At some companies the phrase is said out loud, while at others it’s a fleeting thought in the founders’ minds. At the best early-stage companies, the phrase surfaces every few weeks, and at struggling ones, it arises every few hours. The phrase is We’re Fucked, It’s Over, or WFIO. Low … Continue reading
In the past 10 years I’ve founded 3 companies, have been part of the executive team of two, have built ten different products, and am currently running my latest venture, called Power 20. Among all these efforts, only three projects are still standing. At the conclusion of my first decade … Continue reading
Companies improve their chances of survival by building an effective sales team fast. Here’s the formula for building your sales team. Have Four Tiers The four tiers of sales are Hunters, Outbound Sales, Inbound Sales, and Account Managers. The Hunter is a well-coiffed, extraverted and well-connected sales person who meets … Continue reading
Since it’s rare in the startup world to work at one company for more than two or three years, entrepreneurs must prepare for the inevitable turnover of their employees and contractors. I’ve learned that having a pipeline of people is as important as having a pipeline of sales. How to … Continue reading
Businesses live and die by the decisions they make each day, so management’s decision-making skills should be optimized. New research by Carnegie Mellon professor Anita Williams Woolley and her colleagues shows us that group intelligence is almost always superior to individual intelligence, especially if we form the right kinds of … Continue reading
Entrepreneurs today are routinely told to avoid the MBA, and in some cases, to avoid college altogether. I have a different take. If you can afford it, if you plan to work internationally, and if you ever plan to sell to enterprise companies, an MBA can be a worthwhile investment … Continue reading
Most people are instinctively helpful and, after meeting someone new in person, we almost always want to help them move forward in life. This is why I value in-person meetings even more than in-office work; just about every important idea and business opportunity happens away from my desk. For this … Continue reading
What do Gangnam Style, a meteor over Russia, and Iron Man movies have in common? The first touchpoint for all of these were through the Internet, through online videos, newscasts or trailers. Word of these videos spread instantaneously among the over 2.2 billion worldwide Internet users. These have proved just … Continue reading
Technology companies need money – sometimes lots of it – to get off the ground. Even though they hold no inventory and staff few people, their business models are capital inefficient for the first few years. Unlike the local coffee shop, which only needs neighborhood patrons to make money, web-based … Continue reading
Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? And if they did, why didn’t I listen? I could have saved myself some trouble while building the fast-growing exercise app Power 20 long ago. I finally learned that every mobile app needs to update itself automatically, rather than waiting for users to … Continue reading
I'm interested in building companies and products that make our lives a little better (or at least do no harm!).
