The guys at ChubbyBrain have graciously allowed Founder’s Block to repost this analysis, originally published Jan 11th, of the top 20 reasons why startups fail.
We’ve previously highlighted the top startup failure post-mortems (32 in total) written by a group of startup entrepreneurs gracious enough to share their lessons learned from failure. Many of you read those post-mortems and asked, what are the most common reasons why these startups failed? After a thorough analysis of those 32 start-up post-mortems, we compiled this list of the top 20 causes of startup …

This is a guest post by Walter Chen, co-founder of Leasely.  Below he muses over his experiences applying for the Y Combinator & Tech Stars seed funding programs.
Before our Y Combinator interview, Rodrigo, Nathan, Silas and I bummed around in a park.  We each tried to find our zen place, I guess.  I think Nathan was asleep.  The night before, Silas snored like a bear and Nathan proposed that we drink bottles of Guinness.  I don’t think any of us slept well, Silas aside.  Rodrigo got up early to finish some …

This is a guest post by Roman R. Fichman, ESQ, who practices in the areas of business and technology law. Founders Block would like to thank Roman for sharing his perspective regarding the entrepreneurs search for the right startup attorney.
There is plenty of advice out there on how to find a startup attorney. Most such advice is pretty generic, for example: “ask other startups for a recommendation” or “interview several attorneys.” If an entrepreneur needs this type of advice then a bankruptcy attorney rather than a startup attorney would be …

The guys at Chubby Brain have graciously allowed Founder’s Block to repost this compendium, originally published October 3rd, of some of the best startup post-mortems from the web.
We love a good entrepreneurial success story – entrepreneur as protagonist overcomes obstacles and builds a thriving, successful company (and become wealthy while doing so). We want to hear about, learn from and even replicate what they’ve done. However, this survivorship bias is problematic. Jason Cohen of Smart Bear Software does a nice job articulating this issue stating:
The fact …

Establishing a business plan is essential for any new startup, but for some aspiring entrepreneurs, writing a solid business plan can be a challenge. Ryan Kim , who provides business consultation for small businesses and startup ventures, was kind enough to share his insight with Founders Block on how to create a successful business plan. This is Part 1 – an overview of key general parts of a business plan.
Have you ever wondered why some companies get funded and others don’t? In this six part series we discuss the dynamics …

This is a guest post by Gary Whitehill who was kind enough to allow Founders Block to repost his article, originally published on March 26th, 2010.
Almost everyday someone asks me “where can I go to find XYZ.” I figured it would be easier if I wrote down a decent portion of the organizations I normally recommend to folks. Here in New York there are a plethora of events day in and day out. They include conferences, forums, meetups and workshops.
The frequency, quality, size and scale of events in New York …

This is a guest post by Gary Whitehill who was kind enough to allow Founders Block to repost his article, originally published on August 11th, 2010. In case you missed Part 1.
Seed Fund Opinions Numero Uno – The Nay Sayers
In a recent blog post, Paul Kredowsky voiced his disapproval of the seed funding phenomenon. However, his post is less about the entrepreneur, than the seed funding companies themselves.
His argument boils down to the fact that he believes many of the seed investors out there are running on very tight budgets themselves. …

This is a guest post by Gary Whitehill who was kind enough to allow Founders Block to repost his article, originally published on August 11th, 2010.
The entrepreneur community is more closely knit than you’d believe, and when someone picks up on a notable event or trend, the blogosphere literally lights up with posts.
As far as entrepreneur blogs go, the flavor of the month appears to be the debate about whether the seed funding phenomenon is a bubble waiting to burst, or whether it’s a viable means of funding pre-revenue/start-up businesses. …

This is a guest post by Steve Blank who has graciously allowed Founders Block to repost his article, originally published on August 5th, 2010.
Consumer Internet investing seems to have split off from traditional Venture Capital, and is creating a new category of VC’s: Lean VC’s.  I think you can blame Customer and Agile Development for a small part of it.
Here’s why.
Electron-based Venture Capital

When I first came to Silicon Valley the world of Venture Capital looked pretty simple. VC’s invested in things that ran on electrons: hardware, software and …

I met Keith Nowak at the recent VC Demo Day event and he was kind enough to share the story and lessons of how his  startup, imercive, ran out of funding mid-pivot and  had to shut down. Learning from failure is in many ways more more effective than learning from success, and Keith’s story may just give you the pointers to avoid dead ends in your own ventures.

imercive postmortem

Keith Nowak
In December 2009, I made the incredibly difficult decision to shut down imercive. Three years, a lot of money, and …