How to build a bulletproof startup?

How to build a bulletproof startup by Michael V. Copeland and Om Malik (PDF).

There’s never been a better time to start your own company. New technologies are creating new business opportunities on the Internet, on mobile phones, in consumer products, and in information services. At the same time, many of these technologies have radically reduced the costs associated with launching a new venture. In the late 1990s, a typical VC-funded startup needed roughly $10 million to amass the infrastructure and staff required to carry the company from its first business plan to its first product launch. Today that cost has been reduced to just $4 million–and in many cases way, way less. The barriers to entry have never been lower.