In our work with startups and new ventures, we've come to realize a common thread (in most cases) of the companies we work with - the lack of, need for, and misunderstanding of product management. I don't know why startups don't think the role is important, nor do I understand why the default position for a lot of companies is that the technology leader is the head of product. That thinking leads to wasted resources, and more importantly a product that is unlikely to fill the market need effe...
Continue reading ...

A friend and colleague sent me a 7/5/09 NYT article called "Spinning the Web: P.R. in Silicon Valley," and asked my opinion. I'm sure many reading this have already seen it. When I read the piece I figured this was a good blog post, well beyond an email reply.

I find the article, and the whole situation, ironic.

Let's be honest, this isn't an article about "the new PR," this is a promotional piece for Brooke Hammerling - apparently a huge PR maven in Silicon Valley with a lot of success and a ...
Continue reading ...

My partners and I have been working with novel software startups for many years and inevitably the question of patents arises. Investors often equate defensibility -- the creation of barriers to entry -- to patentable intellectual property.  Unfortunately, for most software or software-related startups (i.e. software-as-a-services, Web applications, Internet-enabled businesses, mobile services ventures, etc.) there are very few instances where the innovation that has been developed is natural...
Continue reading ...

I was very pleased and very proud to read this random blog posting wherein the blogger lauds Leaf Networks' network sharing software and articulates its value proposition in clear layman's terms.

The company has garnered a great deal of traction with tens of thousands of end-users, and has engaged a few hardware and software firms in OEM licenses to its patent-pending technology.

Take a moment and read the blog.  The company has never been in touch with the author before. 

Let the word spread.


...
Continue reading ...

It seems there are number of noteworthy entrepreneurs and venture capitalists that share our belief in how entrepreneurship will thrive in these economic times.

Technology Review's Jason Pontin moderated a round table discussion at a Churchill Club event earlier this year in Mountain View, CA.  The following article is an excerpt of that discussion that is worth reading.

My personal favorite quote is from Steve Jurvetson, a Managing Partner of famed venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson...
Continue reading ...

Continue reading ...