Many years ago, I heard an investor say that when they looked at an investment opportunity they looked at teams above everything else. I was surprised when he said “You can make a spreadsheet say almost anything, so we just glance at the financials, and scroll down to the team … Read it!
I have been on more than two sides of startup investments. Two of my companies have raised money and I have invested small amounts. Plus, I have been an advisor to investors. So, I feel adequately qualified to give some advice… Less than 1% of startups get funding at the … Read it!
A Brief Introduction The Very Lean Startup MethodTM or perhaps the Really Lean Startup MethodTM is but a natural extension of the Lean Startup Method. The latter approach to Entrepreneurship has been articulated exhaustively by Eric Reis in his book as well as by many others. In fact, there is … Read it!
Introduction A lot of people ask me “How does one become an Entrepreneur?”. Below, I’ve listed seven paths that you can take to reach that goal. Of course this is only a partial answer and attitude, mindset and many other steps have to be simultaneously explored. But choosing one of … Read it!
Starting up? Forget about patents – at least for a while. While there are definitely exceptions, 99% of startups shouldn’t try to “patent their idea” or even attempt to patent processes or products that will be at best, half-baked. Twice last week, I was called upon to give advice about … Read it!
Really, <faceplam> moment – why didn’t I think of this? A watch? That you wear on your wrist? And call it the launch of the wearables movement? Sheer genius! Seriously, we have been wearing watches for centuries. Genius is when you can sell the concept of wearing a watch to … Read it!
Less than 1% of startups get funding at the seed or startup phase. Of those that get seed funding, less than 1% get future rounds of funding. In America, the Small Business Administration estimates that “only 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent of funding requests made to VC firms result in … Read it!
Here is a cleaned up and more formal version of the below. I decided to follow my own advice and publish the following online before it was finished. This is a very rough first draft, so please excuse the blemishes and mistakes. I am looking for feedback and your thoughts … Read it!
Being an entrepreneur takes passion and belief in yourself. It takes flexibility and perseverance and a lot of qualities not seen in most people. Being an entrepreneur takes also takes courage, humility, focus and above all, a first class idea that has merit to real customers in the real world. … Read it!