Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Mark Suster keeps knocking the cover off the ball with his posts about the startup ecosystem. Here’s a key passage from his latest:The fact is that most people lack the willingness, ability or nerve to start a company from the very beginning with just an idea or a desire to start a company. These same … Continue reading Why Founders Reap Disproportionate Rewards
Zen Habits has a post up called “The Get-Started-Now Guide to Becoming Self-Employed“ As with most ZH posts, it’s well-written and thoughtful, but that’s not what I’m blogging about. Regardless of what you think or what your W-2 says, you are already self-employed. If you want to be successful, start thinking of yourself as a … Continue reading Becoming Self-Employed? You Already Are!
In a recent post on Growthology, Paul Kedrosky asks why so many B-school students that he meets want to be VCs rather than entrepreneurs. This is my response: *** While entrepreneurship as a whole is a very positive ROI endeavor, the odds are stacked against the individual entrepreneur. Even venture-backed companies only succeed about 1/10 … Continue reading Why The Odds Are Stacked Against Entrepreneurship (vs. VC)
Here’s a peek behind the curtain for anyone who’s curious about life as a father, blogger, startup guy, and the world’s poorest angel investor…. 6:00 AMAwakened by the children, who immediately lobby for 1) hot cocoa, and 2) watching our new Pokemon DVD. They’re effective lobbyists. 6:15 AMStart the morning routine by plugging into the … Continue reading A Day In The Life Of Chris Yeh
One simple hack that can help you balance your work with your family is to take on the primary responsibility for picking up your kids from daycare/aftercare. I’ve always picked up the kids before 6 PM, which forces me to leave the office. Anyone who wants me to stay later, I simply tell them, “I … Continue reading Parenting Hack: Pick Your Kids Up From School
People throw themselves into 100-hour work weeks because they are afraid to make choices that others might not understand. If you work 100-hour weeks, no one (investors, co-founders, employees) can blame you if things don’t work out, right? I had a moment like this during my first startup, when I was held late at a … Continue reading Workaholism Is A Choice (Usually The Wrong One)
I like Seth Godin’s work, but I think he’s overrated. It’s not Seth’s fault; he keeps doing great work. But the Internet hype machine has saddled him with ridiculously high expectations and a worshipful aurora of groupies, which makes it difficult to evaluate his work properly. Nonetheless, his recent post, “Pick Anything — The Calculus … Continue reading The Best Time For Change Is When People Are Forced To Choose
Lots of entrepreneurs ask me if they need a business plan. I always give the same answer: No. I’ve raised and participated in dozens of angel and venture rounds, and the only time a business plan was ever involved was my very first start-up. I’ll bet the experienced investors who gave me their money saw … Continue reading It’s Official: Business Plans Are a Waste of Time
One of the key components of the Silicon Valley ecosystem is the gang of Valley law firms that serve all the startups and entrepreneurs. These firms go out of their way to be helpful to entrepreneurs (with the hope that you’ll choose them when you start your next company). The folks over at Orrick invited … Continue reading Two great *free* events for entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley from Orrick
If you want to succeed in this business, you need to give up the illusion of control. The fact is, when you’re trying to make money from innovation and new technologies, no one really knows what’s going to happen. Why did Hulu succeed where Joost failed? Two years ago, all the smart money (including Sequoia, … Continue reading To succeed as an entrepreneur, give up the illusion of control