Startup Lessons Learned
NOVEMBER 13, 2008
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Thursday, November 13, 2008 Five Whys Taiichi Ohno was one of the inventors of the Toyota Production System. His book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production is a fascinating read, even though its decidedly non-practical. After reading it, you might not even realize that there are cars involved in Toyotas business.
Occam's Razor
DECEMBER 3, 2008
Michael, politely, says in an email: "I have done web analytics for five years, I have mastered Omniture, WebTrends and Google Analytics, I provide analysis and not just reporting. I feel like am an Analytics God. What would be your advice for me in terms of next steps for my career? My goal is to climb the ranks and increase my salary." Let me hasten to add two things.
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Genuine VC
JANUARY 29, 2008
Do you have a drawer or closet full of old cell phones, iPods, and digital cameras? You know that you’re not supposed to throw them away because it’s not good for the environment. Plus, they still work. You could sell them on eBay or Craigslist, but that’s such a pain. And who knows how much you could get for them? I am happy to share that we at Venrock have made an investment in a startup which directly addresses this problem.
mashable.com
SEPTEMBER 22, 2008
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Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic
Every startup and innovation project exists within an ecosystem that either helps or hurts that project. As innovation managers, we need to keep a pulse of that ecosystem and make sure we're helping those innovation projects we're managing every step of the way. In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in
Cracking the Code
MARCH 10, 2008
Cracking The Code. Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. Monday, March 10, 2008. Measuring sales and marketing effectiveness of SaaS companies. The CAC Ratio I read an interesting blog post from Will Price, a fellow VC from Hummer Windblad on how to measure the sales and marketing effectiveness of SaaS companies with a magic number defined approximately as the ratio of the incremental sales in a quarter (annualized) divi
Eric Friedman
DECEMBER 25, 2008
I have looked at a number of web services both from their inception and early alpha, to beta programs and later stage developed businesses. I have been doing this for years and it was definitely a highlight in thinking about my current role. Services have ranged from simple features that make an every day task easier, to a full blown subscription based service that operates independently of any other system.
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Software By Rob
NOVEMBER 18, 2008
Software by Rob Passionate about Startups and MicroISVs Lessons Learned by a Serial Entrepreneur home about press micropreneurs archives ← I’m in a Book! Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share Their Secrets Startup Success Podcast, Open Source For-Profit Startups, One Laptop Per Child 2008, and $19 Usability Testing → The Software Product Myth Micropreneurship , Startups If youre trying grow your startup youve come to the right place.
SoCal CTO
JANUARY 6, 2008
I've never been able to walk into a large group of people and feel like I can "work the room." Sure, I've read various articles on this stuff, but honestly, I still struggle with meeting interesting people. I seem to be very adept at meeting financial planners, attorneys, accountants, etc. - and after 10 seconds of conversation, I'm at a loss. I can make small talk with them, but unless I'm going to see this person a few times or unless they have a tech specialization, ummm, not the best use of
Seeing Both Sides
OCTOBER 19, 2008
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog about how to prepare for the financing process , focusing in particular on follow-on financings. Some readers have pointed out to me that I left out a very key element of the due diligence process: what the process itself reveals about the nature of the entrepreneur to the VC. Many entrepreneurs I know underestimate the importance of their small and large actions during due diligence and the signals their behavior send to the VCs.
Startup Lessons Learned
SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, September 30, 2008 What does a startup CTO actually do? What does your Chief Technology Officer do all day? Often times, it seems like people are thinking its synonymous with "that guy who gets paid to sit in the corner and think technical deep thoughts" or "that guy who gets to swoop in a rearrange my project at the last minute on a whim.
Occam's Razor
MARCH 26, 2008
We love our conversion rates. :) Really really. Part of me is glad because my book and the Trinity strategy and the Web Analytics 2.0 mindset all stress the importance of measuring Outcomes. No Outcomes = No Happiness. But I have come to realize that we are not being the best we can be by focusing on just the overall website conversion rate. We are leaving money on the table.
Professor VC
FEBRUARY 12, 2008
ProfessorVC. The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Tuesday, February 12, 2008. Buyers Remorse. Wikipedia (where else would you look.) defines Buyers Remorse as "an emotional condition whereby a person feels remorse or regret after a purchase" and "a natural human reaction, rising out of a sense of caution". I certainly remember the feeling after buying my first house.
www.paulgraham.com
AUGUST 1, 2008
October 2007 (This essay is derived from a keynote at FOWA in October 2007.) Theres something interesting happening right now. Startups are undergoing the same transformation that technology does when it becomes cheaper. Its a pattern we see over and over in technology. Initially theres some device thats very expensive and made in small quantities. Then someone discovers how to make them cheaply; many more get built; and as a result they can be used in new ways.
Cracking the Code
OCTOBER 10, 2008
Cracking The Code. Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. Friday, October 10, 2008. The Bessemer 10 laws of SaaS - Fall 2008 Release. When we first published Bessemer’s Top 10 Laws for Being "SaaS-y" in early 2008 in conjunction with our annual invitation-only SaaS CEO Summit, we were overwhelmed with the positive response and feedback we received.
Pascal's View
NOVEMBER 1, 2008
We have some engaging and topical new content on our VC-InsideOut podcast program– Episode 7 in our Governance Series, "Best Practices for the High-Performance Board" This is a first for VC InsideOut as we recorded a live, 92 minute program at the Pillsbury Winthrop law firm this past Thursday morning. Allison Leopold Tilley, Danial Faizullabhoy, Chris Rust, Pascal Levensohn The panel consisted of Chris Rust, General Partner of US Venture Partners , who sits on the b
aweissman.com
APRIL 6, 2008
skip to main | skip to sidebar. aweissman.com. Maximizing the serendipity around you. Apr 6, 2008. Killer Apps. My list of most important apps/products of the last 30 years: *Remote control *MTV circa 1980-84 *Curb-side check in *Caller ID *Email *Instant messaging *iPod 80 gig *EZPass *EpiPen *Metrocards on NYC subways *Suzuki method of teaching guitar *Senduit/Rapidshare/yousendit/megaupload etc etc.
Software By Rob
DECEMBER 10, 2008
Software by Rob Passionate about Startups and MicroISVs Lessons Learned by a Serial Entrepreneur home about press micropreneurs archives ← Problems (For the Most Part) Resolved with WordPress and DreamHost MicroISVs, Software Products and Startups: Software by Rob’s Most Popular Posts of 2008 → 8 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Programming Career Becoming a Better Developer If youre trying grow your startup youve come to the right place.
SoCal CTO
NOVEMBER 21, 2008
Google now shows me an option to push things in my search results to the top. It's an interesting choice. Doesn't it seem like it's inviting problems. Basically the only people who will spend time on this is people trying to improve their search rankings. The rest of us signal with lots of other things like links, bookmarking, etc. Not sure I buy this approach from Google.
Genuine VC
APRIL 30, 2008
After the crash at the end of the last decade, web startups clamped down to focus on their core value proposition and were forced out of necessity for survival to hone their revenue models. However, for the past couple years, the metrics of “success” with early-stage digital media startups (especially consumer-facing ones) have clearly focused on distribution, as opposed to monetization.
Seeing Both Sides
SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
Every year, Microsoft bigwigs trek down to Silicon Valley and brief the VC community on their view of the world and plans for the future. They are kind enough to invite East Coast VCs, not just locals, and so I flew out last week to partake in the annual event alongisde a few hundred of my VC brethren. Just as when I had attended the event in the past , the highlight was Steve Ballmer's address.
Startup Lessons Learned
SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 8, 2008 The lean startup Ive been thinking for some time about a term that could encapsulate trends that are changing the startup landscape. After some trial and error, Ive settled on the Lean Startup. I like the term because of two connotations: Lean in the sense of low-burn. Of course, many startups are capital efficient and generally frugal.
Occam's Razor
FEBRUARY 11, 2008
It will soon be a year of working at Google and milestones are always a good time for introspection. I have a lot on my mind but there was one thing in particular that I wanted to share with you all: What it is has been like working at Google. Interesting, fun, surprising, insightful, inspiring, impactful, and more such words. This post shares that experience.
Professor VC
DECEMBER 18, 2008
ProfessorVC. The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Thursday, December 18, 2008. Why didnt I think of that?? Great ideas can come from many places. Some result from years of work and/or education while others are a result of trying to identify a unique solution to a consumer or business problem. Of course, there are those that are completely ridiculous ( think Pet Rock ).
venturehacks.com
MARCH 21, 2008
Venture Hacks Good advice for startups. Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. Products Archives @venturehacks Books AngelList About RSS Everything you ever wanted to know about advisors, Part 2 by Nivi on February 27th, 2008 Here are more frequently asked questions about advisors. See Part 1 for the rest. If you have more questions, email us at ask@venturehacks.com.
Cracking the Code
NOVEMBER 13, 2008
Cracking The Code. Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. Thursday, November 13, 2008. Getting through the downturn: a few thoughts for SaaS companies planning their 2009 budget. A few days ago, Bessemer West Coast SaaS Practice - David Cowan , Byron Deeter and myself, hosted a CFO Dinner for our SaaS portfolio at John Bentleys in Redwood City.
Pascal's View
SEPTEMBER 29, 2008
The damning New York Times headline, “ SEC CONCEDES OVERSIGHT FLAWS FUELED COLLAPSE ,” from a September 26th article by Stephen Labaton, will hopefully end up as more than a footnote in the long list of misdeeds by the ’stewards’ of the American economy that have brought American capitalism to the precipice of systemic financial collapse.
K9 Ventures
DECEMBER 14, 2008
In my previous post , I claimed that “Venture Capital is a people business in every sense of the word. It is therefore a boutique industry and it cannot scale.” Let me expand on that thought a little more to qualify what I’m saying. Unlike investing in public markets, investing in early stage companies happens before those companies have a real business, when it is just a concept and a team, and sometimes not even a whole team.
Software By Rob
DECEMBER 23, 2008
Software by Rob Passionate about Startups and MicroISVs Lessons Learned by a Serial Entrepreneur home about press micropreneurs archives ← 8 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Programming Career Expenses You Don’t Think of When Starting a Business → MicroISVs, Software Products and Startups: Software by Rob’s Most Popular Posts of 2008 About this Blog , Micropreneurship , Software Development , Startups If youre trying grow your startup youve come to the right place.
SoCal CTO
OCTOBER 1, 2008
I went to a meetup yesterday that was on the topic of Internet Marketing / SEO / SEM. The meeting had a decent case study and some pretty good discussion around the room of different tools that you might consider using. Then the organizer went into a 20 minute sales pitch around his new training/coaching offering. It felt like a bad time share presentation.
Hacking Startups
JUNE 16, 2008
Facebook users fall into two categories: giggly and serious. Facebook user experience could be better if Facebook took this dichotomy into account. Ignoring the difference pushes apps to be giggly and serious users to be unhappy. Giggly 75% like pokes, quizzes, pic forwarding, fun games, selling friends, glitter on profiles. They express themselves through style and interact with friends using the mouse.
Eric Friedman
DECEMBER 25, 2008
I recently added Facebook Connect functionality to the comments of this blog all powered by Disqus. This translates to allowing those people who have a Facebook account being able to easily comment on this blog. To see how to do this for your own site see the instructions straight from the source.
Startup Lessons Learned
NOVEMBER 7, 2008
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, November 7, 2008 Using AdWords to assess demand for your new online service, step-by-step If you want to build an online service, and you dont test it with a fake AdWords campaign ahead of time, youre crazy. Thats the conclusion Ive come to after watching tons of online products fail for a complete lack of customers.
Occam's Razor
APRIL 30, 2008
Know the difference between a Reporting Squirrel and a Analysis Ninja? One is in the business of providing data. One is in the business of providing, to use a old fashioned word, information. This one of the core reasons why most dashboards are "crappy", i.e. they are data pukes that provide little in terms of context and even less in terms of actionable value.
Professor VC
NOVEMBER 13, 2008
ProfessorVC. The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Thursday, November 13, 2008. Man Camp. Just returned from a golf trip to Bandon Dunes , Oregon. We played a Ryder Cup style tournament with 16 guys (the motley crew to your left) over 3 days and 72 holes, with a few drinks mixed in. Waking up Monday morning with a golf hangover, I remembered I hadnt had time to prepare for my class that afternoon.
BeyondVC
JANUARY 31, 2008
First of all, Google announced some amazing numbers growing its revenue over 50% and its earnings around 17%. That being said, investors in Google have high expectations and the stock fell in after hours trading. One note that many in the blogosphere seemed to pick up on is the higher cost of traffic acquisition from partners and the fact that social networking is not delivering results as expected( read Between the Lines for more).
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