Sat.Sep 11, 2010 - Fri.Sep 17, 2010

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You Negotiate Commodities, But You Seize Opportunities

Steve Blank

It took losing something important to understand the difference between a commodity and an opportunity. Along the way I also learned yet another way entrepreneurs see the world differently from their investors. Advisory Board. In the early days of Rocket Science I realized that we needed high-level advice on multiple fronts; technology, game development, video game distribution, etc.

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E-Commerce Startup Entry Cost is at All-Time Low

Startup Professionals Musings

If you have a unique creation or invention, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. The cost of entry has never been lower. Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, venture capitalists, or angels. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up.

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Angel Investing 4 – Why You Need Deep Pockets to Win Big

Both Sides of the Table

This is the fourth article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. The first three skills I espoused were: access to the highest-quality deal-flow, domain knowledge of the topic area in which you’re investing and access to VCs to help fund the next stages of development.

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Why Your Startup Should Be Involved in Open Source

ReadWriteStart

Oftentimes, when you hear the arguments for "Why open source?", they are aimed at convincing companies to use open source software. But the other piece of the argument is, of course, an argument for why your company should build open source - why it should develop its technology in a community-driven, open sourced way. Along those lines, Peter Friese, head of mobile development at Itemis recently wrote an article arguing " Why Your Next App Should Be Open Sourced.".

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Building Healthy Innovation Ecosystems for Your Projects

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

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11 Kinds of Popularity

Life Beyond Code

Without further ado, here they are in no particular order. Some types lend themselves to be popular within closed circles and others more broadly. 1. The Fun Type: You are always fun to be around. You transform any party with your humor, wit and just by being jovial. You are popular and people will miss you in a party. It is never the same. However, if that is the only reason you are popular, they will not miss you outside the party halls. 2.

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Factors in Structuring a Product Organization

SVPG

For nearly every organization that has grown beyond a very early stage startup, one of the most common, yet difficult, questions is the optimal way to split up the product work. As soon as you have more than one product manager, or more than one interaction designer, teams face this question. And for larger organizations, this becomes a very significant and ongoing struggle.

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More Trending

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Strategy Roundtable: 5 Cloud Computing Opportunities for Entrepreneurs

ReadWriteStart

At today?'s roundtable, I started with a presentation on blue sky opportunities in cloud computing based on our Thought Leaders In Cloud Computing (TLCC) research. I took the audience through five cloud-based business ideas, discussed why they are relevant and pointed them to the sources I derived those ideas from. For you, readers, here they are: Sponsor. 1.

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Lesser Known Traits of Successful Founders

Software By Rob

Software by Rob Passionate about Startups and MicroISVs Lessons Learned by a Serial Entrepreneur home about press micropreneurs archives ← Guest Post on A Smart Bear: Virtual Assistants and Outsourcing Ten Things I Will Never Have to Do Again → Lesser Known Traits of Successful Founders Micropreneurship , Startups If youre trying grow your startup youve come to the right place.

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The Most Important (and Often Overlooked) Success Factor in Emerging Companies

Growthink Blog

What most frustrates angel investors is the “needle in the haystack” nature of picking winners. The frustration is trebled because the “traditional” investing options these days are so deeply unattractive. The U.S. public stock market long-term woes would be comical if they weren’t so tragic. We are now well-beyond 11 long years of ZERO public market returns, with major indices (Dow, S & P, and NASDAQ) trading much lower than they were in September 1999.

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Angel Investing (1): Dealflow – Are You Sitting at The Right Poker Table?

Both Sides of the Table

Executive Summary. I believe the rise in angel investing is here to stay and the professionalization of this class (aka “super angels&# or “micro VC&# ) is a good thing for the VC industry and for entrepreneurs. It is basically a return to the type of VC that was done 20 years ago long before the craziness of the Internet boom that skewed things so greatly.

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Pitching Your Startup to Potential Enterprise Clients

ReadWriteStart

In the Internet startup space, some companies choose to develop enterprise solutions they hope will attract large corporate contracts. While some entrepreneurs have experience giving investors their 30 second pitch, corporate CIOs are a bit of a different beast when it comes to selling a product. During the first day of product pitches and launches at DEMO this week, a panel moderated by Computerworld's executive editor Julia King focused on this very issue.

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Job Titles That Can Sink Your Startup

Steve Blank

I had coffee with an ex student earlier in the week that reminded me yet again why startups burn through so many early VP’s. And after 30 years of Venture investing we still have a hard time articulating why. Here’s one possible explanation – Job titles in a startup mean something different than titles in a large company. You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

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The Most Important (and Often Overlooked) Success Factor in Angel Investing

Growthink Blog

What most frustrates angel investors is the “needle in the haystack” nature of picking winners. The frustration is trebled because the “traditional” investing options these days are so deeply unattractive. We are now well-beyond 11 long years of ZERO public market returns, with major indices (Dow, S & P, and NASDAQ) trading much lower than they were in September 1999.

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Outbound VC Dialing Programs – Total Disrespect for Entrepreneurs

Both Sides of the Table

I recently got an email from a friend who had been approached by a well known VC. He sent me an email asking whether the approach was real and whether he should take it seriously. Here is the email he received (reprinted without names with his permission). “Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well. I’m an investor at [Big Name, Large Fund VC] and recently came across [Your Company].

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The Perfect Storm for IT Outsourcing

deal architect

As I present to outsourcing audiences on the book tour, they pick up on several new services markets the book outlines - Accenture's Mobility Operated Services. Cognizant being involved in the clinical tests for the high-profile H1N1 vaccine last year.

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ProfessorVC: Are DEMO's days numbered?

Professor VC

ProfessorVC. The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Thursday, September 16, 2010. Are DEMOs days numbered? Has DEMO lost its luster and relevance in 2010? I spent the past couple of days at the conference and certainly felt like it. There wasnt a lot of buzz in the air. This was the 20th Anniversary and possibly the last. DEMO has always been one of my favorite tech conferences.

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Entrepreneurs Can Learn To Enjoy Solving Problems

Startup Professionals Musings

If you can’t solve problems and enjoy it, you won’t make it as an entrepreneur. By definition, an entrepreneur is the first to undertake a given business, and firsts never happen without problems and people frustrations. The toughest problems are people problems, like personnel issues, but there are tough operational problems as well, such as vendor delays.

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Angel Investing Skill 2 – Domain Knowledge

Both Sides of the Table

This is the second article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. I have talked extensively about “social proof&# in fund raising in the past. But the problem is that most deals – even really promising ones – fail.

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You cant handle the truth

deal architect

Hurricane Earl was whistling by the East Coast the week prior. Oracle OpenWorld comes up next week where I am sure we will be bombarded with talk about Exadata and other analytical tools. I am thinking ahead to my keynote. Tags: Enterprise Software (IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP) Industry Commentary.

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Ron Conway's 7 Tech Megatrends

ReadWriteStart

Techcrunch has obtained a copy of SV Angel's list of " Tech Megatrends." The document lists the 7 trends that SV Angel, led by investor Ron Conway, is eyeing. Having your service on this trend list doesn't guarantee funding; nor does being absent from the list mean you necessarily have a bad or out-dated idea. But the trends list is likely to be taken into consideration by SV Angel, at the least, when assessing "what's hot.".

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Seven Actions of a True Role Model Entrepreneur

Startup Professionals Musings

In the beginning all businesses are just people playing out an idea. It’s never the other way around – there is no idea so big that it doesn’t need people to make it succeed. Investors know this, hence the saying “Bet on the jockey, not the horse.” A great jockey is a great role model. Like it or not, everyone looks to the entrepreneur as the jockey role model in a new business.

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Angel Investing: Skill 3 – Relationships with VCs

Both Sides of the Table

This is the third article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. Part 2 discussed the need for domain knowledge since merely “joining the right club deal&# will in no way determine success. Not everybody agreed on the need for domain knowledge.

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The Cobalt Blue Oracle OpenWorld?

deal architect

Last year, Larry Ellison invoked Chanel fuchsia and puce as he mocked cloud computing. Well, fashion folks in New York tell us this Fall’s hot color is cobalt blue. With Sun firmly in tow and a career hardware exec, Mark.

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Apply Now for Women 2.0's Pitch Startup Competition

ReadWriteStart

Applications are being accepted now for the 4th Annual PITCH: Women 2.0 Startup Competition. The competition is open to any early-stage venture that's still in beta stage and has yet to receive significant funding. Applying teams must have at least one women and one technologist (engineer, scientist, etc) on the founding team. To enter the competition, submit your application , your "napkin business plan," and film a quick video pitch.

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A Primer on Angel Investment ‘Simple Term Sheets’

Startup Professionals Musings

Remember a term sheet agreement is not a deal until the check clears. Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. But due diligence and paperwork take time, and can change everything. It’s true that angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists.

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Angel Investing: Skill 3 – Relationships with VCs

Both Sides of the Table

This is the third article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. Part 2 discussed the need for domain knowledge since merely “joining the right club deal&# will in no way determine success. Not everybody agreed. Paul Kedrosky made the case for “naive optimism&# being an important part of startup success.

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A modern authors blessing: Rapid, global reader feedback

deal architect

Since my book came out, I have been blessed with an unbelievable range of feedback – from readers I have known for a while, others i have never met, and those I have been meeting on the book tour. To. Tags: The New Polymath.

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Establishing Your Reputation as a Startup CEO Before Launch

ReadWriteStart

Yesterday, I wrote about the things you can do to prepare your startup's website pre-launch. But your online presence doesn't solely exist on and shouldn't solely rely on your company website. And it's incredibly valuable that just as you work on it, that you work to develop an online presence for you, the entrepreneur. Case in point: the relaunch this past week of SpeakerText , whose CEO Matt Mireles I had a chance to talk to.

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Get a Technical Degree But Entrepreneurial Spirit

Startup Professionals Musings

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. There are people who are natural musicians, but that doesn't mean we don't try to teach them music. Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business.

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Entrepreneurs Unplugged with Andre Durand

Feld Thoughts

Once again I’m moderating the Entrepreneurs Unplugged series hosted by Silicon Flatirons. Our first interviewee – this coming Monday night – is Andre Durand, the founder and CEO of Ping Identity. Andre Durand brings 18 years of software industry executive leadership experience to his role as founder and CEO at Ping Identity. Durand co-founded Digital ID World, the identity industry conference (acquired by IDG in 2007).

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Making the city we want to live in

This is going to be BIG.

Nine years ago, I walked up Madison Avenue with a pregnant co-worker back to the Upper East Side, after just having witnessed the falling of the first tower during the 9/11 Attacks. I was working at the General Motors pension fund, and we were all huddled together in the trading room, which was the one place we had a television. I had just graduated college that year.

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Getting Your Startup Website Ready, Pre-Launch

ReadWriteStart

Even if you're not quite ready to show the public your product, you can still create a good website and a solid online presence for your startup. I want to sidestep the argument about whether or not it's good to be " stealth " or not, and work with the assumption that if you've purchased the domain name, you're going to put up some sort of website. So here are a few of the things you should consider when building your startup's site: Sponsor. 1.

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Ten Key Elements Make a Startup a Risky Business

Startup Professionals Musings

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Yet everyone seems to have their own view of key risk sources for startups, and I’m no exception. I don’t agree, for example, that the first priority is to avoid startups with a high attrition rate, like trendy restaurants and entertainment.

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I’ve Been Decloaked By The Folks At Big Red Scarves

Feld Thoughts

I went on vacation for a few days to celebrate Amy’s birthday and those sneaky scarf makers at Big Red Scarves expose me on the Internets. I’ve been trying for months to discover their secrets to no avail. I’ve even had Amy take up knitting to try to figure it out. But now I know. It’s Trada. The real secret is out – Big Red Scarves has been using Trada for their search engine marketing campaigns.

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Small World

This is going to be BIG.

I check in to make my world smaller, friendlier, more familiar--so that you'll see where I go and think about joining me, or just say hello. I tweet so that you won't ask me what I do for a living, but instead ask me about kayaking, steak, or biking--or maybe jump right into the meme of the moment, be it helmets or cloud to cloud backup. I friend to learn about you--to see where you came from and the friends you left behind that you visit on long weekends.

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Startup Tips from Jack Dorsey: Don't Pull a Twitter

ReadWriteStart

Twitter is often hailed as an exalted success story whose footsteps should be followed by young startups. While Twitter is certainly a successful break-out company that managed to shoehorn an innovative social communication into our already busy lives, there are plenty of things Twitter has done wrong that startups should do their best to avoid lest history repeat itself.

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