Community
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!
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.
May 5, 2016
Investors with the Right Stuff
Have you done your research to know which investors have the right stuff for your company? Here’s a fresh example of the importance of doing your research and not thinking all money is equal. Last week, Boeing announced that General Nano (now “Veelo”) was one of 12 honored with a Supplier of the Year award. That’s 12 out of 13,000 suppliers! Congratulations to Joe Sprengard and his team. This is yet another great example of the innovation taking place here in #startupcincy.
May 3, 2016
Start with the E.N.D. in Mind
Have you been 100% clear and honest with yourself and partners about your expectations for your new startup? Do you know exactly what it will take to achieve those expectations? Based on my anecdotal experiences I’ve found that many founders could do a better job defining their expectations in qualitative AND quantitative terms, and then ask a lot of questions to develop a reality-based view of what is required to get there.
May 2, 2016
Playing the Carnegie
How do you get to the Carnegie? Practice, practice, practice! On Saturday, June 18 and again Saturday, June 25, I’ll join 40 business and community leaders to the stage at The Carnegie in Covington, KY (nope, not NYC) for the 9th Annual Suits That Rock concert, benefiting The Carnegie’s education department. All “Suits” by day, performers are trading in their business attire and briefcases for microphones to Turn the Radio Up!
April 22, 2016
Cracking into the Top 5 Fastest Growing Startup Cities
What factors determine the success rate of a population of venture-backed startups? And how is success measured? We can learn something by looking at the Top 5 fastest growing cities whose startups are collectively raising at least $200M.
April 7, 2016
#GiveFirst + Authentic = #StartupCincy
What is the best way to create, build and sustain a startup community? Are there models we could adopt and expand? This is a discussion I’m always interested in furthering.