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Browse: Home / Entrepreneur Advice

Entrepreneur Advice

One of the Biggest Mistakes Enterprise Startups Make

One of the Biggest Mistakes Enterprise Startups Make

By Mark Suster on March 20, 2013

The era of VCs investing in successful consumer Internet startups such as eBay led to a belief system that seemed to permeate many enterprise software startups that hiring sales or implementation people was a bad thing. “We want low-touch or zero-touch businesses” was the mantra. I believe it’s flawed. While I have some sympathy with […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts, Strategy | Tagged consulting, Enetrprise Sales, Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, implementation, professional services, proserv, salesforce, salesforce.com, SI, startups, system integrator, vc funding, venture capital | 3 Responses

Beware of Ballers on a Budget

Beware of Ballers on a Budget

By Mark Suster on February 9, 2013

The other day I was at a Mercedes dealership. Unfortunately my wife was hit head on in December by a woman who lost control of her car. It was time to get a new car and my wife’s requirements were: The safest thing on the road As many air bags as possible I researched the […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, startups, vc funding, venture capital

How Should You Best Launch Your Product at SXSW?

How Should You Best Launch Your Product at SXSW?

By Mark Suster on February 4, 2013

It’s February now. That means a slew of companies will be preparing to launch their new products or announcing their companies at the annual SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. I get asked often how to best launch at SXSW. What strategies to use, how to get attention, how to become “hot.” I get asked many […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, startups, sxsw, techcrunch, twitter, vc funding, venture capital

Should You Bother Targeting the Tech Blogs for Your PR Campaigns?

Should You Bother Targeting the Tech Blogs for Your PR Campaigns?

By Mark Suster on January 27, 2013

I’ve started a recent series on PR at startups since I get asked for advice on this topic so often. I will put the full list of posts here. The start of this series was, Should Your Startup Announce Funding? 6 or 7 years ago when TechCrunch was at its peak market share (they are still […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, startups, vc funding, venture capital | 1 Response

Should Startups Announce Their Funding?

Should Startups Announce Their Funding?

By Mark Suster on January 26, 2013

  Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. I think many board members (including VCs) were trained 10+ years ago when life was very different and their advice often comes from an outdated lens. One of […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, startups, vc funding, venture capital

A Post Startup Execs Should Forward to Your Spouse or Partner. 12 Tips for Making it Work

A Post Startup Execs Should Forward to Your Spouse or Partner. 12 Tips for Making it Work

By Mark Suster on January 22, 2013

I recently wrote a post about how to manage relationships when you’re at a startup or are busy executive. It was based on an excellent book I had just read by Brad Feld & Amy Batchelor (his wife). I had images in my brain of all of the stresses I had placed on my wife […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, startups, vc funding, venture capital

One Book Every Entrepreneur Should Own

One Book Every Entrepreneur Should Own

By Mark Suster on January 20, 2013

Brad Feld seems to write books faster than I can read and write about them. This time he has written a book that is far more important than most management books you will read.  He teamed up with his wife, Amy Batchelor, to write about about the impact that entrepreneurship has on relationships and what […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, startups, vc funding, venture capital

The Valuable Unsung Heroes of Startups

The Valuable Unsung Heroes of Startups

By Mark Suster on December 17, 2012

I got a call Sunday from a business colleague while I was sitting in the lounge at LAX waiting for yet another delayed flight. This colleague is a lawyer with whom I work on a deal and have done so for a couple of years. By all accounts I now consider him a friend. He […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, startups, vc funding, venture capital

Some Quick Sage Advice for Young Employees Early in Their Careers

Some Quick Sage Advice for Young Employees Early in Their Careers

By Mark Suster on December 10, 2012

My wife & I have a close friend who recently entered the workforce for his first-ever job. On his first day of work my wife was kind enough to write down words of wisdom from her years on the job. I don’t write about Tania very often – mostly at her request. Otherwise I’d shout […]

Posted in Business, Featured Posts | Tagged career, employment, Entrepreneur Advice, Human resources, Job description

Some Advice for Celebrities and Startups Seeking Their Endorsements

Some Advice for Celebrities and Startups Seeking Their Endorsements

By Mark Suster on November 25, 2012

I live in LA. And I’m a VC. So you can imagine I see my fair share of celebrities looking to get into the technology industry. And equal numbers of startups seeking celebrity endorsements. For the most part my advice is simple, “don’t bother.” But as ever I’ve had to have this debate in numerous […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice | 1 Response

Entrepreneur’s Don’t Think Enough. Here’s What You Can Do About It …

Entrepreneur’s Don’t Think Enough. Here’s What You Can Do About It …

By Mark Suster on November 20, 2012

Every so often I find myself caught up in a really hectic 3-4 week schedule where it seems like I float endlessly betweens meetings. Pitches. Intros. Board Meetings. Conferences. And I get flooded with legal docs, end-of-quarter financial administration, recruiting, whatever. I get sucked up in “Do” mode. Startups Are for Doers Now, I’m pretty […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, first round capital, grp partners, los angeles, management, startups, venture capital | 1 Response

Entrepreneurshit. The Blog Post on What It’s Really Like.

Entrepreneurshit. The Blog Post on What It’s Really Like.

By Mark Suster on November 18, 2012

It’s 4.50am. Sunday morning. And I couldn’t sleep. I have much on my mind since I just returned from a week on the road. 5 days. 3 cities. Late night Mexican food. Beers. Airports. Delays. I left on a Sunday. I had to miss a full day with my family, camping in the mountains. I […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur Advice, Entrepreneurship, Instagram, MB, Seed money, startups, twitter

Why Startup Entrepreneurs Need to Communicate More Like George Bush Than Al Gore

Why Startup Entrepreneurs Need to Communicate More Like George Bush Than Al Gore

By Mark Suster on November 5, 2012

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. It is election season. So it’s tempting to think this is going to be a partisan post – it is not. I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate […]

Posted in General | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice

Why John Frankel Leaned in Early on Klout and Cornerstone OnDemand and What He Sees Next

Why John Frankel Leaned in Early on Klout and Cornerstone OnDemand and What He Sees Next

By Mark Suster on October 6, 2012

It all started in 2010 with Klout. I wasn’t a believer. I had always liked and respected CEO Joe Fernandez but could never get my head around the fact that the Klout was putting up charts showing who influenced me and it didn’t map to the reality I knew in my head. I had been […]

Posted in General | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice, This Week in Venture Capital

Is Going for Rapid Growth Always Good? Aren’t Startups So Much More?

Is Going for Rapid Growth Always Good? Aren’t Startups So Much More?

By Mark Suster on September 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “Startup = Growth” three or four times now. And of course on Twitter I’ve seen the Tweets, ReTweets and superlatives on what a great post it is. Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged Entrepreneur Advice

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