Expert insights. Personalized for you.
Today I want to address all of those running a company or making management decisions with a simple message: avoid generic business advice! By generic advice I mean anything of the form “do x,” such as “cut 20% of cost now.” So what then is an alternative to generic advice? These can form the basis for figuring out what to do and also for evaluating advice. A first principles based approach is always superior to the indiscriminate application of generic advice. MORE
The post What We Wish We Knew Then: 7 EO Members Share Advice for Graduates appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. MORE
The post Angel Investors Spotlight: An Inside Look at Hudson Valley Startup Fund’s Investment Process & Advice for Founders appeared first on The Gust Blog. Investors' Insights advice angel investors entrepreneursHudson Valley Startup Fund brings together a network of the region’s successful business and community leaders to give back, supporting the launch of the next Hudson Valley visionaries. MORE
As a follow-up to our message on Angel Investing in Challenging Times, Christopher and I tasked Raza with putting together an update and perspective piece for the CEOs of our portfolio companies. The letter outlines our thoughts on some of the challenges they will face in the near term. MORE
YC Partner and Tutorspree cofounder Aaron Harris on who founders should listen to for advice. 00:00 – Who should founders listen to for advice? 00:55 – Your job as a founder is to build a company not just get advice. 2:25 – Pick an advisor who gives nuanced advice. 4:20 – At the end of the day you need to evaluate the advice on its own merit. Advice Video Feature MORE
Michael answered questions from network members requesting advice for their entrepreneurial endeavors. What advice would you give to entrepreneurs and professionals looking to finance their business? What advice do you have for businesses operating in unstable environments? MORE
They have advice to share. Ask them for advice. Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. MORE
the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll get 8. How to go for the close Some Advice Before You Hit the Fund Raising Trail was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. MORE
I usually tell people that everything I learned about being an entrepreneur I learned by F’ing up at my first company. Continue reading on Medium MORE
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO LAUNCH A PODCAST? ANY SPECIFIC ADVICE TO FIRST-TIME PODCASTERS? . The post How to Launch a Podcast: Advice for Entrepreneurs appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. MORE
the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get I’m about to offer you some fund-raising advice that flies directly in the face of what most conventional wisdom will tell you. This is part of a series on fund-raising advice for entrepreneurs and VCs. MORE
You know now why I would take her advice for new employees. ” She gave me a special one-time permission to write about her in a blog post so I could publish the advice she gave our friend. General Advice. What advice do you have for employees? Entrepreneur Advice MORE
Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice MORE
It spoke to me because it so resonates with my nearly daily advice to entrepreneurs and VCs alike. I went as far as to call it the best Tweet of 2015 so far because it encapsulated my advice so succinctly. All advice you receive is too generic to help you – you need to decide for yourself in your exact situation. I call this process “triangulation” and my advice is always, “ Seek advice but in the end trust your own judgment.” MORE
Ginger's advice to women business owner? The post Reducing Startup Failure - Mastercard Exec Shares Her Insights and Advice for Female Founders. Startup failure is a serious thing. About one-third of small businesses fail during their first year in business, according to the SBA. MORE
As lines of code continue to proliferate through the world, as the rate of startup formation increases to seize those opportunities, and as the VC industry expands to support those new teams and opportunities, there is no shortage of people to visit for advice — not to mention all the resources online. In my short time investing to date, I have experienced a phenomenon that, in my own opinion, hurts more than helps — getting advice from too many sources. MORE
I can't think of a single time when a white man came to pitch me and I told him his fundraising plans weren't aggressive enough. Yet this is a message I'm giving to women and people of color all the time. It's not that this latter group isn't aggressive enough--after all, they're ditching everything else they could to to start companies. Something else is at play. MORE
Ever get bad advice? Ever take that advice without question because the person giving it was an investor, a superior in rank, the chairperson of your board? I’ll bet you have at least one story of bad advice taken and being bitten as a result. Close. We all have in our past. MORE
The angel investors could not raise the next, larger round to finance the shortfall and further expansion, putting the fragile young company at risk for following the advice of its board. Bad advice taken by an enthusiastic and compliant young CEO was the root of the cause, compounded by circumstance. By not putting up any argument and being completely compliant, the CEO ceded control of the company to outsiders who gave bad advice. MORE
Not all consultants give advice worth taking, of course. At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management. MORE
So here’s advice I give people all the time when they’re raising money. Or they’ll remind me of my common advice to take “ 50 coffee meetings.” The post The Most Important Advice I Could Give You About Unicorns appeared first on Bothsides of the Table. *. Unicorns. The most overused word in the technology industry today. And they aren’t even f **g real. That is how absurd thing have gotten. No, I take that back. MORE
Because I am one of the ones “who got out,” I get a ton of requests give career advice to grad students or speak on career panels. Photo by Bruce Gilbert. Not everybody I deal with in the start-up world knows of my secret past-life. MORE
Below are my most common pieces of advice. Advice Work at a Startup FeatureTo help job seekers amid this crisis, I’m spending a lot of time doing 1-1s and resume reviews. Mail me your resume ( ryan@ycombinator.com MORE
We are all dealing with a lot right now - health, family, work, economic concerns. Angel community leaders have the additional challenges of adapting their processes to work over video, and assessing the damage spreading through the portfolio of startups in their flock. MORE
I probably get around a dozen e-mails a week asking me how to get into venture capital. On top of that, anytime I talk to anyone who wants to get involved in startups but isn''t sure what they want to do, inevitably, I hear, "And then I was thinking maybe I should look into venture capital, too.". I usually direct people to this post --still hanging atop the search rankings for " How to be a VC analyst" years later. MORE
Everybody has a blog these days and there is much advice to be had. Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. This is generally how I try to organize my own views and how I try to give advice. MORE
Let me tell you a few short hair-raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. Here are some rules that entrepreneurs almost always ignore to their future peril. MORE
There are too many people giving advice who have been through one or two startups, none of which grew into a huge company, got to profitability, or an IPO. I think we all need to be a lot more discerning about where advice is coming from. That doesn''t feel like the perspective you get from a lot of advice givers these days. Your advice matches the experience of your accomplishments. Yet, it all sounds like awesome advice to other startup people--i.e. MORE
Rustand says he’s had calls from more than 300 business leaders at small and medium-sized companies looking for advice. The post Advice from Warren Rustand: Put Your Head Down and Walk Into the Storm appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. MORE
This may be news, but boards of directors can offer bad advice. Having served on more than forty boards, I’ve seen such a variety of good and bad advice that my stories could fill a book. (oh, MORE
Contributed by Ginger Rothrock, Senior Director at HG Venture s, The Heritage Group. On my drive to work today I was listening to my favorite podcast, 20minVC. MORE
There is a second set of career discussions I have even more frequently than my “angel yourself” advice but this type is almost never discussed publicly in blogs, which tend to emphasize only billion-dollar opportunities, 20-something technical founders and Silicon Valley elitism. But I also have advice for the 15% that really do want to be a startup CEO. A shortened, better edited and with nicer pictures version of this post first appeared on TechCrunch. MORE
I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me. Often times, the advice is terrible or impractical. They don't look cautiously at the advice given to them by their favorite VC blogger. MORE
For the most part my advice is simple, “don’t bother.” Entrepreneur AdviceI live in LA. And I’m a VC. So you can imagine I see my fair share of celebrities looking to get into the technology industry. MORE
Here’s what I got back: David Hornick, August Capital : "Here's some anti-advice. Jason Pressman, Shasta Ventures : "First board meetings always are a bit scary b/c you actually find out what is going on so my advice to both sides (investors and entrepreneurs) is to have no surprises due to a transparent, thoughtful and engaged due diligence process. MORE
In this week’s lecture YC President Geoff Ralston shares parting advice for all the founders that participated in Startup School. 00:31 – Geoff Ralston’s Parting Advice. If you want to sign up for next year’s edition of Startup School, you can put your name on the waitlist at StartupSchool.org. Topics. 00:00 – Intro. 00:51 – There is no one path. 3:19 – Find your path. 3:26 – Focus on what matters. 4:14 – Startups are hard. MORE
00:20 – Dan’s most unpopular advice. 24:30 – Advice for employees who want to get a growth program going. Dan Hockenmaier is the founder of the growth strategy firm Basis One. Prior to Basis One he was the Director of Growth Marketing at Thumbtack. You can learn more at BasisOne.com. Gustaf Alströmer is a Partner at YC. Prior to YC he was the Product Lead for Growth at Airbnb. You can find Dan on Twitter @danhockenmaier and Gustaf is @gustaf. Topics. MORE
The post Nick Dancer’s Advice to Biz Owners: “Just Show Up” appeared first on SmartHustle.com. MORE
advice Related Topics Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
DECEMBER 4, 2019
Michael answered questions from network members requesting advice for their entrepreneurial endeavors. What advice would you give to entrepreneurs and professionals looking to finance their business? What advice do you have for businesses operating in unstable environments?
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 6, 2020
Rustand says he’s had calls from more than 300 business leaders at small and medium-sized companies looking for advice. The post Advice from Warren Rustand: Put Your Head Down and Walk Into the Storm appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization.
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The Seraf Compass
APRIL 1, 2020
As a follow-up to our message on Angel Investing in Challenging Times, Christopher and I tasked Raza with putting together an update and perspective piece for the CEOs of our portfolio companies. The letter outlines our thoughts on some of the challenges they will face in the near term.
TechStars
MARCH 4, 2020
Contributed by Ginger Rothrock, Senior Director at HG Venture s, The Heritage Group. On my drive to work today I was listening to my favorite podcast, 20minVC.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 23, 2012
I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me. Often times, the advice is terrible or impractical. They don't look cautiously at the advice given to them by their favorite VC blogger.
This is going to be BIG.
NOVEMBER 1, 2016
I can't think of a single time when a white man came to pitch me and I told him his fundraising plans weren't aggressive enough. Yet this is a message I'm giving to women and people of color all the time. It's not that this latter group isn't aggressive enough--after all, they're ditching everything else they could to to start companies. Something else is at play.
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Both Sides of the Table
MAY 6, 2018
the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll get 8. How to go for the close Some Advice Before You Hit the Fund Raising Trail was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Berkonomics
MARCH 29, 2018
Ever get bad advice? Ever take that advice without question because the person giving it was an investor, a superior in rank, the chairperson of your board? I’ll bet you have at least one story of bad advice taken and being bitten as a result. Close. We all have in our past.
Continuations
MARCH 20, 2020
Today I want to address all of those running a company or making management decisions with a simple message: avoid generic business advice! By generic advice I mean anything of the form “do x,” such as “cut 20% of cost now.” So what then is an alternative to generic advice? These can form the basis for figuring out what to do and also for evaluating advice. A first principles based approach is always superior to the indiscriminate application of generic advice.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 24, 2019
The post What We Wish We Knew Then: 7 EO Members Share Advice for Graduates appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
There is a second set of career discussions I have even more frequently than my “angel yourself” advice but this type is almost never discussed publicly in blogs, which tend to emphasize only billion-dollar opportunities, 20-something technical founders and Silicon Valley elitism. But I also have advice for the 15% that really do want to be a startup CEO. A shortened, better edited and with nicer pictures version of this post first appeared on TechCrunch.
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Haystack
SEPTEMBER 16, 2018
As lines of code continue to proliferate through the world, as the rate of startup formation increases to seize those opportunities, and as the VC industry expands to support those new teams and opportunities, there is no shortage of people to visit for advice — not to mention all the resources online. In my short time investing to date, I have experienced a phenomenon that, in my own opinion, hurts more than helps — getting advice from too many sources.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 14, 2009
They have advice to share. Ask them for advice. Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC.
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 23, 2012
For the most part my advice is simple, “don’t bother.” Entrepreneur AdviceI live in LA. And I’m a VC. So you can imagine I see my fair share of celebrities looking to get into the technology industry.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 14, 2015
So here’s advice I give people all the time when they’re raising money. Or they’ll remind me of my common advice to take “ 50 coffee meetings.” The post The Most Important Advice I Could Give You About Unicorns appeared first on Bothsides of the Table. *. Unicorns. The most overused word in the technology industry today. And they aren’t even f **g real. That is how absurd thing have gotten. No, I take that back.
Y Combinator
MAY 19, 2020
Below are my most common pieces of advice. Advice Work at a Startup FeatureTo help job seekers amid this crisis, I’m spending a lot of time doing 1-1s and resume reviews. Mail me your resume ( ryan@ycombinator.com
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 3, 2015
It spoke to me because it so resonates with my nearly daily advice to entrepreneurs and VCs alike. I went as far as to call it the best Tweet of 2015 so far because it encapsulated my advice so succinctly. All advice you receive is too generic to help you – you need to decide for yourself in your exact situation. I call this process “triangulation” and my advice is always, “ Seek advice but in the end trust your own judgment.”
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 15, 2015
Let me tell you a few short hair-raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. Here are some rules that entrepreneurs almost always ignore to their future peril.
Smart Hustle Magazine
JANUARY 31, 2020
The post Nick Dancer’s Advice to Biz Owners: “Just Show Up” appeared first on SmartHustle.com.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 6, 2014
There are too many people giving advice who have been through one or two startups, none of which grew into a huge company, got to profitability, or an IPO. I think we all need to be a lot more discerning about where advice is coming from. That doesn''t feel like the perspective you get from a lot of advice givers these days. Your advice matches the experience of your accomplishments. Yet, it all sounds like awesome advice to other startup people--i.e.
This is going to be BIG.
JULY 8, 2013
I probably get around a dozen e-mails a week asking me how to get into venture capital. On top of that, anytime I talk to anyone who wants to get involved in startups but isn''t sure what they want to do, inevitably, I hear, "And then I was thinking maybe I should look into venture capital, too.". I usually direct people to this post --still hanging atop the search rankings for " How to be a VC analyst" years later.
Y Combinator
DECEMBER 6, 2019
YC Partner and Tutorspree cofounder Aaron Harris on who founders should listen to for advice. 00:00 – Who should founders listen to for advice? 00:55 – Your job as a founder is to build a company not just get advice. 2:25 – Pick an advisor who gives nuanced advice. 4:20 – At the end of the day you need to evaluate the advice on its own merit. Advice Video Feature
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 19, 2018
the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get I’m about to offer you some fund-raising advice that flies directly in the face of what most conventional wisdom will tell you. This is part of a series on fund-raising advice for entrepreneurs and VCs.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
JANUARY 2, 2020
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO LAUNCH A PODCAST? ANY SPECIFIC ADVICE TO FIRST-TIME PODCASTERS? . The post How to Launch a Podcast: Advice for Entrepreneurs appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 21, 2016
I usually tell people that everything I learned about being an entrepreneur I learned by F’ing up at my first company. Continue reading on Medium
Smart Hustle Magazine
MAY 31, 2019
Ginger's advice to women business owner? The post Reducing Startup Failure - Mastercard Exec Shares Her Insights and Advice for Female Founders. Startup failure is a serious thing. About one-third of small businesses fail during their first year in business, according to the SBA.
The Seraf Compass
APRIL 15, 2020
We are all dealing with a lot right now - health, family, work, economic concerns. Angel community leaders have the additional challenges of adapting their processes to work over video, and assessing the damage spreading through the portfolio of startups in their flock.
This is going to be BIG.
MARCH 3, 2010
Here’s what I got back: David Hornick, August Capital : "Here's some anti-advice. Jason Pressman, Shasta Ventures : "First board meetings always are a bit scary b/c you actually find out what is going on so my advice to both sides (investors and entrepreneurs) is to have no surprises due to a transparent, thoughtful and engaged due diligence process.
Y Combinator
NOVEMBER 13, 2019
In this week’s lecture YC President Geoff Ralston shares parting advice for all the founders that participated in Startup School. 00:31 – Geoff Ralston’s Parting Advice. If you want to sign up for next year’s edition of Startup School, you can put your name on the waitlist at StartupSchool.org. Topics. 00:00 – Intro. 00:51 – There is no one path. 3:19 – Find your path. 3:26 – Focus on what matters. 4:14 – Startups are hard.
Gust
FEBRUARY 8, 2016
The post Angel Investors Spotlight: An Inside Look at Hudson Valley Startup Fund’s Investment Process & Advice for Founders appeared first on The Gust Blog. Investors' Insights advice angel investors entrepreneursHudson Valley Startup Fund brings together a network of the region’s successful business and community leaders to give back, supporting the launch of the next Hudson Valley visionaries.
Scratch Paper
OCTOBER 17, 2014
Because I am one of the ones “who got out,” I get a ton of requests give career advice to grad students or speak on career panels. Photo by Bruce Gilbert. Not everybody I deal with in the start-up world knows of my secret past-life.
Y Combinator
JUNE 26, 2019
00:20 – Dan’s most unpopular advice. 24:30 – Advice for employees who want to get a growth program going. Dan Hockenmaier is the founder of the growth strategy firm Basis One. Prior to Basis One he was the Director of Growth Marketing at Thumbtack. You can learn more at BasisOne.com. Gustaf Alströmer is a Partner at YC. Prior to YC he was the Product Lead for Growth at Airbnb. You can find Dan on Twitter @danhockenmaier and Gustaf is @gustaf. Topics.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 22, 2018
Not all consultants give advice worth taking, of course. At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management.
Berkonomics
NOVEMBER 22, 2010
The angel investors could not raise the next, larger round to finance the shortfall and further expansion, putting the fragile young company at risk for following the advice of its board. Bad advice taken by an enthusiastic and compliant young CEO was the root of the cause, compounded by circumstance. By not putting up any argument and being completely compliant, the CEO ceded control of the company to outsiders who gave bad advice.
Berkonomics
AUGUST 8, 2019
This may be news, but boards of directors can offer bad advice. Having served on more than forty boards, I’ve seen such a variety of good and bad advice that my stories could fill a book. (oh,
Both Sides of the Table
DECEMBER 10, 2012
You know now why I would take her advice for new employees. ” She gave me a special one-time permission to write about her in a blog post so I could publish the advice she gave our friend. General Advice. What advice do you have for employees? Entrepreneur Advice
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