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I recently spoke at the Blue Glass conference on the topic of marketing. I’ll write up some thoughts in a blog post format soon. I’ve been spending time looking at marketing conversion metrics at portfolio companies lately.
I plan to write about it early next year when we’re all through. You probably follow some high-profile entrepreneurs on Instagram and Twitter and see conference pictures of them in Davos, Mexico, Monaco or wherever. There is a difference between a Conference Ho and a successful entrepreneur. You’re not.
Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent. You need somebody who is thinking laterally about how to creatively get extra attention at conferences or trade-shows. In a startup this is a mistake.
One of the advantages of blogging, using social media, public speaking, etc as a VC is that you get a more nuanced view of these shifts by watching your own successes and failures. I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. This is true on all of the major tech blogs. Is Funding a Worthy Announcement?
I haven’t written a blog post in a week. And for the last few evenings I decided to get through email rather than blog. It was interesting for me to read Fred Wilson’s email bankruptcy blog post this morning. And when I have time I try to write back. Or I’m at BOD meetings or conferences.
On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on. But last week I noticed a blog post by a woman, Tara Tiger Brown, that asked the question, “ Why Aren’t More Women Commenting on VC Blog Posts? In it she observes that only 3% of the comments on this blog are from women. Back to women.
.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? I am a VC. I hand out money. How differentiated is that?
I wanted to also post the series here to have it as a resource on my blog for future entrepreneurs who stop by. This post covers the first out of 10 that I’ll write about. He was having his first ever conference and people from the who’s who of VC firms in Silicon Valley would be attending. Next on the checklist.
So I thought I’d write a post about how I drive my personal creativity. (A It’s why I always work hard to find images for my blog posts & why all of my keynote presentations are visual rather than bullet points with words. When I write a blog post I often see the words before I write them.
Fred Wilson wrote a Tweetstorm and then did a blog post on the topic. I never asked Marc why he stopped blogging but I presume it is some combo of having started a venture capital firm (which you might guess takes a bit of time) and also allowing some air time for his then-less-well-known compadre. Engagement. Many people. Any people.
This blog started from a series of conversations I found myself having over and over again with founders and eventually decided I should just start writing them.It I see founders who think they can be at every conference, advise multiple companies, do side investments in angel deals, leave the office at 6pm and have a balance life.
Conferences. How do VCs break out of group think when they are shuttling from one board meeting to the next, from one conference to the other and talking with all the same people? I was at the Lobby Conference a few weeks ago in Mexico. The number of times I’ve had people come to me and say they want to blog more.
Tracy is knowledgeable enough to talk tech and swap design & product stories with other founders, but she realized early that networking amongst this group and reading and writing in their journals would not bring her more customers. So Tracy began keeping a blog about … (what else?)
People had been steadily blogging for 2-3 years and this crowd seemed to bifurcate. On the one hand were the blogs that “blew up&# and became real businesses like TechCrunch, GigaOm or TalkingPointsMemo. So Twitter was initially billed at a “micro-blogging&# platform. started blogging again outlined here.
Blogging is one of the best ways to do this and build a brand, even before you have a product or service. Thus I recommend that every entrepreneur start blogging in parallel with solution development for the following benefits: Get customer idea feedback before you commit resources. Develop an efficient and effective writing style.
I recently wrote a post about how to get access to people at conferences and how to connect with people on social networks. The power to me was that I had already been blogging about my personal life and my children as well as separately about my startup. As usual we began a dialog with lots of people sharing their points of view.
We’re expected to be at conferences, events, sales meetings and be publicly visible. People expect blog posts, Tweets, panels, speeches. Recruiting, business development, shipping product, writingblog posts, networking … it’s all the same. And then there are investors who want updates, calls, reports, check-ins.
Since I answer this all the time anyway I thought it might make an interesting blog post. Some people do the conference circuit too much, get involved in lots of side projects and attend every entrepreneur dinner. When I go to conference I never sit in the meeting section – I always cruise the halls meeting people.
Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent. The reality is that a journalist who’s writing a story about you – a relatively unknown entity – wants to hear directly from the founders and/or the CEO.
Market to Your Target Audience – I’ve seen a lot of startups who like to writeblog posts on life as an entrepreneur. I talked about that in detail on this post about how to blog as a startup. You’re reading their press releases or blog posts. Say hello to them at conferences. Read their articles.
Tonight I was reading a good blog post ( here ) from Sean Powers with Alistair Croll on preparing yourself for the TC50 “bump” – the rise in traffic that a company gets from presenting at TechCrunch 50. They got us invited to the Fortune CEO conference in Paris held at Versailles. Not so much.). Goldman Sachs was an investor.
Startup Grind was a truly awesome conference and Derek the consumate host. In many ways I think general purpose writing & thinking skills are as valuable as math skills. ” But I pointed out a professor at HBS ( Tom Eisenmann ) who teaches a course where blogs are a part of the classroom reading material.
I wrote recently about etiquette when you meet people at conferences or events so now that I have this done I feel I need to say some words about connecting on social networks. Usually it’s because your conversations steam looks interesting, your link goes to an interesting blog or website or you work at a company that interests me.
He has it on stage, too, at conferences. I told him only 2 weeks ago when we were in London together that I wanted to write a blog post that has been in my head for 2 years. When he writes them online his Tourette’s comes out and sometimes the substance gets lost in the style. My pal Dave has blogger Tourette’s.
You’re writing a freaking blog post! Plus, he’s a loyal reader of this blog. I run a conference – could you speak? I never get grumpy that people write. If you do randomly write me I have advice. I know many people think I blog all day long. “But WAIT !!! He has a startup.
So what are Rob’s secret hacks that he didn’t spill in his blog post? . Key point – if your emails are as long as my blog posts you’re forked. He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb. Email updates frequently.
For starters some funds are small and thus while they put $750k into your company to own 10% of your company they might not be able to write another $2 million if you then raise a $20 million round (10%). ” In fact, I was at a recent early-stage VC/LP conference where this was accepted as conventional wisdom. Maybe take some.
I know it may feel this way since I’m writing this tongue in cheek. By the way, I don’t spell check my blog posts either. Sometimes when I speak at conferences I’ll stay and shake hands for 2 hours with anybody who wants to say hello. The person writing things he or she is doing me a favor. I’m not an elitist a **e.
Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write and 9 Tips To Get Started - OnStartups , September 27, 2010 "The best part of blogging is the people you will meet"- Hugh MacLeod repeating wisdom from Loic Lemeur to me at the Big Pink at 2 am in South Beach after the Future of Web Apps 2008. Why You Should Write. Kanye West.
TechCrunch ran my article yesterday as a guest post but I wanted to have a copy here for anybody who missed it and for future readers of this blog. Immediately following the closing of the round I flew out to a big real estate conference in France to meet with prospective customers. At least not externally.
Anyway, as I winnowed my way through the comments section of my blog post on relationships I realized my own wife has posted a response! Mark granted me read/write access to his calendaring system. He usually says no to weekend conferences and events. But I’m sure many would apply if the situation were reversed.
One of Urbandig's co-founders, Mike Macadaan -- the former VP of User Experience at MySpace, and creator of the technology conference Twiistup--sat down to talk to us about the company. There are lots of knowledgeable people that we find to write these guides--people who grew up there, and who are experts in the area.
I’ve been meaning to write this post since September of last year when Brad Feld first wrote about the The Founders Visa Movement. I commented briefly on his blog and made a mental note to write a blog post. At the time he granted me permission to write about his story. Felipe grew up in Brazil.
Some through blog comments – your place or mine. I was reminded of that when Shafqat Islam weighed in: @msuster @marshallk I built relationships via twitter and blog comments with both of you well before we ever met! I knew Shafqat as a reader on my blog and then I was introduced to him on a trip through New York.
Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Be accessible on social media, write a blog or articles for industry publications, and participate in conference panels and speaking engagements. Capture your “secret sauce.”
Turns out everybody likes to produce content and take part in the “conversation.&# Massive uptake of user-generated content including blogs (e.g. People rightly recognize that comments on blogs are just a form of a stream and thus the growth of open commenting platforms like Disqus and IntenseDebate. Then came blogs.
A recurring theme in his writing is the importance of one''s health to personal and professional success. One of James'' most widely read blog entries is The Ten Pillars Of Getting Better. It turns out that James attended an intimate conference at which Mr. Branson spoke. The Ten Pillars Of Superhumans.
Occasionally on this blog I break away from industry commentary and write more broadly. It’s why I still randomly meet up with people I’ve met on Twitter or this blog. It’s why I still go to after-conference parties and hang out until the end of the night with whomever wants to chat.
I eventually stumbled on to the best source of high-quality deal flow imaginable – blogging. They do this because they have amazing skills at writing business plans. ” I love businesses that don’t lend themselves well to VC Panels at conferences or Demo Days. I attended events. I did speaking gigs. I hustled.
I eventually stumbled on to the best source of high-quality deal flow imaginable – blogging. They do this because they have amazing skills at writing business plans. ” I love businesses that don’t lend themselves well to VC Panels at conferences or Demo Days. I attended events. I did speaking gigs. I hustled.
As a teenager he experimented with writing & producing his own rap music and received a lot of feedback from elders that he had a talent with words. Authenticity - I asked Chamillionaire why he thinks he connects so much with people at tech conferences. You can click the image above or this link. Here are some take away’s: 1.
It does mean that you need to look, listen, and participate in the business world around you, and network through all available channels, like business-oriented social networks online (LinkedIn), local business organizations (Chamber of Commerce), and events or conferences in your school or industry. Nurture existing relationships.
I have found that the process of writing down your idea, with a plan for implementation, and reviewing that plan with a business advisor, will force you to learn and acknowledge the real requirements for implementation. Build your own personal brand image through blogging, industry forums, and networking.
I write this post as a warning to pick your VC’s carefully. Keeping a blog has been great because so many entrepreneurs have written me with questions about their companies and I’ve gotten to know many of you personally through the process. This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice.
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