I like Barbara. She is very level emotionally on the show and in interviews. Thought this clip was great. I think the advice applies to not only business but really life in general. It’s a good kick in the butt when you feel like life just punched you in the face.
The world is full of ‘idea people’ who are strong on ideas & weak on execution — 95% of success comes down to execution
Never commit to an idea, only to progress and results.
…our hypothetical CEO—like almost every other CEO—only took action on the positive indicator and only looked for alternative explanations on the negative leading indicator.
I enjoyed reading this short note ”Lies that Loser Tell”, from Ben Horowitz (@bhorowitz). It reminds me of experiences I had as a member of an executive team who was beginning to lose the major battles.
As a member of a team I found it frustrating to have a leader overreact on the smallest positive sign and even worse…not react at all on the negative. Nothing shakes the confidence you have in a leader or the strength of the company when your leader begins to tell lies either with their actions or their mouth. The people that matter the most and who are the ones who can most likely help need honesty - words and actions.
Dr. Warren Bennis said, “The primary task of a leader is to define reality”. (see his interview with @jason here - quote is at about 22:00). I really like this message from Bennis. Reality becomes fantasy when the lies fly. You can only accurately define reality by being honest.
Source: bhorowitz.com
BRYCE DOT VC: Why I Do Unsmart Things
I have this fundamental belief.
And this belief often leads me to do unsmart things.
The heart of this belief is that if something I’m doing is going to succeed, then I have to do every possible thing to make it so. Now, doing so doesn’t ensure success but ultimate success is predicated on it….
Source: brycedotvc
Try Again "Startup America"
Here’s the quick… What is Startup America? Last year Obama announced the creation of a large fund that will be used to fund early-stage, high growth startups outside of the usual tech hotspots - Cali, Mass, NY. The idea is to match investments made by private investment firms 1 to 1 and first round it may be 2 to 1.
I don’t like it. Well, let me start over. I like the idea and the fact something was done in an attempt to spark funding for small biz. This just does not seem like a strong solution. In this article from @entmagazine you can skip to the last couple paragraphs to see why…it echoes my thoughts exactly.
Maybe VCs will look at this as a way to lower their overall investment into one company and be able to fuel additional companies. It’s a nice thought. My guess is probably won’t happen that way since there does not seem to be a shortage of VC money at the moment and if a company is hot they usually want to double down.
Love his opening quote:
“I’m a person who tries as much as possible to go through life without saying no.”
They only way you fail in life, the only risk you can take is that when you die you say I wish I would have done…”
A Word to the Resourceful -Paul Graham
Solid post and a great observation. I think the definition of an entrepreneur is someone who is resourceful, a problem solver that gets things done. We build amazing ice cream bars, we don’t program or design software, apps etc. which I will assume this post is referring to. I have been in both worlds and I am pretty sure it doesn’t matter what your business is, everyday is a new set of challenges and opportunities. As an entrepreneur it is your job to find answers and get things done no matter what it takes.
Outwitting Copycats:
Thought this was good advice for dealing with copycats and in her case - counterfeiters…
On outwitting counterfeiters:
“After filing design and trademark patents, look at your pricing. Don’t leave a gaping hole in your price structure that allows people to come in and drive a truck through that hole and take the market underneath you. If you have a competitive product, and counterfeiters can’t bring the price down that much, they’re less likely to go for it.”
— Marcia Kilgore, creator of lifestyle and beauty brands
Source: entrepreneur.com
You can’t have good ideas unless you’re willing to generate a lot of bad ones.
Source: marcandangel.com
“I’m an elf. Well, technically I’m an elf raised by humans.”
RT @GuyKawasaki: Christmas drinks from around the world [infographic] http://t.co/HpC12wAy
Source: t.co
from @briansolis: I spent a lot of time w/@zappos Tony Hsieh. He once told me businesses excel if they focus on higher purpose vs bottom line
Q&A Tony Conrad
Good Tidbits for Startups from Tony Conrad…
Tony is the Founder of about.me and a partner at True Ventures
A few I liked:
What is the best advice you could give a fist-time entrepreneur about marketing and ad spend online?
Worry about your product first – make your customers happy and they’ll be the best advertising you can’t pay for. Per marketing spend, wait until you start to understand what the value of each customer you acquire is (that sets the ceiling on your spend per user) – then test out a ton of different channels to find the best ones for your business. You can find some great advice here via Sean Ellis: http://startup-marketing.com.
What is the most important quality that you look for when growing your company and team?
Talented people who believe in the vision. Especially at the early-stage, skills are flexible and there’s not a lot of specialized work – focus on hiring really hardworking, talented people who believe in what you want to build – they’ll kill themselves to be their best and to make the company successful.
If the total size of the niche community you are aiming to serve is no more than 1 million (for example), should you build your product to target them, or try to find “the bigger picture” and design the product for a superset of the community?
Start with one type of user and solve that one users problem incredibly well.
They’ll be the best marketing channel for you and be your best product feedback overtime.
What are some of the criteria for investment potential? Do you look only for web based “disruptives” or do you seek other businesses or new product ideas?
Passionate Founders with an unfair advantage in a market that they want to change.
The Web has been a driving force in new businesses – but we invest into other verticals which have been changed by the Web as well
Hello Tony. What is the cheapest means of building traction on a startup that has very limited funds but a much needed service.
Talk to your audience (in person.)
If you can focus on making one small group of users really happy, they’ll spread it naturally overtime.
See more here: http://sprouter.com/tonyconrad
