January 2012
3 posts
“Not only are the market applications for disruptive technologies unknown at the...”
– —Clay Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma
Next time a VC asks you about market size, try this answer. (Good luck.)
20 Minute Intro to Lean Startups
“We want to be Austin. There are lots of things about Silicon Valley that we like...”
– Well-said and balanced.
A ‘walking incubator’ for Austin entrepreneurs
“Austin doesn’t want to be the next Silicon Valley any more than Texas...”
– A ‘walking incubator’ for Austin entrepreneurs
December 2011
1 post
November 2011
1 post
October 2011
9 posts
“[W]e should develop and promote a more deliberate practice of discovering...”
– Startup School and the Instigation of Entrepreneurship | TechCrunch
When Maps Shouldn’t Be Maps « Matthew Ericson –... →
I think Edward Tufte would be proud of this.
It takes three years to build a business |... →
Definitely have found this in our (Stormpulse) experience.
“His interdisciplinary approach was backed up by an obsessive attention to...”
– Obituary: Steve Jobs | The Economist
Hacking AngelList (or "social proof")
Stormpulse first appeared on AngelList on 8/24/10. We got no interest whatsoever and didn’t even make it past the gatekeepers for any kind of introductions. It stung, bad. We had lots of traction, some revenue, and millions of visitors. And the best product in its class. We pretty much swore off AngelList completely.
13 months later we have 46 introductions and 149 followers, and the...
September 2011
3 posts
“Noise consistently dominates signal in business-building. Your key strength will...”
– (1) David Friedberg - Quora
2010 Example Investor Pitch Deck and... →
A great walk-through of what makes for a good, reasonably-short fundraising pitch deck.
BRYCE DOT VC: You Can Never Size a Market in Excel →
brycedotvc:
Over the course of my career as a VC I’ve been involved with a bunch of fundraising. Raising money for our fund. Raising money for our portfolio companies. Advising friends on their fundraising. Lots. Of. Fundraising.
Some of that fundraising has been very successful. Some less successful. And…
August 2011
4 posts
“The term “disruptive technology” was coined by Clayton Christensen,...”
– Hacker News | Disruptive
Minimal Mac: Disruptive →
minimalmac:
You should know by now that I normally do not get into much “news” around here. Especially when it’s not specifically Mac news. There are a ton of great Mac news sites out there and I leave that job up to them. That said, Chairman Gruber linked to a highly fascinating Wall Street Journal…
“Perhaps the problem with viral marketing is that the disease metaphor is...”
– Is the Tipping Point Toast? — Duncan Watts — Trendsetting | Page 4 | Fast Company
“Why didn’t the Influentials wield more power? With 40 times the reach of a...”
– Pent-up demand is the mightiest of all.
Is the Tipping Point Toast? — Duncan Watts — Trendsetting | Page 3 | Fast Company
July 2011
6 posts
“My next call was to airbnb.com - I tried their “urgent” line, their...”
– The whole product is not just the core, but all the accoutrements that are both fair and expected by the buyer. Without these, you can’t thrive in the mainstream.
Around The World and Back Again: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned
“Nobody in the Valley will realize you exist, since they’ll be too busy...”
– Hacker News | Why we’re building a boring business (and you should too) …
“Up until about six months ago, taking outside capital was not something we were...”
– Braintree’s $34 Million Accel Investment: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow - Braintree
To raise or not to raise?
Funding is getting rid of power steering while mashing the accelerator.
But a rocket doesn’t need power steering if the angle is correct.
“A smartphone will someday be able to unlock and turn on our cars, but that...”
– How to Design a Hot Product - NYTimes.com
Yes. And this is why Stormpulse will never be a general purpose GIS tool.
June 2011
4 posts
YouTube - Y Combinator's Graham Says Startups Must... →
Regarding competitors: “There’s a small chance they’re going to kill you. You just have to take that risk.”
“Apple Store staff is forbidden to correct a customer who mispronounces the name...”
– It’s the little things.
Apple Stores’ Secret Sauce Spilled | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
“One of the tenets of the “perfect” Tesla Store Elon outlined years ago was...”
– Brilliant. Design that serves your value proposition is the best kind.
Stop In. Go Electric. | Blog | Tesla Motors
“The store is designed to invite everyone – from toddlers to great-grandparents –...”
– Stop In. Go Electric. | Blog | Tesla Motors
May 2011
6 posts
“To me, the biggest thing in growing a company is you need to grow the people, so...”
– EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Apple’s First CEO Michael Scott (via hiten)
“The way to beat a chicken-and-egg problem is to find some tiny subset of the...”
– Paul Graham, http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/25/absolute-must-watch-office-hours-with-paul-graham-at-tc-disrupt/
WatchInterview after my 6-minute pitch at IBM SmartCamp in Austin, TX, May 2011
“Early in a startup, product decisions should be hunch driven. Later on, product...”
– Fred Wilson, Startup Quote
April 2011
4 posts
Comment on "Who is your customer" by ... →
the other side to this coin - if you are a company so laser focused on being a killer consumer app and you get significant traction in this vein (think twitter) there are also a pair of cement boots you might have acquired in doing this when trying to become something else. lets face it - my local paper, and everyone else’s are now rapidly pivoting in to deal aggregators. I am not saying it...
“Stormpulse creates better decisions regarding the impact of weather on...”
– The value of Stormpulse in 7 seconds.
“But data by itself isn’t useful. The most important aspect of smarter...”
– IBM - A Smarter Planet - Overview - United States
“Stormpulse enables companies to make better decisions about weather-related...”
– Stormpulse elevator pitch, version I’ve-lost-count
March 2011
16 posts
“But this is a Real-Life Adventure game, and you have assists! You cast the...”
– Color™ for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store
WatchThe tale of bootstrapping Stormpulse.
Delegate or die: the self-employed trap. | Derek... →
“Bloomberg is like Apple — it may cost more, but they know what their...”
– http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/articles/229400082?printer_friendly=this-page
“Now, wouldn’t it be cool if there were a profession which went and digested the...”
– ongoing by Tim Bray · Mainstream Failure
“Tepco “hesitated because it tried to protect its assets,” said Akira...”
– Bid to ‘Protect Assets’ Slowed Reactor Fight - WSJ.com
The business of decision-making during a crisis
“Apparently the most likely animals to be left alive after a nuclear war are...”
– PG quoted in I got into YC after applying six times. Here’s my advice for YC applicants. - The Web and all that Jazz
“I think Paul Graham backed them because he felt that the team was like...”
– A VC: Airbnb