Is your startup using Agile Principles? Learn about them on GHC
Learn all about them in our 3 part series:
Eliminate waste http://bit.ly/cHgMbn
Deliver as fast as possible http://bit.ly/8YaDmr
Decide as late as possible http://bit.ly/du6Urx
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Assembling thoughts on Innovation
There is lots of writing on lean innovation these days:
www.startuplessonslearned.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/pascallouis/iterate-like-a-whirling-dervish
http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-principles/
I particularly like Getting Real, by 37 Signals.
http://gettingreal.37signals.com/index.php
(and I have used Backpack, which I think they did a very nice job with)
I like the design first, code later approach, but sometimes it seems like inspiration/innovation emerge in the process of coding. And yes documentation can be slow, but a nicely done functional specification can be a thing of beauty.
[a lot of lean innovation leans (no pun intended) toward ruby on rails. I am just a beginner programmer, but I can't help think that python may not be packaged as nicely but that it offers more flexibility and functionality.]
I've been thinking too about Clayton Christensen's work on innovation, taking another look at the "innovators solution". I tried to distill some of the key advice here, in some, perhaps too short, soundbites:
1) Pick strategies that are less attractive to competitors
2) Compete against nonconsumption
3) Figure out if low end disruption is possible
4) Make life easy for customers—don’t force them into things
5) Segment the market in terms of the jobs people are trying to get done.
6) Seek market opportunities that will change the competitive landscape
7) Figure out where money will be made in the future
8) Insure that new initiatives will succeed in a company with,
a. Resources to succeed
b. Processes working
c. Values allowing prioritization
9) Create disruptive channels for disruptive services
10) Leverage the experience from past problems that people have faced
11) Seek early evidence confirming the strategy for products, customers, and applications
12) “Be impatient for profit.”
13) Create new markets for your disruptive technology.
a.(This may contradict number 13 in that he argues for some patience in get disruption off the ground.)
www.startuplessonslearned.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/pascallouis/iterate-like-a-whirling-dervish
http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-principles/
I particularly like Getting Real, by 37 Signals.
http://gettingreal.37signals.com/index.php
(and I have used Backpack, which I think they did a very nice job with)
I like the design first, code later approach, but sometimes it seems like inspiration/innovation emerge in the process of coding. And yes documentation can be slow, but a nicely done functional specification can be a thing of beauty.
[a lot of lean innovation leans (no pun intended) toward ruby on rails. I am just a beginner programmer, but I can't help think that python may not be packaged as nicely but that it offers more flexibility and functionality.]
I've been thinking too about Clayton Christensen's work on innovation, taking another look at the "innovators solution". I tried to distill some of the key advice here, in some, perhaps too short, soundbites:
1) Pick strategies that are less attractive to competitors
2) Compete against nonconsumption
3) Figure out if low end disruption is possible
4) Make life easy for customers—don’t force them into things
5) Segment the market in terms of the jobs people are trying to get done.
6) Seek market opportunities that will change the competitive landscape
7) Figure out where money will be made in the future
8) Insure that new initiatives will succeed in a company with,
a. Resources to succeed
b. Processes working
c. Values allowing prioritization
9) Create disruptive channels for disruptive services
10) Leverage the experience from past problems that people have faced
11) Seek early evidence confirming the strategy for products, customers, and applications
12) “Be impatient for profit.”
13) Create new markets for your disruptive technology.
a.(This may contradict number 13 in that he argues for some patience in get disruption off the ground.)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Brookline Food Festival to Be Held June 5, 2010
Friday, June 04, 2010
Brookline Food Festival to Be Held June 5, 2010
Just a quick note that the third annual Brookline Food Festival will be held tomorrow (Saturday, June 5) at Devotion School on Harvard Street from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM. A number of local restaurants will be offering food at the festival, including The Fireplace on Beacon Street and Zaftigs on Harvard Street. Each participating dining spot will be giving out tasting portions of up to three food items, with tasting tickets costing $2 each. Proceeds from the event will go to the Brookline Food Pantry, which is located on St. Paul Street.
The 2010 Brookline Food Festival is partnering with the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival, which is also being held at Devotion School tomorrow (its hours are 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM).
The address for Devotion School is 345 Harvard Street, which is in the Coolidge Corner section of Brookline, about three blocks north of Beacon Street.
For more information on the Brookline Arts Festival (as well as the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival), please go to the link below.
http://www.coolidgecornerartsfestival.com/
Brookline Food Festival to Be Held June 5, 2010
Just a quick note that the third annual Brookline Food Festival will be held tomorrow (Saturday, June 5) at Devotion School on Harvard Street from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM. A number of local restaurants will be offering food at the festival, including The Fireplace on Beacon Street and Zaftigs on Harvard Street. Each participating dining spot will be giving out tasting portions of up to three food items, with tasting tickets costing $2 each. Proceeds from the event will go to the Brookline Food Pantry, which is located on St. Paul Street.
The 2010 Brookline Food Festival is partnering with the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival, which is also being held at Devotion School tomorrow (its hours are 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM).
The address for Devotion School is 345 Harvard Street, which is in the Coolidge Corner section of Brookline, about three blocks north of Beacon Street.
For more information on the Brookline Arts Festival (as well as the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival), please go to the link below.
http://www.coolidgecornerartsfestival.com/
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Entrepreneurship Resources
Here are a bunch of entrepreneurship resources that I think are pretty good.
(There maybe a clean-tech, and internet/telcom, and a Boston bias to them, but what can I say). Also this is a work-in-progress, so feel free to add resources in the comments.
General (Mostly Mass) Resources:
MIT Enterprise Forum
enterpriseforum.mit.edu
http://www.entforum.caltech.edu/
Great stuff. Smart people working on new things.
Mass High Tech
http://www.masshightech.com
Great info on New England companies and innovation
Boston Business Journal
http://boston.bizjournals.com
The Capital Network (TCN)
http://www.thecapitalnetwork.org/
Good resources, but expensive events
Greenhourn Connect
http://www.greenhornconnect.com/
New site for new entrepreneurs
Mass Innovation Night
http://massinnovationnights.com/
Also,
webinnovators
Mobile Monday
BarCamps
etc...
Has Money
Mass Challenge
http://www.masschallenge.org
Lots of money here for entrepreneurs
MIT 100k
http://www.mit100k.org
IBM
http://www-05.ibm.com/ie/smarterplanet/smartcamp/
http://smartcampireland.wordpress.com/
Has money
BU ITEC
www.bu.edu/itec
Good events, mentoring, and money
Energy Resources:
ICE Merges with Cleantech Open to become the Cleantech Open Northeast Region
http://www.ignitecleanenergy.com/
Good networking and learning events, great mentoring
BU Energy Club
http://www.buenergy.com/
Sustainability @ BU
http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/administration/about-us/
The Renewable Energy Business Network
http://rebn-east.weebly.com/
The Renewable Energy Business Network enables business professionals with an interest in renewable energy to connect with one another, to promote the growth of the renewable energy industry.
Various Articles:
Venture Capitalists Look for a Return to the A B C’s
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/technology/start-ups/07venture.html?_r=2&ref=technology
Business Insider on the Job situation
http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-the-scariest-jobs-chart-ever-2009-9
a good incentive to make your own job
Thomas Friedman
http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/
Makes a great case for the need for making science and engineering strong in the US.
(PG: It is great to learn entrepreneurship, but we need inventions and innovation. You probably only need one business person for every 30 engineers. So stay in school, kids. Entrepreneurship is fun and exciting, but there is a lot of important work that needs to be done to solve problems.)
Random:
People are pretty hyped up about social media tools. You might want to check them out:
http://www.facebook.com
FB connect is increasingly utilized and probably useful
http://twitter.com/
In case you like distractions, like I do. What was I saying?
@ScottKirsner
etc etc
(too tired to write them all down now, so take a look at who I(@PerryGrossman) am following)
Boing Boing
http://boingboing.net/
So much brilliant stuff here.
more internet making it hard for me to focus.
(but also so many inventors who are probably not making much money, but are doing some really cool things)
see also:
Make
makezine.com/
TED
http://tedxboston.org/
If you can't think of any good ideas. There are lots here.
Steve Blank
http://steveblank.com
Good advice on talking to customers
Don Dodge
http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/
Experienced innovator, with good insights
Deshpande Center
http://web.mit.edu/deshpandecenter/index.html
supporting many emerging technologies
Skype
Great for making long distance calls when you don't have much money.
Company formation and Business Plan advice:
OnStartups
http://onstartups.com
Advice from Dharmesh Shah, of Hubspot
http://timberry.bplans.com/2010/03/why-i-hate-those-huge-market-numbers.html
Build your sales model ground up
See also
Guy Kawasaki
www.guykawasaki.com/
Jason Calacanis
http://calacanis.com/
Has a really funny video somewhere on his entrepreneurial experiences
Some advice on getting funding:
Term Sheets (Part 1 of 2)
http://www.mit100k.org/blog/term-sheets-part-1-of-2/
(There maybe a clean-tech, and internet/telcom, and a Boston bias to them, but what can I say). Also this is a work-in-progress, so feel free to add resources in the comments.
General (Mostly Mass) Resources:
MIT Enterprise Forum
enterpriseforum.mit.edu
http://www.entforum.caltech.edu/
Great stuff. Smart people working on new things.
Mass High Tech
http://www.masshightech.com
Great info on New England companies and innovation
Boston Business Journal
http://boston.bizjournals.com
The Capital Network (TCN)
http://www.thecapitalnetwork.org/
Good resources, but expensive events
Greenhourn Connect
http://www.greenhornconnect.com/
New site for new entrepreneurs
Mass Innovation Night
http://massinnovationnights.com/
Also,
webinnovators
Mobile Monday
BarCamps
etc...
Has Money
Mass Challenge
http://www.masschallenge.org
Lots of money here for entrepreneurs
MIT 100k
http://www.mit100k.org
IBM
http://www-05.ibm.com/ie/smarterplanet/smartcamp/
http://smartcampireland.wordpress.com/
Has money
BU ITEC
www.bu.edu/itec
Good events, mentoring, and money
Energy Resources:
ICE Merges with Cleantech Open to become the Cleantech Open Northeast Region
http://www.ignitecleanenergy.com/
Good networking and learning events, great mentoring
BU Energy Club
http://www.buenergy.com/
Sustainability @ BU
http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/administration/about-us/
The Renewable Energy Business Network
http://rebn-east.weebly.com/
The Renewable Energy Business Network enables business professionals with an interest in renewable energy to connect with one another, to promote the growth of the renewable energy industry.
Various Articles:
Venture Capitalists Look for a Return to the A B C’s
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/technology/start-ups/07venture.html?_r=2&ref=technology
Business Insider on the Job situation
http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-the-scariest-jobs-chart-ever-2009-9
a good incentive to make your own job
Thomas Friedman
http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/
Makes a great case for the need for making science and engineering strong in the US.
(PG: It is great to learn entrepreneurship, but we need inventions and innovation. You probably only need one business person for every 30 engineers. So stay in school, kids. Entrepreneurship is fun and exciting, but there is a lot of important work that needs to be done to solve problems.)
Random:
People are pretty hyped up about social media tools. You might want to check them out:
http://www.facebook.com
FB connect is increasingly utilized and probably useful
http://twitter.com/
In case you like distractions, like I do. What was I saying?
@ScottKirsner
etc etc
(too tired to write them all down now, so take a look at who I(@PerryGrossman) am following)
Boing Boing
http://boingboing.net/
So much brilliant stuff here.
more internet making it hard for me to focus.
(but also so many inventors who are probably not making much money, but are doing some really cool things)
see also:
Make
makezine.com/
TED
http://tedxboston.org/
If you can't think of any good ideas. There are lots here.
Steve Blank
http://steveblank.com
Good advice on talking to customers
Don Dodge
http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/
Experienced innovator, with good insights
Deshpande Center
http://web.mit.edu/deshpandecenter/index.html
supporting many emerging technologies
Skype
Great for making long distance calls when you don't have much money.
Company formation and Business Plan advice:
OnStartups
http://onstartups.com
Advice from Dharmesh Shah, of Hubspot
http://timberry.bplans.com/2010/03/why-i-hate-those-huge-market-numbers.html
Build your sales model ground up
See also
Guy Kawasaki
www.guykawasaki.com/
Jason Calacanis
http://calacanis.com/
Has a really funny video somewhere on his entrepreneurial experiences
Some advice on getting funding:
Term Sheets (Part 1 of 2)
http://www.mit100k.org/blog/term-sheets-part-1-of-2/
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)