If You’re Asking If You Can Start a Startup, We Know How Likely You Are to Fail — And It’s a Lot Worse Than the Average
Wednesday, 09 April 2025
This is one of those “I did the math” posts, and it might inspire you, but it could also discourage you so before I let you go on into the depths of discouragement, let me point out that what we’re exploring here is how to avoid failure – that, if the math prove that you’re
- Published in Insights / Research, Startups
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Belgian Startups, Immigration, and Why your Definition of Innovation is Wrong
Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Let’s make something clear before we get into it, this is a discussion of beer from the perspective of an entrepreneur and economist, to explain to you something critical to your startup ecosystem: “tech” is not code. It’s not apps, websites, VC-backed SaaS tools, or whatever spitting image of Silicon Valley nonsense is being peddled
- Published in Startups
Your Startup Pitch is Bad; Let me Explain How I Know
Thursday, 27 February 2025
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been pushing us to question traditional startup methodologies such as lean startup or how venture capitalists discern investments, through an exploration with you of First Principles Thinking and the Bell Mason Diagnostic. In fact, I’m not inherently a detractor of either, rather frequently advocating that founders need to
- Published in Raising Capital
The Bell Mason Diagnostic and First Principles Thinking in Venture Capital
Thursday, 20 February 2025
Why Venture Capital Needs a First Principles Overhaul Venture capital is broken. Not in the “bubble’s about to pop” and certainly not in the sense that so many are pissed off because they aren’t getting funded, but in the “founders keep getting bad funding advice from firms still operating on outdated, ineffective methodologies” sense. In the
- Published in Raising Capital, Startup Ecosystems
Your Startup Methodology is What’s Failing: How the First Principles Approach Beats Lean, Agile, and Waterfall
Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Your Brain Is More Agile Than Your Project Plan If there’s one thing founders can count on, it’s that nothing ever goes according to plan. Timelines slip, stakeholders pivot, technology evolves, and sometimes (typically), the whole thing implodes spectacularly. But what if the way we approach project management itself is fundamentally flawed—not because of poor
- Published in Startups
The End of Illusions: Why the Future of Freedom Lies in Innovation, Not Government Control
Saturday, 15 February 2025
U.S. Vice President Vance Signals that Politicians are Finally Understanding the Internet In an era where governments are increasingly positioning themselves as the guardians of truth, security, and economic stability, a stark reality is becoming impossible to ignore: they can’t actually do any of it. The illusion that central authorities can safeguard speech, protect intellectual
- Published in Economic Development, Startups
Time for Congress to Reform the SEC’s Outdated Accredited Investor Definition
Thursday, 06 February 2025
Public policy isn’t just a framework for startups and investors, it’s a gatekeeper deciding who gets to play the game. And few policies are as restrictive as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) definition of an “accredited investor.” This definition has long determined who can and cannot invest in private securities offerings (i.e. startups), not
- Published in Startup Ecosystems, Startups