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When viewed from The Fringe, the world is like a cash booth from a bad 1950’s TV game show. Just like in the game show...

Small Ideas, Big Benefits
August 23, 2007 | 10 Comments
When viewed from The Fringe, the world is like a cash booth from a bad 1950’s TV game show. Just like in the game show booth, in the real world, you can count on various exogenous factors to generate some proverbial wind that will swirl the cash around and force you to work a bit for the money. However, in the end, all you really need to do is reach out and grab the cash. When you position yourself on The Fringe, you will quickly see that money making opportunities are all around you. One way to grab some cash and learn valuable entrepreneurial skills along the way is to launch mini-ventures or Venturettes. Such ideas require little-to-no capital, usually last for a relatively short duration and are of nominal size. If you just ask yourself, “then why bother?” - read on friend, read on.

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Once early stage entrepreneurs learn that I earned an MBA from Wharton, they usually ask, “Should I pursue an MBA as well?” My initial response...

The MBA Education And Other Oxymorons
August 16, 2007 | 23 Comments
Once early stage entrepreneurs learn that I earned an MBA from Wharton, they usually ask, “Should I pursue an MBA as well?” My initial response is, “If you want to be an entrepreneur, why would you possibly want an MBA?” In certain instances, an MBA may make sense. However, for most entrepreneurs, the time and money required to earn an MBA is better spent launching your adVenture and learning on the job.

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Gestalt - an organized whole in experience which explains psychological phenomena by their relationships to total forms rather than their parts. What? A Venture Capitalist...

Pattern Matching
August 15, 2007 | 6 Comments
Gestalt - an organized whole in experience which explains psychological phenomena by their relationships to total forms rather than their parts. What? A Venture Capitalist friend of mine once told me that, “Venture Capital is really a game of pattern matching.” He noted that whenever he met an entrepreneur in search of funding, he did his best to match the person (and his team, as appropriate) to a ‘pattern’ he had seen before.

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According to that sage voice of reason, Walter Matthau, “[Poker] exemplifies the worst aspects of capitalism that have made our country so great.” I most...

Hold em or Fold em
August 15, 2007 | 2 Comments
According to that sage voice of reason, Walter Matthau, “[Poker] exemplifies the worst aspects of capitalism that have made our country so great.” I most whole heartedly agree.

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It is 1783 and the Revolutionary War just ended. Benedict Arnold applies for a job at your adVenture. Your patriotic leanings aside, and assuming he...

Turncoats are Turncoats
July 16, 2007 | 3 Comments
It is 1783 and the Revolutionary War just ended. Benedict Arnold applies for a job at your adVenture. Your patriotic leanings aside, and assuming he is highly qualified, would you hire him?

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Everyone around you knows that you have it, but you are in denial. You say things like, “I am open to giving control to the...

Founderitis - A Ten Step Recovery Program
July 9, 2007 | 14 Comments
Everyone around you knows that you have it, but you are in denial. You say things like, “I am open to giving control to the right person at the right time”. However, the reality is that the “right person” does not exist and the “right time” never arrives. Founderitis, Founder’s Disease, Founder’s Syndrome; by any name, this my way or the highway approach to running a business is the same affliction. When Founderitis strikes, the Founder’s drive, energy and vision, characteristics crucial to the startup’s initial success, become a hindrance to the company’s maturation into a self-sustaining entity.

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It was the biggest day in the young Beatles’ fledgling career: an audition with Decca Records. However, rather than showcase such high-energy Beatle originals as...

Brian Epstein is Not John Lennon, and Neither is Your VC
June 19, 2007 | 6 Comments
It was the biggest day in the young Beatles’ fledgling career: an audition with Decca Records. However, rather than showcase such high-energy Beatle originals as “I Saw Her Standing There”, or “The One After 909”, Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ Manager, focused the group’s efforts on sappy show tunes and languid pop standards. The result was a listless audition and the ultimate rejection of the world’s most successful recording act by the otherwise astute Decca Records. When you complete this reading, you will be able to answer the following question: a. Sports writers are to athletes b. Theatre critics are to actors c. Band managers are to musicians d. All of the above VC are to Entrepreneurs as ________ are to _________:

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Along with Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” and Marcia Brown’s “Stone Soup”, the seemingly innocuous board game “Monopoly” has played a pivotal role in...

Monopoly
June 19, 2007 | 2 Comments
Along with Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” and Marcia Brown’s “Stone Soup”, the seemingly innocuous board game “Monopoly” has played a pivotal role in the United States’ rise as an economic superpower.

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Many voluminous books have been written about sales, some technical, some strategic and some tactical. However, there really is only one book that you need...

Be Like Sam
June 18, 2007 | 6 Comments
Many voluminous books have been written about sales, some technical, some strategic and some tactical. However, there really is only one book that you need to read on the subject of sales and that book comes from a very unlikely source, Dr. Seuss. Without realizing it, Dr. Seuss drafted the salesman’s manifesto in the form of “Green Eggs and Ham”. If you have an average salesperson’s intellect, like myself, you will find the book especially appealing, as it only utilizes 50-distinct words, 48-of which are only one syllable.

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Pop Quiz: Why did the Berlin Wall fall? Some say Reagan orchestrated the Soviet Union’s demise. Others surmise that Communism was a doomed economic model...

Making Stone Soup
June 15, 2007 | 6 Comments
Pop Quiz: Why did the Berlin Wall fall? Some say Reagan orchestrated the Soviet Union’s demise. Others surmise that Communism was a doomed economic model bound to eventually fail on its own accord. However, I believe that Communism failed because the West possessed three very powerful “secret” weapons: the board game Monopoly, “Green Eggs and Ham”, and “Stone Soup”. Yes, that is correct. The Russians were brought down by two children’s books and a board game.

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