By Brent Beshore There have been many thousands of pages dedicated to successful entrepreneurship, but rarely a word spoken about leading a successful entrepreneurial life until the release of Startup Life. In what I consider to be the first must-read book of the year, Amy Batchelor and Brad Feld artfully tackle the subject with an [...]
Working with ‘Frenemies’ to Your Benefit
December 23, 2012 | Posted by
“Frenemy” is a noun with nuance; its definition does not do it justice. A frenemy is a person who can never fully be trusted and must be approached with the utmost caution. This relational phenomenon is pretty much omnipresent in the start-up ecosystem. A Businessweek article stated frenemies in the workplace are common due to [...]
10 ‘Fabulous’ Qualities Essential for an Entrepreneur
December 16, 2012 | Posted by
To be successful as an entrepreneur, you don’t have to be a fabulous person, but it helps. Some people, and some entrepreneurs, have that something extra, like Simon Cowell is searching for on the X-Factor, that you can’t quite put your finger on. But the entrepreneurs that have “it” seem to be able to effortlessly [...]
Why Entrepreneurs Are Crazy …and That’s Okay
December 14, 2012 | Posted by
In a crowded seminar room in Silicon Valley recently, author Steve Blank asked the audience who among them wished to start their own company. A few dozen hands shot up. “The good news,” said Blank, whose second book, The Startup Owner’s Manual, hit shelves in March, “is that one of you will be worth $100 [...]
Is Socially Conscious Capitalism an Oxymoron?
December 3, 2012 | Posted by
I’ve noticed that most young entrepreneurs are more socially conscious today than ever before, which is a great trend. Unfortunately, some are so focused on this principle that they forget that every business, even non-profits, have to practice the basic principals of capitalism (build a business model to make money) to cover their costs to [...]
Avoiding Common Startup Mistakes
November 30, 2012 | Posted by
I’ve been advising and mentoring startups and growth companies for years, and find myself always pushing them to try something new, for the sake of growth and survival. When you try new things, you make mistakes, and I’ve seen many. Smart companies learn from their own mistakes, but some don’t pay enough attention to other [...]
Dealing With Personal Adversity in the Midst of Startup
November 29, 2012 | Posted by
When starting up Gamblino in June, 27-year-old Frank Wilson had a long list of things to do. Getting hit by a car wasn’t one of them. A week after filing the articles of incorporation for the New York City based virtual-betting app maker, Wilson was struck by a car while leading a charity bike ride. [...]
Why Startup Skills Often Become Counter-Productive for Scaling
November 23, 2012 | Posted by
There’s a plethora of success stories of mega corporations, on their genetic code and on how they operate. There’s also a lot of glamorous coverage on start-ups & start-up leaders. We hear of the best practices and management learning from successful large Enterprises, and we also have a plenty of advice for the Start-up leaders. [...]
New Survey Shows That African Students Prefer to Be Entrepreneurs
November 19, 2012 | Posted by
A recent survey reveals that many African business students prefer to be entrepreneurs and self-employed. The Association of Business Executives’ Entrepreneurship in Africa report found 72% of its more than 13000 students across Africa would choose to be their own boss, compared with 28% who would like to be employed. And 93% would like to [...]
Assembling a Team to Work Smarter, Not Harder
November 18, 2012 | Posted by
For the past 14 years, I’ve worked between 8 and 16 hours a day. Many weeks I worked 6 days a week; sometimes 7. Finally, earlier this week, I realized that I have been doing it wrong all along. All work and no play makes Robert unproductive and stressed out. Why have I been doing [...]
