Serial entrepreneur Mark Fletcher just launched Startupping, a community resource for Internet entrepreneurs. He kicks it off with a blog post on the best and worst decisions made by John Battelle, Dick Costolo, Paul Graham, Chris Pirillo and yours truly. Some gems:
- Dick's best decision is hiring, but not the tired A player ego stroke answer, his emphasis is on cultural fit
- John says either keep control or don't act like you have it
- Paul emphasizes being strong with investors
- Chris says to hire salespeople who understand the product and be cautious of handing over control of the business model
Startupping is a blog, wiki and forum on topic. I've tried similar efforts in the past, notably the Startup Exchange, but got consumed with my passion that more directly pays. Mark, all the content in the Startup Exchange wiki is CC-licensed, so please reuse.
Being consumed by the primary passion apparently isn't just my experience. Brad Feld noted this when passing on the launch of Dick's new blog:
Relatively early on in our relationship, Dick stopped blogging. He’s a classic always working entrepreneur and blogging quickly fell to the bottom of the pile as FeedBurner started its incredibly rapid growth curve.
Dick's new blog, Ask the Wizard, is an absolute must read for any entrepreneur. Let's hope he doesn't stop. When to raise money isn't an easy question, because it really varies, but the important point is isn't just when, but how much. Pitching your company is a topic more of lore than matter, and my approach is to keep it simple, know many pitches and get into real conversation as soon as you can. There is more on outside directors and non-founder equity so far. The advice is practical, smart and fun, just like the author.
So Dick, let me ask you one question that I think you are in a great position to answer, at least to keep you going. How does an Internet entrepreneur overcome not being in the Silicon Valley? I'll bet it is more than being on a plane all the time. And I happen to wonder if not being based in the Valley explains why Feedburner was to be first to market without any competition for so long.
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