September 2011
1 post
4 tags
Entrepreneurship and Holidays
I feel like Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge is famous for hating Christmas, holiday cheer, children, presents, and the list goes on and on.
No, I don’t hate children, presents, or happiness. But I find myself increasingly at odds with my employees and even my leadership team over holidays and weekends.
I don’t consider myself a workaholic – not because I don’t work enough to qualify –but because I...
April 2011
1 post
9 tags
Summit Series
Back in January 2009 I got an email from my friend Eric Stotz raving about a trip he had just come back from. Eric explained that he went to Cancun for 2 days and was surrounded by 65 amazing entrepreneurs, including Mark Zuckerberg, Tony Hsieh, and Tim Ferris. He was emailing because the founders of “Summit Series” were in LA and he wanted to get a group together to meet up for drinks.
I went...
February 2011
2 posts
8 tags
What’s so bad about being a dumb pipe?
Verizon is terrified of it. Time Warner is trying to bundle their way out of it. Dish and DirecTV are desperate.
Carriers, cable companies, and satellite providers are all trying to stay relevant. They don’t want to just deliver data service to us. They want to provide content, additional services, apps, and anything else they can tack on to our monthly bill.
The question is, how long can they...
8 tags
Some thoughts on the Grammys
I attended the Grammys for the first time last night. It was an interesting experience.
1. The award show is LONG. Because it’s produced for TV, every 15 minutes or so, it goes dark for 5-10 min. Meaning, you’re not doing much, except watching Grammy reruns on the big screens waiting for TV to catch up. We were in a box, but if you’re down on the floor, you aren’t...
January 2011
1 post
4 tags
My favorite startups of 2011
Here are some of my (mostly LA based) favorite startups for 2011.
Betterworks is bulk buying employee amenities like gym memberships and giving business owners a cohesive program to provide employee benefits at a reduced price. Co founded by one of my favorite people in the LA tech scene, and major LA angel turned entrepreneur @paigecraig, definitely keep an eye on this one.
Newspepper has a...
December 2010
1 post
I don’t know how to take a vacation
You know the feeling… you’ve just been on a long flight, and are about to land. Aside from being in a new place, you’ve likely been disconnected from the world for hours (except for WiFi enabled flights in the US) and are clutching your phone. The plane touches down. If you’re like me, even before it fully lands, you’re already taking it out of ‘airplane mode’ (or the non-iPhone equivalent) and...
October 2010
4 posts
3 tags
Business is simple if people like you
People spend a hundred thousand dollars getting an MBA to know how to do business. Others get a “stable corporate job” to get their feet wet and get ahead in the business world. There are also endless networking events, business groups and clubs, and books that teach you how to “network.”
Yet business is truly stupid simple. As Karl Rove famously said, it’s about who wants to go have a beer with...
5 tags
Some thoughts on America
I didn’t expect to start my new blog with a rant on America. But having just spent 4 straight weeks in Europe, I’m both saddened by my country and worried that we’ve lost our way.
Transportation
I think that transportation can define a society. In Germany, the transport is efficient, clean, and rigid. In Italy, a little rougher around the edges with a little less predictability. In London, it’s...
3 tags
How to fast-forward your business with conferences
This year I’ve spoken at more than a dozen conferences, and attended a few more. Speaking at conferences can be fantastic exposure for you and your business, but it’s important to discriminate on speaking invitations you accept; it’s also critical to take full advantage of the ones you do accept.
Here are a few tips:
1. Know the audience. Are you speaking to potential...