Nevertheless, the only one of the three that is even approaching success is the bakery. The one traditional "startup" (rentingyourhome) does sound like every other internet entrepreneur -- in a bad way. His idea sounds like it has serious structural deficiencies, and now he's hiring indian lawyers to make up for the slack. Brilliant. Perhaps these structural deficiencies are the reason he's having the "standard challenges" to which you refer.

Having a website does not change the basic rules of business. These small companies may not be "start-ups", but the lessons still apply: focus, don't overreach, make money fast.