Surviving a downturn in a marathon not a sprint, some tips for persevering in the face of uncertainty and a difficult business environment
Getting Your Startup Through the Downturn is a Marathon Not a Sprint Read More »
In April of this year I started to post quotes for entrepreneurs on @skmurphy. Enter your E-mail if you would like new blog posts to your inbox.
Quotes For Entrepreneurs – October 2008 Read More »
Some startups ask for an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before sharing any details about their product. This is a recipe for disaster.
Why NDA Is Not On the Startup Maturity Checklist Read More »
Entrepreneurial focus means answering three related questions: what are we good at, how can we tell and how do we measure it, who wants it and how do they value it?
Entrepreneurial Focus: Right Layer, Right Problem, Right Time Read More »
What follows are some real questions I have answered either face to face or in e-mail over the last 90 days in response to the current downturn in Silicon Valley. Customer Development for a Consultants in a Downturn Q: I just completed my first two years of consulting–which were spectacular–after 20+ years of full time
Customer Development for a Consulting Practice in a Downturn Read More »
The October 2008 issue of Inc. magazine made it to the top of my reading pile today and I was delighted to read another great “Street Smarts” column by Norm Brodsky “Secrets of the $110 Million Dollar Man” which offers ten guidelines for starting a successful business.
Norm Brodsky’s Guidelines For Entrepreneurs Read More »
Some comments from our “Idea to Revenue” class at CINA included praise for class discussion and the need for more detail in certain sections.
Comments From Today’s “Idea to Revenue” Class at CINA Read More »
There is a risk of complacency for start-ups (and even larger firms) who have achieved a level of security in their first niche. Markets change, consumer needs change, and you need to continue to explore opportunities to sell your offering to new customers–non-customers–even though it’s a much harder sales process than a renewal, upgrade, or
Non-Customers Are Where Important Changes Often Start Read More »
Signed Up For Convergence08 John Smart, the prime mover behind the old Accelerating Change conferences, sent an e-mail reminder about Convergence08 unconference November 15-16 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. It has a broad focus on some emerging technology areas that I hope will make for an eclectic and thought-provoking mix: synthetic biology
Signed Up For Convergence08 Read More »
Two professional groups for consultants are the Professional and Technical Consultants Association (PATCA) and Women in Consulting (WIC).
Two Professional Groups for Consultants Read More »
Ed Lee and I have been pulling together another EDA Bloggers’ Birds of a Feather, this one at the 2008 ICCAD Conference. It will be on Wednesday November 12, 4-6pm in the Fir Ballroom. It’s listed in the ICCAD program as an additional meeting: EDA Bloggers’ Birds-of-a-Feather sponsored by IEEE CEDA and organized by Juan-Antonio
EDA Bloggers’ BoF at ICCAD 2008 Read More »
After blogging about how “User Communities are Critical for Complex Products” two days ago I thought I would offer some quick tips on how to get started: Be clear on the benefits to the members. So many social networking groups are very clear on how members bring benefit to a user site, but not very
3 Tips for Developing User Community Sites Read More »
I sent the following E-Mail after a series of conversations and E-Mail exchanges with a founder struggling with entrepreneurial burnout. I encourage him to “please be healthy.” I thought it was apropos the current angst in Silicon Valley.
User communities are not just a low cost way to market and support your product, they are essential to complex technology products.
User Communities Are Critical For Complex Products Read More »
I had the pleasure of attending a talk by Steve Blank on “Customer Development for Startups” on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at TiE and I wanted to offer some pointers both to content he referenced and some related information on Customer Development.
Steve Blank on Customer Development at TiE Wed-Sep-17-2008 Read More »
Sean is speaking Thursday November 6 at the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the IEEE Technological Management Council on “Ten Business Books in One Hour for the Busy High-Tech Executive.” Location: Ramada Inn, 1217 Wildwood Ave, Sunnyvale CA 94089 (See Meeting Map) Time & Date: 6-9pm (Dinner included) on Thursday November 6, 2008 Cost &
Ten Key Books for Busy High-Tech Execs @IEEE-SCV-TMC Nov-6-2008 Read More »
I first met Sam Schillace at an Under The Radar event on “The Business of Web Apps: Where the Web Goes to Work” in March of this year. Sam co-founded Upstartle, the firm that developed Writely, with Steve Newman and Claudia Carpenter. I had been a user of Writely before it morphed into Google Docs
Sam Schillace at Tomorrow’s Bootstrapper Breakfast Read More »
An interview in 2008 with Herb Reiter of EDA 2 ASIC Consulting, Inc. on Static Timing Analysis and how to introduce it into a design flow.
Herb Reiter Interview on Fostering Static Timing Analysis Adoption Read More »
Continuing my twitter experiment I have selected a quote every couple of days that I believe is applicable to the challenges of entrepreneurship. At the end of the month I collect these quotes for entrepreneurs into a blog post. Enter your E-mail if you would like new blog posts to your inbox.
Quotes for Entrepreneurs–September 2008 Read More »
An exploration of 9/11 and Bill Whittle’s “The Undefended City” which uses this quote “the fear that we may be lesser sons of greater fathers, and that we may no longer have the courage or the will to defend the City entrusted to our care” as a point of departure.
Lesser Sons of Greater Fathers Read More »
