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I am wired to discount people who have total assuredness in their point-of-view, have dogmatic positions or use data as a crutch or substitute for logic. I appreciate people who have strong opinions or conviction but expect them to constantly be testing their opinions and refining their approaches as they encounter new people, facts or logic. I have long believed that humans (myself included) err on the side of over-confidence in their own abilities and thoughts.
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Historically VC has been an apprenticeship business. That said, I’ve identified quite a few microcredentials, conferences, and other learning opportunities which will help train you to be a better investor. If I’m missing any from the list below, please contact me. VC ASSOCIATIONS. Confluence. Let’s Talk Ops , Venture Capital Operations Association – fund operations professionals.
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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.
The partners at Benchmark are excited to announce that Sarah Tavel has joined the firm as our newest General Partner. We define ourselves by a love for the craft of early stage investing, and Sarah’s career-long desire and commitment to be one of the world’s great venture capitalists make her an ideal addition to a Benchmark team. About a year ago, we asked our venture partner Scott Belsky who he thought had the greatest potential to become one of the best investors of the next decade.
I’ve been involved with several startups where a giant incumbent attacks you and tries to sue you out of existence. When you first receive the threat it feels like the local pizza shop when they first get a call from the local mafia boss and you can feel the shake-down coming. The first instinct is fear, then dread, then panic. You begin to think about how hard it will be to fund raise, sign customers, hire employees, etc. with the cloud of a lawsuit hanging over you.
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Today we’re proud to release an updated Co-founder Equity Split tool. We released the first version back in November to help startup founders divide the ownership of their startup fairly and rationally among their team. Since then, we’ve been collecting feedback from founders about how it could better help them with their decision. With this release, the tool gives founders.
If you have been following the last several weeks of these postings, then now we’re getting organized. There are many ways to express the road map for your enterprise. One of the most popular was used by the U.S. Army late in World War II, and adopted by many high profile businesses such as Texas Instruments after the War. The structure combined the listing of the goal with a series of strategies and then tactics, each designed to support each other, each measurable and made public throughout
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By Glenn Cohen, founder and CEO of Beach House Center for Recovery. Nobody is immune to addiction—not even entrepreneurs. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 21.5 percent of Americans aged 12 and older battled some type of substance abuse issue in 2014 (the most recent year for which data is available). In addition, 70 percent of all Americans who use illicit drugs are in the workforce, according to data cited by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.
By Renita Wolf , a Colorado-based financial executive and author. Though it seems unfathomable to the “Just Say No” generation, marijuana is legal, decriminalized or has medical status in 45 of our 50 United States. While the District of Columbia and states including Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have legalized the drug within their borders, it remains illegal under federal law.
By Tom Rowinski, managing partner at JTR Solutions , custom software development . Outsourcing software development has been a trend for some time after the demand for these services led to an increase in providers around the world. Over the past 20 years, outsourcing has spanned from Latin America to India, Eastern Europe to China. While analyzing your company’s development costs, you may find that offshoring to one of these countries appears less expensive.
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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.
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By Marsha Ralls. As the owner of a commercial art gallery for more than 24 years, I never imagined that people would buy art online, or that I would be selling to them without any prior relationship or connection. I had seen the importance of developing mutual trust and respect with clients, and per tradition, I would nurture these working relationships over a period of years.
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