Mistakes new startup founders should avoid — according to those who made them

Tin Can co-founder and CEO Chet Kittleson, right, speaks with Pioneer Square Labs Managing Director Greg Gottesman at Seattle Flow Startup Day at Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle on May 15. (Dan DeLong Photo) This past Christmas, Chet Kittleson was in the back of a minivan watching his startup die in real time. His company, Tin Can – a reimagined home phone designed for kids – had shipped close to 100,000 units for the holidays.