Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 5, 2010
I attended the inaugural Open Angel Forum in Los Angeles back in January and wrote about it here. Jason Calacanis started this initiative in response to the pay-to-play network of angel events that he despised. I’m a huge supporter of his initiative to help end this practice. The first event was a big success and brought out many of LA’s angel elite.
SoCal CTO
MARCH 1, 2010
Here are some recent great posts that I’ve come across that generally fall in the intersection of startups and CTOs. Enjoy. Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition | For Entrepreneurs , February 2, 2010 Looks at the critical equation around customer acquisition cost vs. customer lifetime value similar to what I discussed in Startup Metrics but in more depth.
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Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 1, 2010
Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. Don’t believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and people will throw money at you. In reality, there are multiple more productive approaches you should explore in getting your startup moving forward. Of course, there are pros and cons to each of these.
Feld Thoughts
MARCH 3, 2010
My friend Sawyer is back with another post in his series of talking about software patent issues. As I mentioned before, Sawyer is a real person named after our intrepid friend in LOST (I haven’t seen it this week – no spoilers please) who has agreed to help us navigate the parallel universe known as software patent land. I’m channeling Sawyer’s points of view as a public service announcement since he’s uncomfortable being named publicly – these are his words, not mine.
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
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 27, 2010
Nature vs. Nurture. You’ve all heard the question before. Let’s talk about kids for a moment. I grew up believing that human behavior was 20% nature, 80% nurture. Now that I have two boys (4 and 7) I’m convinced it’s the other way around. There’s no question that both factors are involved. There have been many studies done on the topic including looking at twins raised in separate families.
This is going to be BIG.
MARCH 1, 2010
It’s really difficult for me not to get into the thick of discussions about whether or not you can and/or should build a company in New York City. I grew up here, went to school here, and have worked hard over the last 5+ years to help build up the NYC innovation community. I’m extremely passionate about the topic and so when my city gets picked on, I tend to respond confidently and with the same (and sometimes greater) force than I perceive the complaint to have.
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Austin Startup
MARCH 5, 2010
Today, Austin-based BidModo launched a public beta version of its free online small business marketplace where business owners connect with local companies in a variety of business service categories. From accounting to graphic design, BidModo provides an online marketplace to increase productivity, reduce costs and link local companies. BidModo is live nationally in 80 cities with active connections in over 100 business service categories, with the company planning to roll out in each focus cit
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 3, 2010
Many of us in the technology, media and VC world sit on panels at lot. Many of them are painfully boring. It’s a shame since it’s such a golden opportunity for you to build awareness with your audience for who you are and what you do. And it’s a surprisingly great way to meet people in this industry who share the stage with you.
deal architect
MARCH 4, 2010
Something remarkable happened in the Valley last week. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Larry Page of Google, John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins (KP), and executives from Walmart, Coca-Cola, FedEx and elsewhere attended a launch party. All. Tags: Industry Commentary.
Steve Blank
MARCH 1, 2010
Trading emails with a startup CEO building an iPhone app, I asked him why potential customers would buy his product. In response he sent me a competitive analysis. It looked like every competitive analysis I had done for 20 years, (ok maybe better.). And it made me sad. Looking at the spreadsheet, I realized that competitive analysis tables are one of the ways professional marketers screw up startups from day one.
www.instigatorblog.com
MARCH 2, 2010
Home About Contact My thoughts & lessons learned on startups, entrepreneurship, marketing and other stuff. The Importance of Advisory Boards for Startup CEOs Tweet When a startup receives financing it will need to setup a Board of Directors. The Board probably existed beforehand, but was made up only of the founders. Once funding takes place, the angels or VCs will want a seat at the table.
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 2, 2010
After a few days of controversial blog posts I thought I’d try something more light hearted today. Fred Wilson once wrote about the topic of how to introduce two people who don’t know each other via email. He called it the “ double opt-in introduction. &# He talks about the stuggles of email introductions when you’re dealing at scale.
deal architect
MARCH 4, 2010
RightNow publicizes key features of its new service contract. Many of the features are new to software world but have been around in outsourcing and telecom world (like AT&T's rollover credits, but bring their own fine print and headaches) as.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 4, 2010
I deal often with early-stage startups, and many of these don’t have any customers yet (but wish they did), so it’s not surprising they don’t have a formal customer service program in place. More disturbingly, others do have customers, but the customer service program consists of informal haphazard problem resolution efforts. The right time to put a formal customer service program in place, with measurements, is right now.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
MARCH 5, 2010
This is a guest post by Mike Schoeffler, founder of iPhone running application Roadbud. He writes a refreshingly approachable fitness blog. I hesitate to take issue with Jason’s Sacrifice your health for your startup — particularly after his wife gave her up-close-and-personal. His main point is dead on — we need to unhealthily obsess over our creations.
Feld Thoughts
FEBRUARY 27, 2010
Videos like this one remind me that I live in a very tiny corner of the universe. Only 8% of the people interviewed (out of a sample of over 50) correctly defined a browser. It also shows how effective Google has been in their approach to branding, especially given that they just aired their first TV commercial a few weeks ago. Tags: Technology browser search engine.
deal architect
FEBRUARY 28, 2010
We all know amazon and growing self-publishing have changed the book industry, and Apple with iPad is about to do even more. So, as the industry morphs in confusing ways, I am so thankful I have access to many authors. Tags: Industry Commentary.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 28, 2010
I always love to get questions from my readers, and I answer them all, but sometimes I feel like the “Dear Abby’ for entrepreneurs. Many of the questions I get make me realize how well off most of us are, as we understand the challenges that others have to face. If you have some insights, don’t hesitate to let me know. Here are some real cases: Dear StartupPro, I am a minority looking for funding for a Home HealthCare Service business.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
MARCH 4, 2010
When I asked recently whether you'd like to see other people guest-posting here, the response was far more positive than I expected. But as much as you're open to hearing new voices, you were also clear that you come here for quality content (not quantity), for entrepreneurial perspective (not product pitches), and for my taste in topics, especially "behind the scenes" admissions of agony, humiliation, and mortifying unease.
Feld Thoughts
MARCH 3, 2010
I saw a tweet today that said “ The doubly-linked list, a structure I studied thirty years ago, has recently been patented.” After giggling at the absurdity of the idea, I went and at a patent dated 4/11/06 that appears to be for the doubly-linked list. The prior art was extremely thin, only went back to 1995, and didn’t mention that entire computer languages have been created around the list as a core data structure.
deal architect
MARCH 4, 2010
on the innovation blog Cloud Migration NOAA Tracking of Chilean Tsunami Flyfire’s floating 3-D display Compressed Sensing.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 3, 2010
At some point in their life, everyone strives to be the best at what they do. Most people think that being the best requires more intelligence, more training, and more experience. In reality, even in sports, the experts believe it is as much about how you think, as what you do. I saw this illustrated well in a sports excellence book called “ Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else ”, by Jon Gordon.
Rembrandt Communications
MARCH 4, 2010
With all of the ugly economic-news, the recent earthquakes and the snow and rain, it can be easy to feel sad. But the good news is… the economy can get better, you can prepare for natural disasters, and spring is just days away… And best of all, you are in charge of your own feelings. [.].
Feld Thoughts
MARCH 2, 2010
As of today’s announcement that Ted Wang at Fenwick & West has collaborated with a group of bay area early stage VC’s and angel investors to create the Series Seed Documents (the site isn’t up yet so I can’t opine on the quality of the docs but I expect them to be fine) we now have – at my count – four different standardized seed financing documents floating around the industry.
Startup Lessons Learned
FEBRUARY 28, 2010
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, February 28, 2010 Kiwi lean startup + Australia next Wrapping up a fabulous few weeks in New Zealand, where I had the privilege of attending some great events, like Kiwi Foo and Webstock ; met some amazing entrepreneurs and inventors (yes, including a jet pack ); and generally enjoyed a supportive and enthusiastic reception.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 5, 2010
Where did this pervasive sense of entitlement in our culture come from? I’ve written about this before, but I keep hearing top business executives proclaiming an entitlement to huge bonuses while failing, startups feeling entitled to venture funding without a good business plan, and regular people crying for their entitled home ownership, pension, and health care.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
MARCH 1, 2010
What if your company were allowed only one advantage over the competition? What would a sales call look like, starting with your 30-second pitch, then dealing with skeptical questions, trying to earn this potential customer's interest, respect, and eventually money, all with only one advantage? Impossible, or just pointless? Neither! You should go through this exercise because this skill is valuable in every sales call.
Feld Thoughts
MARCH 4, 2010
The Apple patent suit against HTC really riled up my friend Sawyer. I wasn’t planning on posting another missive from him until next week, but I thought this was particularly timely given the public statement from Apple, including a specific quote from Steve Jobs about its competitors stealing their patented inventions. Sawyer explains why this is simply inflammatory rhetoric and actually has no basis in fact or the way patent law works.
crowdSPRING Blog
MARCH 2, 2010
Like Conan O’Brien, crowdSPRING recently made a brief appearance on NBC. Unlike Conan, we also were very fortunate to appear on ABC. Tonight, ABC News, in a special report, covered crowdsourcing. We were thrilled to be included in the story – big thanks to Ross Weidner and Cheryl Burton. Here’s the special report: You can also read the transcript of the special report about crowdSPRING and crowdsourcing.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 2, 2010
A “downer” is defined here as someone who seems to dwell on the negatives of every business challenge, and loves to highlight bad news or potential problems. No matter how smart or experienced this person may otherwise be, things must change or they will kill your startup. I’m not talking about someone who has an occasional bad day, but rather people who when asked, “How are things?
Steve Blank
MARCH 4, 2010
“ By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist.&#. Book of Five Rings. I was having coffee with a former student who was complained that my idea of building a first product release with a minimum feature set was a bad idea. (One of the principles of Customer Development is to get out of the building and understand the smallest feature-set customers will pay for in the first release.).
Feld Thoughts
MARCH 2, 2010
Remember rock / paper / scissors? It’s a beautiful kids game that unlike tic-tac-toe regularly results in a winner. Paper always beats rock. Rock always beats scissors. Scissors always beats paper. But what happens when you only have two – say “software” and “network”. Whenever I’m at a Silicon Flatirons event, I always get into an argument with someone from the telecom world about “what the Internet is.
Start Up Blog
MARCH 3, 2010
We often read about the value of brand names: “The ikea brand alone is worth $12 billion – Interbrand&#. Not really. The value of a brand is the infrastructure and value chain which has been built behind it, resulting in the ultimate revenue streams. In truth the brand name is worth very little. Think about many of the unexpected and surprising corporate failures.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 27, 2010
A while back I emphasized how important is to have a company website these days ( Startups Without a Website Won’t Start ). I should have added that a website not clearly visible to search engines is lost in the dead zone. Unless someone searches for your company by name, it won’t show up in the results. Search engines like Google depend on website HTML tags, inbound and outbound links, and relevant content to do its ranking and matchmaking, and hopefully get your company found and near the top
The Entrepreneurial Mind
MARCH 2, 2010
While we hear about the power of social media as marketing tools, especially for those trying to bootstrap their businesses, but just how effective is it? New research from Utpal Dholakia and Emily Durham of Rice University takes a look at this question. The study is featured in the March issue of the Harvard Business Review. According to this study, companies that use Facebook and its fan page module to market themselves to customers can increase sales, word-of-mouth marketing, and customer loy
Feld Thoughts
MARCH 1, 2010
Marathon #15 is in the bag – I finished the New Orleans Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon in a time of 05:15:05 yesterday. Here’s a video of me crossing the finishing line. It was a beautiful day for a marathon – the temperature was 50 degrees and the sky was clear. There were about 18,000 runners (most for the half marathon) and like most Rock ‘n’ Roll races it was extremely well organized.
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