Author Archives: crashdev

What do Justin Bieber and Real Madrid have in common?

The #1 problem faced by every brand — from toothpaste and TV shows to pop stars and politicians — is grabbing and holding the attention of their target audience. Billions are spent annually researching the consumer landscape in an effort to understand what messages and media will give each brand an edge in the battle continue…

Why do investors say no? The Startup Genome project knows…

This article originally appeared on Seattle 2.0 Early-stage investors (disclosure: I’m one of them) are famous for saying ‘no’. Entrepreneurs seeking capital will spend hours building PowerPoint decks, crafting emails and asking friends for introductions to prospective investors, only to receive an inbox full of one-line ‘thanks but no thanks’ replies. And that’s when they continue…

Carlson’s Law, Software Innovation and Venture Capital

Tom Friedman’s editorial in today’s New York Times cited “Carlson’s Law”, a framework advanced by Curtis Carlson, the C.E.O. of SRI International: “‘In a world where so many people now have access to education and cheap tools of innovation, innovation that happens from the bottom up tends to be chaotic but smart. Innovation that happens from continue…

Taking the long(er) view

Patience is not my middle name.  As the youngest of three kids I was always in a hurry to grow up so I could do whatever the big kids were doing. And since there’s always someone older, faster, smarter, richer and better-looking than me (especially that last one), there’s never been a natural brake on continue…

A new weapon in the war for talent

A few weeks ago Fred Wilson reflected on the tight market for engineering talent: “[T]here is a war for talent, particularly developer talent, going on. Not just in Silicon Valley but also in NYC and many other places around the country.” In chemistry terms, developers are now the limiting reagent for high-growth software firms. The scarcity continue…

The importance of showing up

I was on a great panel at TiECon on Friday, flew home just in time for my son’s 6th birthday party, and flew out the next morning for Whitefish, Montana. I usually hate being away from my kids on the weekend but this was a trip I couldn’t miss: a close college friend had just continue…