A recent Venture Beat post from Will Herman raises a question that has crossed my mind more than once: Why do entrepreneurs flock to loudmouths as mentors? A worthwhile question to consider if you're starting a company. I agree with Will's suggestions: recognize that you're your only savior, access many mentors, and learn about what each prospective mentor has actually done.

At OTBC, we meet with a lot of entrepreneurs who want to raise venture capital to fund their idea. If they haven't raised venture capital before, they tend to underestimate how difficult it is and how long it takes. One way to increase the odds of getting funded is to understand what VCs look for in an entrepreneur.

You may recognize the George Bernard Shaw quote. The rest of it is: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

From WSJ.com: Venture Capital Dispatch Turning Unreasonable Ideas Into Reality

I'll be giving a seminar later today at OTBC on "How to (Prepare for and) Write a Business Plan".  One drawback of most of the business plan seminars I've seen is that they review what goes into a plan, but don't really address the big question: what's the homework that needs to be done before you sit down and start writing? It takes some research and thought to put together a compelling, believable plan -- one that will stand up to investor scrutiny.  Here are the 12 steps I put together for today's seminar:

1. Start with a compelling, unmet need<

You can find an extensive calendar of events of interest to entrepreneurs in the Portland area (and elsewhere in Oregon) at Calagator.org.