Funke Michaels, Edward Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government led an entrepreneurs roundtable at the 2014 CUNY Young African Leadership Symposium, which took place at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. At the table were Claude Grunitzky - Founder of TRACE Magazine, Vuyo Dunjwa - Executive Chairman of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce, and Mary Olushoga - Founder of the AWP Network. These entrepreneurs shared (5) things to keep in mind when starting out in business. 1) Understand the importance of collaborations and the value of partnerships - don't try to do everything by yourself. Ask for help when you need it and strategically reach out to partners and allies. 2) Understand the importance of being authentic and staying true to yourself. When starting out, don't try to be or represent what you are not. When you are not authentic, you lose your value and distinctiveness in the marketplace. 3) When you have an idea - start now, don't wait. By starting, you can test your idea in the marketplace and find out what works and what doesn't work. 4) Do not ever look for perfection. Why? because it doesn't exist. You'll only waste your time. 5) Fail fast, move on quickly. Don't dwell on failure. Have more tips? please share:  Email: theawpnetwork gmail.com or twitter @Africwomenpower