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Entrepreneurship

Are You Smarter than an Attorney?

Fri, 03/26/2010 - 10:14 — Steve Morris
Find out on March 30, 4pm, at OTBC, when we'll pose questions about common start-up legal issues, and compare your answers with the answers of two Perkins Coie attorneys, Neil Nathanson and Jeff Bock.  Learn more and register at this link.

Why do entrepreneurs flock to loudmouths as mentors?

Sun, 01/31/2010 - 18:54 — Steve Morris

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.

Ask the Attorney: What issues do I need to consider when forming a start-up?

Sat, 01/30/2010 - 18:47 — Steve Morris
A Venture Beat post, Ask the Attorney: What issues do I need to consider when forming a start-up? has a good summary of the issues that founders should be thinking about very early on. At OTBC, we frequently see start-ups making mistakes relating to these subjects - mistakes that may not be fatal, but that take a lot of time and effort (and pain) to go back and fix. These are important!

How To Calculate A Return On Investment

Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:44 — Steve Morris
In a recent post "A VC" Fred Wilson explains How To Calculate A Return On Investment - because he has seen multiple cases of financial projections from entrepreneurs who don't quite understand ROI. As Fred points out "You don't need to get a finance MBA to be able to do this kind of thing." Read his post, and you'll be one of those who gets it.

What does it Take to be a Venture-Fundable Entrepreneur?

Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:19 — Steve Morris
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.

Three Words (times 50) of Advice for Entrepreneurs

Thu, 01/28/2010 - 20:09 — Steve Morris
Dharmesh Shah published a great post with 50 Three-word phrases that can make your start-up a success. And I agree with (almost) all of them. The only one that makes me a little nervous is the one about "avoid business plans". But I actually believe in effective business planning more than business plans (I've seen a lot of bad business plans that clearly were not the result of good planning...), so I can even go along with that one.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world

Thu, 01/28/2010 - 19:14 — Steve Morris

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

Needs versus Wants

Thu, 01/28/2010 - 18:47 — Steve Morris

I've often heard it said (and for that matter, I've often said myself) that when starting a growth company (one that's likely to be looking for investment capital from angels or VCs) the entrepreneur's concept has to be compelling - not just a "want" but a "need" - a "must have" as opposed to a "nice to have". But I have to admit, I occasionally have second thoughts about "need" versus "want".

Interesting Reading This Weekend

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 17:24 — Steve Morris
Here are some of the posts I ran across this weekend that I thought other entrepreneurs might find interesting:

Startup Operations

A 12 Step Program: Preparing to Write a Business Plan

Wed, 10/21/2009 - 10:30 — Steve Morris
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<
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