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Startup Related Topics 
Most Common Early Start-up Mistakes
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 17, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series “Start-up Lessons.&# If you want to subscribe to my RSS feed please click here or to get my blog by email click here. Tags: Start-up Advice startup In the Beginning … This is a very important post to me because I find myself giving this advice all the time and if you don’t follow [.].
Most Common Early Start-up Mistakes
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 17, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series “ Start-up Lessons. &# If you want to subscribe to my RSS feed please click here or to get my blog by email click here. Imagine you pour 5 years of your life into your next gig and it starts to become successful. Many times the answer is ‘no.&# The problem is that you’re opening yourself up to a claim by one of these people that you somehow stole their ideas. Starting with 25% is even harder.
Austin Start-up MailLift Joins 500 Startups
Tech Zulu Event
OCTOBER 8, 2013
I met fellow hustler Brian Curliss about 2 years ago at a Startup Weekend event that I was covering. It came as no surprise whatsoever when I found out that his new company MailLift was called up to the big leagues to join the 500 Startups accelerator.
Start-ups are all Naked in the Mirror
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 28, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series Startup Lessons Building companies is hard work. I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. Tags: Start-up Advice We also had facilities in Dublin, Ireland where our company was initially founded. We went through the euphoria of massive exposure at the time of our [.].
Most Startups Should be Deer Hunters
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
This post is part of my series “ Startup Lessons &#. Elephants, Deer and Rabbits – Some thoughts on start-up segmentation. I know that this advice won’t apply to every possible startup – but I think it applies to many.
REVIEW | Un-Realistic TV: “Start-ups: Silicon Valley”
Tech Zulu Event
JANUARY 1, 2013
The final episode of Bravo’s Start-ups: Silicon Valley aired recently, wrapping up an 8-episode run of what could be considered the most bizarre depiction of entrepreneurs and start-ups to date. They can’t believe people are not lining up to give it them.
Startups: What are your odds for success?
Berkonomics
MARCH 9, 2017
Starting a company is HARD – in so many ways. I read several years ago, that the average startup restaurant lasts only about a year. Restaurant startups would not top my list. And this includes all businesses, not just startups. Starting up a new company is risky.
Project cash flow – not just profit – during start-up.
Berkonomics
NOVEMBER 21, 2013
There is no longer a guarantee that VCs and later stage investors will be waiting at the run-out point of the angel money to pick up and grow the company. Cash is everything to a new business. How many times do we have to say this?
How to Work with Lawyers at a Startup
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 21, 2010
If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. Many people start companies arse backwards.
The best advice startups will never follow
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 15, 2015
Email readers, continue here…] Don’t take money, especially start-up loans, from unsophisticated investors. I was a co-lender and assumed the chairmanship of a young startup where the entrepreneur’s cousin also loaned money under the same terms.
The Fallacy of Channels: Startups Beware
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 23, 2010
This is part of my ongoing series on startup advice but also filed under my sales & marketing posts. No advice I give will ever apply to 100% of companies, 100% of startups or even 100% of tech startups. So Should I Avoid Channels at all Costs When I’m a Startup?
Startup Development
SoCal CTO
APRIL 23, 2010
I’ve come to realize that I have lots of posts around startup software development scattered around in different posts. How to Work With a Contract Web Developer How To Bootstrap Your StartupThought it would be good to capture them in one spot and also include links to related posts from other sources.
Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering?
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. But I do have more insight into understanding your startup team. Let’s start with the basics.
3 Sales Tips for Startups – Creating a Burning Platform
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 4, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. Many entrepreneurs who start technology companies are product people, technologists or savvy business people who worked previously for a larger company. Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience.
Startup CTO
SoCal CTO
SEPTEMBER 19, 2011
I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. I've tried to collect them together here as a starting point for this topic. Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? And you may also want to review Startup Development.
Don’t be a Grin Fucker
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 28, 2010
I grew up in the US but lived in England for so long I can never remember from which country my slang comes. But then I started to see it happening internally. So we (and by we I mean “they&# ) at Accenture decided to come up with our own bull shit. All startups are hard.
After 20 years: Updating the Berkus Method of valuation
Berkonomics
NOVEMBER 4, 2016
There is a universal truth: fewer than one in a thousand start-ups meet or exceed their projected revenues in the periods planned. I should have done more about this subtle interpretation when first seeing this, and will attempt to make up for that now. Well, it had to happen.
Who Should you Hire at a Startup?
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 22, 2009
This is part of my ongoing posts on Startup Advice. There are people who tell startups that they should hire the most senior people that they can find. Bringing in a senior person who’s “done it all before&# is often a mistake in a startup.
Should Your Startup Have an Advisory Board?
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 11, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. Many startup companies hire advisory boards. If you plan to set one up – no problem. come out of the gate strong and never let up) then you might get some attention. So you set up advisory meetings.
How to Not Suck at a Group Presentation
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 31, 2010
Francisco Dao came up with the idea of letting 10 companies that weren’t selected for Twiistup to do a presentation the night before to a group of people and let the audience pick one company to win the final slot at Twiistup. Stories have starts, middles and ends.
How to (re) Approach People (Advice on the Eve of LeWeb)
Both Sides of the Table
DECEMBER 7, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series with Startup Advice. With the LeWeb conference about to start in Paris I thought the timing of this post would be appropriate. But don’t assume that I have a Minority Report like machine that can invisibly and instantly gin up my memory.
Never Hire Job Hoppers. Never. They Make Terrible Employees
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 22, 2010
This is part of my startup advice series. It’s still important advice for startup founders and something that I’m passionate about. Tools like Identified.com haven’t existed for me to do this in an automated way as they are starting to emerge.
People Management: Startup Teams Should Dip but not Skip
Both Sides of the Table
JULY 1, 2010
We all like to think of startups as “non hierarchic&# organizations and to some extent that should be true. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact). Let information flow up but direct your staff and execute through hierarchy.
The Power of “In Person” – Why Distributed Teams are Less Effective
Both Sides of the Table
JULY 5, 2010
In the era of Skype, web conferencing tools and collaboration software conventional wisdom says that distributed startup teams can be just as effective as those that are in person. There reality is that a certain magic that happens when you’re in person is critical in a startup.
Startup CTO Resources
SoCal CTO
SEPTEMBER 19, 2011
I've posted quite a few things on the topics associated with being a Startup CTO. I've tried to collect them together here as a starting point for this topic. Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do? And you may also want to review Startup Development.
The Danger of Crocodile Sales
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
This is part of my series on Startup Advice. I love working with Aussies because their outlook on life seems very similar to what I grew up with in California. I probably will jump in with a few questions about their industry and start a discussion.
Are MBAs Necessary for Start-ups or VC?
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 7, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series called “ Start-up Lessons.&#. I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. Like Chris Dixon I grew up programing.
Building Products for Mass Adoption
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 25, 2010
Start by defining the problem you’re solving – I see way too many early-stage entrepreneurs who start their companies with a product definition rather than a market problem. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice
WTF is Traction? A 6-Step Relationship Guide to VC
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 8, 2009
Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice startup technology vc venture capital
Running More Effective Board Meetings at Startups
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 12, 2010
We started with our financial statements. So I changed things up and became much happier with my results. But they were in a slide and people asked you questions so it ended up chewing up 30 minutes. Harder to do that when you have an 8am start.
Online Retailers Start Up Black Friday Sales, Early
socalTECH
NOVEMBER 1, 2011
Shoppers looking for those traditional, after-Thanksgiving deals from retailers can start early, as online retailers decided to kick off their Black Friday promotions Tuesday.
How to Deal with Skeletons in your Closet
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 12, 2009
My advice with Elephants was that you need to take them head on in your first VC meeting because the VC is already thinking about the issue whether you bring it up or not. Why shouldn’t you tell them up front? This is part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital.
Calacanis Starts Up New Venture Fund
socalTECH
JUNE 4, 2013
Not only is he running his own technology conference, Launch, he''s also making angel investments, and opening up his own coworking space , he''s also created a new venture capital fund, the Launch Fund. Jason Calacanis is busy.
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