Ideation on social media, venture capital and startups 
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Entrepreneurship
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10.07.07Money Quote on Entrepreneurs…
Entrepreneurship Commentsby 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.
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09.25.07Does Gender Matter When You Start a Company?
Entrepreneurship CommentsThe Small Business Administration recently released a report titled: "Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?" The study's main conclusion is that, when other factors are controlled, gender does not affect a new ventures performance. However, the approach and type of business started is impacted by the gender of the entrepreneur. For example, women and men often decide to become entrepreneurs for different reasons: men are more likely to start a technology business and to start a business with a primary objective of making money. Women are more likely to operate in low risk and non-profit business sectors. Interestingly, ...
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09.21.07Are NDA’s a Waste of Time for Startups?
Entrepreneurship CommentsNDAs, Non-Disclosure Agreements, are (in theory) one of the small protections afforded to entrepreneurs looking to protect an idea. However, most VC's will refuse to sign them for a number of reasons. Entrepreneurs wrongly assume that venture folk are the most trustworthy people alive. Under this assumption, the same entrepreneurs will gladly fork over the 'secret sauce' during a pitch in hopes of securing funding -- this is a serious mistake. By not signing an NDA, a VC is simply making a weak promise not to disclose information. But, in actuality, VCs are the persons with the most reasons to ...
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09.14.07I’ve Got a Clush on Entourage
Entrepreneurship CommentsI finally managed to get caught up on Entourage the other day. The most recent episode was hysterical as per usual, but it also got me thinking of all the entrepreneurial undertones of the show. For example, the boys recently struck out on their own to produce the high-risk independent film, Medellin. Eric is now his own agent, balancing friendships, learning to trust his gut, and trying to sell clients (Anna Faris). Even Ari has his own firm. I think it's great that an exceedingly popular television show is really, at its core, about best friends making their own way ...
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09.04.07Universities, Startups and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship CommentsStudent entrepreneurship and university-led incubating of startups are subjects I have covered before. Recently though I have jumped on several email lists for organizations dedicated to promoting university-level technology innovation and I hope to get more actively involved. Here are some very cool stats I came across: The 20-year returns for Early/Seed VCs is 20.6%, compared with 13.8% for Later Stage VCs and 8.2% for the S&P 500 8% of all university startups go public, in comparison to a "going public rate" of only 0.07% for other U.S. enterprises - a 114x difference Over ...
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09.03.07Why Writing a 10-page Business Plan is Probably Not a Good Idea (For you)
Entrepreneurship CommentsThe Messengers front man Stowe Boyd has a new post called, "Writing Tight: Why Tiny Business Plans are Best." While I tend to agree with Stowe that a short and sweet 10-page plan is the ideal approach, I think that barring ideal circumstances, a 10-page plan is the exception, not the rule. Few can actually get away with it. The ideal circumstances include three factors: 1) there is solid underlying business model capable of generating revenue, 2) the team has worked together before and 3) the team faces few hurdles (time and money). If all three of these factors are ...
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08.18.07House Sitting Love
Entrepreneurship CommentsI'm just thinking how cool it would be for entrepreneurs who need space cheaply to be able to quickly find places to "house-sit" at ski resorts. I have been blown away by the availability of high-speed internet all over the west - even in the spots I would least expect it. I have also been blown away by the number of "house-sitter needed" fliers up at local grocery stores. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
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08.05.07Who is John Galt?
Entrepreneurship CommentsI have a different take on the New York Times front page fodder regarding Silicon Valley millionaires not feeling rich. Most readers of this story see it as yet another example of the rampant greed prevalent throughout the Valley. Following suit, bloggers such as Nick O’Neil point out the danger in this type of mentality, ’I truly hope that whenever I reach my goals I don’t fall victim to the same perspective that some of these other individuals have.’ It’s a good point. Likewise, Jeremy Toeman states: ’It’s these same people that are setting these terrible role models ...
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07.31.07Never Compromise Your Values. Never.
Entrepreneurship CommentsSeth Godin has a great post today on ’Toxic Employees.’ Seth identifies such individuals as sharing two common characteristics: 1. They confuse "How can I help this prospect/customer?" with "How can I get rid of this person and get back to work?" 2. They confuse, "How can I have a better day by treating this person with a great deal of respect?" with "Why isn't this person treating me with the respect I deserve?" In related news, I recently acted on a really difficult decision fitting Seth’s description #2 to a tee. Having to look past friendship, I decided to ...
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06.06.07Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs: The Similarities Abound
Campus Chatter, Entrepreneurship CommentsMy sister is currently looking a job and she’s two years out of college. My other sister will be graduating from college next year and she’s already thinking about her impending job search... It got me thinking that there is a lot in common between entrepreneurs looking for funding and recent college graduates looking for jobs. As an analogy, think of a recent graduate (and his or her resume) as a business plan ’“ a potential gamble or risk for some company looking to hire. The recent graduate, like the entrepreneur, must sell themselves and show how his or her skills ...
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