Grad students have a wonderful saying: “Six weeks in the lab can save you two hours in the library.” The same applies to software companies. Building the wrong product is an expensive proposition, and for startups, it’s usually fatal. The good news is that a well-run research...

When you’re starting a software company, your two biggest risks are: Technology risk — the risk that you can’t make the product you want Adoption risk — the risk that customers don’t want the product you make In my experience, startups usually overestimate technology...