Category Startup Tips
Why startups need a Board of Advisors after the Seed Round
At Techstars, we spend a lot time surrounding companies with amazing, experienced mentors. We believe that it is the power of the network, the collective wisdom, the experience, the diversity of opinions that causes the companies to accelerate. After the program is over, many of our companies go on to raise successful Seed rounds. Sometimes […]
7 Biz Dev Tips for Startups
Being able to quickly get in front of the right people is an important skill. Biz Dev has evolved to be leaner, but people’s attention is ever more scarce. Gone are the days of lengthy emails, Twitter forced us to fit most of our thoughts and actions into 140 characters. Here are 7 (lengthy!) tips […]
7 Calendar Tips for Startups
I once had a pleasure of hearing Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM, speak. Something he said stuck in my head: “Never let anyone own your schedule.” Its simple, its obvious, yet its genius. Over the years, whenever I didn’t follow this advice, I was stressed and unproductive. Gradually I learned that planning and following a […]
Action and Idea Lists for Lean Startups
Startups are easily overwhelmed with ideas. They have a ton of their own, and they hear a lot of advice from others. How do you actually take all of the ideas and prioritize, focus, execute and grow? Here is a simple system inspired by Agile software development that can help you do that. Its a […]
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I love to optimize things, and I am scheduling nut. I love planning my days and weeks. Most of my inspiration comes from Fred Wilson and Brad Feld (I’ve been reading their blogs for 7+ years) and they are incredibly organized about their life. I get 300-400 emails per day for Techstars (all of which […]
Raising capital is an exercise in precision
The biggest lesson I learned in raising venture money is — VCs don’t need to be convinced, instead they need you to be convinced. Yes, you heard me right, raising venture money is about convincing yourself you should be funded. But wait, you say, that can’t possibly be true. Here I am with my obviously incredible idea […]
What Startups Can Learn From Haruki Murakami
I’m a big fan of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. The genius of Murakami is in his discipline, focus and determination. I see him as a virtual Zen master – an embodiment of wisdom, passion, skills and exceptional will. The elements of his work and life story are inspirational and particularly applicable when you’re running a […]
