You can't win as a technical entrepreneur working alone. You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. Imagine a business with no customers or team members—no fun at all. From a more practical perspective, there just aren't enough hours in a day, or dollars in your pocket, to keep the business going without people working with you. And for people to work with you, you need both a business as well as a personal relationship.

That doesn't mean you have to be a social butterfly to succeed, or introverts need not apply. It does mean that you need to look, listen, and participate in the business world around you and network through all available channels, such as business-oriented social networks online (LinkedIn), local business organizations (Chamber of Commerce), and events or conferences in your domain.

I hope all this seems obvious to you, but I still get a good number of notes from entrepreneurs who...