The start-up's dilemma [entrepreneur viewpoint]

So you are ready to take the plunge and become an entrepreneur. Most successful entrepreneurs know they do not have all the answers, maybe they have none of the answers, as they set forth on their journey. However, there is almost always a latent need in the market that is visible to them, possibly only to them. Nobody is clamoring to have this need filled, and there is certainly no budget for purchasing a solution to fill this need. Legacy competitors are behemoths with legendary technology gurus in their ranks, with spectacular products that defined 'cool' just a few years back. These are tough, almost impossible, odds-yet entrepreneurs routinely launch their companies with an almost brash conviction that they are right and that the megacompanies are wrong and are certainly not addressing these latent opportunities. As a start-up, you will face many dilemmas, and your intuition will often lead you down the wrong path. Some of the more common issues you will need to deal with are discussed here. © 2014 IEEE.