Corporate Communications
« Previous EntriesIntellectual Property – Worthless To A Startup, Priceless To A Big Dumb Company
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010“Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean, Needs not the painted flourish of your praise: Beauty is bought by judgment of the eye, Not uttered by base sale of chapmen’s tongues” William Shakespeare, British Playwright, from Love’s Labour’s Lost, 1598 Intellectual Property (IP) is an ugly thing at a startup. It requires you [...]
RIP RFP – Why Startups Should Never Complete A Request For Proposal – Especially One Issued By The Government
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009“The emperor holds a stick in his hands, both ends parallel to the horizon, while the candidates advancing, one by one, sometimes leap over the stick, sometimes creep under it, backward and forward, several times, according as the stick is advanced or depressed. Whoever performs his part with most agility, and holds out the longest [...]
Buzz Kill – Entrepreneurs Cannot Afford To Muddle Their Message With Empty Catchphrases
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008In his book, The Map of Innovation, DoubleClick Co-founder Kevin O’Connor emphasizes the importance of describing your adVenture in clear and concise terms. When discussing his book, Mr. O’Connor often gives the audience a quiz similar to that shown below. Select the description below that describes an actual software product. A. Assimilated, zero-administration, standard database-queuing [...]
Spilling The Beans – When Is It Safe To Talk About Your Entrepreneurial Ideas?
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008Who is this character? Hint: It is not a mouse. The fact that you likely cannot name this creature confirms the reality that ideas are cheap. All too often, inexperienced entrepreneurs struggle with sharing their ideas with potential investors, Donors and others who might be in a position to help them. The next time you [...]
Kiss of Death – Contract Provisions Entrepreneurs Should Avoid at All Costs
Friday, September 19th, 2008Agreements with Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) are like DC Comic’s evil villainess, Poison Ivy. Both are seductive and alluring and both are potentially fatal. As a startup, your most meaningful agreements will likely be struck with BDCs. You will no doubt craft agreements with companies of similar or even smaller size compared to your own, [...]
« Previous Entries