This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 6, 2013
Ok, it's still resolution time, right? Time to get cracking on some new initiatives in 2013. and I can't argue strenously enough for investing the time into a blog this year if you've started a company. Forget the fact that you can't write or it takes a long time. These are things that go away over time. First off, many of the widely read tech bloggers aren't the best writers either.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 16, 2013
I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. It’s the first EIR that we’ve had in the years that I’ve been with the firm and I hope will be the start of our investment in this program. And it’s the latest in a series of investments we’ve made in building out our practice as the LA technology market continues to grow robustly and
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Gust
JANUARY 13, 2013
Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard via ShinyShiny.tv. Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. There are people who are natural musicians, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try to teach them music.
Berkonomics
JANUARY 17, 2013
My brother, Barry, passed away recently. A world famous architect, he is credited with the design of over 600,000 homes worldwide. He had been named one of the world’s top 100 architects by Architectural Digest, and one of the ten most significant figures of the 20th century by Residential Architect. He was quite a role model as a big brother, five years my senior.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.
Derek Sivers
JANUARY 5, 2013
I’ve been doing this for a year, and it’s the most helpful learning technique I’ve found in 14 years of computer programming. Background: I’m an intermediate programmer. I didn’t go to school for it. I just learned by necessity because I started a website that just kept growing and growing, and I couldn’t afford to hire a programmer, so I picked up a few books on PHP, SQL, Linux, and Apache, learned just enough to make it work, then used that little knowledge for years.
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 1, 2013
In 2012, I started my second company--a venture capital firm called B rooklyn Bridge Ventures. Becoming an entrepreneur again has been a ton of work, but incredibly rewarding. In a year, I went from an idea and a track record to more than $5mm of limited partner commitments, six investments in incredible entrepreneurs (to be announced when I get my new website up), and a ton of opportunity to create innovation in New York City.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 22, 2013
I recently wrote a post about how to manage relationships when you’re at a startup or are busy executive. It was based on an excellent book I had just read by Brad Feld & Amy Batchelor (his wife). I had images in my brain of all of the stresses I had placed on my wife in the heyday of my startups. We once took a “vacation” in Spain with Tania’s parents but we were in the midst of an M&A transaction so this photo is how my wife & her family remember me on that
Gust
JANUARY 9, 2013
Years ago I came across the idea that in entrepreneurship, education and experience contribute to likelihood of success roughly like you see in the chart here. The underlying assumption is that a lot of education makes up for very little experience, and vice-versa. And this is in the context of startups, investment, and entrepreneurship. . I’ve drawn it here MBA style, with a line on two axes, pretty much the way I first saw it, with a smooth curve from one extreme to the other.
Berkonomics
JANUARY 3, 2013
Most every business can take advantage of continuing, recurring revenues from its customer base. Sometimes, products are designed to make all of their profit upon the recurring revenues from supplies or support. We immediately recall the razor and blade analogy to illustrate the point when planning product development and release. Xerox in its formative years, even though barely having enough cash to market its then revolutionary copier, elected to lease rather than sell the units.
Advertisement
Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?
Derek Sivers
JANUARY 26, 2013
You have a bigger audience than you had just a few years ago. You have more people reading your updates, and wanting to hear something new. Standing on this virtual stage, you want to be entertaining, post exciting updates, be impressive, and keep their attention. You’re so rewarded with status when you do. But what happens when the thing you really need to do is boring to others?
Tomasz Tunguz
JANUARY 3, 2013
Daniel Pink, former speechwriter for Al Gore, has written an unconventional book on sales called To Sell is Human. In this well researched book, Pink observes a few surprising evolutions in society and their impact on sales. The hard sell is dead. Enabled by the internet, prospective buyers know more about a product than a salesperson. This is true for cars as much as enterprise software.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 28, 2013
Tweet. As I finished up my weekly newsletter of NYC's tech events and classes , I thought a lot about some recent conversations I've had with some new entrants into the startup ecosystem--enthusiastic young professionals whose stated goals centered around learning. I sometimes find myself wondering in this world of classes, accelerators, and religious zealotry around methodologies if anyone is, in fact, learning anything.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 29, 2013
Jody. You’re gone too early. We still had so many more times to spend together. I loved this image I saw posted by Andy Rankin. Because this is the one word that was not in your vocabulary. And it was the first word I muttered when I heard the news tonight. I remember when we met years ago. I think Michael Kantor introduced us. You were pitching me an online business selling other people’s baby food.
Advertisement
Gearing up for 2025 annual planning? Our latest eBook from the Operators Guild is your ultimate guide. Discover real-world solutions and best practices shared by top CFOs, drawn directly from discussions within OG’s vibrant online community. Learn from senior executives at high-growth tech startups as they outline financial planning strategies, align CEO and board goals, and coordinate budgets across departments.
Gust
JANUARY 27, 2013
Howard Gardner photo via TheDish.org. Being a good entrepreneur means being able to effectively convince an investor that you have a great idea, persuade partners that your approach is right, and convince potential customers that the solution is right for them. If all your ideas are intuitively obvious to everyone, you probably aren’t thinking outside the box, or don’t really have the next big thing.
Berkonomics
JANUARY 31, 2013
Ever had a manager who hung those motivational posters around the office, spoke of “pushing together,” or “you’re empowered to give great service” – and then acted at least once in complete disregard of those statements? It takes only one time caught by subordinates to lose the faith of an entire group of faithful followers. And that certainly counts for customers too, although the customer jungle drums don’t communicate quite as fast as the virtual water cooler system, even with today’s many w
Gust
JANUARY 20, 2013
Image via Facebook.com. Since the days of Henry Ford, mass production has been the Holy Grail of business, rather than build-to-order. Too many businesses haven’t noticed that we have come full-circle, where mass customization is required now to win. Customers have come to expect immediate and tailor-made responses to their needs, and the businesses that fail to deliver quickly fall behind.
Gust
JANUARY 15, 2013
December update and insights about new startups: India became second last month as the country with the highest count of new Startups, right below the United States. India’s average position for the year has been fourth, it came up to third in February and between June to August, but only reached second for the first time this past month. Top 5 Us states remained steady this month and were consistent with their yearly averages.
Advertisement
Mighty Financial specializes in supporting the financial aspirations of small businesses and entrepreneurs. With our comprehensive bookkeeping and precise accounting expertise with decades of experience across diverse financial roles, our team offers tailor-made services ranging from essential bookkeeping to strategic fractional CFO support, catered specifically to the unique challenges of technology companies, startups, and SMEs.
Gust
JANUARY 31, 2013
Last month, the SEC announced it was taking action regarding Netflix’ (NFLX) securities compliance based on a Facebook status update posted by CEO Reed Hastings. The move came as a shock to many in the tech business community, in which we’ve become accustomed to real-time disclosure by company executives through social media. What could be wrong with more transparency?
Gust
JANUARY 30, 2013
Actual, fundable, serious startups in a single weekend? No. Real? Great learning experience? And worth doing? Yes. . Last Sunday night I judged nine pitches from nine groups that started from scratch just two days before, late Friday afternoon. They had some good ideas, good pictures, a prototype or two, some good video … and an entertaining event. .
Gust
JANUARY 15, 2013
Is the bloom off of the startups rose? Two days ago the New York Times published this story about investors getting pickier. I think the NYTimes’ headline is slightly off from the story’s content. It’s not that much about a rocky recent past; it’s more about money being too easy in the recent past, and now, as a natural result, things get tighter because “easy” money doesn’t always mean enough of the due diligence and thought to make good deals.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 30, 2013
Somebody commented that in 2013 I have done a lot more personal posts than usual. I didn’t set out that way. It just happened. Lots of tragedies in the past couple of months. Aaron Schwartz. Sandy Hook. Now Jody Sherman. And my friend Brad Feld & his wife had written a book on the importance of personal relationships which made me want to weigh in on that.
Advertisement
Lack of digitalization decreases business competitiveness. To thrive, embracing modern solutions becomes essential. The approach to digitalization often aligns with a company's business model. This shift not only boosts productivity but also automates processes and improves security. The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 8, 2013
Tweet. The last thing I ever want to do is create work for my portfolio companies. That being said, I think that there's a certain amount of management communication that serves a purpose well beyond just letting the investors know what's going on in the company. Ideally, investor communication serves the following purposes: Focuses the attention of the CEO on goals over a fixed about of time: "What are we going to accomplish between now and the next update?".
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 26, 2013
Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. I think many board members (including VCs) were trained 10+ years ago when life was very different and their advice often comes from an outdated lens. One of the advantages of blogging, using social media, public speaking, etc as a VC is that you get a more nuanced view of these shifts by watching your own successes a
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 14, 2013
I wrote this in my newsletter this morning. Honestly, I’m feeling kind of conflicted on what to write this week… It doesn’t feel right for me to comment on Aaron Swartz—I didn’t know him and I don’t know enough about the details of his case to go around placing blame. So instead, I’ll just say this… Life can be extremely trying sometimes.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 23, 2013
Next week, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures is running Devstackup. It's a monthly event where developers can hear from the tecnnical leads of startups using the same technology that they use--all in a fast paced format. Seven or so startups go up, talk about what they do, their team, the stack they use and the challenges they face. This month, we're focusing on iOS.
Advertisement
CAPTARGET presents a masterclass in M&A deal sourcing. Learn to cast a wide net, embracing seller self-identification. Consistency is the linchpin: keep the origination process steady for a reliable flow of opportunities. Diversify your tactics, employing various tools and vendors. Tech matters! Understand DNS settings, domain authority, and brand presence for optimal outreach.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
386 
Let's personalize your content