Q: Should I Be an Entrepreneur?
How do you answer someone who asks “Should I be an entrepreneur?” We ask, “Are you committed to self-improvement and to providing value?”
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Rules of Thumb
A Summary of Max Gunther’s “The Zurich Axioms” for Entrepreneurs
Max Gunther’s “The Zurich Axioms” is aimed at investors but also offers valuable insights and rules of thumb for entrepreneurs.
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Embrace Parkinson’s Law As A Constraint
Some entrepreneurs fall into the trap of working long hours as an end in itself. Parkinson’s Law warns us that work without limits can consume your life.
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Cyberspace Everts Into The Real World as IoT
When Cyberspace everts into the real world enabling communication and connection for non-computing related applications we call it IoT (the Internet of Things).
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Entrepreneurs Need To See With Newcomer’s Eyes And Ask Stupid Questions
Fundamental questions allow you to explore new perspectives that can unlock new opportunities. Entrepreneurs can be unwilling to ask them–even of themselves–because a label that is commonly applied: stupid questions.
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Newsletter: Email Productivity
If you are a startup founder you are very likely spending an hour or two a day reading and writing email. Some days it may seem that you spend most of your time responding to emails from prospects, customers, partners, cofounders, service providers, and spammers.
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Questions to Answer Before You Start Negotiating
Here are some questions to ask yourself before you start negotiating a complex business relationship: for example a software license, SaaS subscription, or a reseller or OEM relationship. Entire books are written on negotiation, I am trying to highlight some questions that can get overlooked.
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Vinod Khosla on the Need for Vision and the Value of Youth
A review of some remarks by Vinod Khosla on “Silicon Valley Vision” in 2012 and the value of youth from the Nasscom conference in November 2011. I contrast that with an earlier article by Jim Collins on “Built to Flip.”
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13 Tips For Getting Up Early and Arriving Early
I like getting up early and arriving early. But I find the hours late at night can unlock a lot of creativity so I often get up late unless I schedule something early. I also like working up to the last possible moment–what is it about the last few minutes before you have to leave that are
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Working in Silence
I can be very productive with a certain amount of background noise. I find it easier to write if there is music playing or if I am in a moderately noisy coffee house where many conversations are going on in the background. But when I really need to think hard about a problem or a
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Managing Change in an Organization: An Incomplete Resource List
Some models I like for change management in organizations. Startup entrepreneurs frequently have to navigate the challenges managing change as a part of the sales process. Intrapreneurs should find this list useful as well. I welcome any suggestions for additions, refinements, or improvements.
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Leadership Starts With Careful Listening and Observation
Getting the best out of your team starts with careful listening and observation. This is especially true for a startup or a product team where you to want leverage input from a variety of experts around the table.
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Five Tips For Activating Your Network of Relationships
A startups social capital, the network of relationships that the founders have with friends, former co-workers and associates, and friends of friends represent a key resource for the team. It’s possible to activate this network to help you solve a variety of problems–e.g. finding a cofounder, finding early employees, finding contractors, finding early customers, finding investors,
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Hard Drive: Seven Practices I Used to Launch a Successful Startup
This article explores the specific experiences of an entrepreneur (who uses the pseudonym “Hard Drive,” a nickname he earned early in his career for his tenacity and decisiveness) and lessons learned bootstrapping a high-tech software as a service business in the social media space. His sustained efforts enabled him to raise $40,000 in angel funding,
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Texas Hold’Em as a Model for Technology Startups
Texas Hold’Em offers some useful models for technology startups: pick the right table (competitors) and understand how your cards best combine with common cards (the status quo and adjacent possible)
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“Inner Game of Tennis” for Entrepreneurs
Timothy Gallwey’s “Inner Game of Tennis” came out in 1974 and sparked a revolution in coaching and how athletes should approach improving their performance. Entrepreneurs can use several lessons to improve their personal performance and coach others.
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PATCA Roundtable on Time Management
PATCA had a thought provoking dinner meeting tonight on “Time Management: An Hour Saved is an Hour to Earn Revenue.” Here is my recap.
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Think Twice Before Saying
Someone recently sent an E-mail began “At the risk of sounding like an infomercial…” to a list several thousand subscribers that I am a member of and I was moved to write down a list of phrases to think twice before saying (or writing).
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Am I Making A Fool Of Myself?
One of the most common questions I hear in conversations with entrepreneurs at a Bootstrapper Breakfasts, in Office Hours calls, or with clients–and not infrequently from myself when comparing notes with peers–is, “Am I making a fool of myself?” Here are some questions you can use to clarify your situation when you are starting to feel like a
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Ten Rules of Thumb from “101 Things I Learned in Engineering School”
Ten rules of thumb from”101 Things I Learned in Engineering School” by John Kuprenas and Matthew Frederick that I think entrepreneurs will find particularly useful. It’s a great book full of very clear illustrations and examples for most of its 101 two-page chapters. I purchased it as a Christmas gift for my sons and could not
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