Thoughts on Commercializing University IP

December 19, 2013

As a PhD student trying to start a company and heavily involved in the Georgia Tech and Atlanta startup community, I learned many of the pros and cons of attempting to commercialize university IP. Pros University IP is often very innovative and presents high barrier-to-entry opportunities The people involved tend to be very talented Cons […]

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Cloud Business Models

December 18, 2013

There are 4 ways vendors make money from cloud computing: Consumption – pay-as-you-go model charging customers for what they use Freemium – free for most users, some hooks present to prod users into paying Tiered Pricing – various levels of pricing which vary based upon arbitrary gateways of usage and categories of support Perpetual License […]

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The Benefits of the Hunt for VC Investment

December 17, 2013

Most startups should not waste time hunting for VC investment. The VC model is limited in applicability, demanding high growth and large exits in a limited time window. In 2010, we were on the fence about whether or not to raise VC investment. Every other company in our space had raised $10 million or more. […]

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Thoughts on Firing Fast

December 16, 2013

The worst job in the world is having to let someone go. It’s never fun. It’s hard in the moment. It’s hard in reflection. It’s hard in anticipation of the arduous work required to find someone else. However, as I’ve written before, it’s vital to fire fast. The WSJ posted an article recently on the […]

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Sales Management Metrics

December 15, 2013

I ran across a comment this past week by Lance that resonated with me on the topic of sales management metrics. Any sales pipeline has a multitude of stages, each having a number of metrics which can be tracked. Too many metrics can become overwhelming. I like Lance’s comment because it’s simple and logical. And it […]

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Doings Things Right vs Doing Things Fast in Software Development

December 13, 2013

In software development, there is a natural struggle between doing things carefully and right and doing things efficiently and fast. There are advantages and disadvantages to both ends of the spectrum. Healthy software development teams contain a mix of talent on both ends of that spectrum. Healthy teams acknowledge the need for both types of […]

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Fake It Till You Make It

December 12, 2013

“People look at him and think, This guy’s really got it together! He’s brave!” says Toby Thomas, CEO of EnSite Solutions. “And the man riding the lion is thinking, How the hell did I get on a lion, and how do I keep from getting eaten?” –As told in Inc. Magazine “Fake it till you […]

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An Atlanta Conversation on Employee Option Pools

December 11, 2013

An interesting twitter conversation today emerged from Paul’s initial comment below on the topic of employee option pools. I found the conversation fascinating because:  1) it’s interesting to hear people’s thoughts on employee option pools, 2) it’s even more interesting to hear it debated among Atlantans I know and respect, and 3) the twitter format […]

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Employee Magnetism vs Retention

December 9, 2013

Sam Altman is quickly becoming one of my favorite bloggers. Today he put up a great post about employee retention. With our focus on hiring this year and attention to culture and processes, employee retention is something that has occupied my mind frequently. For instance, I’ve shared thoughts on keeping people, thoughts on detecting wedge issues […]

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Living in the Future with Mini Computers

December 8, 2013

As useful computation becomes more and more feasible in smaller and smaller form factors, numerous trends emerge. Most of the attention is paid to smartphones, tablets, and netbooks. The internet of things is interesting too. But there is another variant of this trend that is neat. It is the ability to have a full computer […]

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