To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Dave McClure, a smart entrepreneur turned angel investor and venture capitalist and founding partner of 500 Startups, an internet startup seed fund and incubator program headquartered in Mountain View. In this interesting recent interview (courtesy of Vator.TV), Dave discusses, among other things, (i) how his fund differentiates from other funds; (ii) the changing M&A market (and the new set of potential acquirors); (iii) portfolio company exit strategies; and (iv) customer acquisition. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and a brilliant thinker. In this interesting, three-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Sheryl discusses leadership, including (i) the importance of getting passion and “true enthusiasm” from your team, (ii) how to be a great leader and (iii) the sine qua non of leadership: vision (and “one that scales”). I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Scott Belsky, the founder and CEO of Behance and the author of the best-selling book Making Ideas Happen. In this interesting, four-minute interview with Henry Blodget (courtesy of Business Insider), Scott discusses (i) why he quit Goldman Sachs to launch a startup: (ii) his desire “to do what he loves”: and (iii) the value of startup experience. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Shai Agassi, the founder and CEO of Better Place (the leading electric vehicle services provider) and a brilliant entrepreneur and thinker. In this interesting, two-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Shai discusses the issue of money and startups, including how “money is like air” and how money is a “time measurement.” I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Dennis Crowley, co-Founder and CEO of foursquare and a very smart and successful entrepreneur. In this interesting three-minute clip from a couple of years ago, Dennis discusses, among other things, (i) what foursquare is, (ii) early growth and (iii) hot-spots. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers and a brilliant entrepreneur. In this interesting three-minute clip, Michael advises entrepreneurs and startups (i) to experiment and to try things (and to learn as much as you possible), (ii) to understand that it’s OK to fail, (iii) to view tough times as an opportunity and (iv) to know what you’re good at. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Mark Suster, a partner at GRP Partners, the founder of Launchpad LA and blogger extraordinaire. In this interesting, five-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Mark discusses, among other things, (i) the difficulty of getting started; (ii) how being an entrepreneur is “not sexy”; and (iii) the importance of choosing a venture you are passionate about. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Today, as a bonus to the Mark Zuckerberg clip posted on Monday, we present startup guru Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator and a very smart guy. Indeed, I was discussing Paul last night during my presentation to the Lean Startup Circle in Portland. In this interesting, recent four-minute clip (courtesy of TechCrunch), Paul discusses, among other things, (i) how negotiating leverage has shifted to the founders in connection with angel financings; (ii) how much cheaper it is to launch a startup these days; and (iii) how it is becoming “social acceptable” to launch a startup. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
In this interesting three-minute clip (from Y Combinator’s recent Startup School), Mark discusses (i) Facebook’s acquisition strategy, (ii) the importance of hiring “the best” people and (iii) creating and maintaining an entrepreneurial culture. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Tom Peters, management guru, public speaker and author of a number of extraordinary business books, including In Search of Excellence (co-authored with Robert H. Waterman, Jr) and Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age. In this interesting, three-minute clip, Tom discusses how to innovate, the problem with competitive benchmarking and the importance of doing something “remarkable.” I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present startup guru Steve Blank, a retired, highly-successful serial entrepreneur (with 30+ years of venture experience), and currently a Consulting Professor at Stanford and blogger extraordinaire. In this interesting, short clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner – 11/11/09), Steve discusses his checklist for entrepreneurs launching a venture, including (i) what’s the opportunity? (ii) where’s the innovation? and (iii) who’s the customer? I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Jerry Kaplan, a serial entrepreneur, technical innovator and author of “Startup–A Silicon Valley Adventure.” In this solid seven-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Jerry discusses the “five biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make,” including (i) having unclear goals; (ii) trying to prove that they are smart; and (iii) doing it for the money. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Chris Sacca, a very smart investor and the founder of Lowercase Capital (courtesy of GigaOm TV), who discusses, among other things, his new fund which buys shares of common stock directly from founders to allow them to take some chips off the table (starting at the 4:36 mark).
Indeed, he briefly discussed the rationale for this approach this morning at TechCrunch Disrupt, citing a recent $20 million exit with four young founders who were able to buy braces and a sport coat for the closing dinner with the proceeds they received. Finally, to get a true understanding of Chris and his extraordinary passion for helping entrepreneurs, you should read his email response to Ron Conway with respect to so-called “Angelgate.” Cheers, Scott
Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Peter Thiel and Max Levchin
by Scott Edward Walker on September 20th, 2010
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.
This week, we present (i) Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and a brilliant entrepreneur and investor; and (ii) Max Levchin, also a co-founder of PayPal and another brilliant guy. In this interesting, five-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Peter and Max briefly discuss PayPal’s exponential growth, how they dealt with their largest competitor and obtaining funding prior to the market collapse. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week we present Mika Salmi, a highly-successful serial entrepreneur and the founder of AtomFilms.com, which he sold (together with Shockwave.com) to Viacom in 2006 for $200 million. In this interesting, two-minute clip (courtesy of GigaOm), Mika discusses two common mistakes entrepreneurs make: (i) failing to execute and (ii) failing to iterate and adapt their original idea. There are also two additional clips in which Mika discusses Silicon Valley and the issue of “idea stealing.” I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Ron Conway and Mike Maples
by Scott Edward Walker on September 6th, 2010
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of successful entrepreneurs, investors or business leaders on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present legendary angel investor Ron Conway (commonly referred to as the “Godfather of Silicon Valley”) and super angel Mike Maples (managing partner of Floodgate). In this interesting, three-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Ron and Mike provide strong, practical advice to startups, including the importance of (i) a low burn rate, (ii) a “lean, mean” team and (iii) a customer development strategy. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present legendary investor John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins. Eric Schmidt calls John “one of Google’s best board members”; and Jeff Bezos noted that “Doerr (and Kleiner) is the center of gravity in the Internet.” In this interesting, one-minute clip from 2005 (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), John discusses how to negotiate valuations with VC’s and related issues.
I included this clip as a supplement to my blog post today on VentureBeat in which I advised entrepreneurs that: “[Y]ou need to get out there and effectively pitch a bunch of VC’s in your space and get them excited about your venture. By doing so, you can, in effect, drive the market by creating a competitive environment and playing the VC’s off of each other.” Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Marc Andreessen, a brilliant entrepreneur and co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz; he is also co-founder and chairman of Ning. In this interesting, three-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Marc discusses (i) how to attract top talent to your startup and (ii) the hiring process generally. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: David Heinemeier Hansson
by Scott Edward Walker on August 16th, 2010
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present David Heinemeier Hansson, who is the creator of the Ruby on Rails web development framework, a co-founder of 37signals and the co-author of the best-selling book Rework. In this interesting, three-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), David discusses the problem with accepting venture capital funding. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Mark Pincus, co-founder and CEO of Zynga and a very smart and successful entrepreneur. First, there is an interesting, four-minute excerpt from Mark’s presentation at Stanford in October 2009 (via Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), in which Mark discusses (i) mapping a strategy as CEO, (ii) “writing your story” and (iii) negotiating with VC’s.
As a bonus, we also present Mark’s interview in December 2009 on Charlie Rose. There is also an interesting article in yesterday’s New York Times discussing Zynga and Mark’s success. We indeed hope you find the videos and article helpful. Many thanks, Scott
Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Sergey Brin and Larry Page
by Scott Edward Walker on July 19th, 2010
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Today we present Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the co-founders of Google and brilliant entrepreneurs, from a 2001 interview with Charlie Rose. In this interesting, 14-minute clip, Sergey and Larry discuss, among other things, (i) the history of Google, (ii) their search for money, (iii) their business model, (iv) their relationship (and why they disliked each other) and (v) the rationale for bringing on Eric Schmidt as CEO. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, a partner at Greylock and a brilliant entrepreneur (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner). In this interesting, six-minute excerpt (from February 2007), Reid discusses certain fundamental principles of entrepreneurship, including the importance of (i) measuring your failing points as early as possible, (ii) time cycles (and luck), and (iii) taking controlled risk.
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
As a bonus video, we also present Jim Breyer, Managing Partner of Accel Partners, who briefly talks about the importance of Mark’s listening skills and his ability to experiment. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Today, as a bonus to yesterday’s presentation by Keith Rabois, we have Larry Page, co-founder of Google and a brilliant entrepreneur, from a 2002 presentation at Stanford (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner). In this interesting, 4-minute excerpt, Larry discusses, among other things, the importance of (i) having great people involved with your venture; (ii) becoming an “expert” in your space/domain; (iii) having a “healthy disregard for the impossible”; and (iv) not starting a company because the space is “hot.” I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Keith Rabois (of Slide)
by Scott Edward Walker on June 28th, 2010
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Keith Rabois, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for Slideand a very smart investor (courtesy of GigaOm TV). In this interesting, 20-minute interview, Keith discusses, among other things: (i) the recent increases in the size of angel rounds, (ii) making investment decisions, (iii) how “cool” it is being a seed investor, (iv) the changing role of the VC, (v) how to choose the right investor and (vi) the excitement of being an entrepreneur. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, co-founder of Alltop and a very smart investor and marketing guy. In this interesting presentation from a few years ago, Guy discusses, among other things: (i) keeping MBA’s and consultants out of startups, (ii) creating a mantra (not a mission statement) for your venture, (iii) the importance of “getting going,” (iv) defining a business model, (v) the ideal powerpoint presentation and (vi) the “bozo explosion.” I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview or presentation of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Yesterday, we presented Tony Hsieh of Zappos. Today, as a bonus video, we present Steve Case, the co-founder and former CEO of AOL, and an extraordinary entrepreneur (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner). Steve discusses (i) the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in this country; and (ii) the “3 P’s” – people, passion and perseverance (through the prism of his own career).
Please note that this video is a little longer than the others in this series, but well worth it. Thanks, Scott
Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Tony Hsieh of Zappos
by Scott Edward Walker on June 14th, 2010
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business/thought leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. In this interesting speech, Tony discusses (i) the history of Zappos, (ii) customer service and the “wow” experience and (iii) the importance of company culture. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Brad Feld, co-founder of the Foundry Group and a very smart investor (courtesy of GigaOm TV). Brad discusses, among other things, seed funds and the emergence of new angel investors and offers some great advice to entrepreneurs, including having a “chip on your shoulder” and “picking your 2%”. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview or presentation of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Jeff Bezos, the founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Amazon.com and an extraordinarily smart entrepreneur, who discusses the importance of (i) obsessing over customers, (ii) inventing to solve problems and (iii) thinking long-term. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Marc Andreessen, Ron Conway and David Hornik
by Scott Edward Walker on May 24th, 2010
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we will post a short video interview of one or more successful entrepreneurs, investors or business leaders on a variety of relevant topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present heavyweight VCs Marc Andreessen, Ron Conway and David Hornik courtesy of TechCrunch and its founder Michael Arrington (who conducted the interview). They discuss valuation issues, hot investments, and issues relating to venture capital generally. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we will post a short video interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of relevant topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Earlier this week, we presented Naval Ravikant. Today (as a bonus interview for this week), we present Jeff Clavier, the founder and Managing Partner of SoftTech VC, who discusses what he looks for in startups (“it’s people, product, market”) and diligence issues. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we will post a short video interview or presentation of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of business and management topics. This week, we present Naval Ravikant, a smart entrepreneur and angel investor (courtesy of GigaOm TV), who discusses, among other things, (i) what to look for in a co-founder, (ii) the importance of Silicon Valley and (iii) how to get a meeting with an investor. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
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