The Most Common Mistakes that Startup Companies Make
February 3, 20101 Comment
There is an old saying that goes:
Success is the result of Good Judgment
Good Judgment is the result of Experience
Experience is the result of Bad Judgment
Have I learned anything after almost 20 years of doing startup companies? I try not to make the same mistakes more than at least 1 time. Today I sat down …
Daring to take the first step
January 30, 20101 Comment
We live in an amazing world with so many talented and creative people. Every once in a while I see something that is so different and novel that it makes me stop and marvel. I just watched a YouTube video that had this effect on me. I found it mesmerizing. It takes six minutes to view, …
The Entrepreneur Mad Hatter
January 19, 20104 Comments
Today I feel like Johnny Depp in the movie Alice in Wonderland, who plays the role of the Mad Hatter. An entrepreneur in an early-stage startup company has a lot of different hats to wear, and this can be enough to drive you stark-raving mad.
In order to keep my business afloat I need to be …
Starting a business is tough. No one will refute that fact. USA Statistics back this up to tell that approx. 90% of all startups will fail within the first 5 years.
What is the key entrepreneurial trait that differentiates the other 10 percent? No, it is not that these entrepreneurs are smarter, have better technology, have …
Earning vs. Learning
January 2, 2010No Comments
On this first day of a new decade I was going through some old papers and I saw the original shareholder documents from a company I co-founded 20 years ago. I gave 6 years of my life to that startup and yet the value of my shares today would barely pay for a dinner on …
What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
December 22, 20092 Comments
Last week I was so fortunate as to preside as the President of the Selection Jury for the 2009 Eurecan European Venture Awards. I sat-in on many of the presentations as 25 of the finalists pitched their business plans to investors and industry experts. I was struck by how good so many of these entrepreneurs …
The perfect ski run
December 10, 2009No Comments
I watched the crazy downhill guys on TV yesterday. As these skiers were getting ready to plunge down the icy slopes of a mountain at speeds of up to 140 km per hour, they prepared themselves by closing their eyes and envisioning skiing the course, turn for turn, in an absolutely perfect ski run. With …
Starting at the End
December 4, 2009No Comments
I often get everything backwards… ass backwards. Whether it is in my life or with my business, I often get things turned around the wrong way… and this causes me to struggle and flounder. While running a small business I am continually confronted with problems and challenges that are complex and difficult to navigate. That’s …
“How much to buy your baby?”
November 24, 2009No Comments
All mothers think that their babies are beautiful. OK, if not really beautiful, then certainly much more special than all the others… There is something primal in humans that makes us seek to find endearing qualities in our offspring. How much would you be willing to sell your baby for?
I have had 3 different calls …
Picking the Winners
November 20, 2009No Comments
How do you pick future champions while they are still young and developing? How do you identify a talented team of entrepreneurs at an early stage? How do you measure the real potential of a startup business?
