Bezos' unforgiving management style is similar to that of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who was also estranged from his biological father.As an entrepreneur, you are aware of failure, and you might have already experienced it. For this reason, the urge to grow your startup overnight is strongly correlated to the temptation of searching for shortcuts.

But those same shortcuts can hurt, or even kill your startup. This path attracts mostly clients who have short-term aims, and you don’t want that.

Along the way, you ought to understand the real reasons why some startups fail whilst others enjoy huge success.

How many startups fail and why?

Two out of five funded startups fail [PDF]. More precisely, startups typically die around 20 months after their last financing round, and after having raised $1.3 million.

These cold statistics are not intended to discourage entrepreneurs, but to provide them with a dose of reality, and to encourage them to work smarter.

CB Insights recently updated their compilation of startup failure post-mortems by founders and investors.

The number-one reason of failure was being unable to raise more financing. For startup Dinner Lab, producing unique events presented big challenges; when the cash of Backplane ran out, the firms wouldn’t put more in, and their reluctance scared away new investors.

Every startup in the abovementioned compilation was backed up by a team. But teams must remain versatile, no matter the problems.

Versatility in the startup environment involves mindset. Teams must know how to recover and adapt -- to be able to change products, to take up a new marketing approach, to rebrand their business, or even tear it all down and start all over again.

Failing to acquire customers was the second reason of startup collapse. VoterTide didn’t invest enough time talking with their customers, getting tricked into launching features they believed were great, without gathering feedback from their customers.

Delight believes their system should have been smarter about checking up on their users at various stages, because services should make them look intelligent in front of their stakeholders.

“They make products no one wants”, reported Fortune.

CB Insights’ survey determined that 42% of startups identified the lack of a market for their product or service, as the single biggest reason of failure.

The characteristics of successful startups

They find the right partners

Neil Patel has observed that start-ups with co-funders have a much higher success rate, because a great partner complements the skills you don’t have, thus eliminating many roadblocks you’ll face.

Also, Steve Hogan, who runs Tech-Rx, has the same opinion: startups without partners are most likely to fail.

Partnerships can also be useful to leverage your competitor’s traffic and data. Embrace this concept as soon as possible, and offer at least the same amount of value that you’re receiving.

They solve real problems

Even within saturated markets, startups who solve a big, perhaps unique problem are closer to success. Sure, anyone can enter such markets, but if you find out what unsolved problems still exist in it and come up with effective solutions, you can become a market leader in no time.

They work with professionals

Successful startups keep their business stable by hiring one senior manager to their team. You must resist the temptation of hiring less-experienced candidates, because in times of high growths they tend to be overwhelmed and crack.

They understand every person counts

And lastly, focusing on getting the best people for every job requires patience.  

You might know someone who is the right person for the job, but your timing is not the best. If you have the flexibility, wait and continue to pursue them.

Your business is the sum of every experience a person has with your company, and everyone contributes to its growth. Not just the CEO, nor just the marketers -- Everyone.

Thus, start your business with the hope it will last forever; believe in the power of consistency, and invest in hiring people who share your company’s vision.