Joe Kraus, one of the co-founders of Excite, and then DigitalConsumer.org, has been welcomed to the blogosphere by a number of A-list bloggers (David, Jeff, Ross) so you should be aware of his blog if you are interested in entrepreneur/VCs anecdotes.
His latest posts (Take a Cookie, and Persistence Pays Part 1 and Part 2) are extremely relevant (and so true!) for (first time) entrepreneurs. Even though one can always say that things are different now compared to 10 years ago, some of these lessons still hold true:
- Raising money is neither easy nor quick, especially the first time you go about it (18 months in Excite's case - and they did sign customers and got revenues along the way). And if it is available, the money might come in a different form, structure, pre-money and terms than you had dreamt about. Unless you have another choice (like bootstrapping with consulting gigs), you'll have to accept how the market perceives (and prices) your idea.
- Schmoozing and tactical flip-flops don't replace a business plan and a solid value proposition, but they are also part of the toolset of an entrepreneur. Starts never align quite right and therefore a lot of flexibility, and ability to seize opportunities as they present themselves, will be required. And when someone recommends you meet some he or she knows, and you don't see why you should take the meeting, take the meeting (or the cookie) anyway...
- As we say in French, "as long as there is life, there is hope": it takes a lot of courage and tenacity to be an entrepreneur, and assessing when a "No" might not be the end of it is necessary. Though, at the same time, being honest and knowing when to stop and get back to the drawing board is critical for VCs AND entrepreneurs (hey, we never said that his stuff was easy).
Happy reading, I hope that you'll find it worth your while.
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