Startups need to have a great lawyer, accountant, patent attorney, etc. But founders need to know how to ask for their advice and when to ignore it. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers I was having coffee with a friend who teaches at the U.C. Berkeley Boalt Law School and runs their entrepreneurship program. Our conversation led [...]
Filed under: E.piphany | 28 Comments »
I pulled a few pranks in the military, but the one that got pulled on me took years off of my life. Alone in the Cockpit There isn’t anything cooler for a 19-year old then getting into the cockpit of a fighter plane. While most of my time was spent in the shop repairing electronic [...]
Filed under: Air Force | 13 Comments »
At times VC’s forget who their business is built on. Nice Car Last week in a car showroom of all places I ran into a VC who I hadn’t seen in ten years. He had sat on the board of my last company and we chatted and made small talk as he was admiring a [...]
Filed under: E.piphany | 43 Comments »
Last week one of the schools I teach at invited me to judge a business plan contest. I suggested that they first might want to read my post on why business plans are a poor planning and execution tool for startups. They called back laughing and the invitation disappeared. At best I think business plan competitions [...]
Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan, Customer Development Manifesto, Teaching | 44 Comments »
Consultants can help startups leverage their limited resources. But startups can shoot themselves in the foot when founders use consultants at the wrong time or in the wrong way. Here’s why. Your Process Doesn’t Work A friend of mine asked me to chat with a startup he’d invested in. “They’re deep into Customer Development,” he [...]
Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan, Customer Development | 24 Comments »
I usually hear the “Should I get my MBA?” question at least once a month. If you’re an entrepreneur, the glib answer is “no.” It’s also the wrong answer. Should I Get My MBA? Last week I was having coffee with an ex engineering student of mine now on his second startup (and for a [...]
Filed under: Family/Career, Teaching | 25 Comments »
As an entrepreneur one of the most satisfying feelings was having an idea that few thought was rational, viable, or the common wisdom and building it into a profitable company. Though it’s over a decade since I’ve done a startup, I had that feeling again over the last few weeks. You Actually Did This? When [...]
Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan, Customer Development | 5 Comments »
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