Inspired by Dorai Thodla’s “Triples and Congruence.” Budget, Quality, Time (project parameters aka “Iron triangle” pick any two, solve for third) Expert/Technician, Manager, Entrepreneur (E-Myth roles in a business) Beginning, Middle, End (elements of a story) Early Adopters, Mainstream, Laggards (measures of risk aversion in a population) Team, Technology, Traction (VC tests for quality of […]
Triples, Inspired by Dorai Thodla Read More »
Hugh MacLeod, the matchbook cartoon artist, had a great post in January on “Random Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur” that I am going to cherry pick for a few that I thought were excellent. I have preserved his original numbering (putting the thought in the cartoon at 0). 0. If you can express your soul,
Hugh MacLeod’s Thoughts on Being an Entrepreneur 2 Read More »
Bob Parsons of GoDaddy blogged his “16 Rules for Success in Business (and Life in General)” in July of 2006. A question he received at a 2004 speaking event–“What advice do you have for someone who is just starting a business?”–kicked off an effort by the serial entrepreneur to codify the principles he was living
Bob “GoDaddy” Parson’s Rules for Business Success Read More »
We exhibited at CINACon 2007 over the weekend, and took turns rotating through the sessions. It was a great conference for entrepreneurs and it was a great conference for us: we had the opportunity to talk to a number of very early stage firms (including some of the other exhibitors in the Rising Stars Showcase)
CINACon 2007: A Great Conference For Entrepreneurs Read More »
EDAC has announced a program for Wed-Sep-26 on “The Future of Media and What it Means to EDA Companies.” So far so good, but they’ve invited the crew that laid off Richard Goering. I am much more interested in getting advice from the team that hired him. The EDAC announcement reads (links added) Paul Miller,
Paul Miller to Speak Future of CMP Support for EDA Companies at EDAC Wed-Sep-26 Read More »
Anonymous Coward landing pages don’t inspire trust or confidence in prospects, as a result few contact you. Startups should sign their work. Requiring a signed NDA before providing basic information also deters inquiries.
Startups Should Sign Their Work Read More »
We will be exhibiting at the “Rising Stars Showcase” at CINACon 2007. Register here for a great program that includes a keynote by Steve Westly on “The Past, Present and Future of Green” and these distinguished speakers: Raymond Hsu, Founding Chairman of CINA Ricky Ma, General Manager, ICT, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Scott
Look For Us At CINACon Sat Sep 22 Read More »
“Please take me off of your email distribution list.” This is, alas, a one line email that I now find myself sending several times a week. It’s part of my effort shrink my E-mail backlog, although I have no more hope than Canute of stemming the incoming tide, but it gives me the illusion of
Please Take Me Off Of Your Email Distribution List Read More »
I was saddened to read that Alfred H. Peet, the founder of Peet’s Coffee and Tea had passed away on August 29.
Alfred H. Peet 1920-2007 Read More »
Here are ten oblique strategies to help get you and your team unstuck. The first line is the oblique strategy with added for a startup.
Oblique Strategies for Startups 1 Read More »
A summary of Paul Saffo’s talk on “Forecasting Innovation in Silicon Valley” at the Churchill Club on Tue-Aug-28-2007. Saffo drew on his recent HBR Article “Six Rules for Effective Forecasting.”
Paul Saffo on Forecasting Innovation in Silicon Valley Read More »
This month we continue our regular schedule of “first Friday” in Palo Alto and “third Tuesday” in Sunnyvale. We will start at 7:30am and end at 9am. Your cost is your meal + 20% tip; in each location we have a small back room to ourselves. Attendees are typically in early stage software startups, primarily
September Bootstrapper Breakfasts Read More »
I attended today’s Fabless Semiconductor Association Distinguished Speaker Series Luncheon Panel on “Fostering, Funding and Focusing on the Future of Innovation.” It was time well spent. It was moderated by Brian Fuller, the former Editor-in-Chief of EE Times, and now a VP with Blanc & Otus. Brian opened with an analogy between the US railroad
FSA Panel on Fostering, Funding and Focusing on the Future of Innovation Read More »
We are offering our “Getting More Customers” workshop this fall in collaboration with the Professional and Technical Consultants Association (PATCA). The workshop covers ten proven marketing techniques for growing your business: attendees will select one or two that fit their style and develop a plan to implement them in their business in the next 90
Getting More Customers Workshop Offered Sep-9-2007 Read More »
Last night I attended a BayChi event held at the PARC auditorium. This presentation featured Guy Kawasaki, Founder of Truemors and Managing Director at Garage Technology Ventures. His presentation was titled “By the Numbers: How I built a Web 2.0, User-Generated Content, Citizen Journalism, Long-Tail, Social Media Site for $12,107.09.” You can find the entire
The goal of forecasting is not to predict the future but to tell you what you need to know to take meaningful action in the present.” Paul Saffo Paul Saffo is speaking at a Churchill Club Breakfast on Tue Aug 28 7:30am to 9am at Fenwick ( 801 California Street, Mountain View, CA 94041) on
Paul Saffo at Churchill Club Breakfast Tue Aug 28 Read More »
For next Great Demo Seminar by Peter Cohan see https://www.skmurphy.com/services/workshops/ Create and Deliver Surprisingly Compelling Software Demonstrations “Do The Last Thing First” — the recipe for a Great Demo! This is an interactive workshop with Peter Cohan geared especially for startup entrepreneur. Bring a copy of your demo and be prepared to present it. As
Cohan’s Great Demo on March 8, 2008 Read More »
Tim O’Reilly had a great post yesterday, “Surprises on the Bookshelves of CEOs” that also included quotes for entrepreneurs that he has collected over the years.
Some Great Quotes Collected by Tim O’Reilly Read More »
The following is a time capsule [Ed: more of a “tiny time pill” than a full capsule] from August 7, 2000. This was part of my personal home page in August of 2000 at Cisco. It was the height of the dotcom boom and bringing order out of chaos was a challenge.
Ten Quotes To Help You Bring Order Out of Chaos Read More »
Startups are hard work. Many fail in the first year and more than half within five years. Planning allows you to prevent problems, perseverance to overcome them.
Startups Are Hard Work and Require Planning Read More »
