It’s often said that starting an Internet company is like raising a baby: it’s exciting and fun, but you get no sleep. As a aspiring internet entrepreneur, I’ve discerned some important myths that need to be shattered: 

1. We’re the only ones doing this on the Web. 
You may have the greatest idea, and you may have never seen anything like it on the Web, but expect that there are up to ten other companies out there doing the exact same thing; you just haven’t heard of them yet. To combat this, try to find an edge: go above and beyond your original idea and keep brainstorming, with yourself (in the shower or while driving) and with others close to the project. 

2. It’s OK, they signed an NDA. 
Nondisclosure agreements are a wonderful security blanket, but be careful about who you work with and who is privileged enough to know the entire plan. Limit the number of people you trust prior to launch. If you have signed NDAs with multiple vendors and potential partners, clients, and employees, it would be nearly impossible to trace the source of a leak. The most volatile contacts are potential employees; if you don’t hire them, they’ll end up at another Internet company. They don’t need to know the exact product until you make them an offer. 

3. We don’t need no stinkin’ revenue model. 
Publications like the New York Times have predicted that soon after the turn of the millennium there will be an incredible surge of nostalgia for the 20th century and that tradition will come back into style. I believe that this will also apply to business: it will be increasingly important actually to make a profit to be successful. So before your programmers write a single line of code, you’d better know how you are going to make money, and how much money that’s going to be. If you don’t know, you’re going to have problems raising capital. 

4. We’re going to have a million users by year-end. 
Planning for scalability is excellent and always encouraged. But you should also have a budget, and not just to satisfy the investors who are monitoring your spending. The technology and marketing departments should plan the flow of user access based on the advertising and marketing strategy. Unless you’re going to run an ad during the Super Bowl, you probably don’t have to worry about a million people accessing your site simultaneously. 

5. The front end isn’t as important as the back end. 
The one thing that can break a Web site is a lack of professionalism. The front end will determine whether users will trust you enough to click through to the back end. Mantra: get a great graphic designer and at least one great HTML coder. And remember, they aren’t necessarily the same person. 

6. We have to launch all the features as soon as possible. 
Don’t compromise the quality of the application because you think you need to show it to the world tomorrow. Your first launch should be a preview, or beta, site that shows investors you are serious and actually working on the project. Depending on what type of application you’re developing, this preview site can most likely be up in six to eight weeks. It will have limited functionality, with hints about what’s to come. Version 1.0 will launch with what you consider the core features of your application and include announcements of future functionality. Roll out new features on different dates; you show the public that you are constantly updating the site, which encourages them to return on a regular basis. It also retains programmers. 

7. We don’t need to test our site; it’s perfect. 
All parents think their child is the most beautiful in the world. Even if everyone you know agrees that your site is the best out there, you must get a professional outside opinion. Most likely, there will be bugs and broken links or graphics that you just can’t recognize because you are too close to the project. Have an independent testing facility do a thorough evaluation of your site. There are firms that will test for navigation, usability, and even load capacity. 

8. We’ll hire a help desk person later. 
I’ve seen executives answering user email because they didn’t plan for a support department right from the beginning. Your site should have an experienced user support specialist on board and trained before the first user comes to your site. Good customerservice will contribute immensely to the user loyalty of your site. 

9. Programmers will make it in by 9 a.m. 
Programmers are nocturnal creatures: they do their best work at night, when there are no phones ringing, everything is quiet, and no one is playing pinball or asking them to help set up theirnetwork connections. Night is when programmers can get into their flow, when they have uninterrupted brain time. Make your programming shift from noon to 10 p.m., or have two shifts for programmers to choose from. Hire a network engineer or desktop-support specialist so no one is bothering the programmers with tech-support questions. Make sure the programmers work in a closed-off room, not out in an open space. And stock up on Mountain Dew! 

10. Everyone will put in 90-hour weeks for meager wages and a lot of stock. 
This may be the biggest downfall of any Internet startup. Face it, employees are your most valuable asset, and it’s a competitive world out there. Every startup wants the best programmers, the best vice president of marketing, the best chief technology officer. That’s why recruiters are cleaning up. For every programmer interviewing with your company, there are several other companies salivating for a chance to make her an offer. The “opportunity” to strike it rich with stock options isn’t as appealing to Internet employees nowadays; many have already lived through 90-hour workweeks and never want to return. Yes, if employees are motivated enough, they will work weekends, but make sure they are happy and have a life outside of the company. If they don’t, they will burn out and find a place that will offer them those things.

On this note do check out this amazing video on yet another internet bubble Yet Another Web 2.0 Bubble!