Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 19, 2019

Andy Rachleff co-founded the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital in 1995. I thought, "Oh, I'll start it as a hobby, and if it turns into something, I'll hire a CEO. Because venture capitalists hire people with operating backgrounds, people think that that means that they value the operating skill.

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Silicon Valley Lean Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation 159

Up and Running

JULY 11, 2014

In 1995 Paul started a company that aimed to put art galleries online. Do the same thing on other social networks with advertising platforms, like LinkedIn and Facebook. In fact, the company has done so well that it now operates in 13 countries. Simply put, it’s not solving a real-life problem. You’re solving a problem!

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Startup Silicon Valley Cofounder Non-Compete 80

Reid Hoffman

MAY 18, 2021

For example, building a broad network of allies gives you more options and more opportunities to be lucky. The babysitter my father hired had a highly effective technique for placating young boys, which was to let them slay monsters and win treasure in a fantasy world. You can’t make your own luck; that would be determinism.

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Cofounder Silicon Valley Russia Germany 69

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2010

While individual VC’s inside venture firms specialized in particular domains (PC’s, peripherals, semiconductors, test equipment, operating systems, applications, etc.,) One could argue that there’s nothing new here, as Internet distibution models started in 1995. But in reality they only became mainstream ~5-7 years ago.

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Reid Hoffman

MARCH 19, 2019

O’Reilly’s article describes two businesses from his own career at O’Reilly—the Global Network Navigator (GNN) web portal, which he sold to AOL, and the Website web server, which eventually fell by the wayside. If O’Reilly had that same insight in 1995, it could have been an amazing blitzscaling opportunity. It’s a great business.

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Cofounder Business Model IPO Non-Compete 28

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

We selected this benchmark because it reflects the phase in which companies have proven product viability, achieved initial product/market fit, and are now expanding sales and growing more complex operations. In the old model of Israeli startups, many Israeli executive teams would hire a vice president of sales in the U.S.

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Cofounder Technical Review United States 20

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 7, 2017

When I began practicing law I was hired by a firm where billable hours and collected fees were the only considerations for advancement. Soon, I had more work than I could handle, and had to hire another attorney and staff member. From that life altering event, Ella Bing was born as a family owned and operated business in 2012.

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Entrepreneur LLC Cofounder Green 91