The economy isn't out of the woods yet, and that means preserving cash should still be a priority. "Cash is king," said Raj Kapoor, managing director at Mayfield Fund. "No matter what, your most valuable resource is cash."

In this "Lessons Learned" segment, Raj also talks about hiring people smarter than yourself. At a startup, it's not so wise to try to bring a bunch of people to the table who aren't experienced in the jobs you need them to be. He also talks about the importance of focus, measure and re-focus.

What he means is that while companies should iterate, they should also keep a sharp eye on what they're iterating on and the effects of their effort. All too often, companies iterate, but don't have a clear sense of objectives and progress.