I gave a talk on October 16 of last year at the KASE/KIN Entrepreneur Academy on “After Launch, Now What.” My answer was “What was once heroic must become routine” (podcast is here, it’s about 16 minutes if you would like to listen). I was reminded of it when I came across the famous “This is […]
What was Heroic Must Become Routine Read More »
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.
Paul Graham’s Six Principles for Making New Things Read More »
Many entrepreneurs find themselves in the grip of an idea, captivated by it’s seeming brilliance. But success comes from understanding a prospect’s pain.
Focus On Your Prospect’s Pain Not The Brilliance of Your Product Idea Read More »
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.
Three Tips for Minimizing Misunderstandings Among Co-Founders Read More »
Software companies typically have to convince prospects to adopt new technologies based on their shared history, their service track record, and their ability to accurately predict and deliver real results that overcome the cost and friction of adopting new tools and methodologies. There are a number of lessons we draw on to help startups fostering
Fostering Technology Adoption: Early Customers & Early Revenue Read More »
To “see the elephant” entrepreneurs must work toward a holistic perspective by integrating advice and conflicting views from a variety of sources.
Seeing The Elephant: The Entrepreneur’s Challenge of Integrating Advice Read More »
How do you plan when you are in a small software startup? Big company methods are not a good fit. Here are three tips for planning a startup.
3 Tips for Entrepreneurs Planning a Startup Read More »
Here are the social networks I participate in. I find them a good source for practical advice for running my business. LinkedIn www.linkedin.com Intuit’s Jumpup www.jumpup.com Bank of America Small Business http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com Bootstrappers Breakfast www.bootstrappersbreakfast.com Check me out, my screen name is tshafer.
Social Networks for Running your Business Read More »
I collect quotes for entrepreneurs, here are a set quotes on operational excellence. You can follow @skmurphy to get quotes for entrepreneurs hot off the mojo wire or wait until they are collected in a blog post at the end of each month. Enter your E-mail address if you would like have new blog posts
Quotes on Operational Excellence Read More »
My two key take-aways from “First Customers: Targeting The Right Customers To Build And Sustain Your Business” were that nothing happens automatically with a launch and your true first customer is a stranger.
First Customers: Targeting The Right Customers To Build And Sustain Your Business Read More »
Anonymous Coward landing pages don’t inspire trust or confidence in prospects, as a result few contact you. Startups should sign their work. Requiring a signed NDA before providing basic information also deters inquiries.
Startups Should Sign Their Work Read More »
Francine Tyler, CPA francinetylercpa@gmail.com 831-419-9812 See also Q: Can you recommend an accountant for business taxes? Our Answer used to be You can’t go wrong with Ogden Lilly at Boitano Sargent and Lilly. Odgen has done my taxes on the business side for more than a dozen years and helped on the personal side for
Can you recommend an accountant? Read More »
Don’t imitate Google: there are many criteria to consider in a hiring policy for a sales person, but college GPA has to be one of the least useful indicators of future success.
One Google Hiring Policy Startups Should Avoid Read More »
So we are starting to pump a little hot air back into the bubble every week now. The streets of Silicon Valley witness young entrepreneurs looking for department store Santas venture capitalists to listen to their list of needs and make their dreams come true. It’s “not as nuts as 99” but not as sane,
Silicon Valley: Not as Nuts as 99…Yet Read More »
Getting early customer feedback is critical to fine tuning your product so that you can scale up. The temptation is to use a on-line survey tool to save your time, but I think for your early customers a questionnaire may only give you the answers that you are looking for, not the information that you need.
Getting Early Feedback Read More »
In “Perseverance Rewarded” William Feather offers some good advice for getting started. Many folks succeed because they don’t realize how hard it is to accomplish what they have set out to do (of course several orders of magnitude more fail).
William Feather on “Perseverance Rewarded” Read More »
Where in Silicon Valley can I meet with clients? How do I setup payroll? Can you recommend a lawyer? Where can I get insurance? What are the basic marketing concepts for a startup? See “Crucial Marketing Concepts for Startups” by Sean Murphy and Mark Duncan, April 2007 Long Version (includes Book Reviews) Short Version (just
Learning the Business of Startups Read More »
