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In 15 Years From Now Half of US Universities May Be in Bankruptcy. My Surprise Discussion with @ClayChristensen

Both Sides of the Table

Startup Grind was a truly awesome conference and Derek the consumate host. And I have been impressed with Steven Kaplan and others at University of Chicago (my alma mater), who have been encouraging entrepreneurship through the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship , through angel investing , seed conferences and changes in teaching.

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How to Configure Your Startup Team

Both Sides of the Table

Early-stage companies shouldn’t: outsource core product development, have consulting firms build it for them to speed up time-to-market, shouldn’t hire too many business people until product is complete and early product/market fit tested. Engineering is critical but it is not everything.

Startup 388
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Outbound VC Dialing Programs – Total Disrespect for Entrepreneurs

Both Sides of the Table

The actual investment professionals (partners) are too busy to call companies that they’re interested in so they basically outsource it. But how can you really outsource judgment to young, smart people who have often never worked in businesses? What disrespect they show founders / CEOs with these programs.

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One of the Biggest Mistakes Enterprise Startups Make

Both Sides of the Table

Referenceable means they are willing to be part of your sales collateral, willing to take calls from key leads, willing to speak at your conferences, etc. Why would you have your most important success factor (successful implementations) outsourced to a third-party where you don’t control quality and who is strictly mercenary (i.e.

Startup 403
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A Conversation With Appetize's Kevin Anderson On Getting Customer Service Right

socalTECH

This year, we're again sponsoring the Recurring Revenue Conference (www.recurringrevenueconference.com), presented by Sutton Capital Partners. Lots of startups talk about trying to outsource all their customer support. The Recurring Revenue Conference , Presented by Sutton Capital Partners, is being held on April 12th.

Customer 113
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What Should You Do with Your Crappy Little Services Business?

Both Sides of the Table

Services for services sake - The type of business that is generally shunned in Silicon Valley is the “pure services&# business like consulting, system integration, value-added resellers (VARs), customer support businesses, outsourcing companies, etc. Yet you can run a conference and mint money.

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Balance Your Focus Between Passion And Perspiration

Startup Professionals Musings

Enjoy that first video interview at an industry conference, or the newspaper story which enhances your startup visibility and credibility. One approach, which is even more work, is to keep tasks in-house rather than outsourcing. This may also be the moment when you get your first big acquisition offer, rather than a clone appearing.