If you are working on your first startup, this is the book for you . Hopefully, the Foreword I wrote reflects my belief in the quality and importance of this book. My friends @willherman and @rajatbhargava put their hearts and souls into the creation of the first edition of The Startup Playbook, and it paid off. Over 13,000 people bought the book, it’s a 4.8-star review book on Amazon (with 100 reviews), and it sold out. ...
Today, I participated in the Juneteeneth 4.0 Celebration that was hosted by OHUB , ThePlug , and Living Cities and led by Rodney Sampson . In addition to being part of a panel, I made several commitments as part of the #RacialEquityEcosystemPledge . Here’s the fact sheet released by OHUB today. I’ve agreed to: Do a monthly podcast called Equity.District with Rodney on racial equity in entrepreneurial ecosystems and other issues around racial equity in entrepreneurship. Help organize and co-host a Racial Equity conference inclusive of Rodney’s network, my network, and anyone else who wants to participate. Make a meaningful financial contribution to the OHUB Foundation from the Anchor Point Foundation . If you are able, I encourage you to donate as well. Make a meaningful financial contribution to at least two more Black-led ecosystem building organizations recommended by OHUB. Work with Rodney and the OHUB team on an ongoing campaign to raise money for Black ecosystem builders, funds, and founders. The entire event is below. There’s a lot of awesome stuff in it. ...
I’m going to participate in the Juneteeneth 4.0 Celebration tomorrow from 1pm – 4pm ET. It’s being hosted by OHUB , ThePlug , and Living Cities . I’ll be part of a fireside chat with Rodney Sampson (CEO, OHUB) and Ben Hecht (CEO, Living Cities) where, among other things, we’ll discuss the introduction of Racial Equity Pledge. Rodney is one of the dozen or so Black colleagues that I reached out to and talked to over the last two weeks to learn more about what I could get involved in and immediately support with time and money. Ohub is one of those organizations and I’ve already learned a lot from Rodney, such as several different ways to think about changing the equation around racial inequity in tech. A framework I got from him that I immediately related to is his Economic Development Pyramid. ...
On Monday, June 1st, I told Amy that I wanted to engage deeply in helping eliminate racism in the United States. I’ve been involved in gender inequity issues since I joined the National Center for Women & Information Technology board in 2005 shortly after it was formed. 15 years later, I’ve learned an enormous amount about gender, especially in tech, and while I am nowhere near finished on that particular journey, I feel that I understand and can be helpful in my role as a male advocate (or “male ally”) in eliminating gender inequity in tech and entrepreneurship. ...
Over the past week, I’ve done a handful of podcasts to help entrepreneurs, leaders, and employees at startups to help think through how to respond in a crisis. I’ve requested that anything I do right now on this front is made public, so if anyone is interested, they can watch them. The first, hosted by David Cohen , is with Scott Dorsey , Paul Berberian , and Berne Strom . Scott, Paul, Berne, and I are all “older entrepreneurs and investors” who have been through multiple crises dating back to 1987. ...
Recently, I read a well-written article in Fast Company by Jon Dishotsky titled We need to be more honest about what tech culture is doing to our mental health. In it, he had a list of lessons he has learned over the years. Look out for your wake-up call Create routines that prioritize mental health Work in line with your body’s rhythm Make time for silence Find space to unplug Give your emotions credit Cultivate (and listen to) your inner circle These mental health suggestions are all right on the money. I encourage you to go read the article if this is a topic that interests you.
I’m lazy blogging this week as I get ready to go on vacation for the July 4th holiday. So, here’s another set of videos to watch, which is the entire Street Level Startups series from Colorado Public Television. I’ve watched them all now and they are a great history of how the entrepreneurship scene in Colorado has evolved recently, along with a bunch of fun highlights of people and companies. ...
Michael Natkin at Glowforge recently wrote a great post titled Strong Opinions Loosely Held Might be the Worst Idea in Tech . I have never liked this entrepreneurial cliche. While I have a large personality, I don’t have a temper and I’m not argumentative. I try hard to listen (although I’m not always great at it), try to express my thoughts as “data” rather than “opinions”, and try to evolve my thinking based on the inputs that I get. ...
Amy and I recently decided to support Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) and their national expansion to Colorado through our Anchor Point Foundation . EforAll’s mission is to accelerate economic development and social impact through inclusive entrepreneurship in emerging communities. They are focused on fostering small business development and entrepreneurial activity amongst under-networked and under-resourced populations in communities that have been traditionally overlooked for economic investment. The decision to support EforAll was easy for us as they focus on two distinct issues that we care about: building entrepreneurial ecosystems and supporting underserved entrepreneurs. Their metrics speak for themselves as their entrepreneurs have been: 57% unemployed or underemployed (when they started the program); 70% female; 41% immigrant; and/or 55% minority. ...
James Oliver, Jr. has written a fun book that is part memoir, part advice, for what he calls Parentpreneurs (entrepreneurs who are trying to raise kids.) He’s got a website with a bunch of history about him, his journey, and the book . It’s also got some pictures of his twins, which even I, as a non-kid kind of person think are pretty adorable (although they are apparently eight now according to James, so I’m not sure if they qualify as adorable anymore, but they probably do.) ...