All smart entrepreneurs know to seek legal council prior to signing off on a term sheet. However, even those who do understand the terms, tend to visualize a profitable exit,
Planning in most businesses doesn't work because the business lacks the leadership, the controls and processes, or the proper protection of assets in order to make the plan a reality.
The first major difference between having an idea and a startup is how others react to you. You need customer feedback to understand if your product or service provides value in people's lives and what they like or don't like about your company.
An immigration system that welcomes the innovators of the world who can help us build an even stronger nation is just plain common sense. Let's make this happen.
Our company was created by Americans -- immigrants, children of immigrants, and the great-grandchildren of immigrants -- all of whom share an undying passion for building a better America.
There is a key insight that entrepreneurs should take from watching Miami Heat star Lebron James: even with unparalleled talent, you must continue to add to your skill set.
I discovered that Matchmaker Café and public space had a lot in common. My philosophy in my dating business is that people have to connect in the real world, out in the public domain.
This is the first real attempt at truly comprehensive immigration reform, and it might actually have a shot. So what does this mean for startups? And why does this matter?
Your language is a huge part of your branding, and it is one of the areas where you can be most transparent and authentic with your audience. So, why are you playing safe and holding back?
Social media and small business were made for each other. These companies have little or no marketing staff. Social media offers the opportunity to reach millions of potential consumers through virtual channels. The cost savings are significant, and the reach is amplified, but business owners better bring their "A" game.
Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities begins with: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." What better way to describe the state of business today? Entrepreneurs and businesses can thrive by delivering extreme value and reinventing themselves for the 21st century.
What if we stopped believing it's only those who work the hardest who bring their ideas to life -- and start admitting it's typically those with the fewest barriers to cross who end up executing the most?
Too often, our generation is criticized for having our heads buried in our phones, checking in, messaging, photo-snapping. While that behavior can be taken to extremes, what we are leaving -- collectively, in our quotidian, often mindless behavior -- is a treasure trove of data on our times.
The Wall Street Journal: Where do eurekas come from? At the heart of any successful business is a great idea. Some seem so simple we wonder why ...
While the future of the legislation remains uncertain, it's time for our government to take a deeper look into the real impact this legislation will have on the little guys. U.S. small businesses are millions and millions strong and growing at astonishing rates.
I just spent a few weeks in Japan and China on a book tour for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Startup Owners Manual. In these series of 5 posts, I thought I'd share what I learned in China.
In this episode of Behind the Brand, I dove in the deep end with fashion and branding shark Daymond John, who explains why "we are all born entrepreneurs" and more of his secrets to success.
It's now easier than ever to start a company -- even as a single founder, it's not unimaginable that one could hack his or her way to success in the matter of a few years, and sometimes less.
In my experience, there are several reasons why networking fails, but chief among them is not knowing what to say.
After watching my Secret History of Silicon Valley talk, Todd Branchflower became fascinated by how serendipity created both weapon systems and entrepreneurship in World War II -- and brought us federal support of science and Silicon Valley.
A friend of mine who teaches people how to fly told me there is a big difference between her male and female students. Male students almost always need to get their skill level up to their confidence level, while female students inevitably need to get their confidence level up to their skill level.
Can you lead your team? Do you have conviction in your ideas while remaining open to new ideas? Do you enthusiastically accept criticism and view it as an opportunity to learn and grow?
In the same way that we place a scalpel in the hands of first-year medical students, we must ask entrepreneurial students to literally get their hands (and wallets) dirty by taking on real risk, not theoretical risk, by having skin in the game, not just a course mark on the line.
Some company killers are obvious. Competition. Obsolescence. Too much debt. They're sexy problems. They make the headlines and you're already aware of them. But there are hidden threats that you don't even know exist.
Instead of having to deal with a room full of people that are put off every time you voice your opinion, or face being stuck in a rut because no one wants to risk changing anything, many women are simply forgoing the traditional corporate ascent and striking out on their own.
