ReadWriteStart

For many young entrepreneurs, getting their parents’ support for a new venture can make a huge difference - emotionally, practically and even financially. But it’s not always easy to explain to Mom and Dad why, instead of getting a “real job,” you’re putting everything on the line to create a new technology startup. It can be done, though, and these youthful startup veterans explain how:

Hell, there are no rules here - we’re trying to accomplish something.
- Thomas Edison

Many people consider Edison America’s greatest inventor - ever. But he never had to deal with the reams of rules and regulations today’s startups need to heed just to stay out of trouble with federal and state governments.

Most startups fail. Nine out of 10 never amount to anything more than fond memories and a forgotten Facebook page. One reason is that they often lack a clear picture of exactly how they’re doing until it’s too late. But there are tools designed to help you assess your startup's progress compared to similar companies.

Working virtually sounds like heaven to many startups. After all, not having a central office staffed with employees saves money on rent, utilities, parking, etc., freeing you to invest in research, development or marketing.

On the other hand, operating virtually is no panacea. Before you make the virtual leap, you need to figure out exactly what working virtually means to your business.

Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake in 2005, one year after they co-founded Flickr. 

A lot of founders out there are looking for their significant others. No, we’re not talking about love among the cubicles. We mean the search for a co-founder - someone to share your dreams, frustrations and late-night microwave popcorn.

Not long ago, serial entrepreneur and founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council Scott Gerber offered his prescription to Fix Young America. In short, Gerber believes entrepreneurship can cure a lot of what’s wrong with the American economy.

Yesterday on Salon.com, those ideas came under attack as an Occupy imposter - instead of representing American’s youth, the post contended, they’re shills for “the most noxious aspects of the bipartisan status quo.” Gerber can defend himself, but in criticizing him, the authors seem to be condemning entrepreneurship. And that needs defending.

Mentoring startups has a lot of benefits: It gives something back to the community and helps other entrepreneurs avoid some of the mistakes that you've already made. And it's also a lot of fun to meet entrepreneurs who are so passionate about their business. Sometimes, though, that passion can make it hard for startups to focus on the business basics, like pricing, market research and finding your niche. 

Learning to code is becoming the key skill for anyone who wants to launch a tech startup, or even just get a job working at a hot tech company. That may seem intimidating, but programming is not some monumental skill that only specially gifted people can learn. Really, it it isn't all that different from learning to speak another language. If you can pick up the rudiments of Spanish or French in a couple of weeks, how hard could it be to get started with Ruby On Rails? The Developer Bootcamp is designed to help anyone get started coding - and they might even get a job at a startup or tech heavyweight out of it as well.

The current technology boom is, on most fronts, quite unlike the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. But one aspect that both seem to share is a fascination with titles - both yours and your teams’. Many startup entrepreneurs are returning to the creative titles of the 1990s. Is that really a smart move?

Approaching investors for the first time is a daunting exercise for any startup. Regardless of whether you’re raising venture capital, approaching angels or still trying to figure out where to get started, it’s critical to stay level-headed about what you’re really pitching - and what it’s actually worth.

The best way to do that is to leverage the hard-won experience of real-world startup. So we asked a panel of eight successful young entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) about their startup funding successes (and failures) and the lessons they learned.