Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. Many, however, don’t know how to take their small business to the next level. In the long run, these tell you whether you will live or die, compared to competitors. Customer loyalty and retention. MORE >>

This is part of an ongoing startup advice series where I answer (anonymized!) questions from readers, like a written version of Smart Bear Live. To get your question answered , email me at asmartbear -at- shortmail -dot- com. just quit my day job to work on it full-time, and I have a few thousand more dollars I can put into it. But what? Mailbag MORE >>

I am surprised this video only has 483 views as of now. It's a talk I did with Chris Dixon eighteen months ago about founder liquidity. It's an interesting topic and worth a discussion here this morning. It's about six minutes long. Enjoy. Venture Capital and Technology MORE >>

Since Benchmark’s investment in Ebay 15 years ago, we have been fascinated by online marketplaces. Entrepreneurs accurately recognize that the connective tissue of the Internet provides an opportunity to link the players in a particular market, reducing friction in both the buying and selling experience. You must also organically aggregate demand. MORE >>

Everyone in the business world has heard of the old bestseller by Geoffrey A. Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ,” but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Customer support chasm. MORE >>