My deepest thanks for the invitation. Continue reading

Employee of the Month Reserved Parking Sign (Photo credits: myparkingsign.com) If you own and operate a small business and there's is a signature stamp with your name on it that enables others to sign checks on your behalf -- find it now and destroy it. Do not rest until this is done. Do it before it destroys you. The small business signature stamp will save you time in the short term and cost you money... Continue reading

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This is short, entertaining and wonderfully insightful. Plus, it has the number one instruction for the lean start up method -- "Get out of the building". Video streaming by Ustream Related articles The Maximum, Beautiful Product Lean Startup Day @ MaRS The problem with a Lean Startup: the Minimum Viable Product. Marc Andreessen: Not every startup should be a Lean Startup or embrace the pivot [GigaOM] Continue reading

This is an advertisement from CrowdTapp. One has to love the archetypes presented herein. I've met them all many, many times. Related articles New Dating Site for the Older Crowd Online dating market all set to boom in coming years Britons find love - and sex - online in booming £170m dating market Mobile Boom Time Dating vouchers draw mixed responses Continue reading

I've been involved with the College of Business at James Madison University for 13+ years. It has been a wonderful time. And one in which the College has received great recognition. The 2 minute video below hightlights that progress and the school's Dean during that period. Congrats to Dean Reid on a job well done. Wilson Hall at James Madison University quad in Harrisonburg, VA, United States. Created by User:Alma mater May 3, 2006 with... Continue reading

English: Sir Winston Churchill. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's requiredSir Winston Churchill The often posed question is why do start ups fail? One often hears that of undercapitalization, market conditions or events beyond the control of the team. In my experience, the simple answer is that management is unwilling or unable to make them succeed. And that of those two, the more common... Continue reading

Here is an interesting infographic from Open-Site.org This graphic was created by Open Site. Org Here is a Link to Open-Site.Org Continue reading

Investment Conference (Photo credit: Salmaan Taseer) Here they are: 1. We see a lot of ideas, all the time, week in and week out. Most say, if you make an investment in our company, we'll really be able to make progress on all fronts. Some say, we haven't had much money to date, but look at what we have been able to achieve with little money in a small amount of time. People that can... Continue reading

Image via CrunchBase Job Description Grotech Ventures, a leading, national venture capital firm headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia near Washington, D.C., is seeking an Associate to join our highly successful investment team. The Associate will be expected to hit the ground running, taking a proactive role in deal flow creation through networking and actively participating in venture/startup related events; conducting pre-investment due diligence, financial modeling and deal structural analysis; researching new potential investment areas and... Continue reading

Zenoss Raises $25 Million in Funding Series C Round Led by Summit Partners Image via CrunchBase AUSTIN, TX, Oct 09, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Zenoss, Inc., a leading provider of unified IT operations software for physical, virtual, and cloud-based IT infrastructure, announced the closing of $25 million in Series C funding led by growth equity investor Summit Partners. Existing investors Grotech Ventures, Intersouth Partners and Boulder Ventures also participated in the round, which will... Continue reading

This is a great short form presentation of the genius and insights of Steve Blank. The interview is from Mark Suster's "This Week in Venture Capital". Steve Blank is the author of 4 Steps to Epiphany and his newest book, The Startup Owners Manual. I've read 4 Steps and highly recommend it. If you've heard my college lectures on the role of ADD in entrepreneurship and the value of a challenged background in creating a... Continue reading

Image via CrunchBase This LivingSocial ad looks good to me! Wanted to share this image as aside from the score (Cowboys leading....) it looks pretty great. Related articles Mapping Presidential Mega-Markets Vontaze Burfict: From Draft Disaster to Cincinnati Bengals Starter NVTC "Hot Ticket Awards" Nominees 2010 EBay Introduces New Site Design, Same-Day Delivery Continue reading

Grotech Ventures, a leading, national venture capital firm headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia near Washington, D.C., is seeking an Associate to join our highly successful investment team. The Associate will be expected to hit the ground running, taking a proactive role in deal flow creation through networking and actively participating in venture/startup related events; conducting pre-investment due diligence, financial modeling and deal structural analysis; researching new potential investment areas and companies; and ultimately helping execute... Continue reading

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WSJ news hub christening (Photo credit: jonkeegan) Thanks to Lizette Chapman. I did a quick interview and she produced a nice end product in the Wall Street Journal online. Article Related articles Sometimes, a 'wisdom of crowds algorithm' needs the wisdom of a lone editor (RexBlog.com) Bitcoin, Ven and the End of Currency (msamba.wordpress.com) Continue reading

Image via Wikipedia I saw a tweet this afternoon from Dharmesh Shah which offered -- "Entrepreneurs: You get a limited number of chances in life to do something really, really big. Take them." @dharmesh Boy, is he right about that. I think that thought would resonate with most entrepreneurs. The problem becomes how does one recognize when something is "really, really big"? Many things can appear promising and worth pursuing but aren't really after more... Continue reading

Expert insight from G+ reinforces the rise of everything social, mobile, and cloud as well as some likely new twists from emerging technologies in 2012. Continue reading

Here is a recent article posted today. Inc.com Continue reading

These guys do a great holiday video featuring their portfolio companies. Continue reading

Here is a re-work of a previous piece for Inc. on the value of speaking to angry customers. Inc.com Related articles 7 Celebrities Bitten by the Entrepreneurial Bug 3 Empowering Websites for Entrepreneurs The finance and business improvement articles I've written for Inc.com Inc. Magazine Ranks WebiMax No. 37 on the 2012 Inc. 500 List with... Inc. Magazine Unveils 31st Annual List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies - the Inc. 500 Continue reading

Kauffman Foundation Senior Fellow Paul Kedrosky walks through the various roads to early-stage capital in the video below, explaining which options are appropriate for which ventures and debunking several investment myths along the way. Paul is a great person to follow on Twitter. Continue reading

Great recognition for the GramercyOne and GoBook. BusinessInsider App of the Week Continue reading

Mark Suster interviews Eric Ries, author of the New York Times Bestseller The Lean Startup. This episode is all about building businesses in the most efficient and effective way possible. This includes having a “business hypothesis,” knowing when to go after the money, and how to “Fail Fast” while continuing to build a better product. Related articles Eirc Ries - The Lean Startup (theequitykicker.com) How The Lean Startup Became A Best Seller (And Movement) -... Continue reading