October 14, 2016

Add Sweet Reverb to Your FounderCon Mix

Here are a few tips on how to be sure your networking efforts aren’t just noise, but reverb music to your audience’s ears.

October 3, 2016

The Startup Mentality of FC Cincinnati

For entrepreneurs and VCs who build company after company, success is never an accident. And it occurred to me, none of the success of FC Cincinnati was an accident either.

September 29, 2016

FounderCon and the Future of #StartupCincy

On September 21st, we had a big week with the Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund Annual Meeting. As many of you know, this meeting would be my last as Fund Manager. I couldn’t help but to sit back and reflect on the enormous progress we’ve made together in a short period of time.

July 7, 2016

5 “Knows” for the Brandery Class of 2016

Congratulations to the Brandery Class of 2016! #startupcincy welcomes you with open arms. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of you, and most importantly my mentor assignment, Datazar. We look forward to spending more time together over the coming months. Before I get to the recommendations, I should also congratulate the Brandery founders Dave Knox, J.B. Kropp and Rob McDonald, as well as Tony Alexander, the Executive Director.

June 23, 2016

Twilio IPO and the Year of Communications?

Last night Twilio (TWLO) successfully priced its IPO above the expected range. It has raised the question about whether the IPO window is now open for VC-backed tech companies. My answer:

June 20, 2016

Ride or Die

Cleveland fans will “ride or die” supporting the Cavs, says Lebron James in his post game interview. He’s got that right!

June 17, 2016

3 Keys to Momentum in the Startup Nation

In case you haven’t read Start-up Nation, here’s a brief primer: For the last 7-10 years, technology companies and global investors have been beating a path to Israel and finding unique combinations of audacity, creativity, and drive everywhere they look. Why?

June 11, 2016

Navigating Your Startup in a VUCA World

Building a fast-growth startup requires a number of important leadership skills. Particularly since the environment we operate in is extremely complex and fast-paced. First-time founder-CEOs may find themselves learning on the job, which can be extremely difficult. VUCA is a concept developed in the military in the last 20 years that provides direct parallels to the startup world. VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. I learned about VUCA and several other important concepts this week at West Point Military Academy.

May 27, 2016

Three Ways to the Woodshed

Going to the woodshed is a strategy we can take from the world of music and apply to business to achieve creative breakthroughs. The “woodshed” refers to a place of isolation, away from distractions.

May 13, 2016

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Yesterday Jim Scheinman and Sara Thomas of Maven Ventures were visiting us in #startupcincy. You may have seen the great news that one of the portfolio companies, Cruise, was just acquired by GM for over $1 billion. It actually closed yesterday while they were in town. We learned great insights about how the company and investors thought about the coming self-driving car revolution. And then I also see Fred Wilson’s post today on the subject.