Posted by hugh macleod | gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards"
An oldy but a very goody!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
how to be creative
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Street Smarts: Secrets of a $110 Million Man
By: Norm Brodsky | Inc.com
According to Brodsky - "There are no guarantees when it comes to running a business. But the best entrepreneurs I know follow these guidelines"
Monday, December 29, 2008
More Reasons Why Now Is The Time For Hatching Something New
The following is a guest article by Neil Davidson contributed to OnStartups.com. Neil Davidson is co-founder and joint CEO of Red Gate Software. He also runs the annual Business of Software Conference with Joel Spolsky. His blog is at http://blog.businessofsoftware.org and you can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/neildavidson.
My Favorite Business Model
A VCMusings of a VC in NYC
Fred Wilson is a VC and principal of Union Square Ventures. His wife is Gotham Gal.
Top 10 Most Practical Blogs for Entrepreneurs
From Scott Allen, About.com Guide to Entrepreneurs since 2002
Scott notes: "Blogs come and go, and several of the blogs originally listed here have either been discontinued or become relatively inactive. I've moved those to the honorable mention section because they earned the honor at the original time of this post, but I've added some of my new favorites in their place."
Sunday, December 28, 2008
A Wrench in Silicon Valley's Wealth Machine
By Spencer E. Ante | BusinessWeek.com
A year ago, cash rained on tech startups like Digg. Now their valuations are slipping, and venture capital is drying up
Friday, December 26, 2008
Fear Kills Businesses, Dead
"Fear inspires desperate actions. Hope combined with clarity and inventiveness galvanizes action and engenders opportunities."
- Name: Brian Solis| PR 2.0
- Location: San Francisco, CA, United States
THE RESILIENT COMMUNITY: The Entrepreneur
John Robb | Global Guerrillas
"The entrepreneur, extends an open source process, by providing it with the ability of the ecosystem to branch out into unexplored areas and build structures/systems/products that won't and can't develop organically."
Monday, December 22, 2008
Washington Is Killing Silicon Valley
MICHAEL S. MALONE | WSJ.com
"From the beginning of this decade, the process of new company creation has been under assault by legislators and regulators...For the last four years it has seemed that every new business plan in Silicon Valley has ended with the statement "And then we sell to Google."...For all of this, we can first thank Sarbanes-Oxley."
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The End Of Venture Capital As We Know It?
by Erick Schonfeld | TechCrunch
"Capital is drying up, and things may still get worse before they get better. So far in this downturn, we’ve seen startups batten down the hatches (as they should) and hope to survive long enough to make it out the other end.
But what about venture capital firms? When will we start to see the VC layoffs and fund closures"
Core Values That Sustain Your Startup’s Culture
By Uncle Saul | infoChachkie
"The CEO believes this list of Core Values is one of the key reasons that his adVenture has maintained below-industry employee turnover rates for well over a decade. As such, he does not want to alert his competitors to what he believes is a real competitive advantage."
Monday, December 8, 2008
Venture Capital Hits a Cash-Call Crunch
PUI-WING TAM and CRAIG KARMIN | WSJ.com
"From pension funds to rich individuals to once-deep-pocketed financial institutions now in desperate shape, this year's plunging markets have made it much harder for some investors to come up with the money they promised to invest in venture-capital funds."
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Benchmark Capital: Open For Business
Bill Gurley (Benchmark Capital) | abovethecrowd.com
"There have been similar questions raised about the VC industry, and perhaps many of them are equally unprecedented. Do VCs have money to invest? Are they pulling back? Do they have access to their money? Do they have enough capital for follow-on investments? Are the LPs pulling back for their own liquidity? The list goes on and on, and if you read the popular press you might think we are all under our desks dreaming of 1999."
Saturday, November 29, 2008
As Cash Stops Flowing, Venture Capitalists Get Creative
By PUI-WING TAM | WSJ.com
"As venture-capital funds face a cash crunch driven by the financial downturn, they are taking extreme measures to ensure they can fund their investments."
Terry Opendykm Onset Ventures
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Why VCs Aren't Investing Anymore
| Silicon Alley Insider
"There is one topic on the minds of all entrepreneurs right now: the impact of the economy on their startups. The economy is the centerpiece of every networking event and panel, and it even consumed the Q&A session after [Davis'] speech at VANJ
last week on how to raise VC. It’s inescapable.
The financial crisis has and will continue to effect the venture world. Despite how bad things have become, however, there is a silver lining for the best startups. Here are [Davis'] thoughts on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the current economic environment."
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Are you an entrepreneur?
By Uncle Saul | infoChachkie
"A writer is someone who writes, not someone who goes about telling their friends that they are “a writer”. The same is true of entrepreneurs."
Uncle Saul is a serial entrepreneur who has led one IPO, was window-dressing in another and has executed several M&A transactions, all of which collectively generated over $450 million in shareholder value. Saul is a CPA and a Wharton MBA who never qualified for the PGA but likes to watch the NBA. Uncle Saul is also a songwriter who managed a successful rock band and plays an awesome iPod. He also teaches would-be entrepreneurs at a major California university.
Are Venture Investors Not Meeting Their Capital Calls?
Mike Masnick | Techdirt
Mike Masnick would like to know if "anyone know of any LP that has actually failed to meet a capital call?"
Monday, November 17, 2008
Meltdowns: Why venture capital won't save your job
Owen Thomas | Valleywag
"startups aren't the only ones being pinched by venture capitalists — they're also taking their investors for a ride, according to an industry insider."
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Startup Founder Evolution
Author: Tony Wright | Tony Wright dot com
"to all of you builders out there… Beware! When you reach a challenge in the evolution of your business, the most natural thing in the world is to frame it as a product problem. “If we just build this new feature/product, we’ll be off to the races and we’ll never have to do any of that business crap!”. Keep your eyes peeled for the time when you have to personally evolve and start tackling business problems, or step out of the way and let someone else do it for you."
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Shifting Careers - Need to Take a Breather? Have a Game Plan
By BARBARA RAAB | NYTimes.com
"One of the most coveted of workplace perks is the sabbatical or leave of absence — a way to stray from your job for a time and return with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. To those of us outside academia, however, leaves of absence are rare. Still, a leave can make good sense, even in dismal economic times like these. Today we have a guest column by Barbara Raab, who is currently on a leave of absence from her job at NBC News. She says that before she asked for the time off, she, too, thought that leaves of absence were more fantasy than reality. "
Bert Hansen
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
When to Work for Nothing - Shifting Careers Blog
"No one ever filled a gas tank or bought groceries with exposure. The 20.9 million Americans working as consultants, freelancers, small-business owners and independent contractors are not keeping a roof overhead by getting paid in exposure, or “PIE,” as I’ve taken to calling it."
The marketer's attitude
Seth Godin's Blog
"I'd prefer to hire someone who is largely self-motivated, who finds satisfaction in reaching self-imposed goals, and is willing to regularly raise the bar on those goals."
Monday, November 10, 2008
Our top 10 term sheet hacks
Venture Hacks |Advice and introductions for entrepreneurs.
Venture Hacker Naval Ravikant recently presented "his" top 10 term sheet hacks at Startup2Startup:
(Slides: Top 10 Term Sheet Hacks (pdf)) "Naval’s slides are a must-read"
The Cash Panic Sweeping The VC Industry
| Silicon Alley Insider
"Why have VC firms and PE firms clamped down on investments so fast? Why are they shouting from the rooftops that portfolio companies had better start cutting costs immediately?"
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
John Doerr: 10 ways for companies to stay afloat in rough times
| VentureBeat
At VentureBeat’s Downturn Roundtable event, Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr came prepared with a list of the top things that start-up CEOs should do.
From BoomTown, here is The Entire Video of John Doerr Giving 10 Tips for Start-ups to Avoid the Econalypse
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Era of the Entrepreneur!
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Serial Internet Entrepreneur
"that there is screwing to be done and if you are an entrepreneur there is a good chance that some venture capitalist has his cross hairs aimed at your ass."
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Entrepreneurs Feel Squeeze as Venture Capital Gets Scarce
By PUI-WING TAM | WSJ.com
"The information-technology sector took a particular hit in the quarter. According to VentureSource, 270 financings totaling $2.7 billion took place, down from 342 deals totaling $3.4 billion a year earlier."
Monday, October 20, 2008
Get Rid of the Performance Review!
By SAMUEL A. CULBERT | WSJ.com
Samuel A. Culbert has "an alternative in mind that will get people and corporations a great deal more of what they actually need."
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
How Nate Silver Went From Forecasting Baseball Games to Forecasting Elections
By Adam Sternbergh -- New York Magazine
"So, Nate Silver: What happens next?
Goal Setting For Skeptics: Why You Should Risk Dweebhood with Written Goals
By Gina Trapani | LifeHacker
"There are bookshelves full of annoying self-help hype around the notion of personal goal setting, which is why we're skeptics just like you are. But the truth is, when you feel like you're drifting aimlessly, unhappy with your job, finances, location, fitness level, whatever—it's time to start writing down goals."
Monday, October 13, 2008
Smart Startup Advice: Don't Panic - Profit
| Silicon Alley Insider
"Out east, a downturn has been evident for a while, and most of you have already started to make adjustments to your plan. But two things did change this week:
(a) The credit crisis and the crisis of confidence in our markets got way worse.
(b) Silicon Valley woke up to the fact that something had changed.
The first point is the one to focus on. The second is a distraction.
You need to think about things differently. Things have changed and your priorities should change. I broke up our thinking into two blocks. The first is what you should be thinking about in terms of your business. The second outlines some thoughts on what this means for the market."
Sunday, October 12, 2008
VCs to Entrepreneurs: Seed-Stage Startups OK. Others? Not So Much
Rob Hof | BusinessWeek
"the VCs said that for savvy entrepreneurs with good ideas, these are potentially the best of times. "In bad times, the accidental entrepreneurs leave," said Saurabh Srivastava. "Some of the best companies are born in times of stress.""
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Good News, Startups: You're Not Screwed
"Hopefully you are building your business in a way that is independent of the stock market. (If you're not, you are screwed).
...don't panic - if your business made sense three months ago, it still does today."
Kevin Ryan is the chairman of Silicon Alley Media. He was the CEO of Doubleclick and has since co-founded five New York-based startups, including Panther Express and Gilt Groupe.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Wall Street's Collapse Delivers An Overdue Wake Up Call To Startups
| Silicon Alley Insider
As Hank Williams sees it "this is a fantastic shift in the marketplace, because it means if you have a company that adds real value, you are less likely to get thrown off course by a flood of capital creating unsustainable competition. I am very happy the venture markets are making this shift."
Saturday, September 13, 2008
From Roadkill to Resurrection: Lessons Learned From A Failed Entrepreneur
|Silicon Alley Insider
Roger Ehrenberg is a Wall Street veteran
who now runs IA Capital Partners, his personal investment vehicle. IA Capital's investments include Silicon Alley Media, SAI's parent company. He blogs at Information Arbitrage, where this post was originally published.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What Startups Can Learn From Billy “Moneyball” Beane
"If you’re a major league baseball fan, you’ve probably read “Moneyball,” the best-selling book by journalist Michael Lewis chronicling the successful statistics-driven management of Oakland Athletics General Manager, Billy Beane."
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Human Piece Of The Venture Equation
"How do you know if a founder can scale into the long term “permanent” CEO of the company? Well I don’t think you can know that when you make your initial investment unless the founder has done it before. We have plenty of those situations (successful serial entrepreneur CEOs) in our portfolio and frankly they are easier deals to do. But when you are backing a young, and most likely first time CEO, then you really don’t know if they can drive the car all the way to the finish line."
Startup Fundraising According to Paul Graham
by Ben Yoskovitz
"Raising money for the first time alone is almost impossible."
"First-time entrepreneurs need active mentors and advisors who can walk them through the process. Heck, let’s call it what it is — hand-holding. There’s no shame in that and without it your likelihood of success is significantly lower."
Monday, August 18, 2008
Before You Go Into Business With Family or Friends
By Jean Murray | About.com
"You have heard horror stories about working with family and friends, but you are sure it will work out. But you wonder what you should to to make sure you can work together in a business without destroying that relationship. Here are some tips:"
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Nine Deadly Startup Diseases—and How to Cure Them
By Daniel Tenner | Sitepoint
"Building a startup is hard. There are many problems that can hurt a startup—perhaps even kill it. Daniel Tenner examines some of the more common diseases that plague startups, and proposes some cures. All of these issues can be remedied if detected early enough, so it’s really worth being aware of them. That way, you can operate before they become fatal."
Daniel Tenner is a full-time online entrepreneur. He has been involved in several online ventures, worked in a large consultancy in financial services, and started two successful online businesses.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
7 Lessons Olympians Can Teach Internet Entrepreneurs
by | Mashable: Social Networking News
"while we celebrate the greatest of all sporting events, let’s learn a few lessons from these amazing individuals. Here are seven lessons you can take from the hard work and struggles of Olympians."
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Good News For Innovation: California Confirms That Noncompetes Are Unenforceable
by Mike Masnick | Techdirt
"the good news is that California's Supreme Court has now reiterated that noncompetes are unenforceable here."
In a Down Economy, Angel Investors Change Course
| GigaOM
“Two trends we’ve seen are: We’re investing in deals we’re already in, and [we're] keeping them alive longer because conditions are not ripe for an exit,” said John May, founder of Washington D.C.-based Active Angel Investors. “We’re also giving more runway to portfolio companies. When times are tight, we want to overfund.”
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Openness Is A Winning Business Strategy
Predictions
by Mike Masnick | Techdirt
"from the it's-not-just-a-philosophy dept
For some unfortunate reason, there seems to be this idea that "open" solutions are somehow a less feasible business strategy. "
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Venture Fund Economics
Fred Wilson is a partner at Union Square Ventures. He writes the influential A VC, where this post was originally published. 
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Seven Ideas for Building Your Team
Startup Hacks | Mashable Social Networking News
This is a guest post written by Michael Cerda from Cerdafied - Startups, People and the Variety Hour.
"What’s the biggest driver to building your team?
If you guessed (c), you are correct."a) to get funding
b) having an impressive ABOUT page
c) to execute
d) to help you focus on the big picture
Create a Business Plan by Answering 4 Simple Questions
Wise Bread - Living Large on a Small Budget
This post is a part of the Money Blog Network Group Writing Project focusing on advice for new entrepreneurs.
Right now, all you need is an internal working plan to get you going. And to get that working plan, all you need to do is answer these four simple questions...
Monday, July 28, 2008
Is Google A Content Company? Of Course It Is. So What Should Publishers Do?
"Four important points about Google Knol to put it in context
1. Like Wikipedia, users create Wikipedia-style articles on Knol about various topics.
2. Unlike Wikipedia, and very much like Squidoo, users can create multiple pages on the same subject.
3. Authors can put Google's advertising on these pages and make money.
4. Google (GOOG) is indexing these pages amazingly high in their search results."
Looking for ‘Plan B’
Screenwerk | Greg Sterling’s Thoughts on Online and Offline Media
"One of the striking things to me about Internet entrepreneurs and VCs is that almost no one is seeking to create long-term value or build businesses that will be sustainable and be around in a decade."
Friday, July 25, 2008
9 VCs You’re Gonna Want to Avoid
"Editor’s Note: Fundraising is tough. So more and more of you bootstrap as long as you can. But once you get close to $1 million in revenues, VCs will come calling. That’s right: they’ll come to you. Cash flow positive startups remain hard to come by. But you won’t want to talk to all of them, says Found|READ contributor, Larry Chiang. So he offers this list of VC archetypes you’ll definitely want to avoid, just as soon as you hit the $900,000-mark. "
Thanks to Jeff Saunders
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Memo To VCs: Every Great Idea Doesn't Fit In An Elevator Pitch
Hank Williams | Why does everything suck?
"I have come to a conclusion about this. It's Bull."
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