InfoChachkie - Latest Comments

Re: Mark Suster’s Advice To Emerging Entrepreneurs – “Do Not Do, As I Have Done”

amit kumar — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:26:38 -0000

thank you sir, for empowering me, and giving me the reason to believe in myself & my idea.

Re: Mark Suster’s Advice To Emerging Entrepreneurs – “Do Not Do, As I Have Done”

John Greathouse — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:52:39 -0000

Make that "you're not alone..."

Re: Mark Suster’s Advice To Emerging Entrepreneurs – “Do Not Do, As I Have Done”

John Greathouse — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:52:06 -0000

Your not alone! There is a whole world of people ready to help you - your job is to give them a reason to care. Validate your idea by putting it into the hands of potential customers, users, etc. Until it is 'real', you will never know how 'good' your idea really is. You also cannot modify it until you get valid feedback - a real solution will always generate more actionable feedback than a theoretical idea.

Best of luck to you!

Re: Mark Suster’s Advice To Emerging Entrepreneurs – “Do Not Do, As I Have Done”

amit kumar — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:42:27 -0000

Thank you sir, thanks a lot for this great post. I am also alone but confident i will build a great startup. Please tell me how could i validate my idea. So that i may move further with more confidence even i am alone.Awaiting your response.

Re: Mark Suster’s Advice To Emerging Entrepreneurs – “Do Not Do, As I Have Done”

amit kumar — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:38:51 -0000

Thank you sir, thanks a lot for this great post.I want to know how could i validate our idea. I am also alone but confident that i will build a great startup. So that i could move further with more confidence even i am alone. Please help me sir, awaiting your response.

Re: Discover The Hidden Persuasion Techniques Concealed In Online Ads

John Greathouse — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:15:52 -0000

Thanks Judy. That is very kind. I try to limit my book recommendations to those I find personally valuable. As you know from past entries, I find most business books to be boorish and non-actionable.

Thanks for spreading the word regarding my humble blog.

Re: Discover The Hidden Persuasion Techniques Concealed In Online Ads

Jmcnulty — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:05:42 -0000

Great advice, thanks - I will pass this on to my small business patrons - I always find useful books, etc. from this blog - Judy McN

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

ZackParker — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:43:55 -0000

Thanks John! Have a great week.

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

John Greathouse — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:39:31 -0000

You can either contact me via UCSB's Tech Mgmt Program (my edu email address is posted there). Alternatively, you can come in through Rincon's general 'contact' front door on our website.

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

John Greathouse — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:37:44 -0000

Thanks Alex. I agree with your assertion.

At the beginning of any relationship, trust trumps everything, as you have little empirical evidence. As you share experiences with someone, your trust is either strengthened or destroyed.

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

Alex Capecelatro — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:33:20 -0000

Great post! Really enjoyed seeing your perspective and understanding more about how Rincon operates. I know you focus on early stage startups, but I'd be curious to see how this trend evolves through later stage investments. For example, I'd imagine a Series A or Series B would depend more on showing traction whereas a seed round is all about building trust. Curious to hear your thoughts.

- Alex
CEO, AtThePool

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

ZackParker — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:15:36 -0000

Thanks John. Great response! I appreciate it. What is the best way to contact you when we launch in a couple months? I look forward to reading more of your posts.

Cheers,

Zack
zack@ishbowl.com

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

John Greathouse — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:08:58 -0000

Zack - thank you. I am not good enough to surf the Rincon, I'd get toe flipped me every time.

To your point, a$$holes unfortunately do get funded, just not by me or my Partners. We don't invest in ideas or spaces. Instead, we like wily entrepreneurs who morph their ideas to matching ever evolving market conditions.

Good luck to you at ishBowl http://www.ishbowl.com/ Come back and let us now when you have launched.

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

ZackParker — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:07:00 -0000

Hi John,

Great article! I appreciate your honesty and your insight into how you work over at Rincon Venture Partners (Great name! My brother and I used to compete in surf contests at Rincon). It is really refreshing to hear that the "people" involved in the project really do matter. There is an overwhelmingly large emphasis placed on the market (which is very important) and not about the relationships that it takes to go from idea to money. People don't invest in dishonest assholes that are in a big market!

Thanks again,Zack
CEO of ishBowl

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

John Greathouse — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:20:08 -0000

Nick - you are very kind. Thank YOU for the feedback.

At Rincon, we very much feel that investors should form partnerships with their entrepreneurs. When the parties see a venture investment as a "transaction", their interests often conflict over time.

Continued best of luck to you.

Re: Don’t Pitch Your Idea To Venture Capitalists, They Don’t Care

Nick Pedersen — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:07:36 -0000

I've found that "No BS" and a "Shared View of Success" have been enough to bring in private investments but the remainder are tremendously important to the larger players. We've shown "Sticktoitiveness" in spades but we've only started to prick up the VCs' ears by building the trust connection. This has been done by shoring up identified deficiencies and showing a consistency to our message--risks, and all.

These are the kind of articles that keep me coming back for more! Very clear and concise, thank you for the continuing education.

Re: Worst Networking Call Ever

Lisa Braithwaite — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:45:01 -0000

Hey John,

Here's the new post: http://coachlisab.blogspot.com... - more about relationship-building than research, it turned out!

Here's one specifically about researching the audience: http://coachlisab.blogspot.com...

Thanks for sharing!

Re: Reinvent The Wheel – A Nonstandard Look at Standards

John Greathouse — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:36:43 -0000

Yes, even a 120-year old industry can benefit from continued innovation. When you think about it, transportation has been around for thousands of years and the car is simply one short stop on a long path of innovation.

Re: Reinvent The Wheel – A Nonstandard Look at Standards

Erwin Calverley — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:23:14 -0000

It's all about innovation. The trends of cars today and the future are leaning on fuel-efficiency but it is also vital to tinker around with other factors regarding the automobile. Better handling of a car's movements has the potential to provide more efficient driving so that it can save more time and fuel.

Re: Why A Prominent Startup Executive Wants You To Fail, Get Fired And Focus

John Greathouse — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:58:05 -0000

Love it! Nice to see that the idea of making a success out of what others perceive to be failure is universal.

Re: Five Startup Tips From Bill Gates

John Greathouse — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:44:15 -0000

I made it all up, even the quotes...jk. What aspect of the post are you trying to verify?

Re: Five Startup Tips From Bill Gates

Guest — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:48:04 -0000

Where did you get this information? I need to make sure it is reliable.

Re: Five Startup Tips From Bill Gates

Nicky — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:44:48 -0000

where did you get this information? I need to make sure it is reliable.

Re: Why A Prominent Startup Executive Wants You To Fail, Get Fired And Focus

Driveway — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:21:38 -0000

За одного битого, двух не битых дают.

This a super famous Russian proverb which essentially translates to "A person who has lost a battle before is worth twice than the one who hasn't lost yet".

Re: Worst Networking Call Ever

John Greathouse — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:49:43 -0000

Lisa - this is a brilliant approach. I may eventually create a similar web page.

Please let me know once you post your entry regarding speakers who do not take the time to properly research their audiences. I would love to share it with my readers.