Web Startup Success Guide: Great advice from Bob Walsh

While there are many core business practices shared among any type of startup, web-based companies have a unique set of opportunities and challenges.

Perhaps no one has studied these unique challenges more than Bob Walsh, author of 5 books, the most recent being The Web Startup Success Guide.

Bob has learned his field from the inside-out, creating and marketing his own "Micro ISV," (Micro Independent Software Vendor) business for many years, and advising many others on theirs in his consulting service 47hats.com.  He is also one of the moderators of the popular Business of Software forum on the Joel on Software blog.

In this interview, I talk with Bob about:

1. Some of the unique challenges faced by web-based entrepreneurs
2. Tools and approaches to making the start-up process easier
3. Recommendations for those worried about colleagues stealing their great idea if they share it
4. How to define the right problem to solve with your product so people are compelled to buy it
5. How to use social media to connect with your community and promote your product
6. Which tools you can use to get things done in your business