I love it when Anand Sanwal’s newsletter hits my in box, but last week one of them became ground-zero for my own teardown of CB Insights’ teardown of hardware startup failures; “Why Do So Many Hardware Startups Fail?” Catch it here if you missed it. First, I’ll admit to a click-bait … Continue reading →
Last week, I posted “20-20 hindsight-insight into a Unicorn” which discussed the process of seeing the forward path (insight) to building a Unicorn tech startup by first envisioning the startup from the future – as if one is actually there, reminiscing (20-20 hindsight) about the path one took to get … Continue reading →
Frankly, I hate using the so overused “disruption” word. Every wannabe startup feels compelled to call itself “disruptive”, contrary to the facts, and every venture capitalist subconsciously (consciously?), assumes that every startup calling itself a “disruptor” is naive and not investment worthy. Oddly, disruptors are precisely what VCs want, but … Continue reading →
Insanity knows no bounds. Last week, investors pulled the plug on a Silicon Valley startup “Juicero” that sold a ridiculous $699 “smart” kitchen appliance that squeezed juice from a bag of fruits and vegetables. The company received $134 million in venture capital. $134,000,000.00! A ridiculously insane figure that that exceeded … Continue reading →
In the early Silicon Valley days, I bought a truckload of wood from a San Jose building supply company, and built a wall in a second floor warehouse loft on North First Street in San Jose. My two co-founders, one of whom I met while working on some cool products at … Continue reading →
Back in 1967, the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. That was also the year that Mel Epstein, then the Director of Promotions for the New York radio station WNEW, coined the now iconic the phrase “It’s 10 PM … Do you know where your children are?” Fifty years … Continue reading →
There is a genesis to everything. An origin, the birth, that proverbial Eureka! moment. I’ve always hated the use of the phrase “Eureka! moment” – it sounds so trite, and it’s actually a bit presumptuous when discussing startups. The eureka effect is the moment that one fully understands the solution … Continue reading →
