Archive for the ‘NYEW – Speaker’ Category

Entrepreneurs are a lonely breed and it’s because of this loneliness that we constantly yearn for help and improvement. One effective way of getting help is to find a good mentor. Good entrepreneur mentors can be found everywhere but it’s not easy finding one that’s perfect for you.

In this post, I hope to share some of the key things to look at when finding a mentor for you and your business. A good mentor can go a long way for the entrepreneur both personally and professionally. If you don’t have one or have had trouble finding a good one, then keep reading. Read the rest of this entry »

Things here in NYC are crazy with corporations and entrepreneurs trying to figure out how to catch the green wave.

And if you’re in doubt whether there is some serious potential in business in this area, just spend 3 minutes at any magazine store and look at the front covers of some of the major publications. That should placate your doubts!

Why is the “green” industry is so darn hot and very unlikely to be just a fad:

* Red China is now turning green and will lead the way in a very short time
* European countries are returning to coal known as “the dirtiest fuel on earth”
* The planet’s population is expected to increase 50%… to 9 billion! within 40 years
* The number of cars and trucks is expected to double by 2040 to two billion
* The number of commercial jetliners is expected to double to 36,000 by 2030

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A survey from a pool of Columbia Business School alumni entrepreneurs was recently conducted to understand the overall pattern of our graduates entrepreneurial experiences and what factors predict success.

One of the questions posed was: When did you launch your first business? Read the rest of this entry »

If you are planning to make entrepreneurship your future, then you probably think that you’re a fairly adaptable, fly by the seat of your pants kind of guy (or girl). That’s a good start, however, to achieve real success as an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to learn to change direction practically mid-sentence.

Here are the reasons why, as well as a few tips on how to make it a little easier.

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Over the years, I’ve been privileged to be surrounded by many accomplished entrepreneurs. All of them have different stories about why they chose their path of entrepreneurship, and how their business grew, but all of them have one thing in common – instead of giving up when things went wrong, they learned to roll with the punches, and adapt to the given situation.

You see, the truth is, becoming an entrepreneur, or a small business owner, is a scary proposition. Whether you have capital lined up or you’re bootstrapping, and whether you’ve taken the plunge voluntarily or been forced to try your hand at entrepreneurship because you were laid off, there is always an element of fear involved.

Successful entrepreneurs leverage fear to their advantage. They feed off the excitement and exhilaration like an adrenaline junkie would when sky diving, leveraging the emotional high to keep them going, even when the chips are down.

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In the previous post we looked at what seeds funds are and why they are important.

In a recent blog post, Paul Kredowsky voiced his disapproval of the seed funding phenomenon. However, his post is less about the entrepreneur, than the seed funding companies themselves.
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The debate about whether the seed funding phenomenon is a bubble waiting to burst, or whether it’s a viable means of funding pre-revenue/start-up businesses still continues. This is my take on the landscape.

There was a time when if you wanted to fund your company you had four options, approach:

1. A bank
2. An angel investor
3. A venture capitalist

4. OR …… have an asinine risk tolerance and fund the project yourself with your own money.

At a certain threshold of funding, there was a catch twenty-two because banks are notoriously risk averse, and don’t normally fund businesses that have yet to prove themselves. Meanwhile, traditional VC firms couldn’t justify investing less than $3M-$5M in a Series A round, mainly because ROI based on growth trajectory (when investing in small amounts) wasn’t worth their while, especially when holding $700M+ under management.

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There is a trait among entrepreneurs that people both love and hate at the same time – their optimism.

Let’s face it, taking the leap from security into the unknown must be backed by a healthy dose of optimism. If that wasn’t the case, most people wouldn’t do it, would they? No one would start a business if they weren’t completely convinced deep down in their gut that they were sure to succeed.

However, if you want to build a strategic plan, access funding through angel investment or venture capital, and deal with those first few tough years, you need to temper your enthusiasm with a healthy dose of reality.

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