Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

The dictionary definition of a mentor is “an experienced and trusted advisor,” or “leader, tutor or coach.” The big difference, of course, is that a mentor looks ahead to help you, while a critic looks backward to tell you what you did wrong. One of the key characteristics of a successful mentor relationship is trust.

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Mentor Entrepreneur Tips Coach 96

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2012

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. With the five-minute mentoring approach, the mentee asks for your support in their decision, or asks for your insight on the considerations for them making a future decision.

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Mentor Product High Tech Coach 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2010

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. With the mentoring approach, the mentee asks for your support in their decision, or asks for your insight on the considerations for them making a future decision.

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Mentor High Tech Coach Guide 88

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Seed investors are aplenty and of course they need downstream money to fuel their early-stage bets. Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, Of course I would like to be in every great deal ever done.

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Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2022

If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your own work done, as well as run the many one-hour meetings each team member seems to demand for decisions and mentoring. For one-on-one coaching from the startup founder, I call this approach five-minute mentoring.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. Since then?

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Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

But, advisors, coaches, and mentors can often fill the bill. In creating Mentor Night , I’ve been happy to hear how giving most people are. If you present a mentor with an interesting startup challenge in a space where they have experience or expertise, the mentors are quite willing to spend a few hours to help the founder.

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CTO Coach Startup CTO Hire Template 241

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2010

The dictionary definition of a mentor is “an experienced and trusted advisor,” or “leader, tutor or coach.” The big difference, of course, is that a mentor looks ahead to help you, while a critic looks backward to tell you what you did wrong. One of the key characteristics of a successful mentor relationship is trust.

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Mentor Tips Coach Entrepreneur 91

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2010

The wisest mentor I ever had was Ameet Shah , my partner on several projects. He coached me that I had to start with the answers. I later took a course with Barbara Minto (who taught McKinsey people) and bought her book “ The Pyramid Principle.&# This was a breakthrough for me. How can I START with the answers?

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2017

As a long-time mentor and business advisor, I find it ironic that many look only to friends for advice. They forget that friends tell you what you want to hear, while good mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you probably don’t need the mentor anymore, but you always need the friend.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

Of course I’m not preaching crazy, irrational spend or having Kid Rock at your next company party. You can do them all yourself, of course. You’re the coach, mentor, cheerleader. And while this might sound to the inexperienced person like a sensible idea – it is not. But at what cost?

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. In industry this is known as “yield management” and of course it needs to exist. The company was called Red Beacon. I was standing with him when he won the TechCrunch 50 award. In the same year they won Business Insider’s Startup competition.

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CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2017

In my experience working with startups, the best approach these days is to find and use a good mentor (been there, done that). Of course, mentoring is not new – it’s been the favored way to learn arts and crafts since way back in the middle ages. But I assert that mentoring in business is making a comeback.

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Mentor Technical Review LAMP Coach 61

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

” And of course – the harder you work, the luckier you get. I wish more startups would get personal coaches so they could let out their angst to neutral people – not staff, not investors. I don’t know if I should keep investing in them. So many are struggling I feel like all I’m dealing with are problems.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2015

If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your own work done, as well as run the many one-hour meetings each team member seems to demand for decisions and mentoring. For one-on-one coaching from the startup founder, I call this approach five-minute mentoring.

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Product Mentor Startup Technical Review 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

Of course, some balance is required. Priority is placed on employee mentoring and coaching. Mentoring and coaching tend to improve commitment, motivation, decision making, and creative talents, which are required for a competitive business and career.

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Coach Mentor Organization Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2011

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. With the five-minute mentoring approach, the mentee asks for your support in their decision, or asks for your insight on the considerations for them making a future decision.

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Mentor High Tech Coach Guide 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2021

Even business school courses don’t teach you to operate strategically, deal with people objectively, and create loyalty within a diverse workforce. Now this same individual has to step into the spotlight, and meet with customers, analysts, and investors. Insulation from the real world will not work during scaling. Tactical versus strategic.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

The basic components are obvious: talented founders, great engineers, angel money, venture capital, access to larger corporates (for business, funding & talent), great education / research (for IP breakthroughs) and a sufficient ecosystem of mentors, advisors, executive coaches and mavens. Venture Capital.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2021

Perhaps you need to do more to be a role model for accountability , and provide more coaching on exactly what it means. I often think of the scope of this example in my role as mentor to a struggling entrepreneur who is quick to blame his problems on employee mistakes, or even changing customer expectations.

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Training Examples Startup Social Media 173

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2020

To assess where you are, and to unlock your full potential, there are many courses available, as well as seminars and gurus, but a good place to start is a book on the subject, like the classic one from John Mattone, “ Intelligent Leadership.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2022

I enjoyed her recommendations and real-life stories as well as her self-coaching advice, which I will paraphrase here, combined with my own insights from the field: Take a hard look in the mirror to see yourself today. Mentors and coaches are always willing to help you find creative ways around roadblocks, even ones you don’t even see.

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Coach Guide Startup Mentor 140

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

The creators of the renowned StartupWeekend — a place where random ad hoc teams work frantically for 54 hours to build a demo of a new business and then complete for fame and fortune — have picked up where StartupWeekend left off and have birthed a new course for entrepreneurs who need to level up called StartupWeekend Next.

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Class Mentor Startup UCLA 98

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Yet I find, as a mentor and outside consultant, that many of you focus only on working conditions and compensation as the key factors determining team engagement , health, and productivity. Of course, you as the business leader have a key role in making all this happen. Social interactions. Intellectual stimulation.

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Technical Review Mentor Social Media Customer 141

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

With some coaching and mentoring from other leaders, I was able to do it myself, so I know you can do it too, by committing to the following strategies: Train yourself to always look for positives, not negatives. Of course, most professionals are optimistic, so they tend to over-commit and underestimate work requirements.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

And Coach Campbell. I’ve heard directly from top executives that Jeff Bezos (in my opinion the most talented person in the tech industry) has received his fair share of VC coaching in the early years. And hard for me to imagine the Fred Wilson and Albert Wenger weren’t instrumental mentors to David.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Of course, as you work with contract players, explore the potential for a long-term relationship, and wait until your organization matures to pursue career positions. By hiring contract experts, less oversight and coaching is needed. Focus on a very flat organization, with minimal hierarchy.

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Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

And then of course our friends at TechStars launched an accelerator in collaboration with our friends at Disney so now there was six. There are many great companies that have been associated with Launchpad over the years and of course I’m proud of everybody we’ve had relationships with.

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Berkonomics

MAY 26, 2016

” Of course, in practice it’s not that easy. My own version is “Hire smart and hire right, and you’ll be a mentor rather than a boss.” Instead of spending a lot of time managing them, invest a little quality time in coaching them. ” Here are some tactics and strategies for making this work.

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Training Coach Mentor Course 136

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

As a long-time business advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs, I consistently find that the most thriving businesses are people-centric, and those team members create the best processes, rather than the other way around. Obviously, both are required for a company to stay healthy and growing.

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Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2022

During my many years of mentoring professionals and entrepreneurs in business, I more often see people focusing on how to get their ideas heard , than how to promote themselves. Of course, how you do this effectively is critical. Your career or startup future is in your hands, not those of your boss, your mentor, or investors.

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Tips Social Media Mentor Technical Review 121

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2023

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Of course, they may be out of money as well, but that is often more of an “excuse” than a reason. So why do most startups fail?

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Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Course 135

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

Top performers want to know how to stand out, and business leaders need to know how to better recognize and mentor aspiring superstars before they burn out, or move on to new opportunities. Top performers interpret new targets and new rules as a need to recalibrate and refocus their efforts, as well as the business.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Of course as a frequently traveler I know this, too. We are money, advice, coaching, cheerleading, interventionist but not “the decider.” They are there to help you correct your course when you want to make decisions that their history and wisdom tells them might lead you into a dark alley. That is what separates us.

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Venture Capital Course Guide Entrepreneur 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic. I should note that my friend Brad Feld has written a new book on the subject that I would recommend if you want the bible on the topic. In the Early Days.

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Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Naturally the countries reacted negatively to reporting to a centralized figure in the UK (and of course to no longer reporting to the CEO). And as a VC, mentor, angel investor and founder of Launchpad LA I live it as a routine of my life. In your case this might simply be a VP of Sales or Customer Support for multiple locations.

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Venture Capital Startup Sales Customer 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2020

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Of course, they may be out of money as well, but that is often more of an “excuse” than a reason. So why do most startups fail?

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Entrepreneur Startup Statistics Course 121