992 Posts Found

Startups need a simple test that can bring a go-to-market strategy into focus — one that can help smartly deploy limited resources when a product is first launched and a company has one chance to make a strong, first impression. For these inflection points, startups need a compass, and in my decades of working with them, I think this framework points them in the right … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Mark Leslie, Matt Heiman | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Marketing / Sales

Professor Eric Flamholtz says new leadership is needed as start-ups mature.

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Eric Flamholtz | Source: UCLA | Subject: Entrepreneurship

The Silicon Valley startup factory that birthed Airbnb and Dropbox has grown even more ambitious under its new leader.

Content: Thought Leader | Authors: Max Chafkin, Sam Altman | Source: Fast Company | Subject: Entrepreneurship

In 2007 Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were broke and looking to raise money to make their rent in San Francisco. They decided to rent out air mattresses in their apartment to attendees of a conference because all the hotels were booked. They called their service “Air Bed and Breakfast.” In a few years, this small experiment would create the hotel industry disruptor Airbnb. The … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Author: Leigh Gallagher | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Industry Specific | Industry: Travel/Leisure | Company: Airbnb

Building a better mousetrap isn’t enough to set you apart. In fact, incumbent competitors have a number of advantages that could kill your startup, including entrenched distribution channels and consumer familiarity. Start to dethrone incumbents by making users a little uncomfortable; to make “better” matter — and users care. In many ways, your quietest, most steadfast competitor is indifference. The bottom line is you have … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Bret Taylor | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Innovation

Appcelerator was not my first startup and certainly I hope not the last. We learned a ton from it and we made a lot of great decisions and certainly a share of bad ones — like all startups.

Here’s some of things I’d like to do different for my next startup and hopefully some lessons learned that you might find helpful. (Obviously, each startup is different so this … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Jeff Haynie | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Management

In the abstract, economic sense, a 30% chance of making $3M is as good as a 3% chance of making $30M is as good as a 0.3% chance at making $300M. But in the concrete sense, you generally have to make your pick: Which coupon is the one for you?

The strategies employed to pursue the 30% for $3M are often in direct opposition to the … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: David Heinemeier Hansson | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

People who make lots of little bets on many potential unicorns have christened themselves angels. Angels? Really? You’ve plucked your self-serving moniker from the parables of a religion that specifically and explicitly had its head honcho throw the money men out of the temple and proclaim a rich man less likely to make it into heaven than a camel through a needle’s eye. Okay then!

[…]

Angels … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: David Heinemeier Hansson | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Amy Chang, who ran product for Google Analytics before founding data-driven networking startup Accompany in 2013, counts dozens of luminaries among her advisors — including best selling authors like Chip Heath and Nir Eyal. Fielding this type of expertise seems like a nearly impossible feat, but her only secret is this: She spent years figuring out how to methodically build her network — and is … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Amy Chang | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Entrepreneurship

Ultimately, fundraising success requires:

fundraising execution + a compelling story/vision + evidence of traction + sheer determination + good fortune (luck)

This article focuses on the first of these five variables: fundraising execution. Below I lay out a 7 step framework to guide you through your fundraising process, and share some lessons learned having now successfully raised money for three separate ventures (and made plenty of mistakes … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Adam Healey | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

He cofounded PayPal, helped launch Yelp, and his new startup wants to make the credit card obsolete.

Content: Thought Leader | Author: Austin Carr | Source: Fast Company | Subject: Entrepreneurship | Industry: Finance / Banking

The one thing you want as a founder of a startup are options. You’re going to die much much faster because you ran out of options. Options are really what it’s all about. Options give you a chance to control your own destiny. When the times get tough, if you have options, you can use them. Without optionality, you’re screwed.

Content: Quotation | Author: Jeff Haynie | Subject: Entrepreneurship

It is frankly very, very difficult to scale fast. At a startup, it’s close to impossible. You need a lot of things that are inherently a mismatch at a startup to make scaling fast work. […] How do you hire 50 people in the next two quarters when you’re only 40 people today? Those existing customers and existing roadmap? Forget it. You’ll turn 110% of … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Jeff Haynie | Subject: Entrepreneurship

Coverage of the supposedly meteoric revenue growth of a number of Silicon Valley startups has fueled unrealistic notions: what a good idea looks like; how fast a founder should expect to be able to attract investment capital; and how quickly, even with a really great idea, growth will take off. If we use unicorns as a guide for our own startups, it appears that success … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Bobby Martin | Source: ChangeThis | Subject: Entrepreneurship

The Review is now over two years old and home to dozens of stories that have resonated and made a difference. In 2015 alone, we added nearly 100 new articles, full of granular how-to’s for designers, product managers, marketers, recruiters, sales leaders, executives and many more. What follows is a list of the 30 most impactful, change-making pieces of advice drawn from everything we published … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Miscellaneous

The Review reflects on the extraordinary people they’ve interviewed and long-form articles they’ve published over the last year.

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Miscellaneous

With almost $1 billion in funding and ambitions to replace petroleum-based cars with a network of cheap electrics, Shai Agassi’s Better Place was remarkable even by the standards of world-changing startups. So was its epic failure. A 21st-century cautionary tale.

Content: Case Study | Author: Max Chafkin | Source: Fast Company | Subject: Entrepreneurship | Industry: Automotive | Company: Better Place

The first part of fundraising is getting the meeting and 90% of startups fail at this point. Here’s how to make sure you get meetings with the right investors.

Content: Article | Author: Ash Rust | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Ten person startups (or smaller) often have a lot of generalists. Everyone does a little of everything, which is what can make startups exciting. When you grow past 10 people to 15 or 20, that structure starts to break down. All of a sudden the generalists in slash positions will move from two part-time jobs to two full-time jobs and will stop being effective. The … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Joseph Walla | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Human Resources

Businesses are breaking out of the old too-big-to-fail mindset to face disruptive technologies head on. Disruption’s survivors are learning how to benefit from new modes of engagement with potential competitors and tomorrow’s startups. Call it corporate venturing. In this paper, the co-authors outline a menu of options for established businesses looking to embrace startups in their drive to achieve profitable growth.

Content: Article | Authors: Adrià Batlle, Julia Prats, Pau Amigó, Xavier Ametller | Source: IESE Insight | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Strategy