startups Archives - Page 10 of 17

The VCs I Read

Wednesday, 04 July 2018 by Paul O'Brien

Last thought first: How do we follow all of these great mentors and writers? Here’s a Twitter List to Follow <- Subscribe there and you’ll get all of their posts I’ve spent years, week after week, dropping to entrepreneurs some of the names of VC blogs and bloggers I love. In every Incubator and session I

Published in Insights / Research, Startups

8 Comments

Accessibility > Inclusion > Diversity > Change > Innovation > Wealth Creation

Monday, 30 April 2018 by Paul O'Brien

Many who follow me here or on Quora know that I’m a student of economist Peter Drucker. It’s Drucker who noted of the economy and business, that only two things create value: marketing and innovation – that everything else done is a cost of existing; that marketing and innovation create wealth, they create value while

diversity employment funding hiring inclusiveness innovation startups talent

Published in Insights / Research

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How, not just Why, Startups Fail

Friday, 06 April 2018 by Paul O'Brien

Article after article, study after study, offers Buzzfeed style insight to why startups fail. It’s such a popular and frequently recurring tweet that I’ve started chewing on WHY the question of why keeps coming up. As founders, perhaps we’re asking the wrong question and shouldn’t be seeking to know why but rather how (or, how

cmo entrepreneurship fail failure founders how marketing startups why

Published in Featured, Insights / Research, Startups

93 Comments

How to Start Your Startup – Whether You Need Code or Capital, Start Here.

Monday, 05 March 2018 by Paul O'Brien

By FAR, the greatest mistake that startup founders make is that they start with the wrong things. They tend to have an assumption or desire about how to solve a problem and they go. You read that “startup” book that tells all you need to know… you went to a meetup or networking event that

entrepreneurs entrepreneurship funding incubators startups venture capital

Published in Startups

15 Comments

What Does a CEO Actually Do?

Friday, 19 January 2018 by Paul O'Brien

Looking at it through the lens of a startup (small team), years ago I had a great discussion with a group of VCs that the ideal core leadership in a company is CEO, CMO, CTO (or, as appropriate to the type of business) Explaining further, we discussed first that the CMO’s job is to answer why, for whom, with

ceo cmo companies CTO hiring org structure organizations startups team titles

Published in Insights / Research, Startups

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So How do I Decide if I Should Join an Accelerator?

Friday, 19 January 2018 by Paul O'Brien

Let me cut to the chase: MOST are businesses selling you services, using you as their product, to promote their brand while leveraging the word “accelerator.” As you consider such programs, head into them first being clear about what Accelerator means and validate that they actually do that. Then look to what the founders and

accelerator accelerators founders incubator startups

Published in Startups

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Overcoming Obstacles: How Startups Prevent a Hiccup in Due Diligence

Monday, 18 September 2017 by Paul O'Brien

Most of the articles you read about venture capital, and getting funded, are focused on the positive outcome – finding, meeting, and pitching the VC. Let’s take a look at a startup from the other perspective – how to avoid a “no.” If an investor takes a shine to you, they’re going to go through

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Published in Startups

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