Helping Startups Reach their Summits
Startup Summits
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Disruptive innovation relies on novel perspectives from industry outsiders and young visionaries. Yet scaling startups is a different undertaking – experience matters. Mentors and investors offer wisdom from pattern recognition across many startups, many of which are codified in frameworks specific to startup innovation. These articles expound on frameworks used by successful entrepreneurs and investors to help innovators reach their summits.
Insights for Entrepreneurs & Innovators
The Power Law: Energizing Returns on Chance in Innovation and Investing
The Power Law reminds us to think bigger. People systematically misperceive long tail risk, which creates arbitrage opportunities for those who manage uncertainty well. We discuss five strategies to identify and exploit long tail opportunities.
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New Year’s Resolution: The Two Purposes of Forcing Functions
Forcing functions may be used to achieve specific milestones or alter behavior. Different motives require varied strategies for success.
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Entrepreneurial Intent: No Regret Decisions
Entrepreneurship is a latent trait activated by intent. As fortune favors a prepared mind, this article presents ten ways aspiring entrepreneurs can prepare for an opportunity that can define their legacy.
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Cultivating Cohesive Startup Boards to Thrive in Crucible Moments
Crucible moments test startups and their leadership. Here are four strategies to cultivate cohesive Boards to thrive when times are tough.
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When to Launch Your Startup: Fortune Favors the Prepared Mind
Entrepreneurship awakens when ambition converges on a lucrative opportunity. Insight inspires latent entrepreneurial intent. This describes a four-step process to convert passion into the skill and insight needed to launch a high potential startup.
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Founder’s Dilemmas: Strategies to Avoid Pitfalls that can Sink a Startup
Founding teams must align on three Rs: Relationships, Roles & Rewards. Startups that do have resilient founding teams but misalignment on any of these are hidden, ticking bombs that explode at the most inopportune moments. Here are six strategies to avoid cofounder pitfalls that can sink a startup.
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Total Available Market: Assessing Opportunity in Emerging and Invisible Markets
TAM can be a valuable tool for founders, but it is often misused, especially when startups pursue markets that do not yet exist. This article explains how founders and investors can use a multistage TAM framework to assess and expand startup opportunity over time.
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Six Product Market Fit Principles That Drive Startup Success
Product Market Fit progresses through three phases: product, business and financial validation. We discuss six practices that improve startup success by accelerating progress through these three stages.
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Who Scorecard: Executive Recruitment and Assessment
Who is your number one problem. Not what. Talent is the key success factor for any startup. No other factor is close. The Who Scorecard aligns views on job qualifications before starting a search and yields more efficient and effective results once the search process begins.
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Why We Read: Innovator’s Omnivorous Content Diet
Innovators and investors are omnivorous consumers of content. Reading is a catalyst for startup innovation and primary resource for investor diligence.
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Be Exothermic: Igniting the Startup Flywheel
Startups that exude energy attract talent, capital and customers
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Founder Fit: Insight Driven Innovation
Founder Fit matches skills, experience and insights to increase startup success
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Experience vs. Insight: What Makes a Successful Founder?
Insight is essential for successful startups. Experience is too – but in a different way than many believe.
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The Checklist Manifesto: Three Practices to Improve Venture Capital Performance
Checklists can reinforce consistent, product investment practices
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Investing in Generative Artificial Intelligence & the Gartner Hype Cycle: Is the Hype Worth It?
Reviews 30 years of Gartner Hype Cycle data and 50 years of software innovation for insights on AI prospects
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Turning the Flywheel to Reach Escape Velocity
Startup strategies to achieve escape velocity and win new markets
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Startup Pacing: Accelerate Growth to Win New Markets
Six factors that influence startup pacing to stay ahead of competitors and in sync with customers
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Seeing Clearly: Three Startup Strategies to Survive & Thrive the Gartner Hype Cycle
Achieving Product Market Fit while customer interest is high helps startups survive downturns
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Regulatory Capture: Navigating the Third Rail of Innovation
Government has helped 25% of our startups and hurt others. Here are six strategies to win government as an ally.
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Atomic Habits: Forcing Functions to Fulfill New Year’s Resolutions
Eight atomic habits to improve performance and achieve goals
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Social Capital: Six Startup Strategies to Upend Incumbents
Social capital reinforces stakeholder loyalty. Here are six strategies to use social capital to upend incumbents
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Paradigm Shifts: Ten Winning Strategies for Disruptive Innovators
Paradigm shifts are first dismissed then vigorously attacked. Here are ten strategies for disruptive startups to accelerate adoption
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Dominant Design: The Superhighway to Industry Growth
Customers coalesce around a Dominant Design as a market matures. Here are seven stages for startups to influence Dominant Design.
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The Five Forces: Five Startup Strategies for Winner Take Most Markets
Industry structure dictates profit potential. Here are five strategies enabling startup to influence industry structure to their advantage.
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Exit Strategy: Reverse Engineering Successful Outcomes from the Outset
Companies are bought not sold, yet this describes how startups can reverse engineer successful outcomes from the outset
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Mapping the Territory: Exploring Uncharted Markets
Maps guide our daily lives. Here are six strategies to help startups navigate new markets
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Startup Cairns 