Although we’ve just started meeting entrepreneurs for Year One Labs some clear patterns are emerging. As I listen to entrepreneurs pitch their startups I think about all the pitches and meetings I’ve done with investors, customers, partners, etc. It’s not easy. One of the toughest things for entrepreneurs to do is take feedback. But investors […]
Shrinking the Table – How Investors and Startups Are Getting Closer
Too often, investors and entrepreneurs think of themselves as being, “on opposites sides of the table.” Raising capital is a negotiation that regularly pits investors against entrepreneurs (and vice versa). This adversarial relationship is quite common, and the relationship between investors and entrepreneurs (many people describe it as a marriage) regularly falls apart. Sure, when […]
Launching Year One Labs – An Early Stage Seed Accelerator
Today is a big day. After 6 or so months, I’ve launched my new startup: Year One Labs. Year One Labs is an early stage seed accelerator that will help fund and build startups, primarily in the web and mobile spaces. Although we’ll be in the business of helping others launch their startups, Year One […]
Raising Financing: Convertible Debt vs. Equity
Seth Levine from Foundry Group touched off a debate on which is the best way to raise startup financing: convertible debt or equity. Paul Graham (intentionally or not) actually started things with a tweet, “Convertible notes have won. Every investment so far in this YC batch (and there have been a lot) has been done […]
How Many Hours Should a Startup Employee Work?
Every so often I get drawn into the debate about startup employees and how much they should work. Should you hire workaholics? Is it expected that startup employees work 100+ hours per week? Should they be online all the time, constantly available and ready to go? It depends. And it’s up to you. If you […]
Startup Funding Doesn’t Always Create the Right Type of Acceleration
In a recent conversation with a friend (and fellow entrepreneur) we were discussing a couple of his bootstrapped initiatives. He’s struggling with the pace at which things are going, partially because he has to “pay the bills” through consulting. That time away from his startup and startup projects is hugely distracting. I know the feeling, […]
9 Ways to Successfully Edit Job Postings
Job postings suck. We all know it. It’s been said many, many times. And it doesn’t seem like complaining about it is helping. I’m experimenting on NextMontreal with a job board hack, but I’ve also been thinking about practical advice I can provide on how to improve job postings. Instead of getting people to completely […]
Hacking the Job Board
I’m not a huge fan of job boards. Their efficacy as a source of talent has deteriorated over the years and most of them have been unable to innovate quickly enough to maintain their value. Niche job boards have emerged as stronger players because they focus on particular areas of interest and can drive a […]
Introducing NextMontreal – A Tech News Hub for Montreal
On April 6, 2010 I wrote a blog post about resurrecting a Montreal tech news site. And today, it’s launched. Please visit NextMontreal >> Along with the NextMontreal team (and in particular, Patrick Tanguay!) we’ve been working a ton to get the site ready. I’m very pleased with what we’ve accomplished in such a short […]
Scratching Your Own Itch May be Detrimental to Your Startup’s Health
A lot of startups come into existence when the founders work to solve their own problems. They “scratch their own itch” and (hopefully!) find that lots of other people are itchy too. But there are significant risks as well. These days a lot of startups are launched quickly with a couple of technical co-founders. That […]
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