A Serial Entrepreneur’s Guide To Uncovering Awesome Startup Ideas

Article first published as A Serial Entrepreneur’s Guide to Uncovering Awesome Startup Ideas on Technorati.

Seth Epstein, Founder and CEO SocialStay, former Founder and CEO of FUEL (acquired by Razorfish) and Emmy Award winner for his work on the X-Games, recently spoke at UC Santa Barbara as part of the Technology Management Program’s Distinguished Lecture Series. His talk was especially intriguing, as he attended UCSB, but dropped out to start a clothing design company.

In this 8-minute video excerpt from his recent talk, Seth describes the practical, hands-on methodology that he uses on a day-to-day basis to identify and vet his entrepreneurial ideas.

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(Re)Mixing It Up With Entrepreneurial Filmmaker, Kirby Ferguson

Kirby Ferguson In Everything (Including Startups) Is A Remix, I discuss the brilliant series of films created by Kirby Ferguson, which focus on the origin of creativity in music, film and business. Kirby’s videos entertainingly illustrate that the building blocks of creativity, irrespective of the creation, are: copying, combining and transforming.

In my recent interview with Kirby, he discusses the origin of his videos and how he called upon his entrepreneurial muse to bootstrap their creation. His tenacity and persistence are instructive to emerging entrepreneurs. Continue reading

TMP Talks: Jim Andelman on New Venture Investing

Below is a talk on New Venture Investing from the University of California Santa Barbara’s Technology Management Program, by Jim Andelman.

In this video Jim Andelman explores venture capital investing and the emergence of capital efficient businesses.

Bio:

Jim Andelman, co-founder and General Partner of Rincon Venture Partner

Jim AndelmanJim is a co-founder and General Partner of Rincon Venture Partners. In this capacity, he is responsible for driving the fund’s investment activities, as well as the firm’s operations. Jim has more than fifteen years of experience in venture capital investing, technology investment banking and advisory services and strategic business consulting.

Previously, Jim led software investing at Broadview Capital Partners, a $250 million expansion-stage venture capital firm. Jim was responsible for developing investment themes, sourcing investment opportunities, performing company assessments, negotiating and executing transactions, and advising portfolio companies. Jim led the assessment of over 300 investment opportunities, participated in the deployment of $78 million across five portfolio companies, four of which exited via acquisition despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

TMP Talks: Michael Crandell on Cloud Computing

Below is a talk on Cloud Computing from the University of California Santa Barbara’s Technology Management Program, by Michael Crandell.

I think you will be surprised by what the CEO of this industry-leading cloud computing has to say about the future of the Cloud.

Full Bio:

Michael Crandell, CEO and Founder of Right Scale

Michael CrandellMichael Crandell is the CEO and a founder of RightScale, where he provides the vision and direction for the company as it pioneers innovative ways to bring the power of cloud computing to any organization. Crandell is a frequent speaker at cloud computing industry conferences, and he has played a major role in helping establish and promote openness and transparency in the cloud market. Prior to RightScale, he served as CEO at several Internet Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) companies and as executive vice president at eFax.com. Crandell received his B.A. from Stanford University and completed graduate studies at Harvard University.