Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Every so often I find myself caught up in a really hectic 3-4 week schedule where it seems like I float endlessly betweens meetings. Pitches. Intros. Board Meetings. Conferences. And I get flooded with legal docs, end-of-quarter financial administration, recruiting, whatever. I get sucked up in “Do” mode. Startups Are for Doers. Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do.

creativity 400

creativity venture capital entrepreneurs board 400

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

As we prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I think a lot about the future of the physical retail landscape. As I walk around my neighborhood in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I count every storefront whose products or services could be better delivered over the internet. The count is unfortunately high. Pretty much anywhere you buy items that aren't food, you could probably get them cheaper on the web, with a wider selection.

real estate 397

real estate coworking spaces coworking communities 397

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Google's Larry Page image via Coolspotters.com. A while back, when a startup founder mentioned to me that he wasn’t sure he had the personality to be an entrepreneur, I realized how important that insight was. My first thought is that if you are more annoyed than energized by expert advice, team suggestions, and customer input, then you should probably avoid this line of work.

entrepreneurs 189

entrepreneurs entrepreneurship creativity advice 189

abovethecrowd.com

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Since Benchmark’s investment in Ebay 15 years ago, we have been fascinated by online marketplaces. Entrepreneurs accurately recognize that the connective tissue of the Internet provides an opportunity to link the players in a particular market, reducing friction in both the buying and selling experience. The arrival of the smartphone amplifies these opportunities, as the Internet’s connective tissue now extends deeper and deeper into an industry with the participants connected to the marketplace

networking 101

networking opportunity enablement incumbents 101

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strategy

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Dictators are not great leaders in the long run. People follow such leaders by fear, rarely by devotion. Employees want to have a stake in their own destiny, and above all want to understand why actions are taken which affect them, even if the outcome is not in the employee’s favor. The best leaders are those who share problems and alternative solutions with their direct reports, then seek consensus in decisions as a result.

creativity 71

creativity culture education communities 71

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

I recently wrote about the 12 tips to building successful startup communities. After a recent discussion I had with Steve Blank it made me remember that I had left off one of the most critical factors – a culture of failure. I remember this lesson well. I lived in London from 1997-2005 and for 6 of those years ran my startup based out of London.

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culture communities startup education 350

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

I can't take credit for this meme, even though I've already invested in it.twice. (Once with Docracy, once with a super cool company launching in the first quarter of 2013.). I was chatting with Thor Muller a couple of weeks ago about web trends--and he made a very insightful point as I talked about how I see more and more models around getting people to work together in different ways.

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collaboration media SaaS VC 373

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

As I write this, days after the 2012 presidential election, I’m probably not alone in feeling relieved that the political jeering and soapboxing that reached a feverish pitch during the seemingly endless campaign season has finally subsided. Yet amidst all the partisan cheerleading and name-calling, there has been some discussion of substance.

economic growth 187

economic growth entrepreneurship creativity innovation 187

abovethecrowd.com

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Earlier today, DogVacay, an exciting new startup in Los Angeles, announced that Benchmark Capital has led its most recent round of financing. DogVacay is an online marketplace that links dog owners with passionate dog care providers who open up there own home as an alternative to the traditional cage-oriented kennel. At first blush, a web site that allows owners to book a “Dog Vacation” for their esteemed pet may seem like an unusual choice for a venture investment.

investing 53

investing investment finance financing 53

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startup

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

Most of us are driven by the competitive spirit, the desire or need to win. It reinforces self-worth, provides closure at the end of a good effort, and energizes us during the effort to achieve. Many of us as managers – and our employees as workers – are driven by process, actions required to achieve a result. And many of these actions are repetitive to a fault, contributing to boredom and ultimately to restlessness and desire for something new, in or out of the company.

creativity 70

creativity 70

Tomasz Tunguz

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Yesterday, I showed the increasing share of venture capital investments consumer companies represent. But examining the trends at a category level may mask patterns by consumer category and also by stage. So, I’ve created two charts: the first is a bar chart of consumer investment by segment and the second is a heatmap of of sector and stage. I categorized the consumer investments by 10 leading firms over the past 18 months into six buckets of my choosing.

investing 40

investing investment VC transportation 40

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

For the past three years I have been pounding the table as loud as I can about the future opportunities in digital video. The concise guide is here. My narrative has stayed pretty simple: People in the US watch 5.3 hours of TV per day. People read for less than 30 minutes. You will not fundamentally change consumers media consumption habits. So you tell me what the future of the Internet will be?

networking 374

networking entrepreneurs investing investment 374

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Yesterday, I sat in a conversation with a potential investor in Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and he asked me "How do you get dealflow?". I know I've gotten asked this question a million times over during this process, but for some reason, it just sounded different this time. I usually talk about being visable, knowing a lot of folks, etc. but in a moment of clarity, I realized that everything I get--dealflow, fund investors, opportunities to hire people, etc.

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venture capital advice education ventures 268

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financing

Gust

NOVEMBER 25, 2012

Eric Ries image via Fast Company. The popular view of a real entrepreneur is someone with a big vision, and a stubborn determination to charge straight ahead through any obstacle and make it happen. The vision part is fine, but successful entrepreneurs have found that the extreme uncertainty of a new product or service usually requires many course corrections, or “pivots” to find a successful formula.

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startup entrepreneurs technology strategy 187

For Entrepreneurs

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

The Bridge Group have recently published a report titled: Inside Sales for SaaS Metrics and Compensation Report for B2B technology companies The report is based on a survey of 197 B2B technology companies, and covers topics such as: Ramp and Retention Compensation and Quota Activity and Infrastructure Inside Sales Management Management’s top challenges They [.].

SaaS 153

SaaS technology 153

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

You may have been a Girl Scout or a Boy Scout in your youth. Certainly you are aware of the top rank in each – the Gold Award for girls and the Eagle badge for boys. Scouting teaches leadership and even if we were not members in our youth, there are lessons for us all. For example, the Boy Scouts of America motto is “Be prepared.” And from that comes training in first aid, disaster preparation, and outdoor skills, planning for events and outings, and any number of simulations or practice runs

leadership 106

leadership 106

Tomasz Tunguz

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

This morning, I listened to an interview of Jon Gertner who has published. a chronicle of Bell Labs called the Idea Factory. In his book and the interview, Gertner highlighted points about the Bell Labs that relate to Clay Christensen’s recent New York Times editorial, the Capitalist’s Dilemma. Bell Labs was a house of magic - a place of prodigious invention and innovation.

sustainability 40

sustainability innovation economic growth enablement 40

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technology

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. It is election season. So it’s tempting to think this is going to be a partisan post – it is not. I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. I use it because I believe in the power of visual and memorable stories to sink into the consciousness.

entrepreneurs 370

entrepreneurs pitching startup education 370

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Yesterday, I posted about the Collaborative Web --which I suppose you could call Web 3.0, even though we all agreed that versioning for web software is stupid. But wasn't Web 3.0 supposed to be the "Internet of Things"? Sensors, objects, all sorts of non-desktop computer-like stuff that collected info and connected us to our physical world in a more interactive way was supposed to be the next big thing.

collaboration 256

collaboration venture capital technology capital 256

Gust

NOVEMBER 22, 2012

In very general terms, roughly 1,500 startups get funded by venture capitalists in the US, and 50,000 by angel investors. VCs look at around 400 companies for every one in which they invest; angels look at 40. There are several million “startups” that are formed each year, so one way of looking at it is that there are several million “great people with a good idea who give up because they just cannot get initial funding” On the other hand, those VCs and angel investors sp

VC 178

VC entrepreneurship investing investment 178

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

I wrote this post a long time ago. When I did it was a little too close to home for a company to have me publish it. Much time has passed. And I felt it was instructive still so I thought I would publish. I decided to water down some details to protect the innocent. But both stories are still accurate. I hope it still resonates. A while back I received a frantic phone call from the CEO of a company in which I invested.

media 336

media strategy support investing 336

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opportunity

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

Later today I’m presenting at the annual Rincon Ventures Summit in Santa Barbara. Startup Exits: A Primer from msuster. I thought you might like to see an advance copy of what I’m going to cover. I speak privately a lot about getting an exit at a startup. I haven’t spoken publicly about it much but since Rincon asked – I agreed.

technology 323

technology startup VC ventures 323

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

It is statistically possible for a manager to pinch hit for his best player in Game 7 of the World Series and have the scrub off the bench win the game with a hit. That doesn't mean it was a good move. Good outcome, bad decision. In the entrepreneurial world, there are lots of examples of great teams being funded for good ideas that still don't make it.

strategy 247

strategy entrepreneurs investing investment 247

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

When I was in high school, I got pretty intimidated right off the bat. I went to a scholarship school and I felt like I was the last guy they let in. As early as freshman year, everyone seemed to know what they were good at and had already found lots of interests. The best and brightest rose to the top quickly and I didn't believe I would ever break into that crowd.

leadership 236

leadership communities opportunity innovation 236

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Image via eHow.com. Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number. I’ve written about this before, but it’s a mysterious subject, and I’m always learning more.

investing 187

investing investment startup real estate 187

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