Good Enough is an extremely powerful force that works against startups. It’s easy to identify “problems” with market leaders. Take the recruitment space as an example. How many people look at big job boards like Monster and say, “They’re broken! They suck! They’re useless!” And then what do they do? They launch a startup to […]
Someone Else is Already Working on Your Idea
If you think you have an original idea, think again. There’s a very, very good chance it’s already being worked on. It might not be identical, but it’s likely very close. If no one else is already working on the idea you have, there’s a good chance it’s a bad one. Fundamentally, you should never […]
Anchor Your Startup with Big Honest Vision
“Go big or go home.” I’m (somewhat) ashamed to admit that I’ve uttered those words before. I’ve written them too. But for the wrong reasons. When I launched Standout Jobs I anchored my exuberance in the wrong milestones (such as raising money) and didn’t have the insight or validation needed to really lay claim to […]
We Must Kill Zombie Companies
There are too many zombie companies. It’s quite prevalent in Montreal, and I’m certain it exists elsewhere as well. A zombie company is one that can essentially run forever but never really gains any traction. The company may be leveraging tax credits (which some argue is doing more harm than good) or other financial incentives […]
You Have to Jump First
Startups are founded by people that make the leap before anyone else. If you don’t leap first, you don’t stand a chance of winning. Jump. It’s up to you. No one else can jump for you or before you. If you’re waiting for some form of validation from existing co-workers, family or even worse, investors, […]
Bashing the Competition
When pitching investors, don’t bash the competition. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend bashing the competition under any circumstances – when meeting with prospects, clients, or even internally. It sends the wrong message and positions the conversation around others and not you. Bashing the competition also makes you look petty and foolish. Jason Cohen expresses this […]
The Death of the Business Founder
The commonly accepted structure for startup teams is one business founder and one technical founder. Theoretically it makes sense: one guy builds the product and the other sells it. But it’s not that simple. Some time ago I wrote that founders can’t live in silos. If the business guy doesn’t get the tech side and […]
10 Frequently Asked Questions about Startups and Why You Should Give a Damn
That was the title of the presentation I gave last night at PHP Quebec. Overall feedback was positive. My goal for the presentation was to convince at least 1 person to start a company. I didn’t ask the audience after if I had accomplished my goal, but I think I moved the needle … at […]
Being Plugged In
For entrepreneurs, there’s no excuse for not being plugged in to what’s going on in the startup world, both locally (wherever the entrepreneur is located) and globally. This is especially true for entrepreneurs that don’t live in startup hotbeds like Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs tend to move more slowly outside of startup centers. There are some […]
A Postmortem Analysis of Standout Jobs
It’s been a number of months since I announced that we sold Standout Jobs. In that time I’ve gone through a myriad of emotions and cyclical arguments in my head about the entire process of starting Standout Jobs, running it and selling it. I’ve read a number of great (and heartfelt) postmortems of late, and […]
Founding Partner at 