I recently answered this question on a Q&A site: “What generic first order principles should a new technology project or startup follow?” But I used the politician’s prerogative to give an answer to the question I wish he had asked: Move to Silicon Valley. Pick a great co-founder with complementary skills. Select people with intelligence, [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Starting Up'
Updated: A quick and dirty guide to starting up
November 10th, 2008 · 4 Comments · Execution, Founders, Markets, Presentations, Starting Up
We’ve updated the presentation in A quick and dirty guide to starting up. The new presentation includes the notes that accompany each slide. I’ve also included the new presentation below. Watch it in full screen mode for maximum pleasure. The full screen button is at the bottom right of the embed and it looks like [...]
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A quick and dirty guide to starting up
October 24th, 2008 · 4 Comments · Execution, Founders, Markets, Presentations, Starting Up
Naval recently presented A Quick and Dirty Guide to Starting Up to Girls In Tech: (Slides: A Quick and Dirty Guide to Starting Up (pdf)) Here are some of my favorite quotes from the presentation: “We are faced with insurmountable opportunities.” – Pogo The most important thing: idea intelligence connections experience determination. Ideas, and therefore [...]
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Ideas need not apply
June 19th, 2008 · 7 Comments · Ideas, Starting Up
There were a lot of good comments on yesterday’s Do you know any idea investors? post. Here’s a few of them. Michael Staton says: “I’d say if you can’t bother to build it yourself, get potential customers lined up, build revenue on an easier offshoot, or convince someone else to build it in their spare [...]
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Do you know any idea investors?
June 18th, 2008 · 25 Comments · Angels, Ideas, Starting Up
A reader asks: “I’m an entrepreneur looking for seed investment. All I have right now is an idea and a pitch. I’m presently pitching friends and family and it has been very positive. Do you know any other idea investors I should approach?” Larry and Sergey had a product and traction before they got their [...]
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Mike Cassidy: Speed as THE primary business strategy
June 3rd, 2008 · 3 Comments · Case Studies, Hiring, Speed, Starting Up, Strategy
Mike Cassidy‘s talk on building companies fast is a must-read for all entrepreneurs: (The slides are here if you don’t see them embedded above.) Mike founded Stylus Innovation (sold 2 years after launch for $13M), Direct Hit (sold 500 days after launch for $500M), and Xfire (sold 2 years after launch for $110M). Mike is [...]
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Half-Assed Startup: Start your company and keep your day job
March 12th, 2008 · 15 Comments · Case Studies, Starting Up
“I kept my day job for over six years while working mornings, nights, and weekends to create Dilbert.” – Scott Adams [Ed: I enjoyed Tony Wright's contrarian article, Half-Assed Startup, when I first read it on his excellent blog. Tony, a founder of RescueTime (Y Combinator), argues that you can start a company while you're [...]
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