Why Entrepreneurs Fail: Product Camp Follow-Up

This blog post is adapted from the speech Kevin Koym gave at Product Camp 2010 in Austin, Texas. Slides are hosted here.

Lean StartUp Case Study: Innovate Wireless Health

Since the Tech Ranch is hosting StartUp Lessons Learned Conference Simulcast this Friday, let's take a very brief look at how lean start-up practices have the power to generate your first customers without requiring any investment at all.

What Linux has to say about economics and Tech Ranch

Besides being able to control the jukebox and drink yerba mate all day, the thing that I love most about managing the community at Tech Ranch Austin is all the folks who come in the door. They all have stuff to teach me, even about our own business model. Lesson #1: always be prepared to let people teach you what they want to teach you.

Entrepreneurial Marketing and Blogging Angst – Part II

Thanks to Austin for engaging me in the debate over blogging.

At his prompting, I’ve hopped over the fence and am now sharing the 3 reasons why blogging is a must for entrepreneurial marketing:

Wake up entrepreneurs! Here's why you should care about Senator Dodd's Financial Reform Bill

Senator Dodd's Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010" passed the Senate Banking Committee on March 22nd and the bill will now move to the Senate floor. If this bill gets passed there will be some serious repercussions for the start up ecosystem - entrepreneurs, angels and VC investors. Its time to take action NOW.

Content and Structure of Your Investor Pitch

Structure your communication correctly, and your content will sink in effortlessly. As we’ve heard it before, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it. Let’s go ahead and talk about a HUGE exception to that rule: The Investor Pitch. Structure is hugely important here, but if you don’t answer the question, “How will your business make the investor money,” then structure doesn’t matter. Neglect to answer that question overtly and specifically, and you’re going home.

Entrepreneurial Marketing and Blogging Angst (A Response)

When Cristi Jakubik writes something, everyone around the Ranch pays attention. This goes double for me. Few others have the experience she does in the trenches of marketing. Cristi speaks from this experience, having earned her stripes on the Silicon Valley Battlefields.

Entrepreneurial Marketing and Blogging Angst

This is a shout out to all those techies who consider themselves well-informed, leaders in their sector but alas, have never blogged… and therefore worry that they are being marginalized.

There are so many good reasons to blog: vetting fresh ideas in a diverse arena, motivating others and generating a following, showing passion and differentiating yourself as a thought leader.

But are there good reasons not to blog?

The Pioneer Program Marks Successes

Have you checked in with the Pioneer Program recently? The new year has marked lots of change and maturity in the program. In response to lots of demand post Venture Forth, the Pioneer Program has grown into a “dojo” for entrepreneurship where entrepreneurs come to practice entrepreneurship with each other and with Tech Ranch Partners.

Get Your Start-Up Out of Starbucks

There’s a recent article that several people have forwarded to me given that it rings true to what I am talking about around the Tech Ranch Austin all of the time… Called Getting your start-up out of Starbucks, James Reinhart has a point that he’s pre