Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
In our zeal to pursue the Lean Startup methodology (which is an excellent approach), we tend to focus on techniques (MVP! Customer Development!) rather than the underlying abilities you need to apply them successfully. I think that there is a formula for iterating your way to success: Willingness to try + Ability to learn + … Continue reading Willingness to try + Ability to learn + Listening to feedback = Success
In his enormously entertaining and insightful interview on the Kevin Pollak Chat Show, director and actor Eli Roth (Hostel, Inglourious Basterds, Hemlock Grove) made an important point about the movie business, and why it was hard to work with many studios: “People don’t make movies they think will be successful; they make movies they think … Continue reading Make things you think will be successful, not things you think won’t fail
Another lesson from the great Kevin Pollak. One of the points he makes about acting is that many novices make the mistake of playing to the crew. When you’re on the set of a movie, there is no studio audience. The closest thing are the members of the crew–all the gaffers, grips, and best boys … Continue reading Don’t play to the crew, play to the audience
I often draw lessons for startups from the world of entertainment. In one episode of my favorite entertainment podcase, the Kevin Pollak Chat Show, Kevin discussed why he thought it was so important to nail the first joke of a movie. Kevin’s point was that the first joke has to let the audience know that … Continue reading Why product first impressions are important:
One problem I often encounter in the startup world is the tendency to push things to Manichean extremes. Perhaps its because we have to live with so much uncertainty, we crave definitiveness. Or perhaps its because the kind of mind that can write and debug thousands of lines of code likes binary answers. At any … Continue reading Don’t be negative; do be realistic
A lot of people write about why entrepreneurs are lonely (including me). Among the things we usually cite: Uncertainty, not being able to confide in others, having to be relentlessly upbeat even as disaster strikes. I think we’re actually missing a key insight. I recently read Jonathan Haidt’s book, “The Righteous Mind.” It’s a great … Continue reading Why Entrepreneurs Are Lonely (And What You Can Do About It)
Consider the bug report. It’s a little talked-about, little-loved part of working at a startup. Every application has bugs. These a complex systems with thousands or even millions of lines of code. But unless your developers are using the application every minute, they’re unlikely to find all the bugs themselves, no matter how much your … Continue reading What you can learn about communications from the humble bug report
I often hear folks complaining about how hard it is to work with designers. “They’re prima donnas,” people say. “They always insist on getting their way.” As a proud holder of a design degree from Stanford, I feel unusually qualified to respond to these criticisms. Design is ultimately about making choices with limited information. It … Continue reading Why it’s so hard to work with designers
I read with some interest the news that Michael Copeland was leaving Wired to join Andreesen Horowitz to lead that firm’s “content strategy.” http://tcrn.ch/19u4LWj It makes perfect sense that Andreesen Horowitz would make this move. Not only has a16z flourished by departing from the traditional VC model (hiring tons of non-investing staff to add value … Continue reading Is Writing Now A Core Focus For Top Tier VCs?
Continuing my series on enterprise SaaS, the private cloud, and other hybrid strategies, I want to offer some hope for startups that are reluctant to abandon their 100% SaaS strategy. I understand your position, because I can clearly recall arguing in 2007 that SaaS was on the “right side of history.” I had been in … Continue reading Is AWS a lifeboat for enterprise SaaS?