Yet Another (ex-)VC Blog

A VC careers page from a smart junior VC

John Gannon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:43:55 +0000

Mark Davis, one of my classmates from Columbia Business School, just started compiling tips for people who are interested in working in the venture capital industry. His blog is already a great resource for all things VC related, and so adding some VC careers info is just the cherry on top. I’ve also added a link to his VC careers page from my VC careers page.

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Send my company to SXSW! Vote for our talk on the Panel Picker

John Gannon — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:22:34 +0000

We submitted a talk for SXSW Interactive focused specifically on Cloud Computing. I’d appreciate your support by voting up our talk. It will require you to register before voting, but I promise it is relatively painless. :) Here is the link to the talk: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/5440

Thanks!

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Startups: Your Customers Are Not Ignorant, Selfish, Control Freaks

John Gannon — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 03:53:20 +0000

Practically speaking, you probably can’t actually put a customer in all your meetings. If that’s the case, you should act as if she’s there. Pretend like she’s sitting in the room. In the past, I’ve actually designated an empty chair in the meeting as being where the customer is, and looking in that direction while asking “what does the customer have to say?” (yes, I’m weird). When you’re trying to make an important decision, and you’re sort of divided on the issue, ask yourself: If the customer were here, what would she say? You don’t actually have to do everything she says, but it’s useful to at least factor in her point of view.

via Startups: Your Customers Are Not Ignorant, Selfish, Control Freaks.

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Pivoting with limited data

John Gannon — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:13:11 +0000

The kaChing team is quick to note that because they’re still closing-in on product/market fit, they’re less data-driven than they plan to be once they’re in optimizing mode. “We create hypotheses, and test them,” says Rachleff. “If something fails, we cut it off. If something seems to succeed, we pursue it aggressively. You have to have the courage of your convictions. With limited data, you have to make tough decisions.”

via Lessons Learned: Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot.

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If you hear this question, you aren’t talking to an Earlyvangelist

John Gannon — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:46:33 +0000

"Can you send me some documentation about your product?"

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A great Quora thread about Paypal’s unique culture

John Gannon — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:27:02 +0000

This is a great Quora discussion of Paypal’s unique culture, with lots of input from past Paypal employees.

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Thought for the day

John Gannon — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:42:20 +0000

When people feel they are appreciated and valued, they are made to feel like they are on a mission. And rest assured that missionaries will beat mercenaries every time.

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Evernote Trunk: An App Store for Productivity Addicts

John Gannon — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:09:22 +0000

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Ch1qod5vit8/

As a daily Evernote user this was awesome to see. One of my other favorite productivity boosting companies Officedrop was plugging into Evernote already and I’m looking forward to seeing what other cool integrations are in store through this platform.

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Anthony Casalena: The best web entrepreneur you’ve never heard of

John Gannon — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:01:40 +0000

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thisisgoingtobebig/~3/S3VN1x8Q06w/anthony-casalena-the-best-web-entrepreneur-youve-never-heard.html

New York tech and Squarespace FTW!

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Some tips for achieving focused thought

John Gannon — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:28:20 +0000

http://howtogetfocused.com/chapters/practicing-focused-thought/

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