Yes it’s very difficult to raise money and so the probability is you won't raise money so in some sense, people may never raise money and they'll bootstrap forever. However I think the attitude of bootstrapping, that you don't buy $800-chairs, that you don't run Super Bowl Commercials, is someth...
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OK, so "Then and Now — Advise to Entrepreneurs". All right, so just remember back then, back then is 1997-1998. Now is now. OK, so this is the difference in advice to entrepreneurs. Back then, the foundation of most entrepreneurs was cleverness. Cleverness, meaning, "Oh, let’s see...
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Listen to your customers and your noncustomers, emphasizes Kawasaki. People who are not your customers are going to buy your product and use it in ways that you would not expect, he says. It is a good thing to see people using your product in a way you didn’t intend means that your product means...
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Kawasaki explains that hiring infected people is the most important factor. Often, how a person looks on paper means nothing if they are not enthusiastic and ready to work hard. All of the experience in the world means nothing if they are not bitten and infected by the start-up bug. He also tell...
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Making pitches is a way of life for an entrepreneur. Kawasaki provides his tips for ensuring each pitch is better than the last. His 10/20/30 rule for PowerPoint slides is essential.
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The ninth thing is to lower barriers to adoption. Here are the cases where you’ve created the world's greatest mousetrap, the nuclear power mousetrap. You kill mice better than anybody in the history of mankind. Mouse goes in there, there's a little explosion, a little mushroom cloud and the mou...
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Kawasaki talks about marketing and product design simplified. Kawasaki explains why this theory is all an entrepreneur will need to know about marketing. A simple chart illustrates his point - how to be the creator of a unique product or service and is valuable to a customer.
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The business model today is very different than it was before and during the boom, says Kawasaki. In order to write the best business plan possible, follow Kawasaki’s steps: specificity, simplicity, and ask women. He believes that woman don't possess the killer gene that is inherent in men, and ...
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Kawasaki explains that market research, focus groups, and test cases can bog down an entrepreneur and prevent her or him from completing the most necessary task - action! His advice to break the cycle is to think different, polarize people, and find a few soul mates.
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The top ten laws of venture capitalists. So the first thing I want to communicate to you is that I always use the top ten format. And may I pass on a bit of knowledge to you. I’ve settled on always using the top ten format because I have seen so many speakers. And I have to tell you, throughout ...
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Kawasaki shares some of the qualities that he believes entrepreneurs, and everyone else, should have. In order to be a mensch, a person who is widely respected and trusted, one should help those who cannot be helpful in return, do the right thing in the right way, and pay back to society.
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Kawasaki believes there are some lessons one should learn before becoming a venture capitalist or entrepreneur. One thing to avoid is the "Morgan Stanley disease." Investment banking isn’t the best way to learn those important lessons — instead join the sales team of a large company and lea...
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