This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

The other day, I noticed an eye-catching headline: "Internet Funding Boom Ends as Fast as It Began". It was from the Wall Street Journal--a publication I count on for emphasizing quality journalism over empty linkbaity headlines above hollow stories. Perhaps I need to rethink that. How else can you explain this headline matching a story about a professional social network still trying to explore revenues raising $17mm on an $80mm valuation?

ventures 286

ventures venture capital disruption pitching 286

Gust

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

David Cohen image via Kathleen Lavine, Denver Business Journal. Business incubators for sharing services were all the rage back in the days of the dot-com bubble (700 for profit, many more non-profit). About that time the bubble burst, causing more than 80% of them to disappear. Now they are coming back, and the best even provide networking, technical leadership, and seed funding, as well as investors waving money at graduates.

startup accelerator 147

startup accelerator accelerator entrepreneurs incubation 147

Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 4, 2012

The flurry of media activity in entrepreneurship including the spate of new TV shows like X-Factor for tech and Shark Tank, the refocus of the NYTimes and WSJ on technology, and the number of entrepreneurs on mainstream magazine covers gave me the impression that entrepreneurship is on the rise. While this may be true in pockets like New York or California, entrepreneurship in the US is shrinking - at least according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a report from the NYTimes: When Job Creat

entrepreneurship 40

entrepreneurship education media communities 40

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 4, 2012

Boards of directors have a number of important functions, both legal and structural. Boards provide or see to it that there are resources for the company (especially money) to operate. The board selects, monitors, helps, and oversees compensation for the CEO. The board can replace an underperforming CEO. The board is responsible for approval of all deferred compensation for all employees at all levels, such as stock option grants, and is responsible for the vision and strategies for growth a

board 69

board pitching strategy 69

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Lack of digitalization decreases business competitiveness. To thrive, embracing modern solutions becomes essential. The approach to digitalization often aligns with a company's business model. This shift not only boosts productivity but also automates processes and improves security. The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.

technology

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 5, 2012

Picture this: Your family builds a tremendous business in Nebraska over four generations making black socks. You make more black socks for more people in the western world than anyone. The next generation isn't interested in socks. One daughter is touring nationally with her punk band. The son is off in Africa combating disease with Doctors without Borders, and the other son. well. remember Woody Harrelson on Cheers?

venture capital 244

venture capital VC capital networking 244

Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Passion is not something you follow. It’s something that will follow you as you put in the hard work to become valuable to the world. Follow a Career Passion? Let It Follow You. In his book “So Good They Can’t Ignore You”, Cal Newport, a college classmate, champions the idea that passion lags work, instead of passion inspiring work. It’s the same philosophy embraced by sushi master Jiro, in the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

entrepreneurship 40

entrepreneurship development founder 40

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Just released! BASIC BERKONOMICS. by Dave Berkus. … and twelve of his expert entrepreneurial friends: John Huston, Bill Payne, Frank Peters, Basil Peters, JJ Richa, David S. Rose, Richard Sudek, David Steakley, William De Temple, Berni Jubb, Eric Greenspan, and Eric Rhoads. A new book with 108 brand new insights for entrepreneurs, managers and investors.

entrepreneurs 54

entrepreneurs 54

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Lately I've been going through this amusing little "Who's on first?" routine with servers at restaurants. "Do you have iced green tea?" "No, sorry we don't." "Well do you have regular green tea?" "Yes, we do." ".and you have ice.and a glass?" "Oh.yeah.I guess we do." Eureka! They get it after I ask for the ice. They have all the ingredients for what I asked for.

opportunity 256

opportunity startup 256

Gust

OCTOBER 2, 2012

True story: many long years ago I had founders’ stock in a video game company. At one point they were just a few weeks from going public, but that’s not the point of this story. It was about a “hit” business, meaning a business in which you had to have a lot of products in play to get one of the big hits that paid for the rest of the disappointments.

angel investing 119

angel investing investing investment founder 119

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Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business. That’s what drove the five companies in this e-book to change their approach to analytics. Download this e-book to learn about the unique problems each company faced and how they achieved huge returns beyond expectation by embedding analytics into applications.

development

Tomasz Tunguz

SEPTEMBER 29, 2012

Any number of challenges can arise during a startup’s initial years. Some of these changes could be major and may require rethinking strategy. Competitors enter your target market. New products are released into your market which undercut yours. Customer acquisition costs rise dramatically. If faced with these questions, it’s hard to know where to begin or how to structure an analysis to reach an answer.

frameworks 40

frameworks strategy board development 40

Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 4, 2012

The payments ecosystem is complicated. But FastCompany constructed an illuminating diagram walking through a typical payments flow that I’ve copied here. Just look at all those steps! Simplifying this complexity is the opportunity for many startups like Stripe, Dwolla and others.

construction 40

construction opportunity startup 40

Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Everyone is learning statistics because making sense of data is the difference between success and failure. R, the open source statistics language, is about a third as popular as Ruby and growing fast. Statistics are essential because data is ubiquitous and volumes are growing exponentially, even in startups. CEOs measure key company metrics. Engineers measure application performance and build machine learning models.

founder 40

founder venture capital capital ventures 40

Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Over the last few months, I’ve been helping a few companies build hiring pipelines to recruit at nearly every experience level and for technical, sales and business development roles. Below are the lessons I’ve learned. Identify your ideal candidate. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. Narrow your search focus to find the right candidate.

pitching 40

pitching opportunity technology development 40

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CAPTARGET presents a masterclass in M&A deal sourcing. Learn to cast a wide net, embracing seller self-identification. Consistency is the linchpin: keep the origination process steady for a reliable flow of opportunities. Diversify your tactics, employing various tools and vendors. Tech matters! Understand DNS settings, domain authority, and brand presence for optimal outreach.

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