on
My colleague Dan and I were asked by Ellen Yu and the Verizon Small Business team to share our thoughts and information about start- ups, entrepreneurship, from our perspective at Verizon's corporate venture investing program (http://verizon.com/ventures).
There is already a lot of very good information published or available online about these topics, and more is generated every day. There are some great commentators and very experienced investors who freely share their experiences. Many of our posts will highlight what we consider to be very good articles, books, blogs, podcasts, and other resources on particular topics of interest.
My top online recommendation is one of my favorite financial VC bloggers, Mark Suster from GRP Partners. First of all, his writing is excellent. His blog, Both Sides of the Table, is a great educational tool for anyone running a start-up or considering the VC funding route to fuel their company. He also has does a weekly podcast at ThisWeekIn called "This Week in Venture Capital". His interviews are informative and entertaining. I don't know where he gets the energy (or time) to do all this publishing and recording, but it is a great service to innovators and investors.
While you are checking out ThisWeekIn, you should also look for Jason Calacanis' podcast, ThisWeekInStartups. Jason gets an amazing line up of entrepreneurs to explain the traps and tricks they have learned following their passion.
In future posts we will provide additional recommendations about where we go to learn more every day about these topics. Of course, we’ll also share our personal insights with you too as we have vetted many business proposals from entrepreneurs seeking funding.
Here’s my first tip: Anyone can ask for funding, but a company that can recruit a strong team and deliver a great productdeserves to be funded and has the best chance to succeed. Continuously seek direct and critical input from advisors, customers, and vendors to objectively evaluate your team or product. Don’t be afraid of hearing negative feedback. Just the opposite. Thank the messenger and do whatever you can to address real or perceived shortcomings. Former New York City mayor Ed Koch was famous for his line, “How am I doing?” Make sure you know how others would answer the question about your company.
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Contact the editor: vzsmallbiz@verizon.net
Mark W. Adams
Director: Verizon National Marketing
Mark leads the way to bring innovative solutions to small businesses.
Mark Smith
Executive Director: Verizon Ventures
Mark works with and identifies entrepreneurial companies for Verizon to invest in and fund.
Dan Keoppel
Executive Director: Verizon Ventures
Dan works with and identifies entrepreneurial companies for Verizon to invest in and fund.
Paul Macchia
National Public Relations Manager
Paul handles corporate communications for Verizon Wireless with a focus on enterprise and government sectors.
Ellen Yu
Sr. Manager: Media Relations
Ellen provides PR support to Verizon's small business team, landlines and FiOS in apartment buildings and small and medium-sized commercial properties such as strip malls, and street-level shops and offices.
Kathy Johnson
Manager: SMB Product Marketing Messaging, Verizon Wireless
Kathy manages the SMB product Marketing Messaging Strategy for the Business Solution Group. She also develops and manages various SMB marketing programs to support channel enablement.
Jarryd Gonzales
Sr. Manager: Media Relations
Jarryd provides PR support to Verizon in CA and TX.
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