Attracting the right customers is the key to success in business, whether you have a new startup or a mature enterprise. In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often see struggling businesses trying to be too many things for too many people, resulting in customer confusion, initiatives executed poorly, and high costs, few customers, and […]
Where We Are Investing Now: Individual Robotics
We see personal robotics as one dramatic method for bringing the power of new science closer to humans. Our perspective on robotics is broad. Successful robots don’t need to be humanoid. They don’t need to have full bodies; we see haptics is part of robotics, for instance. Robotics, for us, means devices that replicate or […]
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 3/30/20
The notable startup fundings for the week ending 3/28/20 featuring funding details for Dremio, Plastiq, Fast, and much more.
What if the Founder’s Personality is a Startup’s Liability?
What do we do if we suspect our own personalities might be a problem in our startup? How do we know if it’s even something to dig into? And if we do find out we’re the problem, what do we do about it?
9 Keys to Effective Networking, In Person or Virtual
Too many entrepreneurs I meet in my role as a business advisor still seem to believe networking is all about selling and convincing everyone that what you have will change the world. While selling is still key with customers, networking with peers and investors today is still about building relationships, listening to the needs of someone […]
Opportunities in 2020 and beyond: APIs, Genomics, Communities, Video and good old SaaS
2048 Ventures Managing Partner Alex Iskold shares some insights into what he is looking at from an investment standpoint in 2020 and beyond.
10 Strategies For Attracting Investors That Will Fail
Knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do when it comes to raising investment for your startup.
COVID-19 as a Catalyst for Change
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not before.” – Rahm Emanuel, as quoted by a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in November 2008. With the above words, the incoming Chief of Staff of the Obama […]
6 Keys To Managing Funding From People Close To You
Too many entrepreneurs treat friends and family investments as “low-hanging” fruit, only to find out later, after a stumble, that the pain of lost relationships is greater than the loss of their beloved startup.
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 3/23/20
The notable startup fundings for the week ending 3/21/20 featuring funding details for Bakkt, StackPath, CoreStack, Proxy, and Addepar.