So, you are a newly-minted CEO of a company. You got your investors to bet on you and now everyone wants to see how that roll of the dice will play out. You know what a COO (Director of Operations or Ops person) is, but if I asked you what exactly his/her “magic” is, I…
Category Archives: Leadership
Union mentality and lean startups can’t co-exist
With the Detroit big 3 going under (for a very good reason – lack of flexibility), much has been said about unions and their impact on industries. I don’t care to have a discussion on this blog about the benefits and disadvantages of the unions. They are irrelevant in most of the stratup world. But,…
Ideas are worthless!!! What entrepreneurs can learn from hip hop artists.
In the brilliant words of venture capitalist Paul Graham (of Y Combinator fame): A lot of would-be startup founders think the key to the whole process is the initial idea, and from that point all you have to do is execute. Venture capitalists know better. If you go to VC firms with a brilliant idea…
Sampling of the biggest mistakes startup leaders make
This topic has been in my drafts folder for a while. I take it to heart, because I find it important not to repeat mistakes I have seen others and myself make. My father always used to stress that he succeeded, because he chose to learn from mistakes of others rather than have to learn…
If your staff does not get it, neither will the customer!
I came across a fantastic post on Justin Levy’s That’s Great PR! blog. Since the most successful startups are in constant mode of evolution, internal communications are crucial. We can’t afford to not have 100% of our team behind us. The subject of internal marketing and communication strategies is important in any economy. One of…
What can startups learn from MythBusters
My late father used to say that great idea is the one that many people come up with independently. So as I was watching MythBusters on the Discover Channel (my favorite show), reading David Armano’s blog post about unconventional marketing, and listening to Stephen Shapiro (innovation consultant) talk at our Revolve Nation entrepreneur networking event,…
If you are in a startup and have a title, you are not doing enough work…
Last November I was interviewing with a very stealthy (for a very good reason) startup in Boston. During my conversation with a co-founder Ellen (she is very stealthy too, so I will skip last name), I asked her what her title was. Her answer was something that has stuck with me to this day. She…