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According to a report distributed by the Angel Capital Education Foundation, total startup funding from venture capital funds, state funds, and angel investors totals approximately $20.8 billion annually. Surprisingly, friends and family contributed nearly three times the amount of capital to thous Read More

The first question most people seem to ask when contemplating a new startup is where they will get the money. That’s certainly a valid question, but all the money in the world won’t make your business a success if you hate what you are doing, and you aren’t prepared to do the job. I suggest that there are several other questions even more important than the money one Read More

Even though 1984 passed uneventfully over 25 years ago, there is still a large population out there worried about George Orwell, and the animals taking over the farm. Why is everyone so paranoid these days? My plea to entrepreneurs and startups is to recognize it as an opportunity, and go the extra mile to make people comfortable rather than paranoid Read More

Most of us view weekly staff meetings today with a degree of trepidation and frustration. Without clear expectations, two-way communication, and effective execution, they are too often a waste of time for all participants. Many have suggested that it is time re-engineer this process, or eliminate the meetings entirely Read More

Everyone in the business world has heard of the book by Geoffrey A. Moore titled “Crossing the Chasm” (1991), but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers Read More

When I say that funding is a binary event, I mean that there are only two possible outcomes: either you succeed in getting funding, or you don’t. You win or you lose – there is no second place. All or nothing Read More

A while back, when a startup founder mentioned to me that he wasn’t sure he had the personality to be an entrepreneur, I realized how important that insight was. My first thought is that if you are more annoyed than energized by expert advice, team suggestions, and customer input, then you should probably avoid this line of work Read More

We can all dream about what it takes to make our startup a success. From recent survey feedback, it seems evident that the urban legends leading to success are wrong. The average entrepreneur is not the one who dumped a promising career, sketched his idea on the back of a napkin, and accepted millions from an investor to make millions of his own. Read More

The Hype Cycle was a concept put forward by Gartner, Inc. back in 1995 meant to apply to technology product evolution and acceptance. As I was reading about it recently, it occurred to me that the concept relates directly to how investors see startup opportunities and potential success as well, at least those with technology in their offerings Read More

A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to meet Lon Safko, probably most recognized as the author of his best-selling book “The Social Media Bible.” In reality, he is also a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and international speaker. Lon is the founder of 14 companies, 19 inventions, and he holds three patents. His “First Computer To Save A Human Life,” and more than 30,000 of Lon‘s papers are in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C Read More