I attended the Southwest Venture Forum yesterday in Dallas.  Hall Martin, Director of the Texas Entrepreneur Networks, was a panelist.  He has worked with Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, and apparently lives and breathes new ventures.  I suspect he has heard a pitch or twenty from new start-ups seeking money.  In the midst of his comments, he paused, and basically said in two phrases what makes for a successful enterprise.  Here are his two phrases:

You have to have a strong team
and
You have to have a compelling product.

A strong team; a compelling product.  That’s it.

Oh, and be “findable” (my word).  Make sure people find about about/can learn about your compelling product, and make sure they discover just how strong your team is.

Unspoken, but clearly true, is also this:  you’ve got to have a strong leader to pull together and create and nurture that strong team.

So:

A strong leader
with
A Strong Team
with
A Compelling Product
that
Is Findable.

There it is — your business success lesson/reminder of the week.