[mattdawson]

I honestly don't mean it as any kind of personal slight or insult. My apologies that I came across that way. (I'm tempted to edit the OP, but won't for clarity purposes.)

For what it's worth, I acknowledge that many/most of these are indeed applicable to all people. I know you're not asking for this, but the points that jumped out at me as possible opportunities to highlight challenges specific to a wider group (most pertinent bits highlighted):

* Figure out the financial plan. I.e. Do you have enough money in savings, do you have friends/family who can provide seed investment, can you bootstrap, can you reduce your spending and save enough give yourself 6-12 months to work on your idea?

* Often times there are hard barriers preventing people from starting a company. In these cases my best advice is to move to a tech hub (preferably the Bay Area) and work for a tech company until you can save the money, make friends with the right potential teammates, or discover the problem that you are passionate about.

* Producing results isn’t necessarily how you move up the corporate ladder. Internal politics are usually as important, if not more so. <- Noted since it's often more than politics.