In “From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932” David Hounshell offers a well researched perspective on the evolution of manufacturing methods in Great Britain and the United States. “From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932” by David Hounshell I found the American System to Mass Production by David Hounshell insightful. He outlines a ..read more

Scaling up a small team in a bootstrapped startup can present some unanticipated challenges. Here are some things to watch out for. Quick Take: Scaling Up a Small Team We often work with successful startup founders who start to scale their businesses. They’re moving from a small initial team of people they knew and have ..read more

I had a thought-provoking conversation with Alex Panait of Mission Automate on current trends and possible futures for AI applications. Alex Panait on Current Trends and Possible Futures for AI I first met Alex Panait of Mission Automate at the last Bootstrappers Breakfast of 2023. It was an online event and I came away impressed ..read more

Prepare for 2025 With Bootcamps on Customer Discovery & Getting More Customers Today, Oct-1-2024, is the start of the fourth quarter of 2024; it is time to close out the objectives you set for this year and start planning how you will grow in 2025. To help you get a jump on next year, we ..read more

Quotes for entrepreneurs curated in September 2024 on a theme of coordination, collaboration, and teamwork. Quotes For Entrepreneurs Curated in September 2024 My theme for this month’s “Quotes for Entrepreneurs” is coordination, collaboration, and teamwork. + + + “You can create value with breakthrough innovation, incremental refinement, or complex coordination. Great companies often do two ..read more

This is based on some emails and conversations with a successful client who had grown his business but was afraid to take a vacation because he was not delegating very effectively to his team. Q: I Am Afraid to Take a Vacation This conversation has been adapted from a set of emails and conversations with ..read more

Working with family can be challenging. A young man asks “how can I help my father?” He can start by appreciating his father’s accomplishments. Q: How Can I Help My Father Grow His Business? Q: I have been working for my father but it’s hard to get him to try any of my ideas for ..read more

Some suggestions for how to value an equity offer from a startup as part of a decision on whether to join. Q: How Do I Value an Equity Offer From a Startup? Q: I am out of my element here, so please forgive my ignorance. I am being recruited by a start up with roughly ..read more

Pairing expertise with curiosity and conversation to stay ahead of the competition ..read more

There are many reason it can be difficult to get prospects interested in conversations, much less your product. Here are a few along with a suggested sequence of steps to determine their needs. Q: I Cannot Get Prospects Interested in Conversations Entrepreneur: I’m a software developer looking to create a product focused on helping SMBs ..read more