Gordon Whyte's Blog of the daily challenges of an

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The Roller coaster ride of your life, Starting your own company
2008-11-12 11:18:00
Life as an Entrepreneur is an everlasting roller coaster, it oscillates around:resources, time,products/services, people,market,manufacturing/production,co mpetition,suppliers,family,friends,politi cs,health and emotions,I would class this list as the tier 1 off building blocks of your business, it is easy to get swamped when all of these are running against you, or even just a couple, you are usually dealing with these challenges alone or just a couple of you, and it is hard to get clarity and the big picture of the business. I do not have an answer to this problem, but I have my own ways of dealing with it, focus and purpose, what is my vision, and how do we get there, you don't eat an elephant in one sitting, you take it in small bites, you have a critical list prepared before you start and when you feel that you are loosing it, you look at the challenges and match it against the critical list, will the business crash and burn if I don't fix this now, tomorrow or next week. They ...
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Some insight from a former Dragon's Den inmate
2008-11-10 12:13:00
Doug Richard (Former Dragon)Cleantech, Chutzpah and CapitalEntrepreneur, Library House Founder and former ?Dragon?, Doug Richard discusses the Cleantech and mobile sectors, the pull of Cambridge and ?FutureFest?.As Founder and Chairman of venture and innovation research specialist Library House, Doug Richard is at the fulcrum of technology innovation. Richard, who is also the chairman and Chief Executive of mobile social networking specialist Trutap, and was a member of the BBC?s ?Dragons? Den?, has a clear vision of the future. And the Cleantech industry is at the heart of it.Library House has developed its own Cleantech taxonomy, defining ?clean energy? to include diverse products, technologies and processes, which through improvements in the clean energy supply chain from energy source to point of consumption, result in a reduction in CO2 emissions.Despite the challenging economic marketplace, Richard sees the Cleantech industry being a key driver of technology adoption.?Although...
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Burn rate and cashflow analysis
2008-10-30 11:42:00
I cannot remember how many times I have been looking at cash flow projections and P&L's, running the daily, weekly, monthly burn rate figures in my mind, and seeing the runway( I don't like the term, but is apt, if you run out off it you crash and burn) disappear, this post below gives you a method of gauging where you sit, on the survival matrix, in your own mind and your investors.The Survival Matrix:By Fred Wilson (http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2008/10/the-surv ival-ma.html)As Brad Stone and Claire Cain Miller talked about in the New York Times piece about startups slimming down to survive, we are seeing many companies looking at their cash balances and burn rates and deciding to cut burn to increase runway. We've done an exercise with our own portfolio that I wanted to share with all of you. I am calling it the survival matrix.First we create a table of our entire portfolio and chart current cash balance, burn rate, and runway (cash/burn). We leave out the profitable companies f...
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Some good Blogs by CEO'S
2008-10-15 18:22:00
I have listed some blogs here for your entertainment, all C-level ..have read...these guys are good in there own right, and there blogs are worth a read...1. Jonathan Schwartz (President & CEO, Sun Microsystems)2. Craig Newmark (CEO, Craig?s List)3. Mark Cuban (Owner, Dallas Mavericks)4. Ross Mayfield (CEO, Socialtext)5. Matt Blumberg (CEO, Return Path)6. Alan Meckler (CEO, Jupiter Media)7. Kevin Lynch (Chief Software Architect, Adobe)8. Robin Hopper (CEO, Founder - iUpload)9. Jason Calacanis (CEO, Weblogs)10. John Dragoon (CMO, Novell)RegardsGordonThe daily challenges of an Entrepreneur living in the North East of England
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Why Venture Capitalists don't call back (sometimes)
2008-10-03 12:10:00
Why Venture Capitalists don't call back and what you should do about it.How many times have you had the "we like your" offering, pitch or business from a VC and you never hear back? I have heard of Founders who have waited for 6 weeks or more for a call back, and are still waiting, now this is not a bash the VC post, just some tips on how to deal with the situation.Lesson 1: Do not wait, after your pitch you ask when will I hear from you, if you don't hear move on, do not wait longer the two weeks.Lesson 2: Do not stop pitching until you have the money, deals are not deals to you see the money. Lesson 3: Ask "what are the next steps, and what is the timescale" Lesson 4: As a more mature ,wise and rich CEO, said to me "the squeaky wheel gets the oil" Keep pushing, take every opportunity that you can to pitch your company. Lesson 5: Not all VC companies are the same, so treat each one with respect and understand they know more than you.I have worked with many VC'S the only thing th...
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Why you need a business plan
2008-10-02 10:04:00
Many entrepreneurs are under the impression that with enough enthusiasm and persuasiveness they can start and run a successful small business. This is a contributing factor for more than half of small businesses failing in the first year of operation. There?s a reason that most successful startups- and a number of established firms- undertake this exercise. A business plan provides a number of benefits to the prospecting or newly formed startup, and here are five:>>>>>>>>Banks need it- Try walking into a bank and asking for a loan without a credit check or collateral and see what happens. You?ll be laughed right out the of the front door. Business es are no different. In today?s credit market, banks are becoming increasingly stingy about lending as risk of default grows. It is your responsibility to provide in-depth, well researched data to ease this concern if you expect them to provide funding.You need to know your market segment- Grand plans to outsell Amazon.com are fine and dand...
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The Pricing trap, how much is your product worth ?
2008-10-01 14:51:00
The Pricing game, is one of the hardest tasks a company developing a new entrant into a market, if you set it to low, you are stuck there, if you set it too high you won't develop a market or even worse the customer will buy until they find a cheaper alternative and move there custom. This article by Will from the Go big network will give you an in site into his thought process. The Truth about PricingBy Will SchroderAny Entrepreneur that?s ever tried to bring a new product to market has had to deal with one frustrating fact ? no one knows what to charge for it! No matter how well you think you can predict the market or how much research you?ve done, until people start paying for your product you?re still just guessing.Even then, when people are actually forking over their hard earned cash for your product, you still don?t know if you?ve optimized for the best possible price to generate the greatest number of sales. Fortunately there are some simple strategies you can employ to qui...
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Effective Collaboration, an efficiency multiplier for free
2008-09-23 12:47:00
Effective Collaboration The word collaboration has become widely used but is it just empty rhetoric? Collaboration is defined as "the act of working together to produce or create something." In this complex business environment people are being asked to share knowledge freely, to learn from one another, to shift workloads flexibly, to help one another complete jobs and meet deadlines, and to share resources-in other words, to collaborate. This activity is about behavior, work habits, culture, management, and business goals and value.With that said I ask, "How likely are your employees to say they "sink or swim" together, want one another to succeed, or view their goals as compatible?" Bringing people together is no longer a choice ... it is the only way to assemble the knowledge and experience required to accomplish the complex tasks your organization faces.Here are Six Ways to Build Collaboration1. Model collaborative behavior - Your actions send a clear message - do yours "say" col...
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Passion, Vision, Change and You
2008-09-18 12:25:00
I have been immersed in thought for the last 4 months, been sifting through my thoughts, I am in the middle of a deal at present which is going in a different direction from what I want at this time in my life. I have been assessing what is important to me, health ? wealth ? my faith ?family ? and I am concerned that the changes I have went through in the last 15 years as an entrepreneur have subtle drifted me away from the things that are truly important to me, my Family and my Faith. I know that we need to earn our crust to make our way in this world, but at what expense. I am not here to preach but just to pose the question to those who drop by, What is important to you for the long run ? every bodies answer is different, and just as valid, but the life we live is our choice, and the result to the answer of the question, have you made the choice, or did you let situations around you make the choice for you.I love work, I love to work with passionate people who have vision and com...
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How to make decisions (not for the serious folks)
2008-09-11 10:36:00
Question: How can a company ensure that there is a healthy level of disagreement when making a decision?Answer: The ancient Persians used to make decisions twice?first when they were drunk, then when they were sober. Only if they agreed in both circumstances would they act on the decision. The process worked. The Persians ruled much of world for three centuries.We think companies need to imitate the Persians. As you might imagine, we get a chuckle any time we say this to an audience. People want to retire to the bar to continue the discussion.What people miss is that most corporations make major decisions in a state that, while not drunk, is certainly emotional. Companies don?t need to have executives pop a few martinis and reconsider their thinking. Executives need to find a thoroughly sober, dispassionate environment in which to give their emotional decisions a second look. SlainteGordonThe daily challenges of an Entrepreneur living in the North East of England
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Brand management
2008-09-09 14:27:00
How is your personal brand, are you managing it well ? where do you rate on a google search, how close to the top off the listing do you fall. In this economy you need to be found, applying for new projects takes time, referals or head hunting is a lot faster. Do you have a linked in profile http://www.linkedin.com/ or a http://www.zoominfo.com/ profile there are many different social media platforms that you can use and manage your brand, you are the only person who will. There is the real world network and there is your virtual network, both a neccesary , but I find in business my real world network is more important, where as my virtual network is the definative way to find new projects. Take some time and see what you can find out about yourself on the net, how easy was it to find yourself, and then ask how easy is it for someone else to find you. I hear you ask so whats this to do about buisness ?everything, if you can't market and brand yourself then how will you manage to do...
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Technology makes it easy to be a one person International Company
2008-09-08 16:31:00
Technology has advanced to such a stage it?s now possible to start a global business from a laptop, forcing the entrepreneurial doors wide open to teenagers, the retired, single parents or those who quite sensibly want to dip their toes in the water (or at least on eBay) before taking the plunge.Banks are lending more money than ever before - £33bn in 2006, just to small businesses. People actually know what business angels are?Prime time programmes such as Dragons? Den, The Apprentice, Tycoon and Risking It All have pushed the very idea of running your own business to the forefront of the national psyche ? no longer is it exclusive to the Delboys or pinstiped, it?s for you and I. Celebrity entrepreneurs are the new celebrity chefs ? or as Risking It All?s Martin Webb said to me the other week, ?Business is the new Rock ?n? Roll?.Entrepreneur, champion networker and Startups Awards judge Oli Barrett ended up on Working Lunch and Newsnight when he launched his brilliantly successful ...
More About: Technology , International , Company , Person , Easy

I am an entrepreneur, I have a great idea but no money ?
2008-08-29 16:30:00
I am an entrepreneur, I have a great idea but no investors, what can I do?Answered by Richard Hall from http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/This is one of the most common questions that entrepreneurs face. More than 95 per cent of start-up ideas are funded through friends and family. Here?s why.All of us have everyday random ideas that we believe could make an interesting start-up but we rarely act on them. The reality is that most ideas do not have the potential to generate a significant enterprise value to make a professional investor happy. So you turn to cousin James who knows that you will not run away with his money.Even in the rare cases when ideas can generate value, the effort, resources, and uncertainty attached with commercialising them is beyond most individuals.Let us assume that a person comes to us with an idea. How do you evaluate it? Most investors would immediately turn to the background of the inventor or entrepreneur. If the inventor has prior industry or functional ...
More About: Money , Entrepreneur , Great , Idea , An Entrepreneur

Making the first Move with an investor
2008-08-18 12:02:00
I found an interesting article from the "Ask the VC blog". This can be a problem for the first time entrepreneur, as they do not know the ropes and have had no prior experience or network, these few tips posted by Paul Graham from Y combinator, his company is a new kind of venture firm specializing in funding early stage startups. They help startups through what is for many the hardest step, from idea to company, there niche is software and web service.Paul Graham: http://www.ycombinator.com/Q: Everyone tells me the way to approach a venture capitalist I don?t know is through a friendly introduction from someone who already knows that VC. But what happens if I don?t have the connections to get that introduction? Am I screwed?A: Every entrepreneur who has raised venture capital has heard it a thousand times?the best way to approach a venture capitalist is via a warm introduction. Venture capitalists invest in people as much as they do in technology or business ideas, and having some ...
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A Fundraising Survival Guide by Paul Graham
2008-08-11 14:08:00
I found this essay by Paul Graham , Paul is an essayist, programmer, and programming language designer. In 1995 he developed with Robert Morris the first web-based application, Viaweb, which was acquired by Yahoo in 1998. In 2002 he described a simple statistical spam filter that inspired most current filters. He's currently working on a new programming language called Arc, a new book on startups, and is one of the partners in Y Combinator.Paul is the author of On Lisp (Prentice Hall, 1993), ANSI Common Lisp (Prentice Hall, 1995), and Hackers & Painters (O'Reilly, 2004). He has an AB from Cornell and a PhD in Computer Science from Harvard, and studied painting at RISD and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence.Web Page: Paulgraham.comHe produced an excellent article on how to survive fund raising, this is a must read for anyone who is starting, process of raising funding, or thinking about it, for there early stage company, it has been a help/ refresher to me as I am looking ...
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Protecting your idea is not cheap.
2008-08-06 14:59:00
Illustration: Harry CampbellThe truth about patentsThe Poor Man's PatentBy Kirk TeskaPatent attorneys charge between £3500 and £8000 to prepare and file a ­patent application. If only there were a cheaper way, a kind of poor man?s patent. But it just doesn?t exist.Some people think they can protect their ­invention by writing a ­patentlike description of it and ­mailing the ­document to ­themselves, but this is no substitute for patent ­pending. At best, the letter shows that you ­conceived an ­invention by a certain date, but you?ll ­probably be able to prove that with ­engineering notebooks, e?mails, dated PowerPoint presentations, and the like. Moreover, ­evidence of an ­invention?s conception date is ­useful only in a limited set of ­circumstances, most of which involve actually ­filing for a patent at some point in time. So save yourself the paper and the postage stamp.There used to be a so?called disclosure ­...
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An Insite to what the VC's do with your money if you are so lucky
2008-08-04 16:10:00
Venture Fund EconomicsWhen I write about venture fund returns, there are always comments and questions that lead me to believe that the economics of a venture fund are not well understood. And since most of the readers and commenters on this blog are people who work in the startup ecosystem, I think its important that the economics are better understood. So I am planning on some posts on this topic in the coming weeks.The first thing I'd like to tackle is how returns are calculated and why the reported returns are often higher than people might think.Unlike hedge funds or other investments you might be familiar with, venture funds do not call all of the committed capital upfront. If you commit $1mm to a venture fund, you will receive capital calls about once a quarter for anywhere from 3% of your commitment to 10% of your commitment. That is because it takes time for a venture firm to put the money to work and they'd rather leave it in your bank account than have in in their bank ...
More About: Money , Lucky

Dragon's Den or Dungeons and Dragons
2008-07-31 13:42:00
Dragon's Den or Dungeons and Dragons I have had look at some of the going on's with the new series of Dragon's Den on BBC, I did not think it could get worse, but they have surpassed themselves. I think this is a nice fantasy show, when I know serious entrepreneurs that are looking for investment, they would never get a look in on the series as they would be too smart, to well prepared, and the Dragons would not be able to rip them off. There maybe the odd good proposal but they will not get a reasonable chance to pitch it they can't entertain, I had a look at the offerings so far:`Layline' - essentially a double bedsheet with a seam down the middle to tell your partner when he/she has trespassed into your personal bed space.'D4M', four young women who supplied unique installations for events, such as a human table and a talking tree'A' machine that turned air into water 'Saboteur'. a fake TV, which gives the impression that someone is home, online diamond business called ...

business ethics
2008-07-21 15:59:00
Honesty and Integrity?The glue that holds all relationships together -- including the relationship between the leader and the led is trust, and trust is based on integrity.? --Brian Tracy?A life lived with integrity - even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune is a shining star in whose light others may follow in the years to come.? --Denis Waitley?The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it.? ?Ralph Waldo Emerson?To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.? --Douglas AdamsYour Integrity is your "crown jewels" loose it at your peril, protect it at all cost's, it makes a difference:To your customersTo your employeesTo your share / stake holdersTo your familyTo youTo GodSlainteGordonThe daily challenges of an Entrepreneur living in the North East of England
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Innovation and Engineering
2008-07-10 02:58:00
I read this article from EDN by Rick Nelson, Editor-in-Chief, it gives an interesting insite into one future for engineering, an exciting one and one that we should chase after and promote, to every kid who is searching for a positive future. The lastest comments from the G8 conference was an admitance that it is only going to be you and me who set the world back on it's right course, we need to get involved in climate change and bring Innovation , and "out the box" thinking to make a difference. This article could be the start for many. Driving meta-innovation worldwide.........The need for these new definitions occurred to me while listening to a keynote speech titled ?The Dreams of Engineers: What's Next?? that Geoffrey C Orsak, dean of the Southern Methodist University School of Engineering , presented at a conference on mechatronics (sponsored by EDN and sibling publications) held May 13 in Santa Clara, CA.As an example of redeployment of ancient technology, Orsak cited SkySail...

You can do good and do well
2008-07-04 08:49:00
You can do good and do well: lessons from "The Go-Giver"I caught this post from one of my favorite bloggers Pam Slim, this is an extract of the post:The Law of Value Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in paymentThe Law of Compensation Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve themThe Law of Influence Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests firstThe Law of Authenticity The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourselfThe Law of Receptivity The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving Have a look at the full post here : http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/ge t_a_life_blog/2008/07/you-can-do-good.htm lHave an awesome weekend...SlainteGordonThe daily challenges of an Entrepreneur living in the North East of England
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What do leaders hear in this day and age
2008-06-30 08:54:00
The top CEO?s of the Fortune 500 companies rely on accurate information required to steer their organizations future strategy. Most CEO?s would tell you they are inundated with internal operating reports, analysis about everything and anything. Externally they read The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes and Fortune Magazines. They also read books about strategy and reports about their competition. A Leaders job is to see the future of their market and steer the organization to that vision based on the information they have consumed. Productivity and profitability are always the under currents required to reach a vision.The manager?s job is to execute initiatives and strategies to move the organization to the vision established by the leader. Managers are supposed to work with people and processes that enable the organization to improve the momentum by which the organization progresses towards the vision. Managing productivity and profitably is the means of reaching a vision....
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Closed for a wee while
2008-06-23 05:38:00
I am closing the Blog for a wee while, thanks for your support :)Regards GordonThe daily challenges of an Entrepreneur living in the North East of England
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some light relief for the weekend
2008-05-30 11:41:00
Ever thought of how to open the conversation to a VC, well keep this thought in mind, he is thinking, "how is this guy going to make me money", repeat, "how is this guy going to make me money". This article below comes from an article in the Sun microsystems blog "Place for Small and Medium Businesses"How to Pickup a VC by G KawasakiMany entrepreneurs ask me what is the best way to open a pitch to potential investors. I'll answer that question at the end of this posting, but first let me tell you the ten worst opening lines that you can use:You say: "I'm bright and ambitious." Investor thinks: "That's a relief because I usually invest in stupid and lazy people."You say: "I'm a blue sky thinker." Investor thinks: "You have no business model, and you don't know how to ship."You say: "I don't know much about your firm, but I thought I'd contact you anyway." Investor thinks: "You're a lazy idiot--why are you wasting my time?"You say: "I love to think of new ways to solve problem...
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Know thy enemy, why do start-ups fail
2008-05-27 15:17:00
This article discusses why start-ups fail, I could add a few to the list, but to keep your read short I have just included what David Feinleib who is a partner at MDV – Mohr Davidow Ventures, talked about. Why start-ups failAn entrepreneur recently asked me why startups fail. Start ups fail because they run out of money. You’re probably thinking, “Tell me something I don’t already know!� Read on and you’ll see that statement is deceptive in its simplicityThis post is based both on my experience as an investor and as entrepreneur (when I’ve boot-strapped and venture-funded).They spend too much on sales and marketing before they’re ready. Many venture companies move to a high burn rate too quickly and it’s hard to go back. Sometimes even a frugal entrepreneur winds up spending too much either because he doesn’t manage the money or is tempted by having money in the bank. This often happens when a startup raises too much money too early.Other times, this occurs with e...
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Introduction to Angel Investors (Angel Investors 101)
2008-05-19 15:44:00
An angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital.Source and extent of fundingAngel s typically invest their own funds, unlike venture capatalist, who manage the pooled money of others in a professionally-managed fund. Although typically reflecting the investment judgment of an individual, the actual entity that provides the funding may be a trust, business, limited liability company, investment fund, etc.Angel capital fills the gap in start-up financing between "friends and family" (sometimes humorously called "friends, family, and fools") who provide seed funding, and venture capital. Although it is usually difficult to raise more than a few hundred thousand dollars from friends and family, most traditional venture cap...
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The in's and out's of Product Management
2008-05-16 13:48:00
Why Product Management Is EasyBy Adam Bullied from http://www.planeteye.com/I track the term ?product management? on Twitter. You can see the results of that search term by checking out a handy tool called Tweet Scan. Essentially, whenever someone mentions the words ?Product? and ?Management? in a tweet, I get alerted on my cell phone by way of SMS.I?m a nerd, but I find it interesting. And, yes - this turned in to a hella long post.Recently, and you should see this if you look at the search results, I?ve noticed a couple of folks talk about how hard a job product management is. I wanted to make some points here about this, and hopefully put to rest reservations folks may be having about exploring the possibility of getting into the job, or maybe even continuing doing the job if they are already in the thick of it.My take is: it?s not hard.Now, I?m not a product manager in a big, massive company. I never have been, and if I were a betting man, I?d say I never will be. That being sai...

The inside of a VC company or VC 101
2008-05-16 11:20:00
Venture capital fund operationsRoles within a VC firmVenture capital general partners (also known in this case as "venture capitalists" or "VCs") are the executives in the firm, in other words the investment professionals. Typical career backgrounds vary, but broadly speaking VCs come from either an operational or a finance background. VCs with an operational background tend to be former chief executives at firms similar to those which the partnership finances and other senior executives in technology companies. VCs with finance backgrounds come from investment banks, M&A firms, and other firms in the corporate investment and finance space.Investors in venture capital funds are known as limited partners. This constituency comprises both high net worth individuals and institutions with large amounts of available capital, such as state and private pension funds, university financial endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and pooled investment vehicles, called fund of funds ...
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Understanding Angel Financing or do you really want there money
2008-05-08 11:06:00
I saw this article on VC Buzz wrt Angel Financing and it brought back sour memories of attempts at raising fincance for a project I was working on with Callum Norrie to set up a semiconductor material development company using IP from the defunct Terahertz Photonics, we were at a connect conference in Edinburgh pitching the project and were engaged with some of the Scottish angel's, it was an eye opener, I would not have used the term angel investor rather "Robber Barron", I know that may sound hard, but these guys are there to make money and they will at your expense, there are a few good guys and if interested I can share there names with you . Back to the article, it nails the different types of angel investors and the issues surrounding how an angel financing works. This is a must read for anyone raising an angel round. I wish you luck in raising future funding in these hard days, but if you have a good product / service , a route to market, customer commitment, and a seasoned ...
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A must read for the Entrprenure wanna be
2008-05-01 14:02:00
A must read for the Entrepreneur wanna be:I have worked with Founders from a lot of varied backgrounds, pure academics, research scientists, and the very rare experienced business person, all have there own philosophy on how to start a business and run a business, I have an important statement "You do not know it all" and "your point of view is not the only correct one". I have sat around numerous meetings early mornings, late nights and long haul flight meetings and listened to them declare there point of view with a level of arrogance only Kings and Queens and the President of the USA should only be making, oops !!!I forgot to mention the venture capitalist as well, well you are spending his money to test your pet theory and fix your problems, so the £xx0m you have spent so far of his money can give him the right also. I used to be in this camp my way is the only way, but I have learned that I usually hire smart people , who are better at some things than I am, and pay them a good...
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