Look Forward
I meet too many early stage entrepreneurs who are still trying to win an argument with a former team or company (“those fools at the Institute”) that they used to work for. An argument that is only taking place in their own mind.
July 4, Independence Day, 2011
When I was a boy the 4th of July was sparklers and fireworks in Kirkwood Park. While I don’t find fireworks as exciting today as when I was younger, I do have a better understanding of these words from the Declaration of Independence and I find them energizing on Independence Day 2011.
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SKMurphy, Inc. 8 Years In: What We Are Working On Now
Steve Blank: “Sean Murphy adds tremendous value for startups in setting them up “getting out of the building” and how to make sense of the data they’ve gathered. He’s one consultant I personally know (I’m sure there are others) who doesn’t confuse his role with the founders. I think of his consulting firm as a
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Buying a Map vs. Learning to Explore
Learning to explore is a key skill for entrepreneurs. Ask questions you don’t know the answer to–where the answer would have an impact on your ability to assess the risk in your venture or would help you to define a key aspect of your business.
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–June 2011
You can follow @skmurphy to get them hot off the mojo wire or wait until the end of the month when these quotes for entrepreneurs are collected on the blog. Enter your E-mail if you would like new blog posts to your inbox.
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Startup Lessons Learned 2011 Roundup
This is a recap of the presentations from the 2011 Startup Lessons Learned Conference. My intent is to provide links to the presentations, videos, and relevant blog post for each session. Update Aug-5-2014: none of the Justin.TV links resolve at this point because of their exit from the video hosting business. As I find other
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Start Where You Are
People ask me where to get started. Lately I have been telling them: start where you are and sell what you have. Meet people, help them connect, and explore possibilities. Knit your network now before you need it.
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A Scientific Approach to Startups Won’t Create “A Science of Startups”
Taking a scientific approach to startups by formulating and testing critical hypotheses is a great idea, but it won’t create a “Science of Startups.”
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Why Your Startup Matters Has Little to Do With Funding
Successful entrepreneurs answer “Why your startup matters?” by pointing to problems solved for customers and jobs created. Profit is a means to creating future value and funding is a means to creating profit.
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We Recommend LectureMaker Studios In Silicon Valley
We recommend Ron Frederick of LectureMaker Studios for your video studio needs in Silicon Valley. We have been delighted with his services.
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Steve Mock Joins 3D Negotiation Panel June 22
Steve Mock Joins 3D Negotiation Panel June 22, 2011 I have been fortunate to add Steve Mock as a panelist for our next Business Impact Book Club on “3D Negotiation” a 2003 Harvard Business Review Article by David Lax and James Sebenius. Steve Mock (@steve_mock) Founder or management team of 5 venture-backed start ups. Proven
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Father’s Day 2011
“When my father died it was like a whole library burned down. ” Laurie Anderson “World Without End” Father’s Day has me reflecting on my father’s passing almost four years ago now: there isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t wish I could still give him a phone call. I moved away from St. Louis
B.V. Jagadeesh on “Startup Leadership Lessons Learned”
Summary of a very insightful talk on leadership lessons learned by Mr. B.V. Jagadeesh entitled “Lessons Learned Starting, Leading, and Succeeding at Multiple Startups.”
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Crucial Customer Development Concepts At GITPRO Sat-Jun-18
A talk on “Crucial Customer Development Concepts” that covers the basis for conventional wisdom on customer development in Silicon Valley.
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Technology Changes Fast, People, Not So Much
Technology changes fast: you need continually renew your technical skills and those of your team. Soft skills–people skills–have a much longer lifetime.
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What Situation Is Your Team Training For?
What situation is your team training for: the key to effective and rapid execution is appropriate shared rehearsal and training.
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Focus Needs Buffers and Free Time
This is my first day off in about three weeks. A client has been preparing a proposal and presentation for a significant opportunity that they have been invited to compete for and between that and existing obligations it’s been hectic. It’s more clear than ever that focus needs buffers: letting administrative tasks pile up too
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Book Club June 8 Noon PDT Moltz’s You Need To Be A Little Crazy
SKMurphy’s Book Club For Business Impact covers Barry Moltz’s “You Need To Be a Little Crazy” in a webinar Wednesday June-8-2011 Noon PDT.
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Ed Weissman on B2B Opportunities For Startups Part 3
Some excerpts from “The Best of Ed Weissman” Chapter 10 “Selling” item 240. “How do you crack the enterprise world?”
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How To Determine Your Competition During Customer Discovery
Want a simple way to determine your competition during customer discovery: consider what your prospects would have to give up to buy and use your product or service. The time and money you want prospects to spend on your offering have to come from somewhere: prospects will normally choose to take it from what they
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