#Entrepreneur Last week, I was asked to speak at a friend’s limited partner investor meeting. We covered all the usual topics, like what to look for in a founder and in a startup. Then, she asked me to share why investors should care about investin...
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Event Attendance Yields and Quality Product Feedback #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, I spoke with an entrepreneur who volunteers for a local tech nonprofit, helping with event planning and securing speakers. We discussed events in general and shared best practices we’ve learned over the years. He pointed ou...
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Highlight an Employee Failure at the Town Hall #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, I attended an entrepreneur event where the speaker shared some of his best practices for growing a successful startup. One thing he said really stuck with me: if you want to promote a culture where failure is accepted and i...
Saturday, October 12, 2024
The Vision is Clear, but the Journey is Unknown #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, I was catching up with an entrepreneur, and he was taking me through all of their progress and new direction. When I first met with him several years prior, he outlined a vision of where the market was going, why it was an ...
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
How Saboteurs Threaten Innovation–and What to Do About It #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur “Only the Paranoid Survive” Andy Grove – Intel CEO 1987-1998 I just had an urgent “can we meet today?” coffee with Rohan, an ex-student. His three-year-old startup had been slapped with a notice of patent infringement from a Fortune 5...
Saturday, October 5, 2024
What Does Product Market Fit Sound Like? This. #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur I got a call from an ex-student asking me “how do you know when you found product market fit?” There’s been lots of words written about it, but no actual recordings of the moment. I remembered I had saved this 90 second, 26 year-old a...
Conference Connections Via Personalized Post-It Notes #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, I attended a conference to share the story of South Downtown Atlanta. This wasn’t the typical startup or tech conference I’ve been to hundreds of times over the years, so it was particularly interesting to meet new people a...
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Align Interview Questions with Core Values #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, I was talking to an entrepreneur, and the topic of corporate culture and core values came up. We spent some time diving deep into lessons learned, and I shared one of my favorite best practices around the interview componen...
Saturday, September 14, 2024
The Gift of Believing in Someone #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, an entrepreneur reminded me that one of the greatest gifts you can give someone is to believe in them. I’ve been working with this entrepreneur for a long time, and they recently launched their new business. As part of the ...
Saturday, September 7, 2024
The New Conductor Capital #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Over the years, I’ve debated the pros and cons of venture debt with a number of people. Some entrepreneurs see venture debt as a safety net, with a big “Do Not Break Unless Emergency” sign in front of it. Other entrepreneurs view vent...
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Negative Roadmaps for Startups #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, I was catching up with an entrepreneur who shared a concept with me that I hadn’t heard before: negative roadmaps. In the startup world, a product roadmap outlines the features and functionality expected over the next few q...
Saturday, August 24, 2024
Intown Golf Club’s Origin Story #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week’s post on the Atlanta companies in the Inc. 5000 awards highlighted one of our very own, Intown Golf Club, at Number 204. After reading about this award, several friends reached out with comments and congratulations. After a...
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Atlanta in the 2024 Inc. 5000 #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Every year, I enjoy reading the Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5000 awards. It’s one of the best ways to see what’s trending and popular in the small business world, and you never know which companies might become large breakout successes one d...
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Security Clearances at the Speed of Startups #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Imagine you got a job offer from a company but weren’t allowed to start work – or get paid – for almost a year. And if you can’t pass a security clearance your offer is rescinded. Or you get offered an internship but can’t work on the...
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Why Downtown for the Next Atlanta Tech Village #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur After last week’s post announcing the new Atlanta Tech Village location in downtown Atlanta, the most common question and refrain that I heard from others is, “Why downtown?” Like many of my fellow Atlantans, I’ve historically avoi...
Saturday, July 27, 2024
New Atlanta Tech Village in Downtown Atlanta #BusinessTips
#Entrepreneur Last week, we announced the groundbreaking for the new Atlanta Tech Village in South Downtown Atlanta. After starting the Atlanta Tech Village in late 2012, one of the most popular questions I heard was, “When are you going to open...