Posts Tagged ‘helping entrepreneurs’

Congrats Zuck!

by Scott Edward Walker on May 17th, 2012

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.

This week, in celebration of Facebook’s initial public offering tomorrow, we again present Mark Zuckerberg, an amazing, inspirational entrepreneur.  Congrats Zuck!  All the hard work and perseverance has paid-off.

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Phil Libin

by Scott Edward Walker on May 3rd, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we again present Phil Libin, co-founder and CEO of Evernote, and a bright and engaging entrepreneur.

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: David Hornik

by Scott Edward Walker on April 19th, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present David Hornik, a partner at August Capital and indeed a very smart investor.  (Incidentally, David’s portfolio company, Splunk, just went public today.)

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Jeff Clavier

by Scott Edward Walker on March 21st, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we again present Jeff Clavier, the Founder and Managing Partner of SoftTech VC, and a smart, savvy investor.

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Reid Hoffman

by Scott Edward Walker on March 14th, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “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 again present Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, a partner at Greylock and a brilliant entrepreneur.

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Mark Pincus

by Scott Edward Walker on February 15th, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we again present Mark Pincus, the founder and CEO of Zynga and a brilliant entrepreneur.

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How To Pitch Investors (via David Cohen of TechStars)

by Scott Edward Walker on February 9th, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present David Cohen, the founder and CEO of TechStars.

In this extraordinary 30-minute clip (starting at the 8:45 mark and courtesy of This Week in TechStars), David discusses how to pitch investors by dissecting the actual pitch done by Alex White of  Next Big Sound in 2009.  Indeed, David specifically highlights the importance of:

  • focusing on the first minute (especially in a group setting);
  • describing the big problem in the marketplace – the pain proposition;
  • demonstrating the product and how it addresses that problem;
  • telling a story;
  • “painting [your] vision” and not just focusing on what you’ve done to date;
  • going after something “big and audacious” (a “big, hairy goal”);
  • making sure that every slide has a point (“it exists for a reason”);
  • not talking about your competitors – instead, talking about your differentiation;
  • convincing investors that you don’t need a lot of capital (“we are cheap to keep alive”);
  • demonstrating traction and your ability to execute;
  • strategizing about the amount of capital you are trying to raise (“ask for less”); and
  • “beating [investors] over their head with a couple of things that matter.”

I hope you enjoy it.  Many thanks, Scott

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Mark Zuckerberg (Words of Wisdom)

by Scott Edward Walker on February 3rd, 2012

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, in celebration of the filing of Facebook’s S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, we again present Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook and indeed an amazing, inspirational entrepreneur.

Below is five-minute highlight video of Mark and some of his “words of wisdom.”  I have also set forth below a copy of the letter he wrote to potential investors as part of the registration statement.  It is an extraordinary document, chock full of golden nuggets for entrepreneurs (particularly in “The Hacker Way” section).

I hope you enjoy them both.  Many thanks, Scott

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Richard Branson

by Scott Edward Walker on January 27th, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world.

In this interesting, four-minute clip, Richard shares a few solid insights for founders, including the importance of (i) being a great listener and motivator; (ii) understanding the “thin dividing line” between success and failure; and (iii) effective delegation.

I hope you enjoy it.  Many thanks, Scott

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Elon Musk

by Scott Edward Walker on January 20th, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present Elon Musk, a brilliant entrepreneur and the co-founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and Space Exploration Technologies.

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Bing Gordon

by Scott Edward Walker on January 11th, 2012

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, the Chief Creative Officer at Electronic Arts from 1998 to 2008, and a very smart investor.

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Sean Parker

by Scott Edward Walker on December 21st, 2011

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we again present Sean Parker, a brilliant entrepreneur and visionary; the co-founder of Napster and Plaxo; and the former President of  Facebook.

In this interesting, four-minute video, Sean shares some solid advice with a couple of Indian entrepreneurs, including the importance of:

  • building “a complete team around what you’re doing”;
  • not being “stingy” with equity grants;
  • convincing investors and others that “you’re not crazy and can pull this off”; and
  • following Steve Jobs’s advice: “I’m succeeding because I have a great team.”

I hope you enjoy it.  Many thanks, Scott

 

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Phil Libin

by Scott Edward Walker on November 23rd, 2011

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present Phil Libin, co-founder and CEO of Evernote, and a very intelligent and engaging entrepreneur.

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Brad Feld

by Scott Edward Walker on November 16th, 2011

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present Brad Feld, the managing director at Foundry Group, and a very smart investor (and indeed impressive guy).

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Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Paige Craig

by Scott Edward Walker on November 10th, 2011

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present Paige Craig, the founder and CEO of BetterWorks and a very impressive entrepreneur and angel investor.

In this interesting, five-minute clip (courtesy of Business Insider), Paige discusses the importance of:

  • execution and “[getting] shit done”
  • recruiting people “around passion, not money”
  • hiring great people and rewarding them
  • “an intense focus on problem-solving” and
  • delivering on what you say you’ll do

I hope you enjoy it.  Many thanks, Scott

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Reid Hoffman

by Scott Edward Walker on September 25th, 2011

To Our Clients & Friends:  Welcome to our weekly series “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.

This week, we again present Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, a partner at Greylock and a brilliant entrepreneur  (courtesy of The Wall Street Journal).  In this interesting clip, Reid provides five solid tips for startups:

  • focus on “network intelligence”
  • understand doing “flexible persistence”
  • always aim big
  • pay attention to the “real dynamics of competition”
  • define your unique strategy

I hope you enjoy it.  Thanks, Scott

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Kevin Systrom

by Scott Edward Walker on July 22nd, 2011

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present Kevin Systrom, the co-founder and CEO of Instagram.

In this interesting, three-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Kevin provides some outstanding advice with regard to raising capital, including the importance of:

•           seeking out the people you want to work with;

•           optimizing for people, not for valuation; and

•           finding investors as if you’re hiring part of your team.

Kevin also discusses the importance of bringing a prototype to a pitch meeting (as opposed to a deck), which is indeed solid advice.  I hope you enjoy it.  Many thanks, Scott

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Michael Yavonditte

by Scott Edward Walker on June 16th, 2011

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 Michael Yavonditte, currently the founder and CEO of Hashable and Tracked, and formerly the CEO of Quigo (which was sold to AOL in 2007 for $340 million) — and a very smart, impressive entrepreneur (and mentor).

In this solid, three-minute interview via Founder Stories (one of my favorite podcasts), Michael provides some excellent advice to startups, including the importance of (i) hiring great people, (ii) a “good” and “sensible” idea, (iii) flexibility and (iv) “sequencing” and “prioritization.”  I hope you enjoy it.  Many thanks, Scott

 

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Larry Page

by Scott Edward Walker on June 29th, 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, 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: Jeff Bezos

by Scott Edward Walker on May 31st, 2010

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