Lifted from a speech by a silicon valley entrepreneur - from umbc grad class.
1) Unclear Goals / Mission
what is our measure of success
2) Ego-gratification:
trying to prove you are smart
3a) Greed: doing it for money
not raising enough capital
3b) Not distributing the equity as widely as possible
dont be stingy
4) Hiring people that they like, not who they need
a company / venture is not a social club respect people that you dont like
5) Not knowing when to let go
what are you good at, and not good at bring in ppl who fill your skill sets know when to step aside