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Avoid Monoculture. Travel. Read Widely. Let Experience Be Your Compass.
I sometimes feel that the Silicon Valley culture and we as technologists more broadly can breed monoculture in our approach to entrepreneurship, problem solving, market analysis and technology...
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The Problem With Collecting Logos At Startups
Collecting logos. It seems to be all the fad in the startup and VC world these days. VCs are paying up at enormous prices to say that they have GroupOn, Facebook and Twitter on their roster...
View ArticleWhy Your Startup Doesn’t Need A COO
It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s. So I know I’m getting myself into a bit of trouble by writing this. But …Startups don’t need – shouldn’t have – COOs. I have this conversation with...
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Why Reed Hastings Should Be Applauded For The Netflix Split (NFLX)
By now you probably know that Netflix is splitting its business into two parts: its digital streaming business (retains the name Netflix) and its DVD mailing business, which was its original business...
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Don’t Commit "Between Seat And Keyboard” Errors. The World Is Too Small
BSAK Errors. I always loved the term … ”Between seat and keyboard.”Normally it was my tech team just being cheeky with me about my withering technology chops. But …… was thinking about a very common...
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Why Pseudonymity Is Such an Important Concept
Fred Wilson wrote a blog post yesterday called “Real Names” in which he talked about a commenter on his blog who preferred not to comment because he didn’t want to use his real name. It’s all told...
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Why Super Pro-rata Rights Are Not A Good Deal For Entrepreneurs
Yesterday I saw a Tweet from Chris Sacca fly by that prompted me to want to write a blog post helping entrepreneurs understand why they should push back against VCs asking for “super pro-rata” rights....
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Why Email May Be Draining Your Company’s Productivity
Email. Ah, email. That great productivity drain that we somehow all buy into. I’ve taken to saying, “Email is our personal to-do list that anybody adds to – whether they know us or not.”I was lamenting...
View ArticleTips To Help You Think About Sales At Your Startup
Sales.It’s the lifeblood of any organization and yet most startups don’t have any sales DNA on their teams. It’s important enough that I dedicate a tab on my blog to startup sales & marketingThis...
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Why You Should Embrace Opposing Views At Your Startup
What could you learn from looking at your competitors or other tech startups in a different way?Are you cynical about their chances in the market just because they seem to be hot in the press and that...
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Here’s Why You Never Ask A Busy Person To Lunch
OK. I know with a title like that I’m going to subject myself to people thinking I’m just being a grumpy, exclusive VC. That’s not the point. It’s honest advice so please judge once you’ve read the...
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Creating The Next Generation Of American Employees: Why I Invested In Treehouse
I’ve just completed an investment in Ryan Carson’s new company, TreeHouse. It meets everyone of my criteria so I thought I’d elaborate1. I’m investing heavily in Internet video. Why? Americans watch...
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The State Of Venture Capital And The Internet
Early today I gave a keynote at the VCJ Venture Alpha conference here in San Francisco.I was asked to speak about the topic of “what is going on in the venture capital world and what is the next big...
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Why Startups Should Pay Attention To Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Tax Plan
This is intended to be an apolitical post so if you want to get into a political debate in the comments you’re missing the point.Herman Cain. He’s sorta lovable. He just says whatever he thinks and we...
View ArticleWhy You Should Ban Laptops at Board Meetings
I haven’t had too many board meetings lately so I want to get this timely post out now lest somebody think I’m talking about their company or board in particular. This is a post about ALL boards.Back...
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How To Negotiate When You Know Nothing About Making Deals
When I started my first tech company in 1999 I had pretty good tech chops and had led teams but had very little exposure to many other things that matter in a startup including sales, marketing &...
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How This Entrepreneur Raised $28,000 To Fund Her Startup, Using Airbnb
Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She’s a painter and a self-proclaimed Bohemian.She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in...
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In The Age Of Skype And Email, You Need To Actually Meet People To Be Successful
It’s Wednesday late afternoon. I’m aboard Delta flight 1833 from Cincinnati (actually, Northern Kentucky for what it’s worth) to Los Angeles.I had a very enjoyable day in Cincinnati meeting many local...
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Wow, An Investor Asked A Founder For Complete Access To Emails During Due...
Before VCs invest in companies, they often conduct due diligence. They hunt for major red flags before pouring in lots of money, which makes sense.But where's the line between due diligence and...
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The Truth Is That Being An Entrepreneur Is Completely Horrible
Two-time entrepreneur turned venture capitalist Mark Suster recently shed some light on the reality of being an entrepreneur.In his "Entrepreneurshit. The Truth About Building Startups" keynote...
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