Rules of Thumb

Your First Dozen Enterprise Customers

My interview with Gabriel Weinberg was originally published Sep-8-2010. He was doing research for what became his fantastic book Traction. We talked for the better part of an hour and a half and I can remember he kept returning in different ways to what was needed to close your first dozen enterprise customers. He recently …

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If You Are Cycling Through Chaos, Keep Pedaling

Patrick Brady writes at “Red Kite Prayer” on cycling and related topics. His blog took a very personal turn in February of 2013 with a post entitled “Any Normal Person.” In reading the series I was reminded of a remark Irwin Federman made to MMI employees when were using four day work weeks (actually five …

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Some Unsolicited Advice From David Cain

David Cain wrote a thought provoking, practical, and inspiring blog post today on “67 short pieces of advice you didn’t ask for.”  Here are seven pieces of unsolicited advice that I took away, I have preserved his original numbering and added a few comments to particularize them for entrepreneurs.

Brooke Allen’s Hiring Process

Ask yourself this question, “What do employers owe the people they do not hire?” Brooke Allen’s answer from “How my life was changed when I began caring about the people I did not hire” offers three great suggestions for the startup hiring process.

Freedom

The desire for economic freedom and autonomy drives many entrepreneurs. Bootstrappers would rather work for customers than investors, choosing the discipline of the competitive marketplace over the wisdom and caprice of the boardroom. “Life is too short to work at a job you hate, but everyone has to do something someone else is willing to …

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Crafting a Value Proposition

Q: I struggle with the value proposition for our product. Either I am too abstract “we offer a positive return on time invested” or too vague “help increase your ability to manage critical challenges.” Do you have any suggestions for how to frame or formulate a value proposition? Here a few questions that a value …

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Entrepreneurial Passion: Good Servant, Poor Master

Entrepreneurial passion has to be based on a desire to create value, to be of service to a set of target customers. There may be many things you are interested in learning and room enough in your life for several hobbies, but pursuing a passion without regard to your ability to provide value in a …

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