Both Sides of the Table
MAY 9, 2012
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 entrepreneurs, angels and accelerators. I was here to see one of our LPs (limited partners are the people who invest money in VC funds) called Fort Washington.
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 14, 2012
I'll bet you don't know where the Center of NY's Tech Community and Center of Creativity is. Give up? It's in the Financial District--right at 55 Broad Street. It says so right on their website. In fact, it is "well-known internationally as the original home of New York's technology community.". I'll bet you didn't know that--mostly because it never was.
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Gust
MAY 28, 2012
Business success begins in the mind of the startup founder and his team. A winning startup is a team of entrepreneurs who build and run the business as an extension of who they are, rather than some extrapolation of the Google or Facebook model. It’s not so easy to fake the important attributes when the going gets rough. So before you risk it all by jumping into a startup, do a reality check on your own mind to see if you can find a majority of the following attributes, summarized from the book
Berkonomics
MAY 24, 2012
Creative entrepreneurs find niches for their business that are not full of competitors fighting over the last dollar of margin, or niches that are mature and shrinking in size. They search for areas unexplored, or those covered by companies with less of a vision for quality, service or innovation. But even creative entrepreneurs are often trapped inside the box of their experience.
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Derek Sivers
MAY 15, 2012
The woman seemed to be making some pretty good points until she stopped with, “Ugh! Those people are just so stupid!!”. She could have said Southerners, Northerners, Liberals, Conservatives, Chinese, or Americans. It doesn’t matter. She just proved that she wasn’t being smart. There are no smart people or stupid people, just people being smart or being stupid.
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Both Sides of the Table
MAY 23, 2012
This article originally ran on PEHub. If you prefer the super short version – I’ve summarized the post in the final section. Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. They are frustrated by the past decade of subpar returns for the sector. The most recent report to weigh in on the troubles of the industry was produced by the esteemed Kauffman Foundation.
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 11, 2012
Fact: Thanks to the new crowdfunding legislation, it will soon be easier for any entrepreneur trying to build Instagram for Cats to raise $10 million than it is for an experienced investor to raise a fund to invest in the next 25 new businesses as well as support their growth with strategic advice, help with hiring, PR, business development, and connections to future capital.
Gust
MAY 29, 2012
It’s the end of May as I write this so I’ve just finished my annual April-May business plan marathon reading more than 100 business plans for my angel investment group and four different business plan contests. This seems like a good point to summarize here what I look for in a business plan. . Don’t push adjectives. Let me assign my own.
Berkonomics
MAY 2, 2012
Some of us remember things better when given a catchy phrase or rhyme. Here’s one to help you with squeezing the most out of your available resources. It reflects the new reality in our business world, one with little room for mistakes and no room for bloat within our companies. The first “P” stands for people. The wrong person in a job causes all below or above that person in the production system, that depend upon that person, to operate at a reduced rate or quality of output.
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This is going to be BIG.
MAY 29, 2012
Now that Facebook has gone public, there's a lot of newly created wealth on the scene. History has shown that newly creates wealth shops the startup scene like a kid in a candy store. Over the course of the lifetime of a new angel investor, they'll do 70% of all of the angel investments they'll ever make in year one. Then they realize that some of these companies will hit a wall, demand a lot of time, and that it's all fun and games until someone gets an eye poked out--or so the saying goes.
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 31, 2012
I'm watching CNBC right now and they're featuring two top stories: Facebook's 30% drop since the IPO and SpaceX completing the first commercial space supply mission. Could it be that the future of innovation lies in driving mankind forward and not getting people to click more ads? Does the Facebook IPO mark the end of our eight year infatuation with social networking that began with Flickr and del.icio.us?
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 7, 2012
On Saturday morning, I stepped onto continental Europe for the first time in just over 20 years. I hadn't been here since I was 12, when I did a week long exchange program in Italy. I'll admit to not being particularly well travelled--I've never lived outside the five boroughs. I don't know any other languages. It's not that I don't like new places--I've just spent a lot of time diving pretty deep into my own city and going all in on a career based off of being rooted in NYC.
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 2, 2012
1. Comment on a series of posts other professionals in your area of expertise seem to be talking about. 2. Read something in a totally different genre like philosophy or history and try and put it in the context of your job. 3. Blog some rhetorical questions that are on your mind. 4. Ask 4-5 smart people for a tip or best practice around something everyone in your area needs to know. 5.
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This is going to be BIG.
MAY 17, 2012
How do you price a round? Its one of the most often asked questions and yet I've never seen a great answer given. It seems to me that the most important factor in pricing your round isn't your progress or your idea. It seems to come down to two things: 1) How much do you want to raise? 2) Supply and demand of capital willing to invest in your company.
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 18, 2012
1) Expect the angel and seed stage market to continue to stay hot. Newly wealthy Facebookers will likely contribute massively to early stage companies, which means building relationships with companies early and actually rolling up sleeves to add value will be a must for investors. If you're just money, you are toast. 2) Facebook will be hungry for growth in its ad business, and since it is running out of internet connected humans to connect to, it will need tools to make more out of each person
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 9, 2012
It's true. With the ascension of Kent Goldman and Phin Barnes to Partner, Christine Herron leaving to join Intel Capital and me starting Brooklyn Bridge Ventures , there are no longer any people at the Principal level. Oh, did you think I meant something else? :) I just thought today was Salacious Headline Day in the VC blogging world so I thought I'd chime in.
Gust
MAY 24, 2012
Dual-class voting structures are receiving a lot of attention these days along with intense publicity related to the Facebook IPO , following in the wake of other recent tech IPOs with a similar structure such as Zynga and LinkedIn. This is nothing new; long favored by family-controlled media empires such as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation , among Internet firms alone, Google took a dual-class approach when going public in 2004.
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Gust
MAY 22, 2012
This is a good time to reflect on my experience with locally based angel investment. I just finished with the fourth of our annual angel investment event for my local group based in Eugene and Corvallis, Oregon. I’ve been an investing member since the group — the Willamette Angel Conference , nicknamed (ugh) the WAC — started. . We now have an investment in Cascade ProDrug, using technology developed at our own University of Oregon (based in Eugene, where I live) to help people
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 17, 2012
I’m fond of saying that I look for entrepreneurs that have a chip on their shoulder. That they have something to prove. That they’re not afraid to stick their noses up to the establishment. I have always felt this way. It’s something I kind of seek out. I guess my thoughts are that if you’re part of the country club you have a vested interest in protecting the existing order and that disruption happens more from those that are on the outside wanting to change the rules.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 10, 2012
I recently spoke at the Blue Glass conference on the topic of marketing. I’ll write up some thoughts in a blog post format soon. I’ve been spending time looking at marketing conversion metrics at portfolio companies lately. We’ve been testing things like: How do Facebook “Likes” perform relative to FB ads that drive you directly to a web page.
Berkonomics
MAY 10, 2012
Consider your core. It is the one skill, process or advantage you have over your competition. Then think of all the things you do to surround that core with people and assets that complete the company and allow you to release your product or perform your service. Now consider how many of those surrounding assets and services are really necessary for you to perform in order to protect and grow your core.
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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.
Berkonomics
MAY 17, 2012
It is a rule that early stage managers should find, protect and grow the core business, finding resources wherever possible to service that core in the form of variable expense, to be added to or shed at will as the company finds its niche and establishes a pattern of growth. From administrative services supplied by personal assistants located in India, to designers and producers of prototypes in China, to call centers managed and located in the Philippines, there are efficient, well organized s
Berkonomics
MAY 31, 2012
Even the smallest business can now reach throughout the globe to find resources for design, development, support and consultation. There are people and companies everywhere willing to work by the hour, providing great skill sets as needed, able to be shed when the job is complete. Some of the best companies I have become involved with are composed of a few critical people who have relationships with a number of service suppliers around the world to add to the team as needed.
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