The two “Survival to Thrival” books “Building the Enterprise Startup” and “Change or Be Changed” offers insights for bootstrappers navigating the path from founding to scaling.
Key Takeaways From Two Survival to Thrival Books Read More »
Real life often presents entrepreneurs with a new problem or opportunity, so they find themselves learning new skills and tools on the fly.
Six Activities for Learning New Skills and Tools Read More »
“Skunk Works” by Ben R. Rich is a worthy sequel to Kelly Johnson’s “Kelly: More Than My Share of It All.” It brings the story of the Lockheed Skunkworks, founded by Johnson, up to 1995. There are a number of lessons for technology entrepreneurs.
“The Ship that Never Was” from “Skunk Works” by Ben R. Rich Read More »
Entrepreneurs often ask themselves “Is my product meh?” out of a fear of making a fool of themselves. Here are some objectives questions to ask yourself to get a more balanced perspective on your situation.
What to Do When You Are Asking Yourself, “Is My Product Meh?” Read More »
Work with trusted partners open kimono: disclose relevant financials, plans, and internal processes to increase synergy. Play a long game.
Be Open Kimono With Partners Read More »
This is a practical overview of social capital, an essential concept for ent despite being hard to measure. I offer suggestions for growing your business network, and enhancing your reputation, explaining why increasing social capital creates value for your startup.
A Practical Introduction to Social Capital for Entrepreneurs Read More »
This is a ten minute interview (audio and edited transcript) I did with with Patricia Watkins on July 24-2020. Patrica is an experienced salesperson and sales executive who’s been helping companies drive sales for more than two decades. We discuss some of the challenges you need to manage during a major economic disruption. We look
Interview with Patricia Watkins on Managing Sales In a Downturn Read More »
This post on B2B customer development interviews builds on one of my most popular. If you would like help preparing for customer development interviews or reviewing results from recent interviews, contact us. Here are my lessons learned from taking part in interviews where the startup planned to offer a product or service to a business.
40 Tips for B2B Customer Development Interviews Read More »
An SKMurphy Mastermind Group is an ongoing series of facilitated conversations among serious entrepreneurs. It enables collaboration on problems and opportunities and fosters joint accountability around effective ongoing action.
Benefits of SKMurphy Mastermind for Entrepreneurs Read More »
Serge Toarca offers three good reasons to consider starting in a smaller market in “Why the hell am I building a product with a tiny market?” I offer another ten.
Serge Toarca Offers Three Reasons To Bootstrap In a Small Market Read More »
Entrepreneurs need to focus on innovation or the first reduction to practice of an idea in a culture because this is the critical precursor to customer value.
Innovation is the first reduction to practice of an idea in a culture Read More »
In “My Billion Dollar Mistake” Hiten Shah shares four lessons he learned from the early successes and ultimate eclipse of KISSMetrics.
Hiten Shah: Four Lessons I Learned Squandering My Opportunity at KISSMetrics Read More »
My longer answer to “Do you ever get the feeling that everything you know is wrong?” The short answer is “yes, every few years.”
Do You Ever Get the Feeling That Everything You Know is Wrong? Read More »
Professional services innovation requires deepening your understanding of customer needs and emerging problem areas, deepening expertise, and incorporating technology and specialized tools into service delivery.
Professional Services Innovation: Customer Insight, Expertise, and Technology Read More »
Key points from Mary Sorber’s presentation on “Qualitative Research: Problem Exploration for Lean Startups” at Lean Culture July-31-2018.
Qualitative Research: Problem Exploration for Lean Startups Read More »
The October 2018 Great Demo! Workshop at Embassy Suites by Hilton in Milpitas that past attendees have stayed at and enjoyed. A list of other nearby hotels.
Hotels near October 2018 Great Demo! Workshop Read More »
A Bootstrappers Breakfast is “counter-cultural” to the VC ecosystem focus at many events for entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Here are seven ways that we take a very different approach to facilitating events for entrepreneurs compared to most others in Silicon Valley.
What to Expect at a Bootstrappers Breakfast Read More »
Suhail Doshi, founder of Mixpanel, shared a candid assessment of mistakes he made in the first 18 months of the six startups he has founded in “The first 18 months of starting a company: it’s life or death.” Here are 7 key pieces of advice that highlight mistakes first founders typically make.
Suhail Doshi: Avoid These Seven Temptations as a First Time Founder Read More »
The difference between scouting a new market and scouting a promising market is that the former may not exist–or come into existence–while the latter clearly exists because it’s already occupied.
Scouting a Promising Market: Sending Spies Into Canaan Read More »
Customer development–discovery driven sales–requires that you first understand the customer’s problem then present a vision of a solution. If that is acceptable you can proceed to a demonstration that provides technical proof of value.
