The Fringe
« Previous EntriesKnow When To Declare Defeat And Toss Out A Bad Idea – Do Not Be Afraid To Say, “That Baby Be Ugly!”
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010As Founder and CEO of Motown Records, Berry Gordy devised an effective methodology to objectively evaluate and critique the label’s music. Gordy created a unique culture which deemphasized cronyism and encouraged open and honest debate regarding the subjective quality of the company’s creative output. During the 1960’s, Motown’s artistic success was unprecedented. From 1960 through [...]
Intellectual 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 [...]
Create An Industry Alliance: Entrepreneurs Need Friends On The Startup Playground
Monday, July 26th, 2010In early December of 1818, Jose de la Guerra devised a brilliant plan to thwart the French pirate Hippolyte de Bouchard who was lurking off the coast of Santa Barbara, contemplating an attack. Even though the Santa Barbara garrison was outmanned nearly six to one, Commandant de la Guerra tricked de Bouchard into believing that [...]
De-risk Your Startup By Doing It Again: The Joy Of Getting The Band Back Together
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010In 1980, following the breakup of the American band The Eagles, Don Henley was asked when the group would reunite. His response, “When hell freezes over.” Surprisingly, hell froze over 14-years later, when The Eagles launched a highly lucrative tour and TV special. According to Guitarist Glenn Frey, “We never broke up, we just took [...]
Making Revenue Sharing And Cost Savings Deals Work – Sharing Means Caring
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010During the height of the dotbomb bubble, numerous companies struck Barney deals. These spurious partnerships had no substance and were initiated for the sole purpose of sending out a press release. They were dubbed Barney deals because the structure of such relationships was so lightweight that the underlying agreements merely affirmed the companies’ mutual affection, [...]
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