企业家内幕网络是美国的一个在线社区，美国创业界最睿智和最有影响力的一些大咖会在这里及时回答与创业和职业有关的问题。今天为大家分享的是Podium公司CEO艾利克o利亚对"关于创业生活有哪些最大的误区？"这一问题的回答。

Since starting Podium, I've heard two misconceptions about startups from opposite ends of the spectrum. One is that running startup is so grueling that you can say goodbye to any type of life outside of it. The second is that once you gain initial traction, it's smooth sailing to startup glory and freedom. I've found neither of these to be entirely true, and have repeatedly come across other misconceptions about the startup world:

自从Podium公司创办以来，我在创业方面已经听说了两个截然相反的极端误区。一种看法认为，创业是一个极端痛苦而疲劳的过程，你基本上 可以与创业以外的所有其他生活说拜拜了；另一种看法是，只要你起初能一炮打响，通往荣耀和财富自由的道路就将是一帆风顺的。我认为这两种看法都不是全然正确的。另外我在创业的过程中，也反复遇到过许多其他思维误区：

词汇解析：

misconception    误区

grueling  痛苦的

smooth sailing 一帆风顺的

If you build it, they will buy it.

只要把产品做出来，用户就会蜂拥而至

I think there's often a perception by those in the technology world that if you build an app and put it on Product Hunt (whichis a curation site for web-based products), all of the sudden you will have a massive business. In reality, this works for very few companies-there's no magic formula. Most startup success comes from building something people truly want and need, and then putting blood, sweat, and tears into selling it day in and day out.

科技界的创业者往往有这样一种思维误区：只要你做出一个App，然后把它放在Product Hunt这样的精选应用网站上，几乎一夜之间，你就会拥有一个巨大的用户群。然而实际上，这种情形只会发生在极少数公司身上。成功是没有秘方的。大多数成功的创业者之所以会成功，是因为他们首先做出了某种人们真正想要和需要的产品，其次是因为他们把大量的血汗和泪水洒在了日复一日的销售和推广上。

词汇解析：

perception 观念；看法

formula  公式；方案

sweat 汗水；苦干

You just need a great idea

你需要的只是一个好点子

如果你觉得自己有了一个好点子，那么可能还有成千上万的人也在研究跟你类似的东西。在如今的创业界，已经很少能有什么全新的、独一份的创意了。即便我们自己认为我们的产品解决问题的方法比市面上的任何工具都强，它也不是能让我们的产品脱颖而出的关键因素--执行才是关键。

We used Paul Graham's essays as a framework for building our startup. One of the crucial lessons was that you only need to focus on two things: First, build something people want. And second, get customers. At the end of the day, those are the only two things that matter. We didn't do anything unless it helped us acquire new customers or improve our product. That execution methodology has made all the difference.

在构建我们的这家创业公司时，我们在保罗o格雷厄姆的论文的基础上奠定了公司的基本框架。在创业过程中，我们学到了一个至关重要的经验，那就是你只需要关注两件事：第一，打造人们想要的产品；第二，拉到客户。说一千道一万，只有这两件事对创业者是最重要的。我们不会做任何与吸引新客户或改进产品无关的事。现在这种执行方针已经显现出了明显的效果。

词汇解析：

methodology 方法论；方法

Networking events are the key to success

交际活动是成功的关键

Many startups get obsessed with networking events, startup festivals, and meetups. But these end up being huge distractions from getting anything done-rather than building a product or marketing strategy, many people who go to these events are more interested in talking about building something.

许多创业公司很痴迷搞交际活动，忙于参加各种各样的创业节和聚会。但这些只会让你从工作中严重分心。很多参加这种活动的人往往更喜欢空谈做这做那，而不是踏踏实实地做产品或搞推广。

诚然，我们有时能通过交际活动获得一些有益的信息，但对我们的公司来说，更有益的还是老老实实做产品，多跟现有的和潜在的客户交流。毕竟去真正了解你的客户要比见几个同行重要得多。