When you watch this short video, titled “Less Than 1% Get Funded,” you will see a key issue in the mindset of a lot of businesses. Businesses will come up with an idea and then go out, get a bunch of money, and it will GO BIG. This mindset leads to 99% of people not getting funded. It takes a lot of grassroots to get you to where funding is the appropriate next step.
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Joining the 1%
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Are You Confronting the Brutal Facts?
We have had a nice run in the markets over the past few weeks, hitting record highs for seven consecutive days. It would seem like good times ahead and I would so much like to jump on that bandwagon. I have seen this before and it makes me very cautious, given what is probably ahead. With any market and economic difficulties, there is always opportunity. The key signature of the DNA in a real entrepreneur is always being in search of opportunities in any environment, and then acting on them.When looking for opportunities, we must first practice the Stockdale Paradox, which is coined by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great. In the book, Admiral Jim Stockdale makes observations of those that survived being prisoners of war in Vietnam and those that did not. Admiral Stockdale was there for eight years and endured the most brutal of situations.
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I Built This!
Given some of the recent comments by those in the White House, I must share the experience of my own entrepreneur journey and how it differs from these recent statements.
When I was starting a mutual fund, I dealt with many people and agencies of both the state and federal governments. Their job was to ensure I met every regulatory obligation they could think of, and they seemed to come up with even more. I found nothing but roadblocks getting in my way as I tried to get this mutual fund off the ground.
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The Power of the Crowd
I wrote a blog in July 2011 called “What Disruptive Technology is Sneaking Up on You?” I also wrote another one more recently called “Crowdfunding, the Savior for the Entrepreneur.” Interestingly, they have both been pulled together by the disruptive technology guru Clayton Christensen. Clayton spoke with CNNMoney for an article they featured on his involvement in crowdfunding.
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Make the Trend Your Friend
Mary Meeker recently released her annual overview of internet trends, and I found it to be very insightful. You may remember that I have discussed Mary’s research and opinions on this topic in some of my previous blogs. She pushed forward as a leader in this space with different investment banking firms and is now a partner at one of the most prestigious venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins.
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Crowdfunding, the Savior for the Entrepreneur
Something exciting has happened in the entrepreneurial world, and I want to share it with everyone. The JOBS Act, passed by both houses of Congress in March and signed into law on April 5th, will generate big changes for the growth of small and mid-sized businesses. One of the major amendments in this bill would allow crowdfunding. I see this evolving into a significant means for companies to access increased funding, and it is a great way for small investors to find more opportunities to devote their money to companies with which they are more closely involved. Given how connected we are through social media and the internet, this is ripe for the times!
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Success is a Process of Discovery
p>Doesn’t it seem like some of these people making it big in the business world just have this epiphany one day about a great idea, then they just go and make it happen…ending up with millions and sometimes billions later on?
This was not my experience. What I’ve seen is that, one day you start working on this small idea, then somewhere along the way you stumble upon a bigger idea, which usually isn’t anywhere close to your original idea. If you have gone down the path of an entrepreneur, is this how it happened for you?
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Creating a Jobs Economy
Our nation is struggling to create jobs. You’ve likely heard that regulations have limited businesses’ capital, making it difficult for them to hire or expand. Have you wondered what types of changes to these regulations would help this economy create more jobs? Let’s discuss a few key changes that have worked in the past to encourage companies to grow and hire more people.
Many regulations create a big problem for the economy. Which regulations and policies are stopping us from creating the jobs that we are missing? Amity Shlaes writes an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal, Three Policies That Gave Us the Jobs Economy.”
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Investing: Sometimes the mattress looks good…
22 years in the investment world, running a money management and mutual firm taught me a thing or two. I experienced ups and downs, and learned a lot. The world is a difficult place when it comes to stock markets, and trying to decide where to place your money. In case you haven’t noticed, after a decade the markets today are still lower than they were in 2000. Scary thought.
It’s my experience that those in the marketplace that manage money have short streaks of what appears to be brilliance. They are labeled as a guru, right up until something changes in the market, and they go back to being the average Joe, or even worse, losing lots of money.
