This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2014
It can be triggered by any number of things — something as benign as a re-forecasting exercise with your CFO, or something as direct as a conversation with a key customer. It can hit you suddenly, or it can evolve over time, from a lingering suspicion to a brutal certainty. Whatever the circumstances, almost every start-up founder experiences at least one true “Oh Shit” moment. I’m not talking about the daily challenges faced by every...
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This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2013
Day after day, I see pitches by companies highlighting their “first-mover advantage.” And for good reason. As investors, we are constantly searching for ideas that are innovative and new. We are always looking for companies creating new markets or disrupting existing ones. The idea of a company establishing itself as a market leader in an emerging segment is very powerful. You don’t have to be in this business very long, however, to realize the landscape...
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This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2013
If you’re a serial entrepreneur, or a venture capitalist, then you’ve probably experienced failure. In many ways, it’s the price of poker in the world of high risk start-ups. If you have experienced failure, then you already know — it sucks. As a result, people generally don’t like to talk about it (myself included). One thing I’ve learned, however, is that there are different ways to fail, and some are better than others. Therefore, I...
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This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2011
Last week, I was at the Defrag Conference and Phil Weiser, the Dean of the University of Colorado Law School, was one of the speakers. During his talk on legislation and technology, Phil said something that has really stuck with me. He said, “Our generation’s Sputnik moment has gone unnoticed.” His comment was referring to a national call to action — an entrepreneurial awakening of sorts. But as I thought about the Sputnik moment, I...
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This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2011
In this day and age, if you are in the business of building companies, buying and selling companies, or simply navigating large transactions, then a brush with litigation is almost inevitable. It comes with the territory. The most amazing litigation I ever encountered was a class action lawsuit involving one of my colleagues as a defendant. It was several years ago, and at the time, I was still close enough to my law firm days...
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This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2011
When building a start-up, competition is always on a founder’s mind. Generally speaking, they set out to tackle big opportunities — and to do it with limited resources. First-mover advantage is important, and positioning within a market can make the difference between success or failure. As a result, entrepreneurs tend to spend a fair amount of time looking over their shoulders. In my experience, competitive threats can serve as both great motivation and great distraction....
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This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2011
Not too long ago, a CEO (of a company we are not invested in) said to me, “I knew Jim was the perfect guy to be my CFO when he told me he had absolutely no hobbies outside of work.” I stewed on that comment for a while, before coming to two separate conclusions. The first was that Jim is probably not going to be a successful member of the management team. The second was...
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This post originally appeared at www.chrisamarks.com in 2011
I was at a meeting of venture fund managers last week where a panel of venture backed CEOs discussed the topic of “bad vc behavior.” It was a fascinating discussion, and, because of the quality of the entrepreneurs, a very frank one. One scenario that was discussed at length, was when investors and founders do not agree on the merit of a liquidity opportunity. It was raised in the context of a transaction that is...
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