Scott Ginsberg (via Bill Keaggy):
The following are The 7 Habits of Highly Horrible Networkers™, and they can stand in the way of developing mutually valuable relationships. So, next time you attend your Chamber or Association meeting, keep these ideas in mind so you can offer the most value to your fellow networkers.
Companies who want to be successful in persuading customers and investors to get excited about their product don’t need more PowerPoint slides discussing what the product does. They need more slides discussing how big the problem truly is. The better you become at articulating the problem the easier it will be for customers and investors to appreciate the value of your solution.
Ask yourself these five questions and ask other people in your organization the same questions. Identify areas in common and then start creating some buzz about the good stories and special qualities. Everyone in the organization should know at least a few stories they can tell someone that paints the organization in a good and memorable light.
The single most important financial metric for any startup company isn’t revenues, margin, headcount, or profits. Those are all important, for sure. But the number that matters most is the cash balance.
Eddie Cantor, a star of stage, screen, radio and TV from 1900 to 1960 said; “It took me twenty years to become an overnight success”.
Let’s think about that literally for a minute. If I told you today that your dreams would come true if you gave 100% effort everyday toward those dreams for the next twenty years, would you be able to do it?
My friends Ben Neumann and Chris Ueland have a clever idea for helping out Hurricane Katrina victims called MillionDollarHelpPage. They’ve taken the idea that Alex Tew came up for MillionDollarHomePage and repurposed it to be a Katrina fundraiser with the goal of raising $1 million.
Thanks largely to the exposure of Fred Wilson’s kind words, my recent post on the Seven Founding Sins – common mistakes which often divert entrepreneurs off the path towards success – received a number of comments and feedback throughout the blogosphere. I’d recommend reading the original post, but the summary of the sins itemized are: inauthenticity, sloth, extravagance, taciturnity, greed, arrogance, and indecisiveness.
Given that I thought the discussion was interesting, I thought I would highlight a few others’ reactions.
Technorati tags: authenticity, startup, entrepreneurship, mistakes, sins
For an idea to spread, it needs to be sent and received.
No one “sends” an idea unless:
a. they understand it
b. they want it to spread
c. they believe that spreading it will enhance their power (reputation, income, friendships) or their peace of mind
d. the effort necessary to send the idea is less than the benefitsNo one “gets” an idea unless:
a. the first impression demands further investigation
b. they already understand the foundation ideas necessary to get the new idea
c. they trust or respect the sender enough to invest the time
Technorati tags: viral, marketing, communication, wom, word of mouth
What goes away when a company moves past the start-up phase? Living only on take-out and caffeine. Working in a [small] living room. Crazy, stupid, unprofessional behavior. Wearing nothing but shorts and ripped t-shirts.
Is this a good thing?
Technorati tags: corporate, startup, dignity, growth, maturity, business
1. AJAX
2. Biogenerics
3. Deep Web Search
4. High-Definition Radio
5. Hybrid Cell Phones
6. Micro Fuel Cells
7. Wi-Max
Ken Dyck 