Tag: entrepreneurship

If you don’t succeed with your startup. It’s not your fault. If you’re not successful, it is your fault

by Chris Yeh

When startups fail (and the vast majority must, by the laws of probability), it’s hard not to search for a scapegoat. After all, doesn’t everyone deserve a glowing profile in TechCrunch? Often, embittered entrepreneurs fall back on two explanations: Luck, and connections. The luck-blamers take the position that startups are a crapshoot. “It’s all a … Continue reading If you don’t succeed with your startup. It’s not your fault. If you’re not successful, it is your fault

Startups, lottery tickets, and the audacity of hope

by Chris Yeh

Skeptics often refer to startups as lottery tickets. I suppose this is a natural reaction to amazing success stories like YouTube or Instagram, where a relatively young company with almost no revenue achieves a billion-dollar exit. “Amazing luck,” the skeptics scoff. The skeptics are wrong, but startups are like lottery tickets.  Just not in the … Continue reading Startups, lottery tickets, and the audacity of hope

The Great Andy Bechtolsheim

by Chris Yeh

I had the good fortune to attend Stanford’s most recent “Engineering Hero” lecture, featuring Andy Bechtolsheim, the legendary entrepreneur and investor. You know that you’re pretty darn amazing when founding and selling Granite Systems to Cisco Systems is only *third* on your career highlight reel, behind founding Sun Microsystems and making $1.7 billion as the … Continue reading The Great Andy Bechtolsheim

Entrepreneurs, The Clock is Ticking on Your Career

by Chris Yeh

“You have less time than you think,” I tell entrepreneurs. From the time I was a kid, I’ve been obsessed with age and mortality. Unlike most of my peers, I was convinced that childhood was going to be the best, most carefree years of my life, and I remember thinking at age 11, “Well, at … Continue reading Entrepreneurs, The Clock is Ticking on Your Career

The Farther You Go, The Tougher It Gets

by Chris Yeh

Something many entrepreneurs don’t realize is that the farther you go with your startup, the tougher it gets. When you start with an idea, it’s easy to be excited. Since it only exists in your head, it morphs every day, possibly even with every conversation. And because it hasn’t reached the market yet, your mind … Continue reading The Farther You Go, The Tougher It Gets

An Entrepreneurial Success Story

by Chris Yeh

I had lunch today with two entrepreneurs. I had been an advisor to their previous company, a promising startup that, due to some external personnel issues, had been forced to close down despite some early traction in the marketplace. I met these entrepreneurs when they cold-called me based on my LinkedIn profile. And while they … Continue reading An Entrepreneurial Success Story

Passion Turns Failure Into Success (Lessons from 11 years of Blogging)

by Chris Yeh

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across this post from Jason Cohen. In it, Jason uses a series of excellent graphs to demonstrate one of the uncomfortable facts about entrepreneurship:Success feels like failure until it feels like success. Here’s how Jason put it: “What was going on during those first six months? Was the … Continue reading Passion Turns Failure Into Success (Lessons from 11 years of Blogging)

The Myth of the Celebrity Entrepreneur

by Chris Yeh

A couple of days ago, I ran across a blog post asking how unknowns could compete with celebrity entrepreneurs. It’s a common question, and becoming more relevant as the expansion of the startup ecosystem (including trade press like TechCrunch and Mashable, who act as our version of paparazzi) and the relative paucity of IPOs in … Continue reading The Myth of the Celebrity Entrepreneur

Don’t Confuse Signifiers and Substance

by Chris Yeh

When it comes to startups, its easy to confuse signifiers and substance. The truth is hard to know, especially with early stage companies. If you don’t have a product or customers, it’s hard to have substance. Yet whether you’re a startup or investor, you’d be wise to focus on substance rather than signifiers. Not because … Continue reading Don’t Confuse Signifiers and Substance

It’s never “easy” to raise money

by Chris Yeh

It’s never easy to raise money. People who say, “It’s easy to raise money,” usually neglect to mention the second half of the sentence, which is “if you are in a hot space, know the right people socially, and fit the Silicon Valley central casting notion of an entrepreneur (20something white or Asian male with … Continue reading It’s never “easy” to raise money