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Why The Government is Isn’t a Bigger Version of a Startup

Steve Blank

Urgency and risk-taking in a startup are integral parts of the culture, felt by 100 percent of early-stage employees. They can break the law and apologize later (as Uber, Airbnb , and Tesla did), but a government official taking the same type of risks can go to jail.

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Revisiting Paul Graham’s “High Resolution” Financing

Both Sides of the Table

I talked about this in my social proof post where I gave some suggestions about how to get the early guys off of the fence. Most early-stage entrepreneurs who have worked with me (either as an angel or as a seed VC) know that I don’t rely at all on the social proof of other investors. When I’m in, I’m in.

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Accelerator Spotlight: Balletic Foods

View from Seed

Anita grew up on a farm in the south of Germany and is now living in Northern California, where Balletic is located. . RH: What’s your favorite thing about being an early-stage founder? And your least? AB: Favorite thing: Working on such an important issue and making a difference in the world .

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This Week in VC with Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners

Both Sides of the Table

Greycroft is an early-stage VC. The “private sale” market phenomenon was started in France by Vente-Privee (literally means “private sale”) and was replicated in Germany by BrandsforFriends. When the show has been processed it will be available here (estimated 8pm PDT).

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My Life as a CEO (and VC): Chief Psychologist

Both Sides of the Table

This is the failure of many early-stage companies when they try to scale. My first company was founded in Ireland, headquartered in England and had country operations in the UK, France & Germany. Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of never devolving power. They are control freaks and have to own all of the decisions.

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Fintech: the 21st-century assembly line

View from Seed

My fantasy as a kid was to work at the Audi HQ in Stuttgart, Germany, designing and building my dream car. After graduation, I spent the next 9 years working at a bank, an early-stage b2b fintech startup, and a growth-stage mortgage startup.

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Do startups need business insurance?

The Startup Magazine

For startup owners, the initial stages of business can be the most thrilling and terrifying: it’s time to crunch the numbers, go the extra mile, and make your vision fly. But while early stage entrepreneurs are brimming with enthusiasm, they’re not thinking about how to protect themselves if they’re unable to work for a while.

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