Vote FOR a renewable energy future by voting AGAINST the Boulder muni
I’m really frustrated with the way many from the the pro-muni block in Boulder have misappropriated the idea that being for municipalizing our local utility infrastructure (condemning the Xcel’s local grid and forming a city-owned and operated electric utility) is the only way to move Boulder towards the goal of 100% renewable energy. They’re trying to co-opt the idea that a vote against muni is a vote for fossil fuels and a vote for it is a vote for renewables. I couldn’t disagree with this line of thinking more. In fact I think the opposite is true – a vote to continue the Boulder muni effort is the wrong way to go about pursuing the goal of lessening our dependence on non-renewable energy sources. …
October 23, 2017· 4 min read
Is your sales problem really a product problem?
Not suprisingly when companies are having issues in sales they look to their sales or and sales leadership for the source of the problem. In the cliche example (but one which happens all the time) sales will loop in marketing (“we’re not getting enough leads”, “the leads aren’t high quality enough”). But typically product is left out of this mix. To be clear, there are plenty of sales related issues that are directly attributable to poor sales processes, bad training of sales resources, poor time management, etc. But often overlooked is the role product plays in sales challenges. I’m not writing this to offer a ready made excuse for sales teams that aren’t executing but as a reminder to executive teams that when you’re struggling to understand sales challenges be sure to look at closely at product. I’d suggest looking both at how existing customers are actually using your product (often not well understood by companies) and comparing that with both the type of customer you’re targeting (which may be very different than your current mix of customers) and what features they require. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve looked more closely into this question and found that the problem we’re actually solving isn’t well mapped to a shifting target in sales. Or where there are specific product features that we’re lacking that are preventing product adoption but for whatever reason that feedback insn’t coming through as part of our sales process. …
October 18, 2017· 2 min read
The Feature -> Product -> Company Continuum
I’ve been thinking about the continuum between a feature, product and company a lot recently. Specifically the challenge that companies have as they move across this continuum, how rare that last category really is, and the combination of product idea and market potential that is required for companies to actually make it to Company status. Most companies begin life somewhere between a feature and a product. They’re started by an entrepreneur trying to solve some problem that s/he finds compelling and generally that problem is a feature of some larger set of problems. At this stage most entrepreneurs are given the advice to “focus”. It’s good advice (and advice I give all the time) but does sometimes perpetuate the feature-ness of the business – you spend your time and effort narrowly on a small number of related features and while you may have some inclination for how these stitch together into a larger idea it’s not fully thought through yet. …
October 5, 2017· 3 min read
Friday Fun #2
Beware of Lotters. And guys with guns who can’t spell.
September 22, 2017· 1 min read
Friday Fun – #1
The world needs more humor (or at least I do). I’ll be posting some here every Friday. Enjoy! Today’s #FridayFun is one of my favorite all time SNL skits. More Cowbell – Saturday Night Live! from Robert J. Lunte on Vimeo.
September 8, 2017· 1 min read
How to value your SaaS company
If you read my blog regularly you know I love (LOVE) metrics. So no surprise that when River Cities Capital released an overview of SaaS operating and valuation benchmarks, I hung on every juicy detail. It’s chocked full of them – I’d highly recommend your reading the full report. But if you’re too busy for that, below are some of the key take-aways. I’ve added color commentary of my own that’s more relevant to earlier stage companies as well. …
August 31, 2017· 5 min read
Drowning
I’m struggling and I’ve avoided talking about it. I’m used to being busy and I’ve often said that what I like most about my job is the constant phase shifting – it fits my personality and, frankly, my attention span. I’m used to a certain amount of chaos and uncertainty. But lately I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by it. I’m not sure if it’s the constant barrage of news from a president I can’t stand and who I think is ruining our country. Or the friend who was just diagnosed with advanced metastatic stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Or the other friend who was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Or the crap that’s going on in tech and venture that makes my stomach turn. Or just the day to day busy life of a family of 5 with school, sports and everything in between. I feel distracted. I think of Matt and Reggie a lot (and at unexpected times). I’m struggling to focus. …
August 25, 2017· 3 min read
Humility Over Pride
[a version of this was originally posted at Unreasonable.is. i was thinking about it today and wanted to repost it here with some additional commentary. in light of some of what we’re reading about in the tech press it would seem that a remind about this is due] __________________________ This advice would seem obvious, if only more people followed it. I was attending a board meeting recently where a company put up the following as one of its core values: “Humility over pride” …
April 14, 2017· 2 min read
Reading Your VC Pitch Meeting
I’ve come to realize that many – most – entrepreneurs suck at reading pitch meetings. Frequently what I hear from a company CEO is completely uncorrelated to what I hear from the VC they were pitching. In thinking about why this is, the answer is actually relatively straightforward: VCs are predisposed to give good meetings. AND By being equivocal at the end of a meeting they preserve maximum option value. …
April 11, 2017· 5 min read
Weighing in on Judge Gorsuch
A number of people have asked me to share my views on Neil Gorsuch in more detail. I’m sure the curiosity stems from the intersection of my personal relationship with Neil and my absolute disdain for President Trump. I am aware given the current political climate that views on this are very polarized. And while a SCOTUS pick will always stir up emotion, the combination of the hyper polarized environment along with the backdrop of Merrick Garland not getting even a hearing for the same seat I know many people who are very angry about the prospects of Trump filling what was Obama’s seat to fill. …
March 22, 2017· 3 min read