I spend a lot of time thinking about teamwork; how teams function, how they operate, how they fail or succeed, and how the most successful teams make their success repeatable in the face of changing conditions. This post is my attempt to synthesize what I have learned so far. ((Let me know if you feel […]
Long Read
Notes on Strategy; For Early Stage Technology Startups
Alternate Title: What Can 24’s Jack Bauer Teach a Tech Startup Founder About Strategy? Running a business without a strategy is like breathing air without oxygen. The purpose of this blog post is to attempt to synthesize certain fundamental lessons on strategy that are relevant for anyone trying to build a business. ((Let me know […]
Notes On Early Stage Technology Investing; Art, Science, or Both?
Often when I have asked other people this question I get a response that leaves me feeling dissatisfied. It seems most investors are compelled to take one side over the other, and, at least as far as the admittedly small sample of investors I have asked this question are concerned, insufficient thought is given to […]
A Note on Developing and Testing Hypotheses
This post is a continuation of the discussion I started in A Note On Startup Business Model Hypotheses. In this post I will describe how one might go about developing and testing a hypothesis about any aspect of a startup’s business model. ((Let me know if you feel I have failed to attribute something appropriately. Tell […]
What Is Your Business Model?
“It is a B2B2C business model.” is generally not what I am hoping to hear when I ask “What is your business model?” #BusinessModelGeneration — Brian Laung Aoaeh (@brianlaungaoaeh) February 2, 2015 Invariably, when I am meeting the founder of a startup for the first time to discuss the possibility that KEC Ventures might invest […]
Revisiting What I Know About Switching Costs & Startups
Switching costs are another aspect of a startup’s business model that I pay attention to. Together with Network Effect, Intangibles, Cost Advantages, and Efficient Scale they form the source of economic moats. ((Any errors in appropriately citing my sources are entirely mine. Let me know what you object to, and how I might fix the […]