Comments (2)

By brantcooper, August 20, 2009 2:20 pm

Unlike my classmates who headed to Silicon Valley from UC Davis upon graduation, I moved to Washington DC to work for a defense consulting firm. After a couple of years, “I dropped out” to write a novel, which I subsequently finished, explored the country for 3 months, finally landing in San Francisco and beginning my career in technology.

My book was (is) trite and sophomoric. After all, what insights do most 20-somethings have worth sharing? A lack of experience — a lack of failure — makes pontification shallow. One of my younger brothers, who was trying to make a living as a painter at the time, had a great comment. He said that he felt my book, like his art, was merely trying to say too much. That it wasn’t that we didn’t have good things to say, but that there was lack of discipline in focusing and examining in greater depth a few ideas, rather than “letting it all hang out.”

I think young entrepreneurs suffer from a similar malady. Continue reading 'Customer Development Presentation'»

Comments (1)

By brantcooper, August 11, 2009 9:28 pm

Note: Originally published at SANDIOS.

Everyone has heard of the “elevator pitch” and all entrepreneurs know they need one. Right? I’m talking about the ability to tell your business story in the time it takes the elevator to get the floor where your audience will egress. While everyone knows they need one, the confidence imbued in entrepreneurs — necessary to be an entrepreneur — often results in the overconfident belief that the pitch will magically flow when the time comes.

While I’m sure this sometimes works, the strategy is a mistake. Continue reading 'Elevator Pitch'»

Comments (5)

By brantcooper, August 4, 2009 1:29 pm

There are many reasons why entrepreneurs don’t, or more accurately won’t adopt lean startup principles.  In the last few weeks, I’ve encountered each of the archetypes described below.  In each case, the individuals have some awareness of #leanstartup, based on my discussions, as well as sharing Ries’ and Blank’s resources with them. Continue reading '4 Anti-Lean Startup Archetypes'»