Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Henry Blodget is a smart journalist who knows how to drive pageviews. He certainly got me to click through when he picked the headline, “DEAR ENTREPRENEURS: Here’s How Bad Your Odds Of Success Are” http://read.bi/17yADel Blodget riffs on a tweet by Paul Graham to estimate the odds of startup success: “Graham says that 37 of … Continue reading The Real Odds That Your Startup “Succeeds”
I love Silicon Valley. It’s a phenomenal place that I’ve chosen to make my personal and professional home. It’s brought me success (whatever that is) and happiness. But I understand its limitations, and don’t have a problem talking about them. It is an echo chamber, whose brainstorms don’t always “take” elsewhere. Just ask all those … Continue reading Silicon Valley is awesome (but it isn’t the answer to every problem)
Some people think I’m a pessimist for pointing out the long odds against any particular startup succeeding. It’s not fun to hear that even venture-backed startups have a 90% chance of failure. But startup failure isn’t just reality; it’s also a necessity…and even a benefit. 1) The number of companies getting started far exceeds the … Continue reading Why most startups have to fail, and why that’s a good thing
I’ve written before about the value of being willing to do what others find unpleasant: http://bit.ly/hppiIQ That advice applies tenfold for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is rewarding because it’s a grind. If it were simply a gas, everyone would do it. Om Malik recently wrote eloquently about this on GigaOm: http://bit.ly/11MtYKP “The positive reviews and the buzz … Continue reading Enterpreneurship is a grind, not a gas
I have an inordinate fondness for outdated references. Just one of the pleasures of getting old! Yet while the famous bestseller, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” was a cringe-inducing self-help book, it did touch upon a theme of gender differences that later, better writers tackled. More recently, I read the fascinating book, … Continue reading Entrepreneurs are from Mars, VCs are from Venus
Like many investors, I was entertained by Andy Dunn’s recent rant, “Dear Dumb VC” http://bit.ly/12bW9UY His essay lays out his criticism of VCs by citing the following facts: * You don’t realize you are going out of business * You think you can help entrepreneurs * You spend a ton of an entrepreneur’s time before … Continue reading Dear Entrepreneur
I recently read a Washington Post editorial by Francisco Dao, “The terrifying rise of the political entrepreneur”: http://wapo.st/13WViC5 Dao argues that we’ve seen the rise of a new breed of entrepreneurs, who manage to be successful despite not building real businesses: “There seems to be a new breed of entrepreneurs whose greatest skill is playing … Continue reading Why I’m not worried about “political entrepreneurs”
I was struck and touched by a recent post I read by entrepreneur Chris Granger, who wrote movingly about dealing with his mother’s partner’s terminal cancer, and trying to build a company at the same time: http://bit.ly/13TKS9B “And this is the stark truth of startups: you are the last and only line of defense against … Continue reading Once you take everything away, what’s left?
Superstar science author Steven Johnson (I’m a big fan of his book, “Where Good Ideas Come From“) recently wrote a critique of claims that Silicon Valley is turning into Gilded Age America–a land of unfathomably rich oligarchs that are oblivious to the poverty around them: http://bit.ly/11ouEWF Johnson points out that the Valley’s love of open … Continue reading Silicon Valley isn’t about the money…it’s about the money
The venerable Dave Winer (a guy I respect a lot) recently wrote about Marissa Mayer and Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr. I don’t have a lot of insights to add about that deal, but I did want to comment on what Dave had to say about selling your company in general: “All this is to say … Continue reading When you sell your startup, you can’t expect to retain “ownership”