Remember when YouTube was a site to post snippets of videos of your baby, puppy, or kitten? Perhaps its still used for that… but for me, it is a near-daily source of snippets of lifelong learning. I subscribe to well over 100 different channels, spanning a dozen different topic areas. A few of these are spectacularly good at telling an compelling story which conveys an interesting...
Every SOCAP leaves me wondering what its like outside the West Coast, and specifically outside of San Francisco and Seattle, which seem to be leading the way into the world of impact investing and conscious companies.
How does your city compare?
Last month, sitting in a monthly gathering of impact investors, in the midst of a discussion on why so few investments get made, a fellow member made a comment that I can’t get out of my head, “It’s not about dealflow, it’s about investorflow.” The way startups usually get funded is not how entrepreneurs think. It’s not a meritocracy. It’s not like an...
A new online magazine, Rank & File has a nice article on the power of mentorship.
Read it at rankandfilemag.com.
Download the Rank & File App for Apple and for Android.
With rare exception, every entrepreneur I meet is seeking capital for their startup. I understand why. I’ve been in their shoes a half dozen times before. Investment capital buys opportunities and shrinks the time to grow a startup. At least in theory. The trouble too often comes when first-time entrepreneurs close a round of investment and feel obliged to spend that money as quickly as...
One of the mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make is failing to sweat the details. Watching the craftsman below turn a tree into a bow, step by patient step, reminds me of how much attention to detail needs to go into turning an idea into a profitable business. The Birth Of A Weapon. Part I. English longbow making. from John Neeman Tools Then again, do note that another mistake first-time...
Nothing lasts forever is misleading. It implies that some things last for long periods of time. Western philosophy craves stability, predictability and tradition. We want today to be a lot like yesterday. We get upset when it isn’t. Buddhism has a different view. Buddha taught that the only constant is change. That nothing ever stays the same. That everything is always changing. This...
A key tenant to the Lean Startup philosophy is the repeated cycle of learning. Launch. Measure. Learn. Repeat. Too often, first-time entrepreneurs think they know the right answer, when in fact they don’t even know the right questions to be asking. For successful established companies, this cycle of learning never stops. Case in point today, when Fledge took a field trip to visit...
Nothing is wrong with the concept of doing good by doing business. What’s wrong are all the connotations and assumptions that come with the term “social enterprise”. Decades ago, all social enterprises were non-profit organizations which earned some revenues from the services they provided, instead of relying 100% on donations. Goodwill is a great example of a traditional social enterprise. Most...
First-time entrepreneurs don’t always understand that outside investments come with a whole new slew of responsibilities and relationships. This is made quite clear by venture capitalists, where the norm is monthly board meetings for the first year or two after an investment closes. For Angel-backed startups, too often the investors’ expectations for communications are not met by the...
