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Silicon Valley is where most everyone’s goal is to be wildly successful in changing the world – creating a runaway success and being rewarded with a big payday. All know the odds, and the daily struggle of insatiable demands for the next big thing with the very least investment, and industry-wide contempt for those who have failed. Despite this, all are driven to grasp for the shiny brass ring that’s always, though sometimes barely, out of reach. It is an environment of soaring hopes, crashing defeats, and maddening near-misses. Despite this, entrepreneurs never lose their yearning to change the world and be entrepreneurs. While they love the perceived freedom, they live in the constant state of self-consciousness (they may deny it), feeling their entire worth as a human being is being judged by people who are risk averse, lack vision, and not technically one’s peers.
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Bill Gust, like most venture capitalists, is an optimist. The managing general partner of Anthem Capital Management’s Baltimore office expects a tougher year for entrepreneurs looking for funding, but said opportunities still exist for the right ideas. Entrepreneurs seeking capital have become more confident and experienced, said Don Rainey, a general partner with GroTech Capital Group. He said the tech bubble burst and Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had a greater chilling effect on entrepreneurs than today’s economy. “The current credit crisis doesn’t cause the same kind of hesitancy,” Rainey said. “I think quality has been improving for a couple years; the management are more mature and experienced than they were a year ago.”
Tag: Entrepreneurs
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The population of Web sites dedicated to the crime of phishing jumped markedly in October after dipping late in the summer, according to the latest data from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The good news, though, is that experts appear to be working out a new way to shut down these sites in a way that will keep fraudsters off the Internet. The group’s October report, released last week, shows the number of unique phishing sites grew 22% from September, to 34,266. That’s the highest number detected by the APWG since May, though it falls far short of the record 55,643 found last April.
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When lawyers defer their legal fees, they expect equity for the risk of not getting paid. If their risk is low or they’re not deferring fees, you can say no. In any case, offer them the right to invest $25K-$50K in your financing instead of giving them free equity.
Entrepreneurship is one of the most exciting things that you can choose to do as a profession. It is also tough to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is definitely not for the faint of heart. I ran across this quote recently, and I thought it perfectly describes the attributes of successful entrepreneurs.
"Top people, especially entrepreneurs, seem to have these three qualities: First, they learn more things. Second, they try more things. Third, they persist longer than anyone else."
I can’t source this quote unfortunately because I did not write it down at the time I originally heard it. However, I did find it mentioned on the NVTC website with a quick Google search. The quote is right on point. I could not have said it better myself.
Great entrepreneurs are extremely curious people. They are constantly seeking to learn about new stuff. That is how they innovate and develop new ideas. That is also how they successfully manage their ventures.
Great entrepreneurs know that although the goal is always success, failure is to be expected as well. If you try twice as many things as your competitors, you are twice as likely to hit on the right formula. This requires creativity, speed and action. It also requires a confidence to weather those pesky failures. Again, great entrepreneurs continue working the problem until they find a solution.
Most of all, great entrepreneurs never quit. They keep at it much longer than most folks. They fail, but they get right back up and try again. In my opinion, persistence is by far and away the most important quality that great entrepreneurs possess.
These also happen to be the qualities that I most admire in the folks that I hire to work in my organizations. In start-up ventures, entrepreneurship cannot solely be the role of the founders. Every employee needs to be entrepreneurial. In my opinion, I would take an entrepreneurial employee over others almost any day.
The entrepreneurs thrive in startups. They plow new ground, and take ventures to a place they could not have been imagined before. The "big" resume folks typically do the same things that worked in their last organization. Unfortunately for them, most great startup ventures are doing something completely new. That requires entrepreneurship.
You show me a team of talented entrepreneurs working well together as a team, and you will probably also be showing me an organization that has a great chance at success.
While I am on the subject, let me also recommend a book for you to read that illustrates my last point. "Entrepreneurial Marketing: Lessons From Wharton’s Pioneering MBA Course" by Len Lodish, Wharton professor and marketing guru, is one of my favorite books. For marketers, I believe Entrepreneurial Marketing is required reading. The following article will give you a brief overview of the book as well as an introduction to Len and his philosophies on teaching marketing to the MBA students at Wharton: Cheaper-Better-Faster.
Enjoy and have a great weekend!