Note 1: This is an update of an article that I wrote on a whim in December 2006, while I was on a break from business school at NYU Stern. It was published without update at Tekedia in July, 2011. The announcement by IBM about its new 7nm chip prompted me to dig it up […]
Strategy
6 Things I Have Learned About Building High-Performing Teams
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. 1Let me know if you feel […]
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. 1Let me know if you feel I have failed to attribute something appropriately. Tell […]
Case Study: Fab – How Did That Happen?
Recent reports in the press about the problems Fab is facing got me thinking about the lessons one might learn from its meteoric rise and spectacular crash. Professional investors always give this disclaimer; Past performance does not necessarily guarantee or predict future results. Similarly, Fab’s experience is not necessarily a precedent that will always be […]
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. 1Any errors in appropriately citing my sources are entirely mine. Let me know what you object to, and how I might fix the […]