“Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.”

Peter Drucker

The post And practice makes perfect appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

“This is probably the first methodology that’s been crowdsourced. Big idea. Unlike previous methodologies where there was an author, textbook and take-it-or-leave-it, this is an iterative process and I think we’re all collectively getting smarter at a very scary rate.” Steve Blank (at 6:53)

Watch live video from Startup Lessons Learned on Justin.tv

I did not SAY nor FIND this quote. Steve said it and  Nivi and Naval found it. Thanks.

The post Are you getting smarter at a scary rate? appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

Naval points out that there are a few key elements to an “exceptional” startup. He states that while there are many of additional qualities, the top five in order are:

1. Traction
2. Team
3. Product
4. Social Proof
5. Pitch/Presentation

This is outstanding presentation which is chock full of ideas and usable tips. Here are the slides.

However, the most important word is FUNDABLE. If you are trying to build a fundable startup these ideas are important. But only a few percent of all startups are fundable. Entrepreneurs may aspire to a fundable sartup, but there are very, very, very few. Furthermore, most startups shouldn’t even think about external capital during the startup phase. Rather they should focus on developing a scalable business model.

A fundable startup is inherently different in many respect than a “normal” startup. So yes, please read this presentation. It is really gold, BUT don’t confuse a fundable startup with your startup, unless you are one of the very, very few.

The post A (Fundable) Startup appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

I will be teaching a new course called – Business Model Innovation. It will start in mid October.  The design is not finished, although I have been giving it a lot of thought during the summer. One thing is certain. It will be largely based on the so called – new thinking – in startup world. This means it will include the latest thinking on actually creating business models from people like Alexander Osterwalder, Steven Blank, Eric Ries and others including me. I have been sharing most of these same ideas with my students at SSES and KTH for years. Now they have gained additional legitimacy.

More on the Business Model Innovation course as it develops.

Take a look at this presentation from a workshop  given by Alex and Steve on Design & Testing Business Models.

The post A New Business Model Course – Business Model Innovation appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

- An Assyrian inscription, 500 BC

The post Nothing new in the world? appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

When pitching, I’m not interested in an idea. So you have an “idea.”OK. What do you want, a cookie? I’ve had 97 ideas since I’ve been sitting here. This idea pitch…it’s a waste of time. Show me you’ve actually done something.

Gary Vaynerchuk

The post Wanna cookie? appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

The post Top Business Models for 2011…Not appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

“We sell iPhones in over a hundred countries. We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.”

When asked about bringing these jobs to the US, an Apple spokesman told MSNBC

The post Exactly . . . Create Value for owners and customers appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

Professor Vijay Govindarajan of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and ranked in the “Thinkers 50″ , a list of supposed top business thinkers said, “Leaders place too much emphasis on ideas, not nearly enough emphasis on execution. Leadership is mostly about innovation execution.”

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

A leader’s job is about ideas. It’s about painting pictures. It’s about communicating those ideas and images and through that to get high levels of commitment from there “followers.”

Leadership is NOT about execution PERIOD.

Now, do companies put too much emphasis on leadership? No, that’s ridiculous. No sane business observer is claiming (at least publicly) that companies are suffering from too much leadership. Now, do companies focus enough on execution. No, they don’t, he is absolutely correct there. Execution, whether it is executing a strategy or executing/commercializing an invention ( i.e., innovation), is hard work. People generally don’t like hard work and companies are made up of people.

Govindarajan is correct in that there is a lack of execution; however, the solution is 1. better management, 2. better operational systems and procedures and 3. better organizational environments (culture), but certainly NOT fewer ideas.

Stay tune for more on this.

The post Leadership is leadership and execution is execution appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

Einstein

The post The Secret of Creativity appeared first on Terrence Brown Creates Value.