http://blog.startupguidebook.com The Startup Guidebook blog on startups and early stage investing Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:26:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In this guest article on the Sun Microsystems web site, Guy Kawasaki lists the five most important lessons he's learned as an entrepreneur -- which makes for great advice for entrepreneurs: 1. Focus on Cash Flow 2. Make Little Progress Every Day 3. Try Stuff 4. Ignore Schmexperts 5. Never Ask Anyone To Do Something ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/08/25/lessons-for-entrepreneurs.html An article in this week's Mass High Tech reports New England (NE) Venture Capital (VC) financings dropped 31% in the number of deals done during the second quarter, as compared with the same period last year, according to a new report from Dow Jones VentureSource. This drop represented a ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/07/29/ne-vc-woes-worse.html In a July 24th story, the New York Times reports that according to a survey of venture capitalists (VCs) by tax and advisory firm KPMG, VCs expects the current Initial Public Offering (IPO) doldrums to stretch until at least 2010. As a measure of this pessimism, only 9% of those ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/07/25/pessimism-from-vcs.html In his article in BusinessWeek on July 11th, Steve McKee points out Five Dont's for Marketing in Tough Times that are oh-so-appropriate for startups during these tough recessionary times: Be Smart and Thrifty, But Don't Panic. This, Too, Shall Pass Marketing is Muscle, Not Fat. Be Careful About Cutting It. Don't Lose Focus ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/07/22/leading-in-tough-times.html In his July 2nd blog, "Startup Advice from George Constanza: Do The Opposite," Dharmesh Shah at OnStartups.com makes the case that "doing the opposite" (zigging when others are zagging) can actually work for startups, citing a few examples in his blog from VC funding negotiation, to recruiting early employees ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/07/08/do-the-opposite.html On Wednesday, June 25th, I attended The Capital Network (TCN) year-end gala at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA and heard the inspiring story of John Crowley. John Crowley started Novazyme Pharmaceuticals in 2000, spurred by the the 1998 diagnosis of two of his children with Pompe disease - a ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/06/27/an-inspiring-story.html A front-page article in this week's Mass High Tech (MHT) highlights the costs of filing for an IPO for Boston-area startups. In it's listing of IPO filings, MHT noted IPO issuance costs ranging from $500K to as much as $4.2 million for these startups. MHT quoted Janice DiPietro of Tatum ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/06/09/cost-of-a-success.html Last Thursday, I attended the networking event organized by The Capital Network (TCN) and New England Venture Network (NEVN). There must have been close to 300 attendees at the event, with a good mix of VCs, Angels, and Entrepreneurs, with a smattering of lawyers and accountants. All in all, ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/05/29/are-you-in-the-top-5.html The other day I met up with the VP of Marketing of a startup that is a portfolio company of a client. He cut his teeth in business development while at Microsoft and clearly knows what he is doing. Under his watch, the startup company has blossomed, ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/05/21/no-barney-deals.html A recent post by The Entrepreneurial Mind quotes a report from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) that venture capital (VC) investments were down 8.5% during the first quarter of 2008 when compared to the last quarter of 2007. The report also found that deal flow was also down. It is ... http://blog.startupguidebook.com/2008/05/16/vc-activity-down.html