Every day. Fast Forward.
One of the great misconceptions in working to build a startup from scratch is that you need only be great at one thing - typically product development - and then you can wing and learn the rest. Why do I think it’s a wrong approach? First of all, you’re essentially working on a wrong assumption… Continue reading It takes a full team
Some people get great ideas out of nowhere. They just pop up at the most unusual times and places. Other people can spend weeks looking over the ocean hoping to catch onto something and eventually leave the beach empty handed. And some people just have a basic fear of the blank sheet of paper -… Continue reading Triangulating opportunity
Some of the most charismatic and persuasive people I have ever met have also been the ones who have been the most convinced that they had it all figured out and knew everything. Until they didn’t. I am not suggesting that they all failed. But a good number of them did. Because they thought they… Continue reading The ‘know all’ fallacy
“You’re just too old!” I hear it thrown around every once in a while. Not specifically at me but more as a general shoutout to voice dissatisfaction that someone simply just not ‘get it’. But does age really have anything to do with it? Of course not. In fact I think quite the opposite is… Continue reading An age perspective
Most startups are founded on a vision; a wish to help bring about change to something in the world. But many lack a coherent strategy of how to get there in the end. How come? The difference is in the meaning of the various words. A vision is like a desert mirage. It’s aspirational, something… Continue reading Vision needs strategy
Getting a business off the ground of course has a lot to do with the idea and what pain you’re looking to solve for customers. But it is also about timing and luck. Some people say that you can make your own luck. And perhaps that is true. To an extend. What you certainly can… Continue reading Time your own luck – now
Over the past year I have been spending a lot of time trying to understand how to help researchers at universities bring great research into market through spinouts. And I wanted to share my experiences in a series of posts. The first post on ownership structure is here, and this is going to be about… Continue reading You need mutual respect
There are quite a few really good arguments for why you should focus on the problem rather than the solution, when you're trying to build a successful company. But there is one that I think takes the prize as the most powerful one: By focusing on the problem, you broaden the opportunity for yourself, your… Continue reading Be problem-driven