard the saying: “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Most people are happy to accept that proposition because whilst ignorance isn’t always bliss, people tend to avoid risk and thus the danger won’t be immediate. Launching a start-up means rushing into the high-end of the risk zone where even minor trip-ups can have a significant impact on your potential success. It can be especially humbling when you trip-up because your list of ‘don’t knows’ includes something that’s bleeding obvious. As surely as every person has their own story, every start-up survivor has a tale to tell – and a list of what “I didn’t knows”. Leading a start-up to success is hard enough without all the ‘don’t knows’ waiting to catch you out. For instance, it’s easier to talk someone into buying in your business than it is to get them to move on when the relationships isn’t working. Furthermore, the 80% failure rate amongst start-ups will weigh on the minds of the people you’ll deal with: landlords may want up to one year’s rent in advance, trade suppliers will mark your account with “cash only’ and banks, while keen to lend money, are risk averse. In fact, it is always wise to have two banks accounts – one for your house mortgage and one for your business (best to keep bad business news away from