So what are the best qualities of successful entrepreneurs? The most important quality that I’ve seen is a belief that you can make a difference. Now, that may sound obvious in some sense but you'd be surprised most people don't think they really make a difference. It's not important, folks. It'...
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So let me start with the five biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make. The first is having unclear goals and an unclear mission. Now, I know it sounds like something you might read in a textbook, but I really find it very valuable when I founded a company with co-founders, to literally sit down...
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If you follow what’s called the deal flow at the local entry firms, what you will find is that virtually every idea is repeatedly proposed over and over and over again. Maybe in slightly different form, in a different twist, using a different enabling technology. But the truth is that just about...
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There are many kinds of risks that you have in starting a company. There’s technical risks, there's financing risks, there's market risks. Those are some major categories, this is the stuff you will learn in business school. The trick is get the risk out as early as possible and take as few risk...
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The last area I want to talk about is the five critical skills that entrepreneurs need. Now the first is going to sound like it’s out of a textbook, but the definition may be a little bit surprising. And that is leadership. Now, I don't know how much stuff I read about leadership and I never rea...
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Kaplan is working on some really "wacky" things. According to him, the next big wave is going to be in Microsensor technology. This will enable people to use technology to do things that don’t seem possible. He designed and built a home automation system which narrates whatever is happening. He ...
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Kaplan talks about companies having personalities that reflect the personalities of the founders. If you know Bill Gates, you know Microsoft, he says. Entrepreneurs should think about what personality they want the company to have and what personality they themselves have as the founder.
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Kaplan talks about his books. He wrote Startup" from his experiences. He has written another book which has not been published yet. It is a "business to business romance"."
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Sales skills can mean a lot of different things in a lot of circumstances. What you need to sell security equipment at airports is very different than what you need to sell Tupperware door to door. Some of them are athletic skills, some of them are social skills. The answer is, of course, it’s v...
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Kaplan talks about how most people will work on an idea for a company for 2-3 years before they get the money. The best time to start a company, he notes, is when everybody thinks it is impossible.
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In companies, like children, personality is set early and expresses itself differently through the years but it doesn’t change, says Kaplan. Entrepreneurs should establish values and culture early on and to remember that these values reflect the values of the founders, he adds.
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