startup data
Selling Shovels in the New Startup Gold Rush
Back during the 1849 California Gold Rush, few prospectors struck it rich. Most of the people who made money back then were those who “sold shovels” (and jeans, tents, pickaxes and other supplies and services) to the prospectors who lived hard lives panning for gold. The perspectives of these two types of entrepreneurs (the shovel […]
Why I don’t write about startup news
When I was in college I used to spend 2 hours a day reading newspapers. I’d start with the NY Times, go to the Wall Street Journal, maybe pick up the Financial Times, El Mundo, South China Morning Post, or for kicks People’s Daily. Few of those news stories meant anything lasting to me. I […]
How to be worth your 0%
I was contacted to be a mentor for a graduating student who wanted to work at a startup, something I was happy to do. But the first question he asked me when we met was “What percentage equity should I get? Because I don’t want to get screwed.” I almost ended the meeting right then. […]
Secrecy and Startups
The word “stealth” used to be commonly heard in startup circles. Ten years ago. Today you’re more likely to be scoffed at for saying you’re a stealth startup and not openly discussing your work. As many have said, it’s not likely that someone you meet will want to drop everything they’re doing and copy your […]
Old startups never die, they just fade away
OK, sometimes they die. But there’s a lot more fading away. The startup world is like an iceberg — you only see the small bit that pops above the surface. The big ones that made it, that got major press, the ones you signed up for, the ones you really used, that you know personally […]
