Here are three tips for small talk and casual conversation: relax, be genuinely curious, be forthcoming about yourself, don’t just ask questions. Three Tips for Small Talk and Casual Conversation “A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.” Wilson Mizner One of the more challenging aspects of entrepreneurship […]
Three Tips for Small Talk and Casual Conversation Read More »
David Mamet in a 1997 interview with Richard Covington suggests a paradigm for entrepreneurs based on behavior of nomadic people in a new location: make a new solution that hasn’t occurred to the indigenous people because the indigenous people have been there too long.
Nomadic Entrepreneurs In Indigenous Markets Read More »
What follows is a chat transcript from an hour long conversation I had with a entrepreneur recently. I have cleaned up all of our typos and removed or modified some identifying information. The basic business was for a website to arrange services for travelers. I wanted the entrepreneur to move beyond his passion for the
Build On Your Passion With A Basic Model And Numbers Read More »
“Good decision, bad outcome” is a a reminder to judge the quality of a decision by your process and state of information at the time you decided.
Good Decision, Bad Outcome Read More »
Here is another excerpt from my September interview with Gabriel Weinberg. This one is focused on what to do when you encounter a B2B prospect who is excited about your product and this is only the first or second time this has happened with someone who wasn’t a friend or prior associate. The short answer
What To Do When An Early Prospect is Excited Read More »
Inspired by Eames’ “Powers of Ten” I explore the scope and scale of plans and activities based on duration. I take a one hour duration as the starting point and look at a factor or 10,000 in each direction: from 1/300 of a second to 10,000 hours.
Scope and Scale of Plans and Activities Read More »
A recap of the inaugural blog post for SKMurphy blog 4 years ago and a roundup of lessons learned writing 700 posts since.
Entrepreneurs Still Welcome: 700 Blog Posts In Four Years Read More »
Ash Maurya (@AshMaurya) has released the first two chapters of his new book “Running Lean” and here are my first impressions.
Ash Maurya on “Running Lean” Read More »
I meet teams trying to cold call for their first business customer and I just haven’t seen it work; the trust issues cripple them. Here is a relevant excerpt from Gabriel Weinberg’s interview with me for his traction book.
Cold Calling Won’t Find Your First Business Customer Read More »
If you have limited experience with business contracts or software licensing issues, legal self-help approaches can be very dangerous.
The Limits of Legal Self-Help Read More »
Pete Tormey on the Benefits of Attending a Bootstrappers Breakfast Pete Tormey moderates the Dublin/Pleasanton Bootstrapper Breakfasts® (along with Richard Moerschell) and fills in from time to time in San Francisco as well. I asked him what he felt some key benefits attendees gained at a breakfast and he sent me a great three minute
Pete Tormey on the Benefits of Attending a Bootstrappers Breakfast Read More »
A hunger for certainty will not help an entrepreneur make timely decisions or manage the level of ambiguity and uncertainty they need to navigate through.
We Cannot Sate Your Hunger For Certainty But We Can Increase Your Odds of Success Read More »
The first 3 unknowns for a startup are Customers, Features, and Message. Of these the target customer is the key variable to lock down first.
3 Equations & 3 Unknowns: Target Customer is Key Initial Value Read More »
Gabriel Weinberg is a serial entrepreneur (latest startup: DuckDuckGo), a Hacker Angel, insightful blogger, and frequent contributor to Hacker News. He is writing a book on how startups get traction and interviewing folks like Patrick McKenzie to collect lessons learned from a variety of perspectives. I was delighted when he approached me to take part
Gabriel Weinberg Interviews Me For His Traction Book Read More »
When a prospect criticizes your product, or your suggestion for a solution, don’t react as if they said, “Your baby is ugly.” Appreciate their candor, make sure you understand their need, and probe for what’s wrong or needs improvement in your offering.
Appreciate Why Prospects Say “Your Baby Is Ugly” Read More »
A Chalk Talk on “Managing Risk In Technology Adoption” that covers some of key challenges technology providers have with getting companies to use their products.
Chalk Talk on Technology Adoption Read More »
We posted the interview I did with Floyd Tucker of DreamSimplicity about a month ago but in the last two days I have had two people comment to me directly and one tweet about my “three equations and three unknowns” answer: customers, features, message.
3 Equations & 3 Unknowns: Customers, Features, Message Read More »
Ed Weissman is a prolific contributor to Hacker News, this post collects some insights he has offered on B2B.
Ed Weissman on B2B Opportunities for Startups Part 2 Read More »
Ed Weissman offers three reason why business prefers to pay for software: employee focus, a commitment to service, co-evolution with their needs.
Ed Weissman on B2B Opportunities for Startups Read More »
Here are four movies to renew your gumption, I watch one when I need to refill my gumption or recover my sisu: The Verdict, Apollo 13, The Dish, and The World’s Fastest Indian.
Four Movies To Renew Your Gumption Read More »
