Tag: entrepreneurship

SnapChat and the disappearing founder OR Get it in writing, dumbass!

by Chris Yeh

A friend of mine pointed me to the sad story of Reggie Brown, who was frozen out of SnapChat by his co-founders and fraternity brothers: http://bit.ly/15JoeB7 Or, was Brown a hard-partying bro who didn’t add much value, in comparison to his co-founders (a hacker and designer)? http://tcrn.ch/13IWOIk It’s a tough call, given that various witnesses … Continue reading SnapChat and the disappearing founder OR Get it in writing, dumbass!

Every Entrepreneur Should Have a Holding Tank for Ideas

by Chris Yeh

Vera John-Steiner interviewed 70 living geniuses and studied the notebooks of 50 dead ones.  What she found was that all of these geniuses built their great ideas over time using sketches and notebooks: http://bit.ly/14mD24G “The one characteristic that all of these creatives shared— whether they were painters, actors, or scientists— was how often they put … Continue reading Every Entrepreneur Should Have a Holding Tank for Ideas

The 3-Step Secret To Boosting Your Performance 60%

by Chris Yeh

Here’s another fascinating article from Bakadesuyo: http://bit.ly/19pAZ7P If you’re about to tackle an important challenge or task, there’s a simple 3-step process you can follow that, in just 30 minutes, can boost your performance 60%: “A recent study by Duckworth, Heidi Grant Halvorson, Benjamin Loew, Oettingen, and Gollwitzer asked a group of high school students … Continue reading The 3-Step Secret To Boosting Your Performance 60%

Everything I know, I learned from someone else

by Chris Yeh

Here in Silicon Valley, we love “visionaries.”  We admire people who “think different” and “invent the future.” It’s a tough act to follow.  And it’s not even true. Everything I know, I learned from someone else. Maybe I read about it on a blog, or in a book. Maybe I learned it by working with … Continue reading Everything I know, I learned from someone else

The Real Odds of VC-backed Success

by Chris Yeh

I try to give entrepreneurs a realistic view of their chances of startup success.  Yet I’ve always relied on anecdote and example, rather than hard numbers.  Now I don’t have to.  Here is a set of definitive numbers from across the entire industry:http://nyti.ms/156D8RL “According to the data provided by Sand Hill, since 2003 only 6 … Continue reading The Real Odds of VC-backed Success

You Always Need Luck (the lesson of JK Rowling & Robert Galbraith)

by Chris Yeh

Harry Potter author JK Rowling provided an excellent illustration of why you always need luck with her most recent book, “The Cuckoo’s Calling.”  Here’s a succinct Bloomberg article by Duncan Watts that explains the tale:http://bloom.bg/15XEAab After finishing with the Potterverse, Rowling turned to adult fiction with her first non-Potter book, “The Casual Vacancy,” which met … Continue reading You Always Need Luck (the lesson of JK Rowling & Robert Galbraith)

Michael Birch’s 8 Years to Overnight Success

by Chris Yeh

I’ll freely admit, I never thought much or or about Bebo, the social network that Michael Birch sold to AOL for a pricey $850 million in 2008. Bebo occupied the same space in my mind as Hi5, Tagged (which, ironically enough, now owns Hi5) and a similar bunch of whimsically named also-rans.  As a result, … Continue reading Michael Birch’s 8 Years to Overnight Success

The Age of the Aging Entrepreneur

by Chris Yeh

I’ve often compared Silicon Valley to “Logan’s Run“–once your Lifeclock hits 30, the system encourages you to “renew”.  In the movie, this meant death…in Silicon Valley, it means becoming an angel investor or VC (no comment).  After all, this is a place where an investor can say with a straight face, “We love older entrepreneurs!  … Continue reading The Age of the Aging Entrepreneur

Addressing the founder liquidity problem

by Chris Yeh

The recent reports that Snapchat’s founders each took $10 million off the table during their Series B raised the usual debate about founder liquidity: http://bit.ly/11P65n1 On the pro side are the arguments espoused by one anonymous investor: “Founders get ‘rich’ now, and de-risk some of the startup. Doesn’t change alignment, just rewards them for their … Continue reading Addressing the founder liquidity problem

Focus on winning the market, not winning the news cycle

by Chris Yeh

When entrepreneurs ask me for help, the two things they always want is A) to raise money, and B) to get publicity.  While both fundraising and PR are important, I think entrepreneurs focus way too much on them, and not enough on perfecting the product and reaching out to customers. Funding and press are the … Continue reading Focus on winning the market, not winning the news cycle