Words are powerful tools; they define the very way we are capable of thought. They shape our world, our beliefs, and our perceptions. Especially powerful are “yes” and “no”. They are absolute indicators. The redundant use of one or another begins to set a precedent. Not only does it anchor your mind, but it anchors [...]
Humans are emotional creatures. Sometimes our emotion can be positive, like a passion that drives us to succeed. Sometimes our emotions can be negative, like greed blinding us. As a leader, controlling your emotions is important. A recent quote I heard was, “only use emotion in business when it is to your advantage.” It [...]
In 1991, Dell, ZEOS and Gateway were rocketing in success. Computer superstores were popping up everywhere. The digital age was in full force and it was becoming clear that every person would soon own a personal computer. To buy an IBM, Compaq, HP and Apple, however, you still needed to have a face-to-face experience. There [...]
When my father was raising money for BeFree, he found himself in a tough situation: Michael Dell was on the phone, asking to invest in an already oversubscribed round. There were two choices: tell Michael Dell “no,” or cut back the other investors. My father chose the latter, hoping to leverage the relationship to get [...]
Around 1980, my father was still in the start-up stages of MicroAmerica, working hard to pull in manufacturers that he could distribute. He managed to get Epson printers on the line, and within a year, the company went from $150k/year in revenue to over $1m/month. After such a tremendous year, Epson invited him, along with [...]
One evening, my father and mother sat down to watch a movie. Or so my mother thought. My father, on the other hand, decided that he needed an impromptu board meeting. He organized a call and had the meeting that night. At the time, they were in the middle of a secondary offering. When the [...]
The lean startup movement has a dramatic focus on a quantitative pivoting strategy: measure everything and adjust your business to capitalize on what the data is telling you. But this idea is nothing new. In 1991, my father was the CEO of PCs Compleat. They were running out of money and nobody was buying the [...]
I touched upon this concept in a post a while ago (The Suffering Startup), but I think it deserves its own post. There is a belief that hard work brings success. It isn’t entirely wrong, but often gets misconstrued into the concept that just blindly pouring time into a task will make it a success. [...]
My father was looking to hire a new employee for his business Microamerica. The interview was scheduled for really early in the morning, so my father was the only one in the office. This also meant that my father’s car was the only one in the parking lot; or, at least, that is what Mr. [...]
My father was supposed to have a business meeting at an airport; I think it was with an investor. The opportunity to meet was short: only the length of the layover, so there wasn’t much time to spare. While this was pre 9/11, airport security was still tight enough to prevent my dad from just [...]