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Evelyn Rodriguez Envisions a Silicon Valley Renaissance of Art & Culture

Evelyn Rodriguez envisions a Silicon Valley renaissance that blends a love of art, culture, place, and the divine spark alive and innate within us. Evelyn Rodriguez Envisions a Silicon Valley Renaissance of Art & Culture Among my other pursuits, I envision a Silicon Valley renaissance that brings a love of art, culture, place, and the

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The Best Bad Plan

Often you have to choose from alternatives that all have problems or to triage and identify where you efforts will have the most impact in a bad situation. Reconciling yourself to the “best bad plan” is a key skill for entrepreneurs. I was reminded of this by the following exchange in the movie ARGO: Tony Mendez:

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Dr. Atul Gawande

Dr. Atul Gawande on Managing Complexity and Uncertainty

Managing complexity and uncertainty was the focus of Dr Atul Gawande’s commencement address at Williams College on Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 (Reprinted in New Yorker as “Failure and Rescue“). The entire talk is worth reading and offers a medical case history as a compelling context for his points. “…the critical skills of the best surgeons

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Subsidizing Startups Does Not Produce Entrepreneurs

“Subsidizing the markers of status doesn’t produce the character traits that result in that status; it undermines them.” Reynold’s Law In the same way that free range animals are healthier than those that are caged, people learn how to become effective entrepreneurs when the have the freedom to experiment and they are focused on pleasing

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Innovation Often Obsoletes Assumptions, Political Boundaries, and Work Process

In May of this year I was invited to take part in a month long group discussion on CPSquare where my consulting practice was the topic. This is the second question I answered, it was prompted by a sentence  my opening statement. Q: Can you please elaborate on your statement “The incorporation of a new

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Amar Bhide: Start With Affordable Bets in Markets Too Small to Interest Large Players

Four quotes from Amar Bhide‘s “Origin and Evolution of New Business.” “Entrepreneurs who undertake uncertain initiatives face a wide spread between desirable and undesirable outcomes, but they cannot quantify the odds they face or even fully anticipate the possible results. The uncertainty is irreducible to the degree it cannot be resolved without actually undertaking the

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Startup Founders Announced for Working For Equity Panel at SVCC 2012

For the third year in a row I will moderate a panel of startup founders sharing lesson learned bootstrapping a technology startup at Silicon Valley Code Camp. This “Working for Equity” session will be on Sunday Oct 7 at 9:15am. Here is the announcement Many of us in Silicon Valley seek to found or be

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Q: Can a Custom Solution Be The Basis For A Product?

Q: I was contracted to develop a custom software application that I delivered with a minimum set of features the client requested so that it was simple to use.  Once my client is satisfied should I try and market it? There are similar products available but mine is simpler and I can afford to offer it

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Mastermind Open House 11am Sat-Sep-22-2012 at GroundFloorSV

When:  11am to 1pm Sat-Sep-20 Where: Ground Floor Silicon Valley, 2030 Duane Avenue, Santa Clara, CA Register: http://www.meetup.com/BayAreaMastermind/events/74068892/ Cost:  No Charge for Open House but a monthly charge will apply if you want to join a regular group We launched two new Mastermind groups about six months ago in response to several requests from entrepreneurs

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See You at Lean Startup Conference 2012

Here’s why I am excited about attending the Lean Startup Conference on Dec-3-2012 and offering a workshop there with Scott Sambucci on “Engineering Your Sales Process” on the day after. Q: What aspect of lean startup methods most inspires you? Lean Startup methods recognize that new markets in particular require a scientific approach that relies

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