Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
My fellow denizens of Silicon Valley are fond of referring to our happy little ecosystem as the ultimate meritocracy. It’s definitely true that in comparison to the rigid and/or corrupt regimes that prevail in other industries and geographies, Silicon Valley is a meritocracy, but it is far from perfect. I often joke with the female/minority/over-30 … Continue reading Silicon Valley: The “Ultimate Meritocracy”
I loved Sam Altman’s post on 95 pieces of great startup advice: http://bit.ly/17RlyVt The whole piece is a must-read for entrepreneurs, but I want to highlight one particular item: “9. In the current pivot-happy world, good ideas are underweight. It’s worth the time to think through a good one.” I’ve discussed this point with a … Continue reading What every investor thinks about your startup…but isn’t willing to say
I enjoyed Noah Glass’ guest post on pivoting his startup from B2C GoMobo.com to B2B OLO. His story has a ton of good lessons about how to successfully make the transition, but it’s the psychology of leaving the consumer market that interests me: http://bit.ly/11Sh7p4 “What followed was a soul-searching period in my life as a … Continue reading The real reason it’s hard for entrepreneurs to say goodbye to B2C
Mary Meeker is one of the few folks who was a leading figure during the first dot com boom who is still playing a similar role. (Contrast her with Mark Andreesen, who back then was the wunderkind behind Netscape, and today is an elder statesman and VC) That’s actually a good thing, because she continues … Continue reading The Mobile Gold Rush Has Just Begun
As you know, I’m a big advocate of working on the culture of your startup. The instant you start your company, you’re starting to build the culture, and the decisions you make in the garage days are likely to reverberate for years to come, even if your company grows by orders of magnitude. But far … Continue reading Culture is never neutral
One of the most exciting developments to hit the enterprise software world in decades was the rise of SaaS. Companies like Salesforce.com blazed a trail that built enormous amounts of wealth and improved the lives of end-users. Prior to SaaS, most enterprise software was sold based on perpetual licenses, to CIOs and IT departments, with … Continue reading Why “Enterprise SaaS” may soon be a misnomer
In response to my blog post on Cutting The Bullshit, the good folks at Storygami pointed me to a blog post they had written about their approach to applying for TechStars: http://bit.ly/11ezW2x The Storygami team addresses the probable objections head-on, including one objection that is typically a deal-killer: Two Of Our Founders Are A Couple … Continue reading Address objections, don’t hide from them
Focus, focus, focus. Focus is the key to startup success. You have fewer resources than established companies. Your only path to success is to focus those limited resources in a tightly-defined problem space, so that your concentrated effort burns the hapless ant of success. Easier said than done, right? I have a very simple system … Continue reading Do something every day towards your three big priorities
When I was a kid, I studied the violin. (I know, quite a shocker for a Chinese-American kid growing up in the 1980s) My violin teacher made me keep a practice log. I was supposed to practice for 30 minutes per day. For each 30 minutes I practiced, I got a token which let me … Continue reading Stop lying to yourself
“It’s so hard/To say goodbye/To yesterday.” (Boyz II Men) We sure do love our visionaries here in the startup world. Visionary companies, visionary founders, visionary investors…every year, SVForum hands out its Visionary Awards to the pioneers of the Valley. Yet being a visionary is one of the easiest ways to drive yourself crazy. By nature, … Continue reading How To Be A Visionary (and not drive yourself crazy)