Well I hope you all had a good weekend, mines was spent deep in the bowls of Yorkshire, left Sat morning for a 4hr drive through speed trap ally for a Sat night Silver wedding, then back up on the Sunday....it was a family doo!! it is amazing to catch up and find out more about your family at these events, I have contacts on the darkside that I never knew about so if I need something or someone "fixed", I will get the family discount, I also have a direct relation working with the Revenue and Customs. So the point I am trying to make is that you have a network even through you family, now if you have an Italian ancestery they you will know all about family, lol. I found these two posts when I was chilling on Sunday, working on the usual plan b search, and thought that they would make an interesting read.
Both found on the "ask the vc blog" run byBrad Feld and Jason Mendelson, they are the co-authors of AsktheVC. Brad and Jason have been working together since 2000 when Jason joined Mobius Venture Capital, a venture capital firm that Brad co-founded. They started writing together on Brad's Feld Thoughts blog in 2005 with their Term Sheet series. After several other series about issues facing venture capital backed companies, Jason and Brad decided to start AsktheVC. Brad and Jason, along with three other partners have recently founded a new venture firm, the Foundry Group located in Boulder, Colorado.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
Scott Maxwell of OpenView Venture Partners has an awesome post up titled 10 best ways to lie with metrics. I’m glad to see Scott blogging again – his MIT background shines through with his critical thinking on any topic he goes after.
Everything You Need To Know About Venture Capital
Saul Klein (VP at Skype) has the Great VC Post of the day up. It’s a presentation by Ben Holmes from Index Ventures on Everything You Need To Know About Venture Capital.
Slainte
Gordon
This a record of my life, work and play as a Serial Entrepreneur, raised over £150 million and founded / co-founded six companies, listed one on the AIM and made trade sales of three others.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
A Laundry List for the Entrepreneur
A key facts summary from a White paper on Entrepreneurs, written by Ivan Kaye, a VC "Rain maker" based in Australia www.bsi.com.au
Entrepreneurs come in a million configurations, but some of these configurations have been proven to be more successful than others.
· When planning the launch, take advantage of all the entrepreneurial services—BSI – Business Planning , Growth Strategies, Governmentt Incentives, Investors
· NETWORK, NETWORK NETWORK
· Think of every customer as a partner and business as a mutually beneficial relationship
· Avoid being backed—or backing other people—into corners.
· Innovation is the lifeblood of entrepreneurs, but ensure the backroom and systems are strong.
· Anticipate Your Obstacles
· When starting a business, the only certainty uncertainty. Use all the resources at your disposal to prepare for it.
· Your passion won’t be felt by all - handle it
· Secure enough capital to get you through the unprofitable growth period. Entrepreneurs who are too optimistic at the outset can run out of money early on—and watch their enterprises crumble.
· Know your market
· Getting the company off the ground is only the first of many tests to come. The successful entrepreneur is always looking forward and planning ahead for what’s next. Plan each month something new to tell your investors
· keep overhead low during the growth period. Minimal overhead is sure to impress investors down the road.
· Cash flow cash flow cash flow
· Hire people based on your actual needs, not your projected needs. A small, agile company can best respond to the ever-changing marketplace.
· You must earn your customer’s trust, and crisis situations, though harrowing at the time, are the ultimate test of your mettle. If you can perform when the chips are down, your customer will have complete confidence in you when everything is running smoothly. Always be sure your system can handle a breakdown.
Entrepreneurs come in a million configurations, but some of these configurations have been proven to be more successful than others.
· When planning the launch, take advantage of all the entrepreneurial services—BSI – Business Planning , Growth Strategies, Governmentt Incentives, Investors
· NETWORK, NETWORK NETWORK
· Think of every customer as a partner and business as a mutually beneficial relationship
· Avoid being backed—or backing other people—into corners.
· Innovation is the lifeblood of entrepreneurs, but ensure the backroom and systems are strong.
· Anticipate Your Obstacles
· When starting a business, the only certainty uncertainty. Use all the resources at your disposal to prepare for it.
· Your passion won’t be felt by all - handle it
· Secure enough capital to get you through the unprofitable growth period. Entrepreneurs who are too optimistic at the outset can run out of money early on—and watch their enterprises crumble.
· Know your market
· Getting the company off the ground is only the first of many tests to come. The successful entrepreneur is always looking forward and planning ahead for what’s next. Plan each month something new to tell your investors
· keep overhead low during the growth period. Minimal overhead is sure to impress investors down the road.
· Cash flow cash flow cash flow
· Hire people based on your actual needs, not your projected needs. A small, agile company can best respond to the ever-changing marketplace.
· You must earn your customer’s trust, and crisis situations, though harrowing at the time, are the ultimate test of your mettle. If you can perform when the chips are down, your customer will have complete confidence in you when everything is running smoothly. Always be sure your system can handle a breakdown.
This is the link to the whole white paper....a good Sunday read after dinner....
Slainte
Gordon
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