For Entrepreneurs, new blog by David Skok from Matrix Partners
Just found out about a new blog, For Entrepreneurs by David Skok from Matrix Partners. If you are interested in getting started, getting funded, and building a successful company, you will want to add this blog to your feed reader.
David is a successful entrepreneur, founding his first company at age 22, four companies in total, including two successful exits from his Boston companies, Watermark(bought by Filenet) and Silverstream (IPO then bought by Novell).
As a VC he has already had successful exits with JBoss(RedHat), AppIQ(HP) and Tabblo(HP). One of his most recent investments is HubSpot, which has probably had some influence on his decision to start blogging.
For Entrepreneurs has a lot of content other than blog posts which are reference material for startup founders getting their companies off the ground. I particularly like the section on Building a Sales and Marketing Machine. It includes a lot of data and diagrams that walk you through detailed structure and methods for creating a customer acquisition process.
The most recent blog post on Viral Marketing is informative and introduces a new factor , the viral cycle time, which is a key determinant of rate of growth.
We can look forward to a lot more anecdotal advice and guidance that should save aspiring founders much time and effort.
If memory serves me correctly, I seem to remember Silverstream’s product launch was from a party on the deck of an Aircraft Carrier, so maybe at some point we will get to hear about that and how things have changed in this era of continuous deployment, product market fit and soft launch.
Add comment December 7, 2009
SmartSymbols
Genotrope
Record: SmartSymbols
Funding Status: Seed Round
Founders Backgrounds: Faulkner Technologies, Fidelity Investments
Investors: ?
Industry: B2B Online Marketing
Offering Description: Visual technology that uses attractive icons to give online prospects essential facts on the page timed to compel them to buy.
1 comment November 30, 2009
Micronotes
Genotrope Record: Micronotes 
Funding Status: Seed Round
Founders Backgrounds: Okena (Cisco), Entegra, Akamai
Investors: ?
Industry: Mobile, Consumer Finance, B2C Marketing
Offering Description: Micronotes interactive direct marketing system enables consumer brands to mass-produce face-to-face sales interviews to deliver highly relevant offers to a target audience driving sales at lower cost than existing platforms.
Add comment November 25, 2009
The Bigger Problem with Letting Don Dodge Go
*Note that I didn’t post this prior to Don’s most recent news. But the point is still valid, and maybe more so.
By now the dust has settled and the pundits have weighed in about what a huge mistake Microsoft made letting Don Dodge go.
You can see the some of the commentary here:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/04/microsoft-loses-don-dodge-this-is-a-huge-mistake/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/09/don-dodge-microsoft-exit-interview/
http://andrewhy.de/who-will-hire-don-dodge/
But those issues may just be the tip of the iceberg. I think the real problem is just now manifesting itself.
If you read Don’s most recent blog post it is clear that the collateral damage may overshadow the initial blow.
Sure, losing his services as the face of Microsoft to the start up community is huge, as Michael Arrington of TechCrunch pointed out.
But that is dwarfed in my opinion by the fact that one of your biggest proponents of ’all that is Microsoft’ has so quickly “seen the light” regarding the value and utility of the competing products now available to him.
Outlook has been replaced by Gmail with glowing praise “I can already see why people have been raving about it” .
Windows mobile is out and an Android phone to take it’s place. “Windows Mobile is OK, but not great”
I don’t think he is the kind of person to do this for spite. My take is, I sense a great relief to have removed the corporate blinders and the burden of legacy products and preserving cash cows.
*Note: I didn’t post this soon enough, and Don’s most recent post underscores my points.
He has announced his move to Google and once you have read it, you will understand that losing Don’s service was bad, but gaining his adversarial punch will prove to be much worse.
For example from his recent post:
Thanks Microsoft Outlook, but I’m going to Gmail.
Thanks Microsoft Office Office 2007, but I’m going to Google Docs.
Thanks Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5, but I’m going to Google Android.
Thanks Microsoft Internet Explorer, but I’m moving to Google Chrome
Most could have seen this coming from a mile away. Certainly Arrington did as you see from his Exit interview. Seems like a problem to me.
Add comment November 16, 2009
MITX Awards Nov 17th
If you aren’t already signed up for the 14th Annual MITX Interactive Awards I recommend you consider doing so.
As a member of the Web industry here in Boston, you will join the best and brightest of your peers by attending.
This event has a long history showcasing the achievments and recongizing excellence in the creation of web innovations and emerging applications that leverage gaming, mobile, search and social media – all produced and developed in New England.
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Location: Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA
Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
For More Information Visit: http://www.mitxawards.org/interactive/Schedule of Events:
Cocktail Reception: 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Awards Presentations: 7:30pm – 9:00pm
After-Party 9:00pm… (location – TBA)
Check out the list of finalists and categories to get a better feel for what the event is all about. http://mitxawards.org/interactive/Finalists.aspx
And don’t forget it is a pretty good party too!
Get your tickets here http://www.mitx.org/events/1984.cfm
Genotrope will be there so drop by and say hello.
See you there.
Add comment November 14, 2009
Eric Ries Talk @ MIT November 19th
We are all set for a great event coming on the 19th. Thanks to our sponsors, we are pleased to be able to present this talk free to all attendees. By underwriting this event, these sponsors have demonstrated their commitment to the web startup community in the Boston/Cambridge area. Without their help this event would not be possible.
We have some good news. The people that signed up on the overflow list, now have a reserved seat at the event. All ticket holders will receive a confirmation email prior to the event.
Also, there are 12 slots remaining. If you aren’t able to reserve one of the remaining seats, stay tuned. There will be various promotions giving away some tickets by local tech blogs, web groups around town and on twitter.
Add comment October 30, 2009
You don’t need a CTO, you need a lead developer
A quick review of the startup market here reveals a good number of nascent web startups seeking a technical founder CTO.
Dating Site Startup
Recently a first time founder of a Boston startup came to us seeking a CTO for their web app. There was no great technical problem to solve, no dream team and no technical IP to create a barrier to entry. In short, nothing that would interest an experienced CTO. It was certainly a great opportunity for the right person, but that right person was a veteran developer with a track record of shipping reliable code. Mostly the issues were scalability, time to launch and usability.
Rather than waste effort convincing the type “A” founder that they didn’t want a CTO, we focused on showing them lead developers that had shipped significant products and lead teams. Other sources provided many interviews with CTOs and experienced VPs of engineering, at a considerable waste of precious time, but none could be attracted to the deal. Eventually the start-up ended up hiring three good developers and had a very successful product launch.
If you are a non-technical founder with a Web App idea, just get something built. It is all about the Minimum Viable Product. Get something in user’s hands, gather feedback and iterate until you have something they love and will pay for.
Build some traction and revenue, traction is good, revenue is king. If you take off, chances are you are probably going to throw out all your original code anyway. Once you have traction and revenue, you will be more attractive to the CTO you thought you wanted when you started out.
2 comments October 26, 2009
Serendeputy
Genotrope Record: Serendeputy
Funding Status: Bootstrapped
Founders Backgrounds: Boston.com, Abuzz
Investors: founders
Industry: Consumer web, New
Offering Description: Serendeputy is your personal news assistant, a little robot who learns what you like and pulls together a page of news articles tailored to your specific interests.
Add comment October 23, 2009
CheapToday
Genotrope Record: CheapToday
Funding Status: private
Founders Backgrounds: Myperfectgig, Cheap Flights
Investors: Private
Industry: Consumer Web, ecommerce
Offering Description: CheapToday is a buyer’s guide and commentary site. Our deal experts hand-pick only the hottest daily deals on the internet and display them on CheapToday. CheapToday uses the most powerful computers and the biggest brains, fueled by gallons of coffee—all to bring you the best of the net at the lowest prices available.
Add comment October 23, 2009
thredUP
Genotrope Record: thredUP
currently hiring
Funding Status: Seed
Founders Backgrounds: Microsoft, Foley Hoag,
Investors: ?
Industry: Consumer Web
Offering Description: We did some real thinking and figured out this whole idea of more efficient exchange makes a lot of sense for two reasons. First, most people bore easily, clothes included; second, buying stylish new clothes on a regular basis is expensive. So we thought it would be cool if you could exchange the clothes that you were bored of (old to you) for new ones (new to you). Thats really it: out with old to you, in with new to you. Then we got all fancy with being a personal shopper and a refresh button and starting a closet revolution. No matter what we call it, its the same great experience.
Add comment October 16, 2009
