article thumbnail

How The IBM PC Made Me Appreciate Entrepreneurs

Startup Professionals Musings

Way back in the early eighties, I was privileged to be part of the original IBM PC development team, led by Don Estridge. For example, even though we were leading an entrepreneurial effort within IBM, we found it a challenge to deal with the inbred mainframe culture, reverence for process, and accounting practices of a large company.

IBM 85
article thumbnail

Venture investors and startup execs say they don’t need Elizabeth Warren to defend them from big tech

TechCrunch LA

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. This is not a new model, and it makes no sense,” says Narasin.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Reflections on 2019: Kelly Perdew, Moonshots Capital

socalTECH

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What new technology area, startup, service, or app did you find most interesting or useful this year, and why? Since 2010, $6.3B

Capital 100
article thumbnail

13 Ecosystem Builders That Are Boosting Startup Growth

Tech.Co

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. In 2006, a passion to help startups grew into Tech Cocktail , a company whose mission was to showcased burgeoning companies in bars around the country. The Foundation was created in 1997 by tech pioneers, Jean and Steve Case.

Startup 140
article thumbnail

5 Strategies For Building Winning People Connections

Startup Professionals Musings

For example, I grew up in IBM when Bill Gates was helping us deliver the first IBM PC. We slowly realized that Microsoft’s value went far beyond his technical contributions, due to his connections with key software developers and relationships with hardware manufacturers who could make the PC revolution universal.

IBM 87
article thumbnail

Welcome To The New Wave Of Opportunities And Startups

Startup Professionals Musings

My friends who “grew up” with lifetime careers in General Motors, Exxon Mobil, or even IBM, are now often too embarrassed to even mention it. Internal corporate processes thwart innovation due to inherent inefficiencies of scale, high overhead, and the risk of impact on the corporate bottom line.

Startup 126
article thumbnail

5 Phases Of Every Startup That Regulate Your Success

Startup Professionals Musings

Big company powerhouses, like IBM and Xerox, took fifty years to make the cycle, but new companies today, in the age of the Internet, often make the cycle in five to ten years, or even less. Consider MySpace and Webvan. This business phase is where every entrepreneur starts. Geographic expansion.

Startup 142