I keep a Post-It on my wall with a quote from a professor at my alma mater, Harvard Business School: “Strategy is about setting yourself apart from the competition. It’s not a matter of being better at what you do―it’s a matter of being different at what you do.”

As chair of the entrepreneurial practice at Forbes Books, a former director of an entrepreneurial center and a tech entrepreneur, I drill this philosophy into aspiring entrepreneurs.

That start-up idea that you’re sure nobody has ever thought of? Chances are it’s been thought of.