The Curious Case of the Reluctant Entrepreneur. A hitherto unknown Conan Doyle story? No, rather the tale of a founder, “Olivia,” who refused to change her business model when faced with negative investor feedback. What should have been a relatively simple change...
As a startup advisor these many years, I have grown accustomed to working with clients who choose their own paths. My advice can fall upon deaf ears. Twas ever thus. Had my entrepreneurial clients been accustomed to following others’ directions, it’s likely they...
Planning Failure Files Problem: It’s 1902 and the city of Hanoi is plagued by rats. Proposed Solution: Eliminate the pesky rodents by encouraging entrepreneurialism. Pay a bounty to citizens for each rat they kill. Sounds pretty straightforward. What could...
“Houston, we’ve had a problem.” Yes, that is the actual quote from astronaut James Lovell on Apollo 13. The past tense is striking, not simply because it differs from the Hollywood rewrite but because it suggests a problem that had already been...
Those who read my blog posts have probably surmised that I am a curmudgeon, one easily irritated by many Top 10, Top 5, or similar listings. The startup world, as found on the internet, is awash with these enticing shortcuts. They are the Cliffs Notes of the 21st...
The linked article below by Sonya Mann of Inc.com is a very interesting take on AirBnB. It focuses on how AirBnB’s investment in artificial intelligence has improved its users’ experiences by mining their past searches. preferences and bookings to present...
