Founders of the most successful companies are motivated less by the lure of riches than the dream to solve an important problem and benefit the world. As a young, self-taught computer engineer, Mitch Kapor saw an opportunity in the early 1980s, another recessionary period, to create software tools for personal computers that would help businesses be more productive. So in 1982 he founded his own software company called Lotus.
— Justin Kan from Justin.tv
a profile in Inc.
— Jeff Hsieh
Culture is everything and this is a meaningful way to test, measure and track.
One on One: Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
This is crazy and inspiring.
This is quite amusing.
Etsy’s first investors were two local real estate developers that I had done some carpentry work for, and a restaurateur who I had set up an Internet café for. I had the first $50,000 check before I even launched anything and another $100,000 within six months after the launch. I gained their trust by building things for them. Building up your personal relationships, especially in the beginning, is hugely important. In my experience, in the seed and angel round, people are going to invest in people and products, not the business plan. [Entrepreneurs] focus on the plan first, and they have it backwards in my opinion.
WSJ
Entrepreneurial Stereotypes on Display at SXSW – GigaOM
From a SXSW panel on startups with both Paul Graham (Y Combinator) and David Cohen (TechStars):
How far ahead is the valley from Boston or NYC?
Startup advice from Meebo CEO Seth Sternberg, looks inline with Paul Graham’s essays.
join a great founding team, focus on the product, and forget everything else,
