Don’s Three Rules of Deal Making
Three rules of thumb on deal making I took away from a conversation with an electrical engineer and serial entrepreneur.
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Social Networks for Running your Business
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.
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The Challenge of Advising Entrepreneurs
The key challenge in advising entrepreneurs is to help them walk around the options and explore the consequences of each decision.
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You’ve Launched, Now What? at KASE/KIN Oct 16
I will be speaking on “Now What? Your Post Launch Growth Plan” at the KASE / KIN Entrepreneur Academy tomorrow night. Location: KIICA Silicon Valley at 3003 N. First Street San Jose, CA 95134 Agenda 5:50PM – 6:00PM Registration and Networking 6:00PM – 6:30PM Successful Entrepreneur – Paul Tien 6:30PM – 6:45PM Break 6:45PM –
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SaaS Blurs Traditional Software Startup Roles
SaaS business models are proven and and gaining wide adoption. However they come with new issues: shorter release cycles, blurring of development team roles, and the need for new internal reporting and management controls now that you are responsible for the customers application infrastructure. Your development, support, sales, and product marketing folks must change how
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Quotes on Operational Excellence
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
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Founder’s Story: Rick Munden of FMF & Epiphyte
I first met Rick Munden more than a decade ago when we were both managers attending an Electronic Design Process workshop. I ran into him last December at an SDForum Emerging Technologies SIG meeting and we renewed our acquaintance. I invited him to our Bootstrapper’s Breakfast since he was mulling his new company Epiphyte. This
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First Office: Silicon Valley Business Incubators
This is the first in a series of blog posts on where a start-up team might look for their first office. One of the first types of office space to consider would be space in a business incubator. A business incubator is comprised of multiple businesses operating independently within one location or under a membership
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GABA Panel on Communication Wrap Up
I had mentioned that I was going to be on a panel at a GABA event on “Communications Today: Blogs, Email Etiquette and More” that was held tonight at SAP on Hillview Avenue in Palo Alto. It addressed a broad theme with four speakers (Jennifer Lankheim was a no show) from fairly different backgrounds in
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GABA Panel on Communication
I will be a panelist for a GABA event on “Communications Today: Blogs, Email Etiquette and More” that will be held tomorrow night at SAP, Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto CA 94304; the event starts at 6:30 with networking–complimentary appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks will be served–and the formal program at 7:30. Moderator: E.J.Dieterle, CEO,
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Triples, Inspired by Dorai Thodla
Inspired by Dorai Thodla’s “Triples and Congruence.” Budget, Quality, Time (project parameters aka “Iron triangle” pick any two, solve for third) Expert/Technician, Manager, Entrepreneur (E-Myth roles in a business) Beginning, Middle, End (elements of a story) Early Adopters, Mainstream, Laggards (measures of risk aversion in a population) Team, Technology, Traction (VC tests for quality of
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Benefits of SaaS Business Model
I had a chance to hear two VCs outline the benefits of a SaaS business model at the CINACon 2007 conference a on September 22.
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Brainshark at Software Business 2007: SaaS = Service
I went to a good talk today at Software Business 2007 by Joe Gustafson from Brainshark on “Establishing and Growing a Successful SaaS Business.” Joe characterized Brainshark is “Tivo for Business Content” available when users want to consume it. He opened with the best part of a SaaS business: recurring predictable revenue makes it easier
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Idea to Revenue on December 6, 2007
This event is now SOLD OUT and no walk-ins will be accepted; we are offering it again on Saturday January 19 at the Moorpark Hotel in San Jose. Invest four hours now to save months later finding a path to revenue: most software startups fail after they have working functionality but before they find their
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Hugh MacLeod’s Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur 2
Hugh MacLeod, the matchbook cartoon artist, had a great post in January on “Random Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur” that I am going to cherry pick for a few that I thought were excellent. I have preserved his original numbering (putting the thought in the cartoon at 0). 0. If you can express your soul,
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Bob “GoDaddy” Parson’s Rules for Business Success
Bob Parsons of GoDaddy blogged his “16 Rules for Success in Business (and Life in General)” in July of 2006. A question he received at a 2004 speaking event–“What advice do you have for someone who is just starting a business?”–kicked off an effort by the serial entrepreneur to codify the principles he was living
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Peter Cohan’s Great Demo on Oct 13, 2007
We are hosting a Peter Cohan event: “Create and Deliver Surprisingly Compelling Software Demonstrations” . Peter Cohan, a nationally recognized expert on software demo development who normally only consults to Fortune 500 firms. He offers only two “open enrollment” seminars every year that smaller companies can attend at a very reduced price, this one on
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First Customers: Targeting The Right Customers To Build And Sustain Your Business
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.
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CINACon 2007: A Great Conference For Entrepreneurs
We exhibited at CINACon 2007 over the weekend, and took turns rotating through the sessions. It was a great conference for entrepreneurs and it was a great conference for us: we had the opportunity to talk to a number of very early stage firms (including some of the other exhibitors in the Rising Stars Showcase)
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Paul Miller to Speak Future of CMP Support for EDA Companies at EDAC Wed-Sep-26
EDAC has announced a program for Wed-Sep-26 on “The Future of Media and What it Means to EDA Companies.” So far so good, but they’ve invited the crew that laid off Richard Goering. I am much more interested in getting advice from the team that hired him. The EDAC announcement reads (links added) Paul Miller,
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