Andy Dunn Quotes

I have seen entrepreneurs ask for hundreds of millions of dollars on a concept and try to sell because of 'their passion' for an idea. If the idea is that good, why wouldn't I cut you out and hire someone who is just as passionate for much, much less?

If you want to stay in the business then you've got to be a bit shrewd, haven't you?

The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do.

The same products, services or technologies can fail or succeed depending on the business model you choose. Exploring the possibilities is critical to finding a successful business model. Settling on first ideas risks the possibility of missing potential that can only be discovered by prototyping and testing different alternatives.

Once you understand business models you can then start prototyping business models just like you prototype products.

The tools used by economists to analyze business firms are too abstract and speculative to offer any guidance to entrepreneurs and managers in their constant struggle to bring novel products to consumers at low cost.

To be successful in business, you have to be ruthless.

Empirical and observational data along with a healthy dash of intuition often have to be combined as business owners begin to look outward, not inward, at what solutions they can provide to their customers.

The state of the economy is not the issue when it comes to growing a business. The relevant questions are always: 'What business are you in? Furthermore, is it adapting to the times?'

I mentor a lot of CEOs and entrepreneurs, and when I see that product is the number-one thing, the only thing that matters, that's a real red flag.

The needs of the business sector must be understood.

No matter what, the entrepreneur must strive to be above average and, at the same time, understand what is driving those averages they are seeking to beat. Take the time to understand and test the metrics you are using, and then you can not only set the average, you can exceed it.

If you put on your business hat, you can't maintain competitiveness by staying at a competitive disadvantage. I mean, you just can't. The odds are just not in your favor.

The biggest challenge to thriving in the marketplace is identifying the strategic moves that will keep us ahead of the competition.

You can talk about systems until you're blue in the face but that's secondary - if you're closing down, if you're first to the ball, it doesn't really matter what system you've got.

You have to have great products out at the right time. It's difficult to go with one foot on the gas and the other a little bit on the brake.

We now understand the distinction between startups - who search for a business model - versus existing companies - that execute a business plan.

One of the biggest mistakes that founders can make is doing something that maybe seems like a great idea, and seems like a good use of time, but actually isn't measurable, significant, incremental growth.

Just like football, business is a game of inches, where the smallest advancement or advantage can mean the difference between winning and losing.

I think we operate in a very dynamic marketplace, and as such, we need to constantly innovate.

With experience also comes the understanding that you have to beat the rally before you can beat the competition.

I told myself the next time I had a good idea, I would bring it to market.

As an entrepreneur, my problem was that I had too many ideas.

Innovation is critical to the heartbeat of any successful corporation in the industrialized world.

It's a lot easier to figure out how to scale something that doesn't feel like it would scale than it is to figure out what is actually gonna work. You're much better off going after something that will work that doesn't scale, then trying to figure how to scale it up, than you are trying to figure it all out.