Category: Startups

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Case Study: WeWork and the finances behind the business.

Before, and after, becoming an entrepreneur I flew F-16’s for the US Military.

One of the things we did religiously after every mission was a non-emotional, fact-based debrief.

The debrief had one purpose… to dig for the facts and then from those facts derive concrete lessons learned that we could export to the rest of the Squadron in order to be more effective as warfighters. We debriefed after every mission both in peacetime and in combat focusing on our survivability and lethality. Debriefing is part of who I am now and I do it daily in both my military and civilian life.

I”ve watched with interest the events surrounding WeWork over the last year. Recently the WSJ published an article on the financing side of WeWork. The link to the WSJ article is here. I’m by no means rendering an opinion given that I was not in the board meetings, but one wonders what kind of debrief the team there is conducting and what lessons they will all learn from this experience.

I’m currently serving on an active duty tour with the US Military. This blog represents my personal views and does not represent the views of any element of the US Government or my views as a US Government employee.

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AVC and the “Butter Thesis”

I spend a lot of time every day reading and consuming information.

For years I have followed Fred Wilson’s “AVC” blog. Fred has been a VC since 1987 and is a Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures in NYC. I’ve learned a lot from Fred over the years and sincerely enjoy his writing.

I loved his blog today on “Butter” and the associated piece from his colleague Nick Grossman known as “The Butter Thesis” and wanted to pass it on. I highly recommend that you both read this blog and subscribe to both Fred’s blog and Nicks.

You can subscribe to Fred’s blog here: https://avc.com/subscribe/

You can read Fred’s blog from today here: https://avc.com/2019/12/butter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AVc+%28A+VC%29

I’m currently on active duty as a US Military Officer. This blog represents my personal views and does not represent the views of any element of the US Government or my views as a US Government employee.

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Attention Veterans… “Go start something!”

I spend a lot of time talking with military service members and veterans about what they might do after their time in the service.

Generally speaking, the conversations all have similar themes.

They want to do something important with a mission.  They want to do something that takes advantage of their leadership skills, they want to grow something, and oftentimes they are tired of working for somebody else.

Veterans bring incredible talents to startups.  They are hard-working, smart, driven, determined and armed with just enough naivety (read crazy) that they are not afraid to go start and build a company.  The challenge for many is to come up with a good idea (that has real potential and is scalable) and translate that into action. (Keep thinking… you will find it)

I often recommend that they read Jan Collmer’s book, “Go Start Something”. (Link below)

Jan doing what he loved – flying Airshows in his Extra 300.

Jan was a successful Veteran entrepreneur himself – and a spectacular one.  He founded several successful businesses in the Dallas area and was the Founding Father of the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field.  He also gave thousands of airplane rides to kids inspiring many to go on to a career in STEM.

He wrote his book to help potential entrepreneurs get their mind around starting a company and growing it successfully.  I highly recommend the read to anyone thinking about starting something.

Go start something: https://www.amazon.com/Go-Start-Something-Live-Life/dp/1469763699

Frontiers of Flight Museum: https://www.flightmuseum.com/

 

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Requirements

I’ve been working on a few business projects recently which have highlighted again to me the value of taking the time to craft well-defined requirements.

Requirements are the road to solid end-states, and without them, a business or project will meander all over the place trying to find what it needs to get the job done.

So what does a well-defined requirement look like?

The requirement should lay out what the business needs in order to reach its strategic goals and/or end-states.  It should be clear, concise, understandable, and measurable.  The requirement should be “testable” and be nested within your business or corporate strategy.

The format varies, but the need to take some time to properly define, articulate, and communicate your requirements should be a key component of your business strategy and plans.  Don’t forget to take the time to craft some good ones.

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Evernote

One of my favorite tools as a business leader and entrepreneur is Evernote (www.evernote.com).

For years it has been a great tool for me to save web pages, images, notes, and other items – all searchable.  In my opinion, it’s a must-have.

Dan