I’m not much of a prognosticator, but recently Sarah Needleman from the Wall Street Journal called me to ask my thoughts about startup accelerators. She had found a blog post I had written (How to Maximize the Value of Mentors in Startup Accelerators), and wanted my input on a story she was writing. Funnily enough, […]
Lean Startup, Startup Recruiting, Financing and Startup Accelerators
I’ve never found a great system for bubbling up older content on a blog. It’s so transient. Posts last a week at most and then they disappear into the archive. I’ve tried a few things, and here’s my latest attempt to collect and organize some of my posts on key topics of interest. In the […]
How to Maximize the Value of Mentors in Accelerators
The questioning (negative) press about startup accelerators and incubators isn’t going to stop. It’s going to continue and likely increase. Some of it will be meaningless drivel mixed in with a healthy dose of ranting and raving (not dissimilar to the endless and cyclical discussions on whether we’re in a bubble or not.) But a […]
How I Try to Mentor Startups (And Hopefully Add Value)
Fred Destin wrote a fantastic blog post recently on how to be a good startup mentor. It made me think a great deal about how I mentor startups, where I’m effective, and where I could improve. As Fred notes, “good mentoring is hard.” He’s absolutely right. I’m currently mentoring a number of companies inside of […]
Remembering My Brother: Jacob Yoskovitz (May 14, 1977 – April 22, 1986)
Today, April 22nd, marks the 26th anniversary of my brother’s death. He died in 1986 at the age of 8 from Leukemia. I was 10 at the time. He was my only sibling. Strangely enough, he and I share a birthday – May 14th. He was born two years after me. I don’t know what […]
Analysis Paralysis (and Blaming Lean Startup)
Lately, I’m getting more and more feedback from entrepreneurs that Lean Startup is holding them back. I’m seeing this in action as well; startups that are “stuck” in a permanent mode of analysis with little to no action. Entrepreneurs blame the Lean Startup process. They point out that the need to validate everything before moving […]
5 Quick Tips for Controlling Meetings
A lot of people think meetings are a complete waste of time. Meeting with people in and of itself isn’t a waste of time, it’s just that most meetings are poorly run. For entrepreneurs this is a killer – your time is insanely precious, but you also want to be talking to as many people […]
Running Lean by Ash Maurya
Seems these days I start almost every blog post talking about Lean Canvas. I’ve seen the Lean Canvas work effectively – as a planning, strategy and communication tool – and encourage any startup I’m working with to give it a try. Ultimately it’s about focus. Focus is incredibly elusive in a startup. A lack of […]
How To Design a Successful Interview Process for Hiring Top Talent
Most companies don’t have a serious, repeatable interviewing process for hiring. Instead they wing it, bringing people in for interviews, asking a few questions, turning it into a fireside chat, and then hoping for the best. In my experience that’s not good enough. At Standout Jobs (2007-2010) we hired some great people. I still consider […]
Join Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha for a Live Chat
Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha — authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Start-up of You— are hosting a live, hour-long webcast in which they will discuss how you can accelerate your career today. When: Thursday, March 29, at 6:30 PM PST Where: Register here You can get your questions prioritized by leaving […]
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