Steve McIntosh, Chief Fan Ambassador, Fanhub

Everyone seems to know the ‘secrets’ of entrepreneurship—so why are successful businesses so rare?

Nearly 90 percent of businesses in the U.S. have less than 20 employees, and half of all businesses close within five years. In tech, the stats are especially grim: Henry Blodget, founder of Business Insider, calculated that only 1 in 200 companies that apply to Y Combinator becomes a “success.”