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If You Don’t Define Your Personal Brand the Market Will

Both Sides of the Table

I have long advised startup companies that if you don’t control your messaging somebody else will and your potential customers will form impressions of you shaped by somebody else or by nobody at all. For 1991 I was very technical and also had a lot of practical business implementation experience in technology.

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Three Words Entrepreneurs (and VC’s) Should Take to Heart

Both Sides of the Table

But as I rose in my career (and post MBA) I moved into a role in which I was to advise board-level executives on topics where I was expected to rapidly become an expert. Some areas were easy because they were technical and the answer was knowable or estimate-able. And I encourage entrepreneurs to triangulate as well.

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What Makes an Entrepreneur? Four Letters: JFDI

Both Sides of the Table

(In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Entrepreneurs make fast decisions and move forward knowing that at best 70% of their decisions are going to be right. This paralyzes most people.

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Interview with Erik Rannala, MuckerLab

socalTECH

One of the biggest complaints you hear from both entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles, is the lack of a credible, visible startup accelerator in the Los Angeles area. We caught up with Erik to hear more about MuckerLab, and its efforts to grow the Los Angeles technology ecosystem. Erik, thanks for the time.

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The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Software Patents

Startup Professionals Musings

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. original essay, and the “ Enough is Enough ” emotional Lodsys article by VC Fred Wilson. Even after your application is accepted, the issuing process takes a lifetime in today’s technology (4-5 years).

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Software Patents are Becoming a Tax on Innovation

Startup Professionals Musings

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. The bad news is that patent trolls can squeeze the lifeblood out of innocent and unsuspecting entrepreneurs, as exemplified by the current mess around Lodsys patent No. Different rules around the world.

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Software Patents Have Become a Startup Nightmare

Startup Professionals Musings

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. Even after your application is accepted, the issuing process takes a lifetime in today’s technology (4-5 years). They know that these entrepreneurs don’t have the skill or resources to defend themselves.

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