Entrepreneur Corner: Customer tell signs and Reid Hoffman’s rules for success

Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner.

What are the rights of minority stockholders? – State law rights aren’t something many entrepreneurs are familiar with, but for minority stockholders, these non-contractual rights can be their best friend in a pinch. Attorney Scott Edward Walker looks at three significant rights of these shareholders.

What do customers really say when they are going to buy? – Finding people who are excited about your idea isn’t all that hard, but convincing those people to buy is another matter. Jackie Bassett, CEO of BT Industrials, offers three questions to listen out for to help you figure out who your most likely customers will be.

Launching a start-up? Do it without titles. – Having an impressive title on your business card might help your ego, but it could be hurting your startup. Jeff Bussgang, General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners, argues that by eschewing titles, new companies become more nimble and employees don’t get mentally locked into roles that might later need to evolve.

4 ways to survive launching a startup with a family member – There are additional challenges that come when you launch a startup with a family member. Tom Aley, who has started several with his twin brother (including RapidBuyr), offers advice on how to maintain both the family and business relationship.

Reid Hoffman’s entrepreneurial rules of thumb – LinkedIn co-founder and angel investor Reid Hoffman has plenty of wins under his belt – and he credits those, in part, to his own rules about how to launch a startup. He details those in this Entrepreneur Thought Leader Lecture given at Stanford University.