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Telling the 800-lb Gorilla to Shove it up his Ass
Every founder frets about competition from a big company, me included. We scoff at their inability to innovate and for prioritizing shareholders over customers, but still we quiver in fear. Dozens of...
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Out of the cesspool and into the sewer: A/B testing trap
Your A/B tests are trapped in a cesspool when they should be in the sewer. Do you really care why A/B testing is analogous to unwanted liquids? Not yet, so I’d better get right to the point. On the...
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Human + Fallible = Love; Corporate + Sterile = Refund
A lovely new company/customer etiquette has emerged, and small startups are especially suited for exploiting it. I hope you’re not ignoring it. Just yesterday someone explained to me what they expect...
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5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches
I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. Most were on paper and video; 20 were invited to pitch in person. Interesting patterns emerged: Everyone makes the same classes of...
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No, that IS NOT a competitive advantage
This is part 1 of the series: 5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches. Listening to first-time entrepreneurs talk about their competitive advantages is as predictably invalid as the local weatherman’s...
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Real Unfair Advantages
This is Part 2 of the series: 5 lessons from 150 startup pitches. What if someone copies your awesome business idea? About twenty people on Answers OnStartups have asked this question in one form...
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What the crazy name "Smart Bear" taught me about branding
Every founder struggles to find a great name for her company. Often it’s the first source of good-natured strife between co-founders. It’s an exhilarating, scary combination of having to decide who...
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The right way to position against competition
This is Part 4 of the series: 5 lessons from 150 startup pitches. After seeing hundreds of startup pitches for this year’s Capital Factory program, I can tell you that the two most common errors in...
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If you build it, they won’t come, unless…
This is Part 5 of the 5-part series: 5 lessons from 150 startup pitches. Ask a technical founder about his startup, and he’ll proudly describe his stunning software — simple, compelling, useful, fun....
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