Life Is Too Short
A couple of quotes for entrepreneurs that offer thought-provoking variations on the theme “life is too short.”
Rules of Thumb
Express ROI In Terms Your Prospect Will Understand
Peter Cohan makes the following points in his Great Demo! Seminar C level execs think in terms of dollars (budget) Managers think in terms of people and full time equivalents (FTE). Individual contributors think in terms of time spent vs. time saved So it pays to express the benefits of your application accordingly. There may
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10 Reasons to Write a Press Release
Here are 10 common reasons to issue a press release. Announce a strategic partnership or alliance Issuing a statement on a hot issue New client acquisition Holding a seminar or workshop Availability of white paper or article Company revenue, sales, or profit Announce new member of board of directors or board of advisors invitation for
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Burn Your Boats But Not Your Bridges
Burn your boats but not your bridges: commit to your startup but don’t do anything that damages relationships or would not allow you to build on prior shared successes with others.
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Paul Graham’s Six Principles for Making New Things
This article compares Paul Graham’s “Six Principles for Making New Things” with Bob Bemer’s “Do Something Small But Useful Now”, Gary Hamel’s Innovation Hacker, and Peter Drucker’s list of seven places to search systematically for opportunities.
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Three Tips for Minimizing Misunderstandings Among Co-Founders
Here are three tips for minimizing misunderstandings among co-founders: get clarity on the problem before arguing over solutions, maintain full transparency about spending, and work from a one-page operating plan.
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Forming an Advisory Board
Some tips on forming an advisory board that assume you are currently bootstrapping and will be soliciting advice and feedback from a variety of sources: friends, former co-workers, other entrepreneurs, customers, and partners.
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Entrepreneurs, Luck, and Silicon Valley
2003 reflections on the dotcom crash–the year I started SKMurphy, Inc., and 4 rules of thumb from Richard Wiseman on making you own luck.
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21 Great Questions for Developing New Products
Here are 21 great questions for developing new products, the checklist is from “Breakthrough Thinking From Inside the Box” by Coyne, Clifford, and Dye; the commentary is mine.
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Finding And Adding People Successfully to Your Startup Team
Finding and adding people successfully to your startup team is a key skill and set of processes you need to master for growth.
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Find a Problem so Bad That People Pay You To Solve It and Let You Keep the Software
Bill Paseman offers this advice to entrepreneurs: find a problem so bad that people pay you to solve and let you keep the software.
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Peter Drucker on Why Entrepreneurs Reject Unexpected Success
Peter Drucker outlines four entrepreneurial pitfalls, starting with rejection of a new product’s success in a market that is different than was expected.
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Looking for Innovation at a Trade Show
Three tips for attending a trade show and scoping out breakthrough innovations: Start on the perimeter and work you way in to the main floor. All the innovation is in the startups booths on the outside. Before the show spend some time checking out exhibitors’ websites. Especially if you are not familiar with the company
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A Good Idea is No Match for a Bad Habit
Some great insights from a column by Frank Hayes on “Conventional IT Wisdom” including: “A good idea is no match for a bad habit.”
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Your Pre-Viral Marketing Plan
Google’s acquisition of YouTube seems to have captured the imagination of a lot of entrepreneurs that we meet at various events, in particular everyone wants to start a consumer Internet or media oriented businesses based on “viral marketing.” Here are a couple of key questions to answer for your pre-viral marketing plan, or what you
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Dharmesh Shah’s Pithy Thoughts For Startup Co-Founders
I really liked “Pithy Thoughts For Startup Founders” by Dharmesh Shah. This post uses six as a point of departure for exploring the challenges of getting a startup off the ground.
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Three Phrases Prospects Should Not Find On Your Website
Please Come Back Soon accompanied by a promise of more information shortly. If you do, don’t put a date next to it because when that date is three months old prospects get a “lost dial tone” sensation, they are not sure your firm is still active. Variations that are equally annoying: Please check back soon
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Don’s Three Rules of Deal Making
Three rules of thumb on deal making I took away from a conversation with an electrical engineer and serial entrepreneur.
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Hugh MacLeod’s Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur 2
Hugh MacLeod, the matchbook cartoon artist, had a great post on “Random Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur” that I cherry pick.
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Oblique Strategies for Startups 1
Here are ten oblique strategies to help get you and your team unstuck. The first line is the oblique strategy with added for a startup.
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