Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season and while tech never rests, those people on the money side of the table, be they potential investors, partners, or clients, do tend to slow down/take longer to make a decision or even take meetings.

As we well know, there’s little rest for the startup side of the equation, but here’s some not-necessarily-light holiday reading, the list courtesy of CBInsights, who asks, “What separates success from failure? These 11 laws contain some of the most influential ideas that the biggest tech companies use to run their operations, design business models, and build products.

Some, like Moore’s Law, have been extremely prescient. Others, like Conway’s Law, provide counterintuitive insights — such as why Microsoft sells Xbox consoles at a loss, or how Facebook became one of the most valuable companies in the world by offering a free service.”

So, without further ado, here are the 11 Laws Driving Success in Tech. Click on the link for the full 67-page explainer:

Moore’s Law: The self-fulfilling prophecy that ushered in the digital age

Metcalfe’s Law: Why big networks produce colossal winners

Law of Mobility: The value of making products available anywhere, any time

Gall’s Law: Why the best products are built from simple systems

Law of Modularity: Why building blocks are essential to modern tech design

The 2-Pizza Rule: Why small teams lead to big success

Conway’s Law: Why corporate structure is vital to product development

Yule’s Law of Complementarity: When a loss-making product is good for business

The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs: Why innovative marketing is better than expensive marketing

Zimmermann’s Law: How free products can build rich businesses

Pareto Principle: Why startups can raise capital even though most will eventually fail

 

Since the holiday season is prime time for networking/making connections, we’ll add a 12^th law:

The Law of Networking: It’s not just who you know – it’s who knows you.

Tis the season to be social, so make sure to get out there and meet people. Especially people who may be important to your business, although do keep in mind that it is the holiday season, when networking isn’t as in-your-face as it otherwise tends to be, so don’t troll the room for investors/potential partners and launch into a pitch. Instead, try having a conversation. If during that conversation, business comes up, all the better. But don’t monopolize the conversation or the other person. Exchange contact information and follow up. You want to make an impression, but you also want to make sure that it’s a good one.

While you may want to gravitate towards the larger events, sometimes it’s best to think small and opt for more intimate gatherings as well. Our friend Igor Jablokov, who had a product to hawk, had three conferences he wanted to attend: larger ones in Las Vegas and New York, and a quite small one in Florida. Unfortunately, the three overlapped. As a bonus, he sent team members to Las Vegas and New York, which at the time, were much more exciting places to visit, while he opted for Florida, where he manned a small tabletop display. It was in Florida that Amazon came by Igor’s table, ended up acquiring his product – and didn’t even change the name Igor had given it: Alexa.

You just never know as we go onward and forward.