Ideation on social media, venture capital and startups 
Leveraging Ideas
Category
Entrepreneurship
-
07.08.08Fixing The Validation-Distribution Conundrum
EntrepreneurshipThere are two major challenges faced by all first time startup entrepreneurs: 1) Investor Validation 2) Product Distribution These are difficult challenges to overcome -- particularly if you're an east coast entrepreneur... I’m working with a few friends on a partial solution to this problem. If you are either a successful startup founder or someone intimately involved in startup funding (i.e. a VC/Angel) -- and under 32 years of age please shoot me an email if you’d be interested in learning more.
-
06.03.08How to Make Email Introductions
EntrepreneurshipOne of the best things you can do to build social capital is to make introductions to people who could mutually benefit from the connection. Yesterday I mentioned that introductions are actually great both for the person making the intro and the person receiving one. Today I want to suggest a tactic for making a proper introduction over email. Although it may seem less personal, I have found that email is the best way to initially introduce people. Arranging a phone introduction is awkward – better to introduce two people over email and then let them discuss their business without you and ...
-
03.23.08Tricks of the Trade: How to Meet an Influencer
Entrepreneurship, My ExperiencesIt is a fact of life: the more influential you are, the nicer the hotel you stay at. Based on this truthieness, here are two very similar hacks. Hack #1. Let’s say you’re traveling internationally and want to mingle with a jet setter crowd, but you’re on a tight budget. Simply locate the nicest hotel in your particular city and head there. In general most 5+ star international hotels have a fantastic lounge with wifi, bars and coffee. Park yourself there for the afternoon and strike up casual conversations with the folks around you. You’re likely to meet some interesting, wealthy ...
-
03.03.08On Being a Better Entrepreneur (And VC)
Entrepreneurship, Venture CapitalI have noted that a new trend among VC firms seems to be an annual, or bi-annual gathering of their portfolio companies. I think this is an exceptional practice, and as an entrepreneur, the first VCs I would approach for money are the ones supporting these types of interactions. It’s a clear indication that being ‘part of that particular family’ means access to connections and learning experiences. Such gatherings are all the more important when you consider a finding from a recent study featured in Time Magazine and on Mind Hacks (one of my favorite blogs!). Turns out experience isn’t all ...
-
02.25.08Nominations Closing!
EntrepreneurshipIf you want to nominate someone for the startup all-star team you have until Friday.
-
02.24.08How Consulting Paid for 50% of my MBA
Entrepreneurship, My ExperiencesRecently someone wrote me asking for advice on how to break into the world of consulting. I thought the best way to address this was through a post on my personal experience... When I was 24 I lost my job. I won’t get into specifics, but it was a difficult time because everything I had worked so hard for suddenly seemed to have been stripped away from me. At the time I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I did not want to put my trust into another corporate experience for a long, long time. ...
-
02.19.08Selections for Start-Up All-Star Team
EntrepreneurshipIn honor of the NBA All-Star game, I thought it might be fun to put together an All-Star StartUp Team roster for a hypothetical new internet/web 2.0 company. Let’s assume there are six positions: Marketing/Business Development Information Architect User Experience Expert Chief Engineer Designer (logo, color patterns, etc) Systems/DBA Guru Of course, an all-star team also needs a coach (in this case a lead investor)... Send me your picks by email, or post them in the comments. I’ll compile the results with links to blogs or companies for the individuals nominated next week
-
11.08.07
-
11.04.07The Art of Entrepreneurship: Noah Charney
EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurs are an innovative breed, but it takes someone special to innovate within an industry that has existed for centuries. One of these people is my good friend, Noah Charney, whose debut novel, The Art Thief, is now available in a bookstore near you. Despite the wild success of the Da Vinci Code and its allusions to art theft which captured the minds of millions of readers and film goers, surprisingly, no formal academic efforts had ever been contributed to the field…that is, until Noah. Noah is a graduate of Colby College and Oxford, where he invented his own degree ...
-
10.07.07Money Quote on Entrepreneurs…
Entrepreneurshipby Andreessen and a great exclamation point for my most recent post about the personalities of the new tech nerds: Entrepreneurs? Smoking dope. What are they thinking? Why aren't they all working for Apple, helping to build a fatter Nano? What's wrong with them? Potsmoking, mussed-hair, rooftop party-going, trendy glasses-wearing, sandal-clad, Red Bull-snorting, laid-getting wankers, the lot of 'em. The sooner they realize the world never changes and there are no new opportunities to pursue, the better.
|
recent posts
- Premium Means You Should Envy Them
- Teaching Dad About the Internet Circa 1994
- The Turning Girl IQ Test
- The Long Tail and Mimetic Desire
- The Price Is Right but the Process is Wrong
- Can You Afford Not to Be Funny?
- Techcrunch Forums Hit DeadPool
-
Companies
Copyright © 2005-2008 Leveraging Ideas. All rights reserved.