tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939Tue, 15 Mar 2016 07:39:00 +0000competitioneducationcustomertechnologyequityvaluesideasinnovationpassionfreshdealingcorporatesocial impactteamfundingriskentrepreneurshipChanneling the inner entrepreneur who views life as a startup. Musings about people, their spirit, the startup ethos and the entrepreneurial attitude, with an emphasis on education and social ventures. The 'how-to'? Not so much. But definitely the why, the what and the whatever.http://startupline.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)Blogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-1004985862520288162Wed, 03 Dec 2014 07:00:00 +00002014-12-02T23:00:54.509-08:00social impactvalues 'Tis the season for giving and in case you missed it, today, Tuesday December 2, 2014 was the official 'Giving Tuesday'. Maybe this can offset the Black Friday and Cyber Monday "getting" frenzies (though you could be "getting" for "giving" to others). Did your inbox get flooded with "Giving Tuesday" solicitations for a kazillion charities? Mine sure did. And all the social media feeds werehttp://startupline.blogspot.com/2014/12/3-ways-to-give-beyond-givingtuesday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-7722090815927479144Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:30:00 +00002014-06-23T18:11:08.345-07:00ideasfreshvaluesSo, it's been eons since I posted on this blog.  There was always something else to be done. And since it didn't appear that any readers were having paroxysms of withdrawal symptoms because of the paucity of posts, there was no external pressure to do so.  I had started the blog mostly to get myself to write something which was not 'business-y' on a regular basis, which unfortunately is not a http://startupline.blogspot.com/2014/06/never-too-late.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-3628607779526122791Wed, 01 Jan 2014 07:51:00 +00002014-01-01T12:40:05.106-08:00ideasfreshriskentrepreneurshipvalues Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net Why is the first day of the New Year so special?  It's not just the good times and watching the ball drop in Times Square even when you're thousands of miles away in a different time zone, though when you're young, good times may be all that you care about.  But, as you get older, you want more from the event than just the ephemeral http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/12/whats-special-about-new-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-5985438433476590379Sun, 01 Dec 2013 06:57:00 +00002013-11-30T22:57:43.931-08:00ideasvalues Thankful for the beauty of fall (Excuse the small pun!) It's still Thanksgiving weekend and even with the possible food coma, Black Friday shopping and overload of family and friends, we may still have a bit of the actual 'giving thanks' feeling lingering in us.  A glow of gratitude. A counting of blessings resulting in warm fuzzies.  After all gratitude seems to be the easiest, cheapest http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/11/post-thanksgiving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-3473083651153055331Fri, 01 Nov 2013 05:00:00 +00002013-10-31T22:00:47.755-07:00ideasvaluesThe prevailing conventional wisdom for doing pretty much anything, from losing weight to packing lunch or changing jobs, is: There should be an article, or more likely a blog post, posted somewhere, anywhere.  Literally anywhere in the world, Singapore Times, Belize Bulletin, Capetown Courier.  Whatever.  Preferably shared on Facebook by your cohorts (not your parents' generation!). It is http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/10/nurture-nature.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-5497119224820569072Tue, 10 Sep 2013 02:04:00 +00002013-09-09T19:05:31.632-07:00ideasFrom its inception and growth in the late nineties, the blog has evolved hugely from being just a 'web log' suitable for early adopter geeks. Last year Wordpress alone (which accounts for about 49% of the blogs) had over 72 million blogs (2012 numbers from here) and that's not counting millions in China.  There are the professional corporate blogs and news blogs, the 'thought leaders' and http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/09/to-blog-or-not-to-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-8834655488980146773Wed, 03 Jul 2013 16:47:00 +00002013-07-03T09:47:48.585-07:00ideaseducationvaluesinnovationThe pendulum has swung.  First there was the hand-wringing that we didn't have enough graduates with 'hard' degrees - science, engineering, technology and math - now, recent news from  a Harvard study is about the 50% drop in the number of students in the humanities.  And the phenomenal rise in online learning shows vastly greater interest in computer science or business courses than in http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/07/study-science-with-soul.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-4449911997188811773Wed, 22 May 2013 20:48:00 +00002013-05-23T09:24:20.521-07:00valuesA truism.  And some variations below, noted while waiting for a software fix ;) Wasting time is wasting money.   Well maybe, for commercial endeavors.  Otherwise, wasting time is just that. Spend money to buy time.   That works for personal and business 'work', from paying someone to clean your home to outsourcing your social media research so you have time for other things. Your time is http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/05/time-is-money_22.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-5430643628987268816Sat, 27 Apr 2013 22:36:00 +00002013-04-27T15:37:06.585-07:00ideaspassionriskentrepreneurshipI believe entrepreneurs are distinguished more by their approach to life than anything else.  Here are two stories I ran across recently that bolster that belief, of two very different people who exemplify the 'just do it' ethos of the entrepreneur. First up, an 'oh wow' account from a young techie about how he went about making a new dice game.  It details how he went from concept to a game http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/04/entrepreneurial-attitude.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-8731831071664166712Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:05:00 +00002013-02-28T21:05:36.194-08:00dealingIf you want to read upbeat, perky posts about the business of life and a life in business, you might want to subscribe to Claire Diaz Ortiz.  One of her recent posts was about problem solving and it  was definitely something I could relate to. Claire suggests that you should ask yourself three questions before jumping into solving problems (I'm paraphrasing a bit): Is it really a problem? Do I http://startupline.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-problem-of-solving-problems.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-744641606668985294Tue, 01 Jan 2013 03:23:00 +00002012-12-31T19:23:52.665-08:00ideassocial impactpassionentrepreneurshipvaluesOne of my least favorite things about the end of the year is the ubiquitous 'year in review' list.  The best, the worst, the whatever-the-editor-fancies list.  So, as my last post for the year, I decided I would not do a 'look back' piece, but a 'look ahead' one instead.  As I work with a for-profit as well as a non-profit organization, I thought it might be good to reflect on encouraging and http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/12/ikigai.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-6913679370116202450Sat, 01 Dec 2012 08:18:00 +00002012-12-01T00:18:30.347-08:00entrepreneurshipIt is possible that we've got to a point that everyone wants to 'do' a startup - whether one has what it takes or not.  This is especially true in places like Silicon Valley, and arguably the trend has peaked when there's a reality show about startups in Silicon Valley (though it appears likely to be short-lived, like most startups).   There's a lot of buzz and hype on finding ideas and http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/12/startups-too-much-of-good-thing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-3830471410772449097Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:02:00 +00002012-10-31T23:02:14.761-07:00ideasriskentrepreneurship Top 10 scary things for entrepreneurs, in no particular order: Actually getting started.  It's much easier to talk about starting a company - everyone thinks it is so exciting and gives you a 100 suggestions and you feel you're floating on air and are high on enthusiasm.  But actually start a company and suddenly there's a metric ton settling down on  your shoulders - now you have to talk http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/10/scary-thoughts-on-startups.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-4821568445742183926Sat, 15 Sep 2012 19:16:00 +00002012-09-15T12:17:03.433-07:00ideastechnologyeducationWriting is communication, so it should not come as a surprise that good communication skills (writing) are absolutely necessary in just about any career, especially the ones where you need to influence the thinking or behavior of others.  Even those who can write reasonably well, still want/need to work with someone who can do it better - providing jobs for the oodles of marketing/messaging pros http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-business-of-writing-well.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-7801243181952662392Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:37:00 +00002012-08-30T20:37:10.677-07:00ideassocial impactvaluesI got to thinking about this when reading a Quora post on how to get people to notice your startup.  There are many suggestions for marketing, social or otherwise, but the key is always just one thing - build a good product that people want to use.  Marketing is good for only so much, if the product doesn't do it, for whatever reason, it's not going to make much of a difference. Thinking about http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/08/good-products-do-social-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-1107373520730195258Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:10:00 +00002012-07-20T15:40:08.884-07:00ideaseducationentrepreneurshipvaluesLast Friday, as I was driving back from a meeting, I heard just a couple of sentences on the radio before I turned it off to think (I still do that sometimes), but what I heard was something that stuck in my mind.  (If you're interested in the whole thing, I tracked it down to this talk on Forum, here it is: Silicon Valley Culture).  The part that stuck was that Valley entrepreneurs prioritize 'http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-social-entrepreneur-starts-early.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-8171898176487135613Thu, 07 Jun 2012 04:05:00 +00002012-06-06T21:05:41.163-07:00passionentrepreneurshipvaluesIt's been said before: what a startup needs is a CEO who doesn't give up just because the outlook is bleak.  I've covered this in a previous post about Pandora which was one of those companies that everyone expected to fade away but went public and is still going strong. This applies to large companies too - what helps a shaky enterprise survive and succeed is a CEO that believes in its http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/06/top-ceo-trait-stick-with-it-ness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-4671982829453401763Tue, 08 May 2012 17:49:00 +00002012-05-08T10:53:55.262-07:00ideasfreshentrepreneurshipYes, successful entrepreneurs are expected and encouraged to be dedicated, focused, even consumed by their ventures, 24/7. But they're also expected to be sharp, unfettered and creative thinkers capable of coming up with innovative solutions for the marketplace as well as more mundane issues like punching up your presentation.  Are there things we should/could be doing to keep the creative juiceshttp://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/05/fresh-thinking.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-3494629031281263062Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:46:00 +00002012-04-07T17:46:51.315-07:00Now, here's a topic that affects only the privileged - work-life balance.  Think about it, it is an issue only for those who have the luxury of choice on how much they work or don't.  I'd written about this a while ago (yes, this topic is also frequent fodder for bloggers, writers and researchers) in what I thought was a cleverly titled post 'The work of life' in which I mused about our http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/04/finding-balance-in-life-is-work.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-7760405587669057880Tue, 27 Mar 2012 22:36:00 +00002012-03-27T15:36:30.350-07:00ideaspassionentrepreneurshipEntrepreneurs are probably one of the most 'advised' groups out there.  There's oodles of advice on how/why/when one should start a company and how to keep it going (though the going gets tough on that one).  But presumably entrepreneurs need to be told how to know when to pack it in because there's advice out there on that topic too. Recently I read a much-commented guest post by Mike Troiano http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/03/exit-signs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-1175781898107490148Fri, 02 Mar 2012 08:10:00 +00002012-03-02T00:10:30.442-08:00dealingcustomerCustomer feedback is what makes the whole venture real for an entrepreneur.  Sure, validation is the number of users, the number of units sold, the amount of revenue received - but the quantitative stuff is never enough.  You want to know what the users think, how much they like what you're doing and why. So you actively seek customer feedback, especially in the early stages as that is going to http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/03/frownies-and-smilies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-2289563741915029179Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:34:00 +00002012-02-06T21:24:37.421-08:00educationpassionentrepreneurshipConventional wisdom has it that you should only work on what you know.  As in what you studied in college and/or gained experience in through your jobs. This is especially true for entrepreneurs - 'domain expertise' is expected in founders. But entrepreneurs are also advised (pushed)  to 'follow their passion'.  And the reality is that not everyone recognizes their passion early on.  Or if they http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/02/domain-expertise.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-5476949590915685667Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:07:00 +00002012-02-06T21:24:37.427-08:00entrepreneurshipteamOk, that title's a tease.  It's really about the quotes from the movie Moneyball (based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis) that Dharmesh Shah connects to lessons for entrepreneurs in his entertaining and insightful blog post. There are 17 quotes in the post, but my favorites are #6 and #17. #6 - Your goal shouldn't be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins.  When you're http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/02/moneyball-entrepreneur.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-9005464443220525324Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:46:00 +00002012-01-15T17:46:09.225-08:00riskentrepreneurshipMy favorite definition of an entrepreneur has been 'One who recognizes opportunities and organizes resources to take advantage of the opportunity'.  But I read a new one in a post a couple of days ago - actually, it was conceived 37 years ago by Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson - that puts the 'organizes resources' in a different light.   Stevenson's definition of http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-is-entrepreneur.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23469939.post-5544027927624689977Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:06:00 +00002012-01-05T09:46:09.820-08:00entrepreneurshipvaluesJanuary 1 is just another day on the calendar, but for many it's the day that brings the usual push to make resolutions to better ourselves.  It is something that many do every single year -  if we're not cynical, we'd see it as a testament to the fact that hope (for improvement) springs eternal in the human breast. Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, has a new book out in which he contends http://startupline.blogspot.com/2012/01/resolution-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Usha Sekar)1