Posts for "Startup"

My last year at a Fortune 100 tech company, I did a fair amount of technical due diligence in support of M&A activities. In this role, I would fly into a company for a couple days to assess the value / risks of their product, technology, people and process.

I feel the need to let loose the topic that has been on my mind this month. Warning: it has nothing to do with cloud computing or the Boston technology scene. In November 2012, I was just starting to hit my stride with a new startup idea. I’d been

Over my years in startups, I’ve found the single hardest role to fill with a quality candidate is product management. Ask any industry professional to name the best software developers they have worked with, and they will have at least a few names to share. But ask the same

Once upon a time there was a venture investor named Goldilocks. One day while lost in the woods, Goldilocks came upon a house inhabited by three startups. Since she had a new fund and a pressing need to put capital to work, she decided to let herself in. The first

Welcome to my venture investor thought experiment, where we transport you back in time for an opportunity to invest in three startups. Your goal: decide whether you would have made these investments. Like all VCs, you are looking for the Perfect Deal: a company that will IPO within four years.

Last summer I reread Lean Startup in search of advice on how to run a lean experiment for a B2B business. In rereading, I realized the book’s near exclusive focus on consumer startups (e.g. IMVU, Zappos, Dropbox, Grockit). Unfortunately stories of A-B testing on consumer websites was of

For the last couple months I’ve been researching a business opportunity using a Lean Startup process. If it’s true that we learn best from our mistakes, I’ve done some really solid learning over the last several weeks. ;) I had previously posted 9 Tips To Improving Your Lean

When I changed from being a startup executive to an EIR at a venture capital firm, I didn’t realize how ill equipped I was for my most important task: market validation. I had a general idea of where where I wanted to start a business, and some good direct

A decade of freemium business models and cloud computing have reduced the cost of starting a new business to all-time lows. It seems like a lifetime ago that new startups had to spend exorbitant fees with hardware manufacturers, service providers, and design firms to get their businesses off the ground.

This week is the one-year anniversary of my return to high tech startups. I’d spent the three previous years managing SaaS engineering teams for Dell, where I met some great people, learned some valuable skills, and longed to get back to the “real world.” To commemorate, I thought I’

Over lunch a former colleague and I were debating whether specific Boston startups were delivering sustaining or disruptive innovation. The question seemed interesting since the difference between sustaining and disruptive innovation could be one of life or death for existing market leaders, and a strategic or fire sale for acquired

We all know startups go through ups and downs over their lifetimes, each producing a different perception of success from inside the company. There are the heady days of formation where the vision is fresh and anything is possible, the long march to a first product ship, and then the

]I thought I’d commemorate my last week at Dell with tips for startup executives in integrating into an acquiring company. SilverBack Technologies was my third startup to be acquired. This list is the result of experiences of myself and former colleagues, generalized to apply to any large acquirer. #1:

]The Massachusetts economy, supported by strong health and high technology industries, has been recovering faster than the overall U.S. economy. The October jobless rate (8.1%) fell to its lowest level in over a year - a full 1.5% below the national average - and the state has

Over 40 companies received venture financing in the last 45 days in Massachusetts, totalling over $160+ million invested. In reviewing the deal flow, a few companies stood out for the novelty of their business concept. The products range from a musical brain to a white board you paint on a

Bill Brown was one at my last startup. He was the CTO of a VAR turned MSP in South Carolina that had spent his entire professional career in IT. When we found him, he had already cobbled together parts of a solution that for all intents and purposes had the

Any time you get enough Boston venture investors and entrepreneurs together, the discussion inevitably turns to a debate on Boston versus the Silicon Valley. Last week’s Future Forward executive retreat at Wellesley College was certainly no exception. The late morning panel discussion, "Changes in the World of Seed-Stage

This month is an anniversary of sorts. On October 8, 2008, the top Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia held an emergency meeting for the management of its portfolio companies. The meeting was held in what seemed to be a rapidly accelerating economic meltdown. Lehman Brothers had declared bankruptcy the

A well run startup is in many ways the most optimized organizational structure in business. It has just enough of the right resources with the right goal alignment to operate its business. It also has high cohesion, optimized communication, and is highly adaptable. It has these things for a very

I've been seeing signs of life in the Boston startup market lately and decided try to prove or disprove my observations with some data.  I collected information on series A round investments (which should be a good startup barometer) with the expectation the data would show an increase in new

A lot has changed since Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in 2008.  The shrinking pool of money and lack of proven returns has resulted in the drying up of venture capital funds.  Top-tier companies that once raised $1B+ funds are now content with raising $250M funds.  The result is clear: there