The post in which I offered some suggestions about how a first-time founder might make the fundraising process more efficient and less frustrating raised some follow-up questions that were sent to me via email by a handful of founders who read the post over the weekend. We went back-and-forth over email, but I think it […]
Persuasion
#NotesOnTactics: Relationship Management Hacks For First-Time Early Stage Tech Startup Founders
Note: I published a post titled “Relationship Management for Your Startup” on January 13, 2014 at Tekedia.com. This post is inspired by that one, and portions of this post are exactly identical to the original. It appears the post at Tekedia is no longer online. This post updates that one, with lessons I have learned […]
Revisiting What I Know About Intangibles & Startups
This is the third post in my series of blog posts on economic moats. I have already written about Network Effects and Switching Costs. The remaining three sources of an economic moat are Cost Advantages, Efficient Scale, and Intangibles. 1Any errors in appropriately citing my sources are entirely mine. Let me know what you object […]
How Studying Bankruptcy And Working On Two Turnaround Assignments Prepared Me To Become An Early Stage Venture Capitalist
When I started business school at NYU Stern in the fall of 2005 my plan centered on taking every class in Bankruptcy & Reorganization, and Distressed Investing that I could. I took 3 elective classes in that area; Bankruptcy & Reorganization with Prof. Ed Altman, Case Studies in Bankruptcy & Reorganization with Prof. Max […]
A Note on Startup Business Model Hypotheses
One of the observations I have arrived at over the course of meeting founders of early stage startups is that often it is not clear during our conversations if they have spent time examining the hypotheses that underlie the business model for the startup they are building. This post 1Any mistakes in quoting from my […]
Question Everything; My Remarks At FOCUS100 2014
Background: I gave these remarks at Digital Undivided’s FOCUS100 2014 Conference which was held between October 3rd and October 4th in New York City. A number of investors were invited to explain to the audience how they ought to pitch venture capitalists in order to win funding. Digital Undivided is a social enterprise that develops programs […]