article thumbnail

Is Going for Rapid Growth Always Good? Aren’t Startups So Much More?

Both Sides of the Table

As a person who spends much time thinking about the venture capital & startup community and who has seen good times & bad times across many economic cycles the article is well written. And the wrong message is frankly strewn all over Silicon Valley. And this is fueled by the VC culture in Silicon Valley.

article thumbnail

Amsterdam-based Rockstart Accelerator’s first graduates head to Silicon Valley

The Next Web

The accelerator, which counts Amazon CTO Werner Vogels among its startup mentors , will be showcasing its first batch of startups (see list below) in Silicon Valley on the 20th of September, followed by a panel discussion about “The Future of the European Startup Community” Sounds riveting!

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

The Audacious Plan to Make Electricity as Easy as WiFi

Both Sides of the Table

It’s true the some VCs have started writing so many checks that they resemble stock pickers but the majority of us still have less than 10 board seats at any time and tend to go pretty deep so the result is that we care deeply about where we commit our time. Meredith came to see me along with the CTO Marc Berte.

article thumbnail

A Few Key People Really Can Make a Huge Difference

Both Sides of the Table

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. Your highest priority right now is hiring the 1 or 2 people that are going to join your company and make a difference. There’s you and your killer CTO co-founder. The ingredients are all here. People do want to help.

Seattle 317
article thumbnail

The Power of Getting the Band Back Together

Both Sides of the Table

The truth is you really don’t know how your teammates or your bosses will perform in good times and bad. You hire people who look good on paper. So one of the surest signs you’ve hired a leader is the willingness of his or her former team to re-assemble. After 6 months – you know. You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320
article thumbnail

When Should Technical Founders Become CEO?

Both Sides of the Table

Much has been written about when it is time to hire a “professional CEO” to run a startup company and of course that has long been a norm in Silicon Valley when founders find that their inexperience may be a limiting factor in company growth ( know as the Peter Principle ). So why did Larry need to return?

Founder 309
article thumbnail

You Negotiate Commodities, But You Seize Opportunities

Steve Blank

One of the first potential advisors I reached out to was someone who 10 years earlier tried to hire me as the VP of Marketing of his new division at Sun Microsystems. For lots of reasons that never worked out, but I liked him so much that the following year I tried to hire him as the VP of Engineering of Ardent. (He But I was crushed.