The fact that your new application was a weekend project is not a feature! I see announcements like We just coded this up last weekend take a look… I wrote this on a Saturday afternoon check it out… We built the tool (over the last few weekends)… I don’t know if it’s Startup Weekend’s original […]
The Fact That Your App Was a Weekend Project Is Not a Feature Read More »
The Bootstrappers Breakfast® website has been re-designed so that it’s wider, brighter and now has a banner full of coffee beans across the top–tea drinkers still welcome! Please let us know what you think… …and drop by a breakfast when it’s convenient, there are meetups in Champaign, IL Chicago, IL Minneapolis, MN Mountain View, CA
Bootstrappers Breakfast® Website Upgraded Read More »
Building the wrong product is not a waste of time you learn about the market and technical feasibility. Right and wrong are both gray, not black or white. Customer development and technical development typically require a sequence of prototypes that are “less wrong” over time under they become good enough.
Q: Is Building The Wrong Product A Waste Of Time? Read More »
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–June 2012 Read More »
S. John Ross wrote a great short essay on “Five Elements of Commercial Appeal in RPG Design” (that I first read in “Things We Think About Games” by Will Hindmarch and Jeff Tidball) that suggested these elements were critical for creating a commercially successful RPG. I think they are also a good way to think
Cliche, Combat, Fellowship, Anarchy, Enigma Read More »
I picked up “Education of a Wandering Man” by Louis L’Amour book without expectations. Someone had recommended it as a good autobiography of a writer. His life was fascinating. He offered a number of useful insights. What follows are some excerpts with additional commentary.
Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour Read More »
Entrepreneurs need a community of practice to improve their skills, not a movement they can join as a fad. I don’t consider myself a disciple or part of a movement. I consider myself a practitioner. I am a huge fan of Saras Sarasvathy, Clayton Christensen, Peter Drucker, Gary Klein, and Gerald Weinberg.
Entrepreneurs Need a Community of Practice Not a Movement Read More »
Ryan Waggoner wonders if the popularized approach to startups is wrong. Instead of putting health and relationships at risk, try patience and humility.
Ryan Waggoner: Maybe Startups Are So Hard Because We’re Doing Them Wrong Read More »
Recommended reading for new fathers on Father’s Day 2012: “The Measure of a Man” by Jerrold Lee Shapiro. A great Father’s Day book.
Answering Questions About Your Product In An On-Line Forum requires you to focus on helping the members of the forum.
Answering Questions About Your Product In An On-Line Forum Read More »
While we stress the value of serious conversations with prospects and customers there are other sources of market insights on emerging opportunities for your current product or next offering. I have placed them on a spectrum that runs from a macroscopic view based on objective measurements and numbers to a microscopic view that is more
Verify Your Market Insights Against A Variety of Information Sources Read More »
It’s important to remember that VCs are rewarded for creating a return for their investors, not building enduring companies.
Exits vs. Enduring Companies Read More »
Today many change initiatives (and new software sales almost always involve the key elements of a change initiative) rely on interviews and replicating the results from an existing “manual system.” Process mining tools and techniques will play an important role here.
Enterprise Change Agents Need to Add Process Mining to Their Bag of Tricks Read More »
Entrepreneurship is sustained by what’s in your heart and a childlike curiosity toward how the world works and new undiscovered possibilities.
The Heart That Holds On Read More »
You can follow @skmurphy to get these 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.
Quotes For Entrepreneurs–May 2012 Read More »
Your Prospects and Your Customers are Real People I’m hardly the first person to complain about the word “user” to describe people who do stuff with software…People don’t think of themselves as “users” and in all other contexts the word “user” is not generally positive and certainly not evocative of the kind of intimate, day-to-day
Your Prospects and Your Customers are Real People Read More »
On Memorial Day 2012 in we commemorate those who died in the service of our country. I offer some excerpts from Lt. Col. Michael Strobl’s account of escorting the remains of a Marine killed in combat in 2004 for you to meditate on.
What follows are excerpts from a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace to the 2005 graduating class at Kenyon College. I thought they were an appropriate antidote to a model for entrepreneurial motivation that aspires to make enough money to do whatever you want. Wallace outlines some of the risks in failing to align
David Foster Wallace: The Only Choice We Get is What to Worship Read More »
Conversations with prospects unfold in real time: you must listen for what’s said and not said, manage your emotions, and understand the implications.
Conversations With Prospects: Practice, Review, Share Notes, Ask for Feedback Read More »
Shared situational awareness means that a team has reached–and maintains–a working consensus on the objective reality they must deal with.
The Wit to See and Understand Objective Reality Read More »
