KITSAP/BUSINESS—Why would professional VCs, of all people, fail to see the power law? For one thing, it only becomes apparent over time, and even technology investors too often live in the present. Imagine a firm invests in 10 companies with the potential to become monopolies—already an unusually disciplined portfolio. Those companies will look very similar […]
Kitsap Small Business Update
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO CONVENTION
KITSAP/BUSINESS—How must you see the world if you don’t believe in secrets? You’d have to think we’ve already solved all great questions. If today’s conventions are correct, we can afford to be smug and complacent: “God’s in His heaven, All’s right with the world.” For example, a world without secrets would enjoy a perfect understanding […]
Bag One Cat
Kitsap: There may be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are even more ways for venture capitalists to tell you no. Unfortunately, venture capitalists don’t like to provide clear and unequivocal rejections; they prefer the SHITS technique: show high interest, then stall. Here are the typical responses that you’ll hear: “You’re too early for […]
The rescue worker who won’t leave a bombed-out
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Atqui eorum nihil est eius generis, ut sit in fine atque extrerno bonorum. Non autem hoc: igitur ne illud quidem. Atque haec coniunctio confusioque virtutum tamen a philosophis ratione quadam distinguitur. Utilitatis causa amicitia est quaesita. Sed emolumenta communia esse dicuntur, recte autem facta et peccata non […]
The art of reference checking
You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. —Henry Ford Reference checking is a crucial part of recruiting a great team. However, most startups do it in a cursory and casual way after making a hiring decision. Courtesy of Amy Vernetti, here’s a short course on reference checking to improve your results. […]
Apply the shopping -mall test
There’s one more test to apply to candidates, the Shopping Mall Test. “Life is too short to work with people you don’t like—especially in a startup.” This is how it works. Suppose you are at a shopping mall. You see a candidate before he notices you. At that point, you can do one of three […]
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