A Word About Tech Savviness

I think it’s important to work with people who are tech savvy nowadays.  Everything we do can be done more efficiently, effectively, and economically thanks to someone entrepreneur out there who has designed a better mousetrap.  If you aren’t keeping up with these changes, what you’re telling me is that you aren’t interested in the advantages new software and hardware can give you and your business. I think this applies to... Read More

Is Accelerator Madness Right For You?

Like many basketball teams every March, you’re waiting for your invitation to the big dance. Not NCAA March Madness, accelerator madness. Accelerator programs have exploded over the course of the last two years. It arguably all started with Y Combinator in Silicon Valley and Techstars in Boulder, but it has been a land grab since with upstarts like AngelPad in San Francisco and Launchpad in Los Angeles joining the arms race. It’s an... Read More

Experience and the Entrepreneur, Part 2

Update: This is part 2 of a series of posts on #experience and part of an overall series of posts on the most important character traits entrepreneurs should embody and communicate as they launch their startup and begin to pitch their idea.  The first post in the series focused on coachability. Okay, I admit it.  I love boardgames.  I am a boardgame geek.  I love the mechanics, the strategy, the competition. Have you ever noticed when you play... Read More

Experience and the Entrepreneur

Update:  After writing this, I had brainstorm and decided that this post needed a little something more.  So, I wrote “Experience and the Entrepreneur, Part 2.”  If you find this article helpful, make sure to check out Part 2. It is not uncommon for many a would-be entrepreneur to launch a new startup in a space that they know nothing about or have  no experience in and then wonder why they can’t attract investors.  It was Aristotle... Read More

How to File an 83(b) Election

Founders of startups typically purchase stock in their startup pursuant to a restricted stock purchase agreement, or RSPA.  The “restricted” portion of the stock purchase agreement refers to a vesting schedule that gives the company the right to repurchase any unvested stock upon their separation from the company.  As various time milestones are met in the RSPA, the stock “vests” or is released from the repurchase option.... Read More

Lean Law Strategies for Startups, or Do I Really Need All These Documents Right Now?

When launching a new startup, everyone expects that there will be some legal paperwork that needs to be completed in order to form a new entity and that these document drafting services will consume much of your early stage legal budget.  The questions though are what documents are necessary and what are nice to have and what lean strategies can we utilize to keep costs low?  These questions are important not only to lean startups, but also to later... Read More

Storypitching: How to Pitch With Impact

After a rather long summer hiatus, I’m back with what I hope is a timely set of thoughts on the true value of pitching and the fall circuit of pitch competitions. I hope you enjoy it and, as always, please share your thoughts.  Happy storytelling! Every fall, startup community’s across America, from Silicon Valley to Seattle, Boston, New York and Boulder, come to life with event after event focused on pitching.  No, I’m not talking about... Read More

Transcending Lawyerlyness and One Reason Why Lawyers Just Don’t Get Entrepreneurs

The other day I had a conversation with a friend of mine, who happens to be a patent attorney, about some of the books she was reading.  They primarily consisted of patent law related nonfiction titles.  I found myself getting a little jealous that she had time to read for pleasure as I sat reading through entrepreneurship related blogs and articles.  Of course, I enjoy reading about anything related to entrepreneurship, just like my friend probably... Read More

Mentorship or Money?

There are a lot of things you need to think about as a first-time entrepreneur at the head of new startup, but most entrepreneurs have been conditioned to reflexively gravitate to speaking to investors first.  While it’s very important to start thinking about money and where it’s coming from as part of the ideation stage, i.e. your business model, the notion that you should pick money first isn’t always the right answer. There are many cliches... Read More

Be A Badass Through Influence, Not Authority

I just finished reading Donald Desantis’ article, “Everything I Need to Know About Startups, I Learned from a Crime Boss.” If you haven’t read it, you need to read it.  It’s flat out awesome.  Of all the great advice that Don passes on though, there is one thing that really resonated with me the most and that is being a badass by influencing others. Let’s face it, the tech startup world is noisy.  There’s... Read More

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