Jimmy Chamberlin, founder and drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins, spoke at a recent StartupOneStop investor breakfast. Besides being a rock star, he is also not only an investor, but a tech company founder as well. It was interesting to get the perspective of someone who is involved in technology – and who has a very successful career outside of the industry.

As he was describing the process of songwriting, it struck us that those rules do apply to startups as well, whether you’re working on an investor deck, or your business plan. And note: whether you’re looking for investment or not, always important to have a business plan when you’re starting a business. We paraphrase:

You have to have a story to tell – and believe in it

It’ll have a rhythm

It needs to be in harmony with its users

You need to make a visionary statement in a meaningful way

It needs a hook

How does the story end?

 

It is looking at the process through a different lens, but it does make a difference as to whether you’ll have a hit on your hands, or if it’s just so many words on a page, sitting in a drawer and for the record, according to Forbes, “Nine of the top 20 reasons for startup failures – and five out of the top 10 – were related to customers – not meeting customers’ needs, not listening to them or even ignoring them.”

Does need to be in harmony with its users… As Chamberlin reminded us, quoting Miles Davis: There are no wrong notes in jazz. Only poorly chosen ones.

“Having a co-founder will significantly increase your chances of success, Review42 reported. “Startups with two founders are 19% less likely to scale prematurely than startups with a single founder. Startups with two founders have nearly 3X the user growth of startups with a single founder.”

There are no shortcuts. Any undertaking involves hard work, a lot of effort and long hours, whether you’re starting a company, or working on your art. And note to self and as Chamberlin noted, “It’s the !0% more effort that you put in that makes it 100% better.”

Just something to think about and hopefully some helpful insights from a person who was both a successful founder, and whose band reached rock star status in a world where there’s no shortage of failed startups – or broke artists. Onward and forward.