Debugging your startup requires peace of mind because debugging any problem, including debugging yourself, requires peace of mind. It’s what enables you to stay in flow.
Debugging Your Startup Requires Peace of Mind Read More »
The last question in”The First Seven Questions Any Product Plan Should Answer” is What Are You Replacing? Every Product Has Competition But after careful experimentation we learned that most entrepreneurs would instinctively cast themselves in the role of the early bird who gets the worm and say “Nothing. We are brand new!” So we re-phrased
The Early Bird Already Has The Worm Read More »
For my Independence Day post I have picked three quotes that span the last thousand years or so of the move from kings and tyrants to representative government and the rule of law. “To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.” Magna Carta clause 40 of 1215 charter
Independence Day 2012 Read More »
The fact that your new application was a weekend project is not a feature! I see announcements like We just coded this up last weekend take a look… I wrote this on a Saturday afternoon check it out… We built the tool (over the last few weekends)… I don’t know if it’s Startup Weekend’s original
The Fact That Your App Was a Weekend Project Is Not a Feature Read More »
The Bootstrappers Breakfast® website has been re-designed so that it’s wider, brighter and now has a banner full of coffee beans across the top–tea drinkers still welcome! Please let us know what you think… …and drop by a breakfast when it’s convenient, there are meetups in Champaign, IL Chicago, IL Minneapolis, MN Mountain View, CA
Bootstrappers Breakfast® Website Upgraded Read More »
Building the “wrong product” is not a waste of time you learn about the market and technical feasibility. Right and wrong are both gray, not black or white. Customer development and technical development typically require a sequence of prototypes that are “less wrong” over time under they become good enough.
Q: Is Building The Wrong Product A Waste Of Time? Read More »
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–June 2012 Read More »
S. John Ross wrote a great short essay on “Five Elements of Commercial Appeal in RPG Design” (that I first read in “Things We Think About Games” by Will Hindmarch and Jeff Tidball) that suggested these elements were critical for creating a commercially successful RPG. I think they are also a good way to think
Cliche, Combat, Fellowship, Anarchy, Enigma Read More »
I picked up “Education of a Wandering Man” by Louis L’Amour book without expectations. Someone had recommended it as a good autobiography of a writer. His life was fascinating. He offered a number of useful insights. What follows are some excerpts with additional commentary.
Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour Read More »
Entrepreneurs need a community of practice to improve their skills, not a movement they can join as a fad. I don’t consider myself a disciple or part of a movement. I consider myself a practitioner. I am a huge fan of Saras Sarasvathy, Clayton Christensen, Peter Drucker, Gary Klein, and Gerald Weinberg.
Entrepreneurs Need a Community of Practice Not a Movement Read More »
Ryan Waggoner wonders if the popularized approach to startups is wrong. Instead of putting health and relationships at risk, try patience and humility.
Ryan Waggoner: Maybe Startups Are So Hard Because We’re Doing Them Wrong Read More »
After my first son was born a friend recommended that I read “The Measure of a Man: Becoming the Father You Wish Your Father Had Been” by Jerrold Lee Shapiro. It was very good advice that I now pass on for Father’s Day.
Situation — you have joined an on-line forum or e-mail list where participants discuss issues related to your product or applications or needs that your product is used for. Someone posts a question in an on-line forum along the lines of: What tools are people using to solve problem X or need Y? What are
Answering Questions About Your Product In An On-Line Forum Read More »
While we stress the value of serious conversations with prospects and customers there are other sources of market insights on emerging opportunities for your current product or next offering. I have placed them on a spectrum that runs from a macroscopic view based on objective measurements and numbers to a microscopic view that is more
Verify Your Market Insights Against A Variety of Information Sources Read More »
VCs and angels may talk about changing the world, but their business model rests on a more prosaic calculation: Buy low, sell high. They invest in companies they think will become more valuable, so they can sell their stake for a sizable profit. From the time that VCs invest in a company, they have five
Exits vs. Enduring Companies Read More »
Today many change initiatives (and new software sales almost always involve the key elements of a change initiative) rely on interviews and replicating the results from an existing “manual system.” Processes mining tools and techniques will play an important role here.
Enterprise Change Agents Need to Add Process Mining to Their Bag of Tricks Read More »
Entrepreneurship is sustained by what’s in your heart and a childlike curiosity toward how the world works and new undiscovered possibilities.
The Heart That Holds On Read More »
You can follow @skmurphy to get these hot off the mojo wire or wait until the end of the month when these quotes for entrepreneurs are collected on the blog. Enter your E-mail if you would like new blog posts to your inbox.
Quotes For Entrepreneurs–May 2012 Read More »
I’m hardly the first person to complain about the word “user” to describe people who do stuff with software…People don’t think of themselves as “users” and in all other contexts the word “user” is not generally positive and certainly not evocative of the kind of intimate, day-to-day relationship we’d like our work to have with
Your Prospects and Your Customers are Real People Read More »
On Memorial Day 2012 in we commemorate those who died in the service of our country. I offer some excerpts from Lt. Col. Michael Strobl’s account of escorting the remains of a Marine killed in combat in 2004 for you to meditate on.
