From the opening jacket cover: The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth advances the knowledge and practice of entrepreneurship and innovation. The center supports entrepreneurial learning and collaboration through its cutting-edge curriculum, innovative hands-on learning experiences, leading faculty research, conferences, mentorship, and communityand global outreach programs. Download now or preview on posterous PolskyAR2010.pdf (1287 [...]
I'm not a mathematician, designer, strategist, developer, or marketer. I'm an entrepreneur.
Global Entrepreneurship Report: 73 Pages of Awesomeness
If you’ve ever wondered how the US entrepreneurial activity compares to every major country in the world, well, you’re in luck. This 73-page PDF has enough data, charts, graphs and detail to keep you busy until 2012. There are some pretty surprising findings in here. Download now or preview on posterous GEM_Global_2009_Report.pdf (4603 KB) Entrepreneurs [...]
Past, Present, Future
This post is meant to give people a little more transparency into my past, what I’m up to now, and where I’m headed in the future. μ
iPad For Sale
I’m what some call an “early adopter”, and true to form I’m thinking of selling my brand-spanking new iPad in exchange for the new 3G version. It’s a pristine 64GB Wi-Fi iPad, only 28 days old. μ
Seed Funding Database
Status of every startup incubated by Y Combinator and other seed accelerators. μ
Startup Team
Arguably THE most important aspect of any startup. μ
Immersion
“Immersion” Merriam-Webster Definition: instruction based on extensive exposure to surroundings or conditions that are native or pertinent to the object of study. μ
Writing
I came across this great post today about how many businesses blow the prose written for their website by targeting the wrong reader, especially startups. μ
Seven Deadly Sins
Your marketing strategy should incorporate at least one of the seven deadly sins. μ
The Problem
It all starts with the problem. If you don’t know what problem you’re addressing, then you can’t hope to know how to solve it. μ
Nine Business Models
There are 9 main business models you can choose from as an entrepreneur. This guide gives you a succinct definition, example, success factors, and monetization tactic for each.
If you don’t know your business model’s strategy, then you don’t know what it takes to win.
How To Get An Idea
So you want to become an entrepreneur and are intrigued by the supposed “freedom” it allows you. First, read my other post, Dreams, and if you’re still convinced, then keep reading. Now, you just need to figure out an appropriate idea that you can exploit profitably. The few steps below will show you how to do just that.
To Fund or Not To Fund
The timeliness question: do you give up equity in your startup in exchange for some cash? Well, the facts show that the number one reason new businesses fail is due to a lack of cash flow so that points to yes if you can’t fund it yourself. I take a contrarian approach.
Business Plans
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I feel like I’m beating a dead horse to death, but there’s so much complexity still out there I feel it’s my mission to keep breakin’ it down like a fraction.
If you do decide to go the VC roadshow route (and that’s a post for another time), they do NOT want yet another 80-page plan to slog through. Try boiling everything down to 10 slides, and better yet, into one page. Below is a great example, in web app form, called plancruncher and created by a division of Lunatech Ventures.
The Ultimate Entrepreneur & Small Business Toolbox
These hundreds of links are the culmination of years spent on the web researching, reading, and saving the absolute best of the best resources for anyone looking to start or grow a business, whether that’s freelancing, building an app, or selling a product/service.
The topics covered are as follows: Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Web Design, SEO, Social Media, Advertising, Analytics, WordPress, Data Visualization, Videos, Negotiation, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pitching, iPhone Development, PR, Blogging, Photoshop, Pricing, Icons, Usability, Email Campaign, Textures, Landing Page, User Interfaces, Web App Building, A/B Testing, Logo, and Internet Marketing.
Entrepreneurship
After years of strategizing, doing, failing, iterating, and finally succeeding, this is the most concise yet accurate way to approach any startup I’ve found to date.