March 2010
10 posts
4 tags
Startups are Like Puppies
“…a startup is a temporary organization designed to search for a profitable business model.” -Steve Blank, Teaching Entrepreneurship-Logistics
Emphasis on the “temporary.” A lot of people like to say they’re interested in startups (just look at a lot of twitter profiles, you’ll see), but that seems ridiculous to me. Startups have their charms, but most of...
2 tags
“The difference between me and David Hampton isn’t that he’s a con artist and I’m...”
– Clay Shirky explains why sometimes we need to be “self-promoting narcissists, anti-social obsessives, or pompous blowhards, even a little bit, even temporarily, even when it would be in (our) best interests to do so.”
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How Mint Acquired 1.5 Million Users →
Mint continues to serve up great real-world examples of how to successful start and operate a new company. Here are a couple gems to demonstrate why you should read this article:
“The Product. Maybe we didn’t have a high viral coefficient but we had a great net promoter score…The delight after a quick setup, and having all those graphs and balances was palpable and emotional.”
...
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“Gentlemen, we have run out of money. Now we have to think.”
– Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels quoting Winston Churchill (via www.twitter.com/paulroales
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WatchNetflix Presentation on their “Freedom and Responsibility” Company Culture
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Lessons Learned from our First Press Release
If our first press release at Pocket Tales has taught me anything it’s that the press:
Doesn’t read closely
Is not as concerned about facts as you might think
Okay, that’s not entirely fair. I only have two data points to speak of and they’re both online publications. No offense to my fellow bloggers, but your average print publication does a lot more fact checking than...
1 tag
Watch2pockettales:
Actual Slides from our pitch at the 2010 SXSW Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator Competition
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“Anxiety is nothing but repeatedly re-experiencing failure in advance.”
– Seth Godin
I was inspired to include this quote on Man Indy Arena after Pocket Tales participated in the 2010 SXSW Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator Competition. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced more anxiety for a longer period of time, and all that anxiety was was me expecting to fail...
4 tags
WatchIf you’ve ever thought about adding an advisor to your startup or you’ve NEVER thought about it because you don’t know what value they can provide, read this presentation. It’s a great intro and answers a lot of questions you probably never thought to ask.
It’s not pretty, but it’s an effective presentation.
2 tags
“But look, even if you have no cash, you always have time and creativity. Find a...”
– Rob May, “What I Learned Raising A Million Dollars For a Startup With No Business Plan and No Financial Projections (While Drinking a Beer)”