Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 10, 2010
A couple of years ago I read the popular book, “The Four Hour Workweek &# by Tim Ferriss. It was recommended to me by my friend, Net Jacobsson , who was trying to do some basic Life Hacking. If you’re not familiar with the term it’s basically trying to help all of us who are deluged with technology to find ways to cope with the masses of information without having it ruin our lives.
SoCal CTO
JANUARY 26, 2010
I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in very early stage companies. In December 2007, I described how I commonly take on an Acting CTO Role in a Start-up. I used an image from Roger Smith that describes the varying roles of a CTO as the company matures. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be.
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A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
JANUARY 18, 2010
" I feel like a fraud. I've been at this for 16 years and I still feel like a fraud. I'm just waiting for the day they see through the façade, but they keep coming back every year." -- Jason Young. Ah yes, the awe-inspiring words of confidence from the seasoned entrepreneur. My friend Jason intended this as soothing words of solace during (one of my) periods of personal freak-out while Smart Bear was in its infancy.
Startup Lessons Learned
JANUARY 18, 2010
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, January 18, 2010 Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases non-events The following is a case study of one entrepreneurs transition from a traditional development cycle to continuous deployment. Many people still find this idea challenging, even for companies that operate solely on the web. This case presents a further complication: desktop software.
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
Steve Blank
JANUARY 21, 2010
…I’ve been to the mountaintop and I’ve seen the Promised Land. And I might not get there with you… Martin Luther King. The startup founder who gets fired just as his/her company is growing into large company could be a cliché – if it wasn’t so true – and painful. Let’s take a look at why. Full disclosure: I’ve worn all the hats in this post.
crowdSPRING Blog
JANUARY 25, 2010
In March, Ross and I will be hosting a talk at South by Southwest; it’s called “ Third Coast: How to be a Startup Outside of Silicon Valley.&# We have been thinking a lot about this lately and discussing the challenges we have faced on our own path. When we first conceived of the idea that would ultimately become crowdSPRING, we never even discussed the possibility of starting the company anywhere but Chicago – it never occurred to us that we might have an easier go of it els
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
SoCal CTO
JANUARY 7, 2010
This is purely anecdotal, but it seems like a lot of companies are hiring technology talent here in Southern California. I’ve recently seen several tweets from software development companies looking for talent. And I’ve heard from several people looking for Startup Software Developers. And we have been looking to hire several positions (but are being really picky as is normally the case).
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
JANUARY 11, 2010
I hate most interviews , and I think everyone else does too. They're rarely actionable or insightful. This interview is uncommonly different. In the last interview Peldi Guilizzoni (Balsamiq Studios) gave detailed advice about how he earned almost a million dollars in revenue in his first year of operation. In this installment we hear from startup expert Bob Walsh , whose many works for startup founders include: Blog: 47 Hats.
Startup Lessons Learned
JANUARY 12, 2010
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, January 12, 2010 Amazing lean startup resources A year ago, there was no lean startup movement. The term was known by maybe a few dozen people. Being an evangelist for these ideas earned me a regular diet of funny looks and patronizing comments. At that time, my wildest dreams did not include even a fraction of whats happened since.
Occam's Razor
JANUARY 6, 2010
The new year is such a wonderful time. Wonderful smells in the air. The world is full of hope. Unachievable things seem achievable and are being polished into shiny resolutions. World peace seems within grasp. As we spring to action full of passion I wanted to share with you all a short list of things that will expand your little world of online marketing & web analytics.
Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak
JANUARY 23, 2010
Ali Hale has jumped in with this post explaining the virtues of becoming a freelancer as an in-between step to become a full on entrepreneur. Since this is the exact path she is walking now, Ali in a great position to help explain what it is like. If you’re feeling the fear regarding quitting your job to start up a business because you’re worried about the financial strain, freelancing as a cash flow source is a great idea.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 16, 2010
Bill Gates once famously said that people tend to overestimate the impact of technology in the 1-year timeframe and underestimate its impact in the 10-year timeframe. That’s always stuck with me. I tend not to go into heat when I hear the latest buzz on the tech blogs about the latest gadgets. But when I read thoughtful pieces on the future of technology I start to imagine where our lives will be in 10 years.
SoCal CTO
JANUARY 28, 2010
Yesterday, I met with someone at the early stage of a startup. He has a great concept with some complexity to it. He was struggling to find high quality developers in Los Angeles. Just the kind of person I like to meet. :) But I was a bit surprised when he emphasized how hard it had been for them to find a web developer in Los Angeles. My flippant comment was, “If you do a Google search for Los Angeles web developer, you’ll find a LOT of people and firms.
Software By Rob
JANUARY 12, 2010
Software by Rob Passionate about Startups and MicroISVs Lessons Learned by a Serial Entrepreneur home about press micropreneurs archives ← The Two iPhone App Stores, Lessons from a “Pay What You Want&# Sale, Lessons of Failure, and more… Why You Should Re-architect Your Career to Amplify Your Strengths → Startup Marketing Part 3: The Nine Levels of Traffic Quality Micropreneurship , Startups If youre trying grow your startup youve come to the right place.
Startup Lessons Learned
JANUARY 7, 2010
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Thursday, January 7, 2010 Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? (for Harvard Business Review) Im excited to have just published the first of several articles on entrepreneurship for the Harvard Business Review online. Although much of it will sound familiar to readers of this blog, whats new is my first step towards the " new entrepreneurship " that is my goal for 2010.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 27, 2010
I can’t tell you how I got this, but I hear that the iTablet user manual comes with a whole host of unexpected disclosures: Warning: Pregnant women, the elderly, and children under 10 should avoid prolonged exposure to The Apple iTablet. Caution: The Apple iTablet may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds. The Apple iTablet contains a liquid core, which, if exposed due to rupture, should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at.
Tim Keane
JANUARY 12, 2010
'Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. Home. Archives. Profile. Subscribe. « Power of Angel Investing in Milwaukee | Main. | Bottom Up Market Sizing » January 12, 2010. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. Please see later version of this post on May 16, 2010 Entrepreneurs are often not experts in the area of term-sheet negotiations and all of the surrounding issues. Investors sometimes “
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 31, 2010
Most people suck at presenting to big groups. It’s a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs. This was evident at the Twiistup pre-event company pitch last week at UCLA. Francisco Dao came up with the idea of letting 10 companies that weren’t selected for Twiistup to do a presentation the night before to a group of people and l
Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak
JANUARY 31, 2010
Many years ago (almost five years ago in fact) I wrote an article about what the music industry might look like in a digital distributed world. My premise was that thanks to networked portable devices and the Long Tail , bands would survive because distribution networks would allow them to reach their fans much easier. In effect, I was preempting the arrival of the iPhone and stating something similar to Kevin Kelly’s concept of 1,000 true fans being enough for a creator (like an artist, a
Cracking the Code
JANUARY 14, 2010
Cracking The Code. Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. Thursday, January 14, 2010. Happy New Year 2010! A bit of French humor. so much for Cleantech! "Bloody ecologists!". Posted by Philippe Botteri. at 5:00 PM. Labels: anecdotes. 1 comment: Netsuite Services. said. Great article, thank you for sharing!
Startup Lessons Learned
JANUARY 15, 2010
Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, January 15, 2010 Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Harvard Business Review) The next part in the series I am writing for Harvard Business Review is online. This time, Im discussing the challenge for corporate CFOs and VCs alike in holding entrepreneurs accountable. Of course, the method I recommend, that of using quantified learning as a yardstick, is of equal interest to disciplined entrepreneurs.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 19, 2010
Back in July, I wrote a piece called “ Why Yelp (…and every single retail establishment) Should Support Foursquare ”. Whitney McNamara referred to as the “post that launched 1000 VCs”, but it was really meant to open up a dialogue between an innovative little company hyperfocused on an important piece of data—when people show up to venues—and a bigger company dependent on relationships with venues.
Steve Blank
JANUARY 25, 2010
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill. Everyone knows what a startup is for – don’t they? In this post we’re going to offer a new definition of why startups exist : a startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. A Business Model. Ok, but what is a business model ?
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 19, 2010
I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. Congratulations. You’ve found a VC partner or principal who has invited you to the Monday partners’ meeting. Or on a sales campaign you’ve finally gotten your project sponsor to take you to the “executive committee&# where decisions are made and budgets are agreed.
Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak
JANUARY 30, 2010
Joel from BlogTechGuy.com is fast becoming one of the best WordPress experts around. He has already reviewed two premium WordPress themes on my blog, so when Kevin Muldoon offered a review copy of his theme, Joel was happy to check it out and then write this review. Here’s what Joel thinks of the “Personal Theme&# for WordPress… What is the Personal Theme?
SoCal CTO
JANUARY 13, 2010
One of the topics that came up in my post Mobile Internet Apple Facebook was around open vs. closed platforms. This issue comes up at the start of almost every new startup company in a variety of forms. I’m constantly struggling with trying to figure out the best way to pull together solutions, especially with how fast things move. In this post, I want to look at just the question of when it makes sense to use Facebook Connect, Twitter Oauth, OpenID, Yahoo Browser-Based Authentication, Google Fr
deal architect
JANUARY 28, 2010
On a day when President Obama acknowledged he had to think much smaller than the 60s “Great Society” vision of Lyndon Johnson, Larry Ellison actually went the other way and said “Our vision for the year 2010 is the same. Tags: Enterprise Software (IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP).
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
JANUARY 4, 2010
Tired of productivity articles instructing you to break down large projects into smaller, more annoying, and less interesting tasks? Or about how if even the teeniest little thing remains in your inbox at 5:00 on Friday afternoon, then not only will your entire weekend be shot, but also you are a terrible human being ? Well I figured with the New Year ringing in Resolutions about how It's Really Going To Be Different This Time, No Really I Mean It Why Are You Looking At Me Like That, it would be
Steve Blank
JANUARY 4, 2010
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood …. Daniel Burnham. A lot of entrepreneurs think that their startup is the next big thing when in reality they’re just building a small business. How can you tell if your startup has the potential to be the next Google, Intel or Facebook? A first order filter is whether the founders are aiming for a scalable startup.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 21, 2010
I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). I know that people have an allergy to lawyers out of fear of being screwed. Much of this is unfounded – some is not. If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have.
Genuine VC
JANUARY 15, 2010
For the past five years, I’ve been organizing a regular event here in Boston called the Web Innovators Group (aka “WebInno”). Every couple months, 700-1000 web & mobile entrepreneurs, techies, startup junkies, and investors gather for one big meetup of the community. It’s been personally fulfilling to start something which begun as a small informal gathering grow into a real component of the local startup scene (and now drawing people from New York and Washington DC).
SoCal CTO
JANUARY 5, 2010
The analysts at Morgan Stanley have produced a report that’s quite good reading on some of the major trends concerning mobile web. The report consists of: The Mobile Internet Report Summary Slides – a 92-slide presentation that provides highlights on the key themes The Mobile Internet Report Key Themes – a 659-slide presentation that drills down a bit more The Mobile Internet Report – a 424 page report which explores 8 major themes in depth and includes the two aforementioned slide presentations
deal architect
JANUARY 14, 2010
…but unlike in the movie Network, don’t open the window, don’t stick your head out and don’t yell “I am mad as hell.” Instead make a phone call…more about that it a minute. SAP today announced “that it will reinstate. Tags: Enterprise Software (IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP).
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
JANUARY 15, 2010
I don't write many meta-posts, but I was just asked for the forty-seventh time which Wordpress plugin I use for this or that. I know I recently said your blogging platform doesn't matter , but it's not that it doesn't matter at all , just that it's not the primary driver of success and shouldn't be the first thing you spend time on. But still I take pride in my work, and that means attention to detail, and that means customizing the blog for both appearances and utility.
Steve Blank
JANUARY 14, 2010
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao-tzu. If you read the academic literature or business press, you might believe that large companies and their business models are brought by the stork. This series of posts are going to offer a new three-stage model of how startups grow into large companies. And I’ll end with some thoughts about a new approach to entrepreneurial education using this model.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 26, 2010
This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. The full list is now posted there if you want a sneak preview. I’ll try to add a few extra comments in my posts to keep in interesting. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity.
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