Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 20, 2010
I recently did a post for startups on understanding sales people. A few people have asked me to try and define the perfect startup organization chart. I don’t believe that one exists. Every team configuration is different. But I do have more insight into understanding your startup team. This time I thought I’d try and address engineering talent.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 27, 2010
Business plan competitions are the air guitar championships of the startup world. This is the case when the requirements of these events don’t actually include building a real business or product. I mean, you don’t have to build an actual business—you can just mimic the movements and demonstrate something that looks like a startup on paper, without any of the necessary risk taking, lessons learned or even a fraction of the effort—all the stuff that investors like to see.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Berkonomics
APRIL 13, 2010
Let me illustrate this insight with a personal story. As my enterprise computer software company which produced innovative lodging systems for hotels and resorts grew quickly, we found ourselves straining to keep up with the hiring and training of good customer support representatives, a critical part of the equation then and still so today in the 24 hour environment of hotel front desk operations.
abovethecrowd.com
APRIL 28, 2010
“The clock on the wall’s moving slower My heart it sinks to the ground And the storm that I thought would blow over Clouds the light of the love that I found” – Fool in the Rain, Led Zeppelin More often than not, we here in Silicon Valley are prone to idealism. We see a [.].
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?
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 15, 2010
I was on This Week in Venture Capital (TWiVC) again this week with Jason Calacanis. He’s considering making me the permanent co-host so if you enjoy any of this episode or want to see me on the show on a more regular basis please Tweet @jason and let him know (he asked for direct feedback). I’m loving doing the show and I think that Jason and I have pretty good banter and rapport.
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 21, 2010
OK, it’s official! I’m now the permanent host for TWiVC (until such time as they kick me off). Thank you to anybody who sent Jason a note on Twitter on my behalf. The episode isn’t yet live but it should be in the morning (probably when you’re reading this) – you can find it here. It was a fun show today, especially Jason’s story at the very end of the episode!
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 10, 2010
So Twitter is buying and building Twitter clients. I don’t find this surprising at all. In fact, I said as much in September 09 at a Twitter conference in LA on a panel that Guy Kawasaki was moderating. I said in the following video that I thought Twitter would by Seesmic , the company that makes one of the most popular Twitter clients. (If you’re interested you can watch my comments by fast forwarding to minute 31.25 and listening for about 90 seconds.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 22, 2010
This is part of my startup advice series. This post isn’t going to be popular. I’m sure of that. That’s OK. It’s still important advice for startup founders and something that I’m passionate about. And I care more about the debate than trying to be popular. And it’s important because it’s true. I never hire job hoppers.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 17, 2010
Thursday night was the unveiling of the newest batch of Launchpad LA companies. We held a 90-minute demo session where 150 of LA’s VC’s and senior technology executives watched the LPLA V2 group present in small groups of 12-15 each. The VC’s & executives were then asked to make “commitments&# (in writing) to 3-5 of the companies that they felt they could make some sort of contribution to.
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.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 8, 2010
Most technology startups seem to be founded by three types of people: product managers, engineers or biz dev types (MBAs and the like). Very few of them are started, in my experience, by sales people and very few early stage companies really understand sales. That’s why I started the Sales & Marketing Series and at one point I will do a bunch of posts on the sales methodology we developed at my first company called PUCCKA.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 8, 2010
I was on This Week in Venture Capital today with Jason Calacanis talking about the big VC deals at the moment and talking about the VC industry. It’s about a 30 minute video (or about as long as it normally takes to read my rambling posts! I’d embed the video but it doesn’t seem to allow you to do this so here’s the link the This Week in Startups, Inaugural show.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 14, 2010
Clean up your own shite. Ok. I know that the tone of the title and post will seem a bit aggressive for a post from a venture capitalist on fund raising. It’s meant to be a bit provocative but the reality is that I give this advice to entrepreneurs all the the time and I usually leave the “e&# off of the end. I learned all of this myself on your side of the table raising money at my first company.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 18, 2010
What do Google Analytics and print newspapers have in common? They’re both one day out of date when you read them. I’ve been using Chartbeat for over a month now to track performance of my blog and I find myself looking at Google Analytics much less these days. In fact, I’m surprised by how antiquated Google Analytics feels. Chartbeat is a relatively young company and product.
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.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 1, 2010
In the past I’ve written on the topic of “ Raising Venture Capital &# but today I’m starting a new series called “ Understanding VC’s.&# My goal is writing this series of to make it easier for you as a startup needing to raise money to understand how venture capital firms work so you can be more efficient and more effective in your process.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 11, 2010
I’m getting a little bit tired of running my events list and seeing some of the best folks sitting behind the paywalls of people profiting off of the community’s attempt to talk to itself. Each week there are so many great events, blog posts, videos, etc. produced by community members that there’s hardly any reason to pay other than a token amount for in person innovation and startup related content.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 2, 2010
This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. It in not uncommon to see a VC talk about “total assets under management&# as in “We have $1.5 billion under management.&# I don’t really understand why VCs do this since it’s mostly a meaningless number.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 3, 2010
This is part of my ongoing series on Understanding Venture Capital. I recently wrote a blog post on understanding how the size and age of a venture capital fund might affect you when you’re raising money. Because it is a “series&# I plan to get into some of the deeper complexities of funds such as “cross over funds&# and “why VC’s hate to price their own deals&# at a later stage.
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.
APRIL 14, 2010
I have to admit, when I first saw Unvarnished , the anonymous people review site, I was very concerned. It didn’t really solve a problem I had. In fact, it seemed to create one. I saw it as a problem I now needed to deal with. As soon as I got my invite, I started requesting reviews from people I knew would give me a good recommendation—just so I could pad my score to protect against the inevitable driveby.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 3, 2010
This is part of a series that I’ve been working on called Understanding Venture Capital. In one of the posts I spoke about how the size and vintage of funds might affect you when you’re raising money. This led Roy Rodenstein (whose company Going.com was sold to AOL ) and others to discuss , what happens when VC’s need to invest across multiple funds.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 12, 2010
Last week, I got a chance to be the guy on the ground for Open Angel Forum NYC. First off, I have to thank those who made it possible—namely our sponsors and our host. Six companies and twenty angels were able to connect up without the friction and artificial scarcity created by the “pay to play” model and it was all made possible by the good folks at Joyent , Cooley , and Winter Wyman.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 7, 2010
So midway through their rocket ship ride to a million users and beyond, the Foursquare team is going to jump off for $100 million and a chance to work at Yahoo! for the next couple of years? Riiiight. If you believe that, I have a bridge app to sell you. Sure, Yahoo! may be considering buying Foursquare—in the same way I’m also considering dating Lady Gaga.
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.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 27, 2010
Oh, boy. Here we go again. Another post on job hopping. This will be my final word on the topic. I promise. My goal here is to move the debate forward, add my POV but not inflame things any further. Inflaming was never my goal. Let’s see if I can achieve that. My WORD of the day is “loyalty.&# It’s one of the angles that people who were angered by my original post the most found so offensive.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 25, 2010
On Thursday of last week I cranked out a post on job hoppers. To say that it was controversial is an understatement. I intended for it to be provocative but not inflammatory. So let me start with an apology. Not for my point-of-view (which I stand by and accept that not everybody feels the same way) but rather for making some of the language more inflammatory than it needed to be.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 22, 2010
Boy did I have an epiphany last night. Every time I talk to a mobile developer, they complain about what a pain in the ass it is to develop for Blackberry—given that so many of the device/carrier combinations require customizations. On top of that, numbers for app downloads on Blackberry trail other platforms. Yesterday, I figured out why. A friend of mine asked me how she could get Twitter on her Blackberry.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 25, 2010
I've said for a while that people learn so much more from failure than they do from success. This post from Keith Nowak is definitely worth a read. "I once read a characterization of startups by Dick Costolo, co-founder of FeedBurner, as going down many dark alleys only to find they are dead ends. In my opinion, dark alleys need to be navigated anywhere there are unknowns and a large possibility of making mistakes.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
400 
Let's personalize your content