Both Sides of the Table
DECEMBER 11, 2022
Starting in 2009 I began writing checks consistently, year-in and year-out. I had realized that I didn’t have it within me to be as good of a player as many of them did but I had the skills to help as mentor, coach, friend, sparing partner and patient capital provider. It was a way to make it hard for your competition to compete.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 26, 2021
With some coaching and mentoring from other leaders, I was able to do it myself, so I know you can do it too, by committing to the following strategies: Train yourself to always look for positives, not negatives. Write down your top 5 core values and review them often. Never use emotion as a substitute for preparation.
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Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 2, 2020
Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections. I have found that the process of writing down your idea, with a plan for implementation, and reviewing that plan with a business advisor, will force you to learn and acknowledge the real requirements for implementation.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 30, 2019
In addition, the discipline of producing it, like writing a business plan, will help you immensely in understanding the key elements that drive you and your business. I often hear the excuse that writing a book takes precious time away from building and running your business, which you cannot afford.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 28, 2023
I always struggle with coaching along these lines, so I was pleased to see some excellent guidance on tactics in making decisions in a new book, “ The Leap To Leader ,” by Adam Bryant. Don’t demotivate people by setting expectations too high, or become non-competitive by accepting complacency.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 22, 2014
So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. It’s insanely competitive to get into our industry so most have degrees from institutions like Stanford, Harvard, Wharton and University of Chicago (blatant plug ;-). I think of VCs as coaches. It’s not you.
InfoChachkie
FEBRUARY 20, 2012
"The best way to prepare [to be a programmer] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. This frugality was evidenced by the fact that everyone at Microsoft, even Gates, flew coach until well into the late 1990s. One Of The Most Important Startup Skills. "The " [Tweet this quote].
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