SoCal CTO
OCTOBER 6, 2011
I saw a great post from Tristan Kromer Pivoting on Investor Feedback a.k.a Beware of Mentors. It was a top post on StartupRoar on Tuesday. His basic point was: If someone, including me, tells you something isn’t a great idea and there’s no market for it there are only two acceptable responses. Either: "That’s interesting. I’m going to take that thought out into the field and validate it with my customers.
Steve Blank
OCTOBER 7, 2011
I spent the month of September lecturing, and interacting with (literally) thousands of entrepreneurs in two emerging startup markets, Finland and Russia. This is the first of two posts about Finland and entrepreneurship. —— I was invited to Finland as part of Stanford’s Engineering Technology Venture Program partnership with Aalto University.
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deal architect
OCTOBER 6, 2011
Larry Ellison could have been somber – if he knew of his friend Steve Jobs dying he did not let on. He could have been pissy about the Marc Benioff incident in the morning. He could have been lethargic –.
ReadWriteStart
OCTOBER 6, 2011
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes. the ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things.
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
crowdSPRING Blog
OCTOBER 6, 2011
Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account , I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
Ben's Blog
OCTOBER 6, 2011
You’d better check yourself before you wreck yourself. —Ice Cube, Check Yo Self. Everyone in the technology industry seems to agree that people are paramount, yet nobody seems to be on the same page with what the people organization—Human Resources—should look like. The problem is that when it comes to HR, most CEOs don’t really know what they want.
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Sophia Perl of Wisdom
OCTOBER 3, 2011
On 9/26 Monday and 9/27 Tuesday, GigaOM held its Mobilize conference in San Francisco. Over the next couple of posts, I will talk about the trends that were discussed during the conference. One hot topic was mobile development strategy mainly around designing for better adoption and technology choices. The people speaking on the topic were from SalesForce.com, Verizon, MeLLmo, and Rhomobile.
crowdSPRING Blog
OCTOBER 2, 2011
Last week I was struck by a news story that was unusual in several respects. I turned on the news to see video of a small group of rock climbers rappelling down the exterior of the Washington Monument. The sported the typical gear one would expect to see on such folks: harnesses, helmets, ropes, and what-not. They were also carrying small hammers and tapping away at the stone as they slowly made their way down the 555-foot tall obelisk.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 3, 2011
I’m often asked the question about why there aren’t more women who are entrepreneurs. On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on. Somehow it seems kind of strange for a man to answer this question that obviously comes from a man’s point of view. But last week I noticed a blog post by a woman, Tara Tiger Brown, that asked the question, “ Why Aren’t More Women Commenting on VC Blog Posts?
www.greenhornconnect.com
OCTOBER 3, 2011
Skip to Navigation. >. User login. Sign in here or Create your free account! Username: Password: Forgot your password ? The Feed Blog. News. Resources General. Learning. Students. Calendar. Guides. Job Board. Friends Sponsors. Partners. About The Team. In the Press. What's Next. Connect with Greenhorn: -->. Find. what you need. faster! Resources Events Feed Job Board Students.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 7, 2011
Every entrepreneur needs to be honest about their strengths and weaknesses, and realistic about their reasons for choosing the startup route. For any entrepreneur, even the best business opportunities, if entered for the wrong reasons, will likely fail. Some of these reasons seem obvious, so forgive me for restating, but I still hear them too often.
deal architect
OCTOBER 6, 2011
You guys are killing me. I make a living blogging about innovation, writing books about it, presenting on it. Innovation should make people go “wow” – your presentation at OOW made the lady next to me go to sleep. Last.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
OCTOBER 3, 2011
Get more involved in the Bay Area startup community: Join the WebWallflower mailing list to get a calendar of upcoming startup events and exclusive discounts sent right to you every two weeks. (Powered by LaunchBit ). Tweet. --> You might tacitly assume that I have no major blind spots when it comes building little tech startups. I pontificate on concepts that I learned through hard work, luck, observation, and failure, so surely I have all my bases covered.
YoungUpstarts
OCTOBER 6, 2011
By Adelaide Lancaster, co-author of “ The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business That Works for You “ It’s easy to think of most entrepreneurs as big-thinking creative types, who are always innovating and taking big risks. The truth is that most of us are just everyday people who by luck, fate or circumstance have decided to work for themselves.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 5, 2011
It would be no fun if starting a business was simply plotting a straight line between your idea and success, with no challenges along the way. Zigging and zagging amongst the obstacles is the fun part of being an entrepreneur, and it’s what sets you apart from the average worker who knows exactly what he or she has to do every day to get paid. Relish it, or if it scares you, don’t try it.
deal architect
OCTOBER 5, 2011
Larry Dignan summarizes commentary on a war or words that has broken out at Oracle Open World about Marc Benioff’s talk being canceled/postponed/relocated. Sorry, Marc I will miss your talk. I still love you but I also said no to.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
OCTOBER 1, 2011
We’re doing another episode of Smart Bear Live this Thursday, October 6th, 1:00-3:00 CDT (starts at 2:00 on the East coast and 11:00 on the West). Want specific advice from me and co-hosts Bob Walsh ( 47hats and the Web Startup Success Guide ) and Patrick Foley ( blog ) of the infamous Startup Success Podcast ? It’s like Loveline for startups.
YoungUpstarts
OCTOBER 4, 2011
by Jon Gordon , author of “ The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work “ In a perfect world, “work” and “home” would balance out neatly. We’d work from 8 to 5 each day, take an hour-long lunch, and then come home and spend uninterrupted time with our families. But for those of us here in the wake of the Great Recession, firmly entrenched in an “always on” society, this notion seems hopelessly outdated.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 3, 2011
It’s time for more entrepreneurs to reset their focus, and shift their thinking to completely different ways of doing things. Everyone talks about innovation, but the majority of business plans I see still reflect linear thinking – one more social network with improved usability, one more wind-farm energy generator with a few more blades, or one more dating site with a new dimension of compatibility.
deal architect
OCTOBER 4, 2011
on the innovation blog Next-Gen Motorcycle Sprint’s new app to combat distracted driving Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle FCC and FEMA’s new disaster communication guidelines.
Seeing Both Sides
OCTOBER 3, 2011
The policy conversation regarding jobs and economic development is starting to show some promising signs, particularly in helping young companies flourish. The fact that the entrepreneurial ecosystem is critical to job creation should be obvious, but there remains a misperception that small businesses create jobs. In truth, it’s not small business that represents the country’s job engine.
YoungUpstarts
OCTOBER 3, 2011
by Vickie Milazzo, author of “ Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman “ In today’s world, we’re constantly sabotaged by nonproductive energy wasters. There are emails to read. Facebook statuses to update. Receipts to locate for that already-late expense report. Dishes to be washed. Files to be organized. And on, and on, and on. These are the easy, albeit often unproductive, tasks that make us feel good.
Up and Running
OCTOBER 3, 2011
Every year, I spend a lot of time reading and judging business plans for business plan competitions. I have read some great plans and some not-so-great plans, but that is how it always turns out in any business plan competition. I thought it might be useful to talk about the most common deficiencies that have come up in the reading of these plans. Executive Summary – Frequently, business plan authors are so immersed in their business and their business concept that they forget that all po
ReadWriteStart
OCTOBER 4, 2011
The folks at Heller Communications Design have this wonderful "About" page that has some pointers on when a potential client should hire them. The list spoke to me, not because I need a design firm or some other consultant, but because there is a lot there that any entrepreneur can use as warning signs that they need to restart their efforts, or perhaps rethink the direction that they are taking their business.
Rembrandt Communications
OCTOBER 2, 2011
I have been on the phone since 5:00 a.m., and it’s now 11:00 a.m. I just got a major media-venue to agree to an exclusive story about my client. But, it’s been one hour since I spoke to him, and I haven’t heard back… what gives? I call him up, and he says he has [.].
YoungUpstarts
OCTOBER 5, 2011
Many startup books focus on the nitty-gritties of actually setting up, running and growing a business. “ The Transformational Entrepreneur: Igniting The Mind, Heart, & Spirit For Breakthrough Business Success “, by Terry Murray, takes a different approach. The professional business coach, and founder and managing partner of business training and development solutions provider Performance Transformation instead looks at the “softer” aspects of the business, and focuses
Feld Thoughts
OCTOBER 3, 2011
I’m in San Francisco right now and then New York later this week. When I look at my schedule, and where I’m hanging out, I realize that even though I’m in two very big cities, I’m going to spending most of my time in a very small area. When asked why Boulder is such a vibrant entrepreneurial community, I talk about a concept I call entrepreneurial density.
David Teten
OCTOBER 4, 2011
Applications are now open for the January 2012 class ERA class; Application deadline is November 20th, 2011. Benefits: * Get a $25,000 investment for your startup. * 3 months of free collaborative office space in the heart of NYC at. Times Square (January 9th, 2012 – March 30th, 2012). * 200+ mentors from the NYC startup community. * One-on-one, hands-on support. * Speakers and seminars from leading entrepreneurs, technologists, and. industry experts. * Free services and support from 25+ s
OnlyOnce
OCTOBER 5, 2011
Building the Company vs. Building the Business. I was being interviewed recently for a book someone is writing on entrepreneurship, which focused on identifying the elements of my “playbook” for entrepreneurial success at Return Path. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a full playbook, though I’ve certainly documented pieces of it in this blog over the years.
YoungUpstarts
OCTOBER 6, 2011
Professional social networking site LinkedIn has just announced a feature that allows companies to update their own status. Called “Company Status Updates”, companies can directly share updates with those who follow their pages, such as company news, announce available jobs, industry articles and so on. It’s a great tool for administrators to keep the relevant communities updated and engaged.
Feld Thoughts
OCTOBER 6, 2011
Last night, during dinner with the Return Path board, Fred Wilson interrupted the discussion we were having to tell us that Steve Jobs had just passed away. All of us were stunned silent for a minute as we reflected on the amazing impact that Steve has had on our lives. While I don’t have a personal relationship with Steve, he’s been a hero of mine since I was a teenager when I bought an Apple II computer with 16K of RAM in 1978 with my Bar Mitzvah money.
Agile VC
OCTOBER 2, 2011
How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. How To Think About The Future. Home. About Me. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Amazon vs Apple: A Tale of Two Business Models. October 3, 2011. Amazon announced it’s first real foray into the tablet wars last week with the Android based Kindle Fire. While not as large as Apple’s iPad and lacking a 3G connectivity option, the Fire packs a lot of capability into a $199 price point (I already pre-ordered mine).
Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook
OCTOBER 2, 2011
“Creativity is Not a Muse, it’s a Choice.” Gregg Fraley Yes, that’s my quote, and what this post is all about today. I’m writing this piece to co-publish on a cool new blog called Follow the Weasel. Most of the content on FtW is in German, but selected bits, such as mine, are in English. [.].
YoungUpstarts
OCTOBER 4, 2011
Most plastic bags we use today will either get incinerated or end up in a landfill somewhere. But not if four University of Arkansas student have anything to say about that – the founders of cycleWood Solutions Inc. intends to make biodegradable plastic shopping bags into reality. Using technology developed by University of Minnesota biochemist Simo Sarkanen from its Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering , the four students started their company after creating a business pla
Feld Thoughts
OCTOBER 5, 2011
I’ve had a string of great board meetings lately. They all had several similar attributes. There were no powerpoint slides : While each company has a substantive monthly reporting package, this was decoupled from the board meeting. I got my taste of financials, metrics, qualitative stuff, and whatever else the CEO wanted me to see on a monthly basis.
This is going to be BIG.
OCTOBER 4, 2011
Tweet. One of the most knowledgeable angel investors out there, Jeff Stewart , told me that the definition of success as an entrepreneur was when you walk into work, and there's nothing for you to do. At that point, you've hired someone better than you at all of the tasks you did previously as a founder. You've built a well oiled machine and it works without kicking, prodding, or you being a key cog.
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