What are the most common mistakes first time entrepreneurs make?

Well, Mistakes are actually part and parcel of the learning curve that EVERY entrepreneur HAS To go through to achieve even minuscule success. 

With mistakes comes learning which is invaluable for going higher in whatever we pursue. 

The most common mistake, as per me, is the exuberance that every new entrepreneur comes in with until the market forces level him down.

Let me first put a disclaimer that this answer can be best given by an entrepreneur than by anyone else. In other words only a pilot can tell us how to avoid mistakes while flying. Everyone else can have a view. 1. It seems to me that entrepreneurs’ passion often translates into blind belief that they have the best ideas or solutions, crowding out any criticism or feedback or derailing the ability to change direction quickly. 2. Most entrepreneurs focus too much on tech driven innovations and approach any problem as a piece of code. The ones who start at the customers doorstep usually become more successful. 3. Entrepreneurs because of their keen focus on the problem they are solving often discount structural issues of the sector at large. For ex: drugs are sold through a certain distribution channel. But my startup has developed the perfect pill to cure baldness. What about distribution? Well, my pill will “just sell”. 4. Market sizing: most entrepreneurs will size the market top down. They will take the overall market which may be billions of dollars in size or millions of customers and target 1%. That is a very wrong approach. It should be bottom up, which means A. targeting a small part first, B. wowing them and then C. ramping up partners and distributors so that those to know what works can be taken to the next bigger slice. D. Repeat A for the bigger slice and so on..