Don’t forget the dream to change the world that got you started: your passion is an important element of craftsmanship and a commitment to excellence. What’s Your Passion? Recently, I chatted with a well-established consultant–she’s been working for more than a decade. She was having trouble developing a short elevator pitch to describe what she […]
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Join other bootstrappers–startup CEO’s, CTO’s, and founders–for breakfast and discussion. We meet at different restaurants in Silicon Valley from 7:30-9AM, your only cost is your meal and a tip. Come compare notes on operational, development, and business issues with peers. If you are serious about your business and are open to discussing substantive issues and helping your peers,
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I found an interesting little tool Website Grader which evaluates your website. It produces a score and a list of things you can do to improve it. Some of the things I don’t agree with, but most are pretty good. Last night I played with it and the best sites I looked at were 80-70/100
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Hugh MacLeod posted “Random Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur” earlier this week. I’ve picked the best five and added some of my own comments 4. Once you become an entrepreneur, you find the company of non-entrepreneurs a lot harder to be around. You’ve seen things they haven’t; the wavelengths alter, it’s that simple. There are different perspectives
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As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on thinking about your business goals for 2007, it’s also worthwhile to look at your own motivations and needs. In an extending interview in Fast Company “Are You Deciding On Purpose,” Richard Leider advises that you ask yourself two key questions: What do you want? How will you know
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A brief planning exercise on one sheet of paper for thinking about your business goals. Many of our clients have found this useful.
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Here are three ways for building credibility. Referrals A referral is an introduction to a prospect with an endorsement. A referral allows you to borrow credibility from a trusted third party. They spring from shared success with your customers or former co-workers, someone who knows your potential and can vouch for you or your team’s
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Last night, I attended the January Silicon Valley New Tech Meetup. For those of you who do not know the format of these gatherings, it is very simple. Each group of presenters is allowed five minutes to pitch their offering and then the crowd is allocated five minutes to ask questions. The first presenters were the founders
January’s Silicon Valley NewTech Meetup Read More »
Theresa heard a radio interview with Barry Moltz in 2003 and suggested that I get his book. In December 2003 I purchased a copy of You Need to Be a Little Crazy and when it arrived from Amazon I put it on my to-be-read pile where it languished until early this morning when I read
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“Plus Minus People” make a strong initial impression but once you start working with them (or you hire them) you realize that they have a negative impact on the team.
I had lunch today at El Cerrito with an old friend from college who has done a number of successful startups. We talked of old classmates, children, the energy we had in our twenties, his new son, and my new granddaughter. And we talked about what it was like to do a startup. He left
Two Images of Startups Read More »
Nusym De-cloaks 4 Venk Shukla, CEO of Nusym, commented on Nusym De-cloaks 3 on Dec 4 We had met a long time ago but lost touch afterward. The points you make about website credibility are valid. We will measure the information we put out against this criteria once we decide to emerge from the shadows.
Going pro means learning how to deliver the results required. Some key points to remember as you ask folks in larger firms to take a risk with your new offering or service. They are from a March 1993 column entitled “Going Pro” by Asa Baber.
Larry Sonsini Profiled in Fortune Nov-27-06 I have been catching up on my reading and came across a profile of Larry Sonsini in Fortune’s Nov-27-06 print edition. The article in the print edition is titled “The Man To See In The Valley” but “Scandals rock Silicon Valley’s top legal ace” in the on-line version. It’s part
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This post contrasts two views of bootstrap economics. John Nesheim is unabashedly anti-bootstrapping, David Cowan is more positive.
Nesheim vs. Cowan on Bootstrap Economics Read More »
Nusym De-cloaks part three in a five part series on Nusym, an EDA startup that over promised, under delivered, and ultimately sank.
Here are 3 things I learned from Jennifer Vessels in Next Step’s workshop “How to Sell the Real Value of Your Solution” on Thursday, November 7. I need to align my sales efforts with my prospect’s success factors. This means that I need to figure how they are getting measured and how to influence and serve
3 things I learned at Next Step’s “How to Sell the Real Value of Your Solution” Read More »
Three lessons curated by Francis Adanza from “Art of Rainmaking:” Build Credibility,Find the Influencers, and Don’t use Cheap Adjectives.
The “Art of Rainmaking” at Art of the Start Read More »
Art of the Start is one of the best workshops out there for startups. Here are 3 things I learned from it. Mary Hodder, founder and CEO of Dabble, reminded the audience of the saying “If you want money, ask for advice. If you want advice, ask for money!” One of the most important Guy
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Jotspot dissolves into Google, shutting down their wiki service. Tipoff was shutting down new account creation after merger finalized.
JotSpot Dissolves Into Google Business Model Read More »
