Berkonomics

OCTOBER 19, 2017

I discovered the power of ownership early in my management career, establishing an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), once popular as incentive compensation as well as a tax write-off for corporations and even a way to slowly transfer ownership of a company from the founders to the employees. Yes, sometimes the news is not good.

Slides 243

Slides News Equity Writing 243

InfoChachkie

JULY 22, 2013

In their new book Startup Life , serial entrepreneur and venture investor Brad Feld, along with his wife Amy Batchelor, describe what has, and has not, worked for them during their 22-year relationship. Brad is in the midst of writing a series of startup-oriented books. A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes.

Startup 248

Startup Writing Santa Barbara RSS 248

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Guy’s latest book, Enchantment , was released in March of 2011, to overwhelmingly upbeat reviews. I enjoyed the book as well, as evidenced by the review I wrote at the time of its release, which you can read HERE. I want this book to be the equal to How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.”.

Santa Barbara 262

Santa Barbara Technical Review Social Media Startup 262

Berkonomics

JANUARY 13, 2022

Email readers, continue here…] But what about the pause to celebrate? Write a book. Write a handwritten letter to someone who helped you make it to the finish line. Then the money…. What most entrepreneurs fail dramatically at is to celebrate the moment. Start dreaming of the next big idea.

Writing 156

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Sales 156

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

But … … was thinking about a very common BSAK error that I see committed – the “flaming email.” I would write the email and be as scathing as I wanted to be. I would write the email and be as scathing as I wanted to be. And flaming emails are like driving cars aggressively.

Writing 292

Writing Email Startup Ideas 292

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2021

Communication is not just talking, but also writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.” John Spence, in his classic book “ Awesomely Simple ” says that the single biggest problem he has to deal with in client companies worldwide is the lack of open, honest, robust, and courageous communication.

Startup 134

Startup Writing Ideas Entrepreneur 134

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 10, 2012

In most offices there would be a shelf of business books. Since, I am constantly reading to learn I would always ask questions about advice from the books. Cunningham walked into his office one day and thought, why wouldn’t I make content with the information from my favorite business books, but speed it up and make it visual?

Startup 76

Startup Social Media Content Web 2.0 76

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. If I check Twitter it’s usually because I’m waiting for a meeting to start and I never write posts during the day. He’s committed to getting through every email. I read 95% of my email.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 25, 2018

Email readers, continue here…] I used to receive a list of birthdays for the next month from my assistant, culling the information from the corporate books spanning offices in many countries. That extra effort does pay off. Such amazing accidental returns for such a small gesture.

Writing 120

Writing Email Examples Entrepreneur 120

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

So I recommend a high-level “state of the company” email a couple of times a year but a message that you assume might get shown to others. We are doing what we do – writing larger checks and playing an active role at the company. Has written a book on venture capital. Speaks on CNBC. Attends 500startup events.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation. Many key insights to success in any business can’t be learned from books or the Internet. Effective communication requires real listening, as well as talking.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets. Pro tip: take on the mantle of book editor for a major tech publication, and the publishers will mail you books for free. We get at least a dozen at the TC offices every week, which is why we write about books so often around here these days.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2010

A couple of years ago I read the popular book, “The Four Hour Workweek &# by Tim Ferriss. Let me start by saying I’m a huge business book cynic. I think too many books are written by charlatans and have too much management jargon / double speak that I can’t stand. So I don’t read too many of them.

Startup 295

Startup Email Technical Review Course 295

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

What these people need is more relationships, not more experts, more blogs, or more books. Face time is critical, even with the current rage on social networks, phone texting, and email. They never call, they never write, and wait for you to make the first move. It should end by asking for something, to start the relationship.

Entrepreneur 140

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 140

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

It’s predictable, there is no reason to get mad about it and with a well-designed play book you can overcome this much of the time. I raced home to put my kids to bed, say hello to my wife and then spend a grueling administrative hour doing email. I know you emailed me and I emailed you back. But it’s only Tuesday.

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2010

AOL was just coming online, it was the beginnings of email, and the beginnings of the web. At the time, I was looking for a book to teach web design to my students, but figured out that one had never been written. When my book was published, it ended up being a big thing. We wanted to do a book on Fireworks, and we heard no.

Startup 242

Startup Web Design Writing Web 242

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Their primary intended reader is a “first-time entrepreneur”, but clearly other stakeholders within the startup universe can also benefit from the book’s hands-on advice. Brad and Jason have been exposing venture capitalists’ secrets since 2005, when they began writing a blog series on Term Sheets at AskTheVC. Things I Loved.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

Don’t just write a carbon copy of what somebody else is doing. OK, well, actually the first thing I did is come up with a list of 50 posts that I wanted to write. I didn’t want to run out of things to write about in the first 6 months. Every time I write a post I send it out on Twitter. That’s boring.

Blogging 286

Blogging Startup Writing Summary 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2023

I always struggle with coaching along these lines, so I was pleased to see some excellent guidance on tactics in making decisions in a new book, “ The Leap To Leader ,” by Adam Bryant. I recommend that you use every vehicle at your disposal, including email and public statistics, to clarify the worst case.

Help 94

Help Framework Statistics Startup 94

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

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. Dave is terrible with email. He’s so bad that his email auto-responder tells you he likely won’t email you back. He doesn’t email you. I’ve been told so. Not the Dave I know.

Startup 309

Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2022

There are lots of expensive public and media relations firms out there who can give you the full treatment, but I recommend starting with a good book on the subject, like the classic by media training expert Brad Phillips, “ The Media Training Bible.” These days the media formats range from email, phone, radio, television, to social media.

Media 118

Media Tips Social Media Startup 118

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2013

It was based on an excellent book I had just read by Brad Feld & Amy Batchelor (his wife). Mark granted me read/write access to his calendaring system. Don’t email him unless you have to. Most startup execs are barraged with hundreds of emails and they spend hours trying to reach the elusive Zero Inbox nirvana.

Tips 418

Tips Startup Email Blogging 418

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

So I thought I’d write a post about how I drive my personal creativity. (A The key is channeling what you learn when you drive onto paper for retention purposes so you have to write it down soon afterward. All are known creativity drivers and are covered in the book mentioned above. For others they swear by music.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

I recently read a book I’d highly recommend to every reader of this blog called “ Yes, 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive &# by Robert B. Cialdini who is also author of a very well received book called “ Influence &# (which I plan to read). You should, too. (no, This is all explicit decision making.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2015

Save it to Pocket, bookmark it, email it to yourself or whatever other coping mechanism you have. I have checked Twitter at least 10 times during the writing of this post so far and Facebook 3 times. Email twice. I can’t write a blog post and then wait 3 days to publish. I write my presentations the night before.

Startup 150

Startup Writing Class Orange County 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation. Many key insights to success in any business can’t be learned from books or the Internet. Effective communication requires real listening, as well as talking.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

I recently wrote a post about avoiding the “ Deferred Life Plan &# and some related thoughts about personal productivity that came from Tim Ferriss’s book, The Four Hour Workweek. Tim Ferriss gave this extra emphasis in his book. Like you, I struggle to return everybody’s emails because I get too many.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2019

Communication is not just talking, but also writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.” John Spence, in his classic book “ Awesomely Simple ” says that the single biggest problem he has to deal with in client companies worldwide is the lack of open, honest, robust, and courageous communication.

Writing 94

Writing Ideas Entrepreneur Email 94

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2015

Email readers, continue here…] First there comes a sense of relief, knowing that you no longer need to worry over daily cash or threats to your net worth. Write a book; I did. Write a long hand letter to someone who helped you make it to the finish line. The do as all good entrepreneurs do.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Writing .Net Sales 120

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2010

The concept comes from a Stephen Covey book called “ First Things First ,&# which is a worthwhile book ( Wikipedia overview here ) but if you haven’t read his seminal book “ 7 Habits of Highly Effective People &# you should start with that. When I first discovered the concept I found it enlightening.

Slides 374

Slides Email Entrepreneur Startup 374

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

This is a theme that comes up in one the most influential business books for me of the past decade, The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb where he talks about the role that luck plays in business success. That was back when VCs weren’t so quick to respond to emails. I started by writing 3-4 times / week.

Startup 391

Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2013

There are many out there and many books have been written on the topic. I’ve been writing a series on a simple methodology that we used at my first enterprise software company. It’s true that some solutions are really hard to quantify and the most obvious example people point to is email. Maybe they don’t?

Sales 328

Sales Customer Custom Examples 328

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 13, 2011

And once a month, while watching TV, I spend part of an evening writing personal messages to each birthday employee, recalling an event or complimenting a behavior or success. Once a month, I would maintain the ritual of going to the local gift shop and buying enough birthday cards to fit each employee or associate.

Writing 159

Writing Email Entrepreneur Company 159

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 26, 2013

Bill has survived multiple cycles in the game industry, and writes here his thoughts about his longevity in a volatile niche. Berkonomics books available at www.berkus.com. Email readers, continue here.] We are uniquely effective at solving complex user interface issues, and that’s what they need more than anything else.

Offshore 189

Offshore Examples Southern California Email 189

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

Soleil returns emails at 1.30am. She helps write press releases. It’s something you’d imagine working best on a tablet where the parents take digital assets (think: photos & stickers) and engage with their children in story telling, arts-and-crafts, scrap-booking and the like. million Twitter followers.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 13, 2011

With all these companies vying for attention & others just here to soak up the vibe I thought I’d write a much broader piece on how startups can make the most of their attendance at conferences & events. Write them in advance and request meetings. Book ‘em. Be very targeted in which events you attend.

Conference 289

Conference Startup Technical Review Writing 289

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

You likely are writing your first one of these. Just make note of it in the document and/or in an email when you send it. Towards An Integrated Approach to UX Design You should definitely look at Steve Blank's book and review his blog. Don't stress over format. Don't stress if you are doing it right.

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354