One of the biggest challenges startups face is deciding what is core to their business. For example, at ShopSavvy we spent a LOT of time developing technology around barcode scanning. We assumed that developing and owning our own intellectual property would make our company more attractive to potential acquirers or investors. Turns out this assumption [...]
Startup Mistakes: Starving your Startup
The biggest mistake we made at ShopSavvy was waiting three years to raise outside capital. Instead, my partner and I invested more than $2 million dollars in cash and services into the company over the first three years – a lot of money for us – but using our own money might have cost us [...]
Startup Mistakes: The ShopSavvy Story
Back in 2008 when we started ShopSavvy we had no idea what sort of opportunity we had in our grasp. That was almost five years ago and while our progress has been impressive – our technology has been downloaded by more than 100 million people across the globe – I can’t help thinking about the [...]
Quit Building Mobile Apps NOW!
…unless they include these three things: 1. an inherent mechanism for user growth 2. an inherent mechanism for user retention 3. measurement and analytics So often I meet promising young entrepreneurs who are building equally promising mobile applications that are missing all three components. When I press them on why they are NOT including these [...]
Don’t cold call Bill Gurley, ever. . .
Did you just cold call Bill Gurley from Benchmark? Shame on you. NEVER cold call a VC. That is so 1999. It is 2012 – have you heard of Google? Raising venture capital seems like a black box to most entrepreneurs, but it is actually pretty easy once you understand the rules. First, never cold [...]
When should you raise money?
Earlier this week I was on a panel at MobCon with Michael Gorman (managing partner at Split Rock Partners) called, “Investing in Mobile Companies” and one of the early questions was about WHEN an entrepreneur should raise outside capital. Michael put me on the spot and asked my opinion. To be honest, I have had [...]
The StartupMuse is Back!
Just a quick programming note – I am going start writing about entrepreneurship on the StartupMuse once again. Expect one or two posts a week. If you have any particular topics or questions you’d like me to write about please feel free to reach out to me directly at amuse@startupmuse.com.
Is kiteboarding is the new golf?
Two or three years ago I began doing business with a fellow entrepreneur named Philip McNamara. Philip told me about his passion – kiteboarding. I didn’t really think much about it until earlier this year when I was in the Florida Keys and I took a lesson. Afterward I mentioned to Philip that I had [...]
Turning 40 Update. . .
As I am fond of saying, I turned 39 a year ago – i.e. I am now 40. Back in August I wrote about turning 40 and unknowingly set about changing my life. You can have all of the success in the world, but if you don’t have your health you really don’t have anything. [...]
Dawn of a new day at Yahoo?
I had the pleasure of working with Scott Thompson and his team at PayPal back in 2009 and 2010. I was impressed by his energy and drive – if I wasn’t building my own startup I would have jumped at the chance to work with him. Today Yahoo announced that they have appointed him their [...]
