Venture Hacks

Actually two dueling inspirational speeches. Very NSFW — contains, as they say, “strong” language.

Video: The Thick of It, Season 3 Episode 8, Ending speeches
Thanks to Fred Destin for suggesting we post some lighter fare once-in-a-while. And see why Mark Suster thinks inspiration is a critical piece of what makes an entrepreneur.

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Thanks to Walker Corporate Law Group, a boutique law firm specializing in the representation of entrepreneurs, for supporting Venture Hacks this month. This post is by Scott Edward Walker, the firm’s founder and CEO. If you like it, check out Scott’s blog and tweets @ScottEdWalker. – Nivi

It’s a new year — which means it’s [...]

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“Some managers are uncomfortable with expressing emotion about their dreams, but it’s the passion and emotion that will attract and motivate others.”
– Jim Collins
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou

(Both quotes are from The Presentation Secrets of Steve [...]

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In 1936 (!), old-school economic giant John Maynard Keynes described the spontaneous optimism that drives startups:
“A large proportion of our positive activities depend on spontaneous optimism rather than mathematical expectations, whether moral or hedonistic or economic. Most, probably, of our decisions to do something positive, the full consequences of which will be drawn out over [...]

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“Over the past few months, I’ve witnessed the experts and the media bemoan and belabor the “tough economy.” My attitude in times like these is to stay focused, stay optimistic, ignore the media and operate as normal. We’ve done a great job of doing these at Infusionsoft and it’s paying off. We had our best [...]

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In The Psychology of Entrepreneurial Misjudgment, part 1: Biases 1-6, Marc Andreessen kindly interprets an essay from Charlie Munger’s book, Poor Charlie’s Almanack:
“Mr. Munger’s magnum opus speech, included in the book, is The Psychology of Human Misjudgment — an exposition of 25 key forms of human behavior that lead to misjudgment and error, derived from [...]

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“Things are worth what people pay for them.”
– Head of M&A at a Fortune 500 Company
Summary: You need strong alternatives to hack a term sheet. Create alternatives with focus: pitch and negotiate with all your prospective investors at once. Focus compounds scarcity and social proof, which closes deals. Focus also yields a quick yes or [...]

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