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      Photo Courtesy of Beth Sipula - all rights reserved   A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. In his latest...

Startup CEO Lessons From Ben Affleck
March 11, 2013 | 4 Comments
      Photo Courtesy of Beth Sipula - all rights reserved   A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. In his latest film Argo, Ben Affleck simultaneously tackles the roles of producer, director, writer and leading actor. These varied responsibilities are analogous to those of a startup CEO, as movie production crews are essentially temporary ventures. Just like a high-tech startup CEO, Ben was tasked with: identifying a great idea, raising money, recruiting the team, building a commercial product, positioning marketing and distributing the product and eventually exiting the venture.

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A version of this article previously appeared on Inc. Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album (DSOTM) only reached #1 on the US charts...

Startup Lessons From Pink Floyds Dark Side Of The Moon
March 4, 2013 | 8 Comments
A version of this article previously appeared on Inc. Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album (DSOTM) only reached #1 on the US charts for a single week. However, it remained in the Top 200 for an astounding 14 years and 3 months. Despite being released in 1973, a remastered version of the album sold 800,000 copies in 2003. By 2012, total sales exceeded 50 million copies and founding band member Roger Waters was cited by Forbes as the second highest paid musician of the year, pulling in $88 million. Entrepreneurs can learn a great deal from the manner in which Pink Floyd created DSOTM. Their deep understanding of their customers, an uncompromising drive to create a quality product and the courage to ignore the music industry's formulaic approach to producing hits resulted in the creation one of the top selling non-compilation albums of all time.

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A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Someone on Quora recently asked me to answer the following question: Why Do Digital Entrepreneurs Hate MBAs?...

Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs
February 25, 2013 | 20 Comments
A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Someone on Quora recently asked me to answer the following question: Why Do Digital Entrepreneurs Hate MBAs? As I stated in my Quora answer, "hate" is the wrong word. Tech entrepreneurs' consternation with MBAs does not rise to the level of loathing. Rather, entrepreneurs' frustrations are often due to an incongruence between an MBA's expectations versus the value they can deliver to a startup.

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A version of this article previously appeared on Inc. Someone on Quora recently asked me to answer the following question: How can I avoid repeating...

How To Avoid (Another) Horrible Boss
February 18, 2013 | No Comments
A version of this article previously appeared on Inc. Someone on Quora recently asked me to answer the following question: How can I avoid repeating the big job disappointments of my past? This caused me to ponder some of my career choices. As I thought about my past career missteps, I had to admit to myself that in each case there were clear warning signs that I chose to either discount or ignore entirely.

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  A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Because of the rapid pace with which Venture Capitalists review investment opportunities, they must employ...

8 Fundraising Deal Breakers Inexperienced Entrepreneurs Routinely Create
February 11, 2013 | 8 Comments
  A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Because of the rapid pace with which Venture Capitalists review investment opportunities, they must employ pattern matching techniques which include identifying common fundraising deal breakers. Fortunately, most deal breakers can be avoided, with a bit of pro-active thought and deft execution.

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A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Venture Capital is a game of pattern matching. Whenever a VC assesses a potential investment opportunity,...

Deal Hair: Is Your Startup More Like Russell Brand Or Bruce Willis?
February 4, 2013 | 5 Comments
A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Venture Capital is a game of pattern matching. Whenever a VC assesses a potential investment opportunity, they attempt to match the entrepreneur(s), their solution, and intended markets with a pattern they have previously encountered.

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A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. It just happened again. A well-intentioned colleague introduced me to a stranger via email, without first confirming...

Effective Email Introductions or Why Blind Intros Suck
January 29, 2013 | 6 Comments
A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. It just happened again. A well-intentioned colleague introduced me to a stranger via email, without first confirming with me that the intro was welcomed. Such "blind"matchmaking is more often than not a waste of everyone’s time: the person making the introduction, the person being introduced and me. Don’t get me wrong. Despite my occasional ranting, (see The Worst Networking Call Ever), I like people and I enjoy making new connections. When I am not complaining, I strive to be a mensch and I pride myself in helping as many people as my time and talents allow. As such, it is especially frustrating when I have to spend my limited time apologizing to a stranger as to why I am unable to offer them meaningful assistance after they were introduced to me without my consent.

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A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. As part, of UC Santa Barbara’s Distinguished Lecture Series, Eucalyptus Systems' CEO, Marten Mickos shared his...

Eucalyptus Systems CEO Marten Mickos Shares His Secrets Of Startup Success
January 21, 2013 | 4 Comments
A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. As part, of UC Santa Barbara’s Distinguished Lecture Series, Eucalyptus Systems' CEO, Marten Mickos shared his insights and advice regarding what it takes to be a serially successful entrepreneur. Marten has enjoyed a celebrated entrepreneurial career. As an early executive at MySQL, he helped build the company into the world's most used open source database. MySQL was eventually acquired by Sun Microsystems for $1 billion.

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This article originally appeared on Forbes HERE If you have your eyes and ears open, you can discover sales lessons in unexpected places, including the cable...

Startup Sales Lessons From TLC’s “Say Yes To The Dress”
January 14, 2013 | 1 Comment
This article originally appeared on Forbes HERE If you have your eyes and ears open, you can discover sales lessons in unexpected places, including the cable TV show, Say Yes To The Dress. I do not consume much TV content, other than cable news. However, my wife is a major fan of fashion oriented "reality" TV shows, including Say Yes To The Dress (Say Yes). In my ongoing quest to be a wonderful husband, I have watched some of these shows with my lovely bride (sorry, I draw the line at Project Runway).

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  Greetings loyal readers. 2011 was the year of the video interview, in which I spoke with the likes of Guy Kawasaki, Len Short, Brad...

Top Ten infoChachkie Entries Of 2012 - The Year Of Syndication
January 9, 2013 | No Comments
  Greetings loyal readers. 2011 was the year of the video interview, in which I spoke with the likes of Guy Kawasaki, Len Short, Brad Feld, Naval Ravikant and Steve Blank. In 2012,I added video from my UC Santa Barbara speakers, including Mark Templeon, CEO of Citrix; Kerri Pollard, President of Commission Junction; and Marten Mickos, CEO of Eucalyptus.

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