Thoughts for entrepreneurs from someone who's been in the trenches.
In which convincing buyers of your value proposition is maddening…and what to do about it.
When researching The Hockey Stick Principles, I felt that the founder of software firm Sageworks, Brian Hamilton, was the most profound with his explanations for startup challenges. Especially thoughtful was his analogy for how difficult it is to convince customers of your new idea: Read More
What does it take to be successful starting an innovative company? While writing The Hockey Stick Principles, I identified five fundamental elements of what I’ll call the “entrepreneurial spirit” that seem to be those that are most important in allowing founders to make it through the confusing, chaotic building process: Read More
In a video documentary about tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, a film crew followed the sisters throughout 2011, recording how they practice, prepare for tournaments, deal with injuries, and manage their busy day-to-day activities. Read More
Think carefully about how your salespeople are incentivized. Instead of blaming them for your startup’s problems, we as founders should take a step back – and consider why and where the real problems exist. Read More
Last week, I discussed that startups are slowly disappearing. The overwhelming question I received from readers was: Why are startups disappearing? Read More
A few weeks ago, the Brookings Institute released a fascinating study that shows startups are slowly disappearing. Read and weep: Read More
Why, as founders, do we feel the need to put a stake in the ground for what type of company we want to build? Maybe we should consider another approach. I explain why in this week’s 1-Minute Rant. Read More
On March 14, 1994, Sports Illustrated published, “Bag It, Michael” about how the basketball star Michael Jordan should give up playing baseball after only 11 months. I wonder what questions Jordan asked himself before quitting baseball? Did he give up too soon? If he’d stuck with it, could he have become an All-Star? We’ll never know. Read More
Let’s face it. Work-life balance is hard. Learn in this week’s Rant how not to get so consumed in the daily grind that you let life pass you by. Be creative, find your balance. I promise you’ll be way happier. Read More
Today, Netflix is wildly popular, and it seems just about everyone I know has a subscription. In 2017, it had more than $11.6 billion in revenue, but Netflix, just like many successful startups, started out as an idea hatched from its founder’s frustration. Read More
