No Pain No Problem — Products Providing Passion & Pleasure What’s your problem? “What’s the big problem you are solving?” It’s probably the most predictable question thrown at entrepreneurs during an investor pitch — repeated so often that it becomes comical and trite. Inevitably, some armchair entrepreneurship expert — posing as an investor, or a mentor or coach at an accelerator program — speaks up and sagely proclaims the key to startup success: “solve a big problem for a customer, or a big market.” “identify a big pain that customers have — and relieve that pain with a product.” “the ..read more

Doubters, naysayers, unscrupulous investors, and competitors — entrepreneurs are used to battling all kinds of demons. But it’s the obstacles and enemies closest to you that blindside and derail your entrepreneurial success. They come in the form of a friendly co-worker or someone in a position of influence. While appearing to help you, they are actually subverting your success. This happens so often there’s a name for it: It’s called Salieri Syndrome. Salieri Syndrome Anton Salieri is the rival composer vividly depicted in the movie Amadeus. Salieri is seething with envy at Mozart’s talent, g ..read more

Real Character is Revealed in how you Treat Others One of the best things about being an entrepreneur is that you are own boss and master of your own fate. Maybe in theory, but the entrepreneur’s fate, mood, and success are in the hands of non-entrepreneurs — people they encounter day-to-day: potential partners, customers, influencers, connectors, mentors and investors. They are the gatekeepers for opportunities, sales, funding, and other critical resources. Entrepreneurs live and die by their interactions and responses. These non-entrepreneurs often hold the keys to that all important mi ..read more

Winston Churchill was the lone voice of wisdom among a sea of amateurs and high profile neophytes. In the political ecosystem leading up to World War II, this herd of inexperienced dilettantes was the epitome of all-talk-and-no-action. They were the very definitions of ignorance, indecision, and inaction — verbose spectators without any hands on experience — yet they dominated the conversation. nd nearly led their countrymen to the brink of extinction. Churchill was drowned out by this sea of uninformed voices, as he proclaimed: When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber. Ha ..read more

This is part 2 of a 3 part series on Virtual Accelerators for startup founder’s and entrepreneurs. Part 2 — The Fog of War So. what happens during the typical 12 week Virtual Accelerator program? Don’t be fooled. A virtual accelerator program is more intense than you might expect. It will take more work and more time than you planned — particularly if your startup is already operating with customers. For startup entrepreneurs, participating in a virtual accelerator program is like taking a college course while having a full time job. There are weekly lessons, weekly assignments and deadl ..read more

Virtual Accelerators are one of the most prominent startup trends of the past 5 years — booming in the post-pandemic Zoom era. Hundreds (even thousands) of organizations around the world are now offering a variety of startup-acceleration programs. If you’re an entrepreneur or thinking about launching a startup, you might be tempted to take part in one of these programs. Before you take the leap, know what your getting into — and getting out of — the experience. Part 1: The Basics. What you need to know. Virtual Accelerators: What are they? Are they for you? Virtually Different First: Understa ..read more

Derek Sivers — Founder, Author, Creator, Philosopher Derek Sivers — A unique and unusual Entrepreneur, Writer, Philosopher and Creator — very insightful, self aware and profound, – and he knows how to express his thoughts and views in a clear and compelling manner. He’s known for his surprisingly quotable insights, and his pithy, succinct writing style. Formerly a musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown, he sold his first company for $22 million and gave all the money to charity. Derek Sivers is known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician since 1987, he started CD Bab ..read more

Geoff Ralston Entrepreneur, Investor & President at Y Combinator. Geoff has been president of Y Combinator since early 2019. He has been with YC for over ten years, joining Paul Graham as one of the first non-founder partners in 2011. Geoff has worked with hundreds of YC companies like Stripe, Gingko, Clever, Helion and Boom and has personally angel invested in over 100 companies. In the early days of the web, Geoff and his team created one of the very first web-based email products, Rocketmail. Rocketmail eventually became Yahoo! Mail when it was acquired by Yahoo! In 1997. At Yahoo! Geo ..read more

Jason Fried — Founder, Author (and business philosopher) Who hasn’t heard of Jason Fried? Or Basecamp ? or 37signals? Or his seminal bestseller ReWork? Jason Fried is the cofounder and president of Basecamp (formerly 37signals — and currently 37Signals! ) — a privately held Chicago-based company committed to building the best web-based tools possible with the least number of features necessary. With David Heinemeier Hansson, Fried is the coauthor of Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application; Remote: Office Not Required; and the New York Times b ..read more

Heidi Jannenga, DPT — co-founder of WebPT Dr. Jannenga is the co-founder of Phoenix-based WebPT, the leading software provider for electronic medical records and practice management for rehabilitation therapists. A sports physical therapist and clinic director when she co-founded WebPT in 2006, Dr. Jannenga served as chief operating officer until 2015, and then as the firm’s president until 2019, when it was acquired by Warburg Pincus. Dr. Jannenga also serves as secretary of the board of directors of the Arizona Community Foundation, as a trustee of the Arizona Science Center, as a boar ..read more