Recent Posts
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Amazing Tech Founders Find Answers Faster
Amazing Tech Founders Find Answers Faster The dangerous idea I hear floating around entrepreneurship: the founder is supposed to know everything. The founder should know the market, the technology, the customer, the competition, how to raise money, how to build a team, how to set prices, how to sell the product, and somehow predict what…
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The Most Expensive AI Mistake? Draining Your Institutional Knowledge on a Whim.
The Most Expensive AI Mistake? Draining Your Institutional Knowledge on a Whim. Executives are under enormous pressure to use artificial intelligence. Investors want higher productivity. Boards want lower costs. Competitors are announcing AI strategies. Leaders fear being left behind. That pressure can lead to a dangerous question: “How many employees can we replace with AI?”…
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When Gatekeepers Confuse Authority With Competence
When Gatekeepers Confuse Authority With Competence Every community has gatekeepers. They may control funding, introductions, information, jobs, access to government, media attention, or entry into important networks. Some hold formal titles. Others influence because they have been around for years and know the right people. Gatekeepers are not always harmful. Healthy systems need people who…
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From Small-City Cliques to Institutional Tribalism
From Small-City Cliques to Institutional Tribalism At first glance, Tucson’s startup ecosystem and the global response to COVID-19 seem to have little in common. One involves founders, universities, investors, mentors, and community groups in a mid-sized city. The other involved governments, public-health agencies, scientists, media companies, technology platforms, pharmaceutical companies, and billions of people. The…
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BIG DANGERS of Institutional Tribal Behavior Exposed by COVID-19
Big Dangers of Institutional Tribal Behavior Exposed by COVID-19 WHO THE FLIP DO YOU THINK YOU WERE? The most disturbing lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be that government officials made mistakes. Mistakes were inevitable. A new virus was spreading, hospitals feared collapse, data were incomplete, and leaders had to act before every fact…
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Tired of Talking… Time to Do and Show.
Tired of Talking… Time to Do and Show. One person can change a neighborhood. One entrepreneur can change an ecosystem. Recently, I watched a story about a Tucson resident who grew tired of hearing people talk about solving the city’s water problems. Instead of waiting for someone else to act, he decided to build a…
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Stop Lighting Cash on Fire for Your IP
Stop Lighting Cash on Fire for Your IP: Your Patent Strategy Is Probably Backward This is a typical conversation that I have had with the over 3,000 founders I’ve mentored. Founders love to say it: “We’re filing a patent.” Or “We don’t need a patent.” It sounds smart. Strategic. Defensible. But in most early-stage startups,…
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Small City Cliques Suck the Life Out of You
Small City Cliques Suck the Life Out of You Tucson is Not Immune Let’s get something straight. Tucson, Arizona, “Optics Valley,” is not an unfriendly place. People are approachable, conversations start easily, and there’s a genuine sense that people want to help. On the surface, it feels open. But if you’re a founder, an innovator,…
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The Axiom of the Nascent Startup Ecosystem
The Axiom of the Nascent Startup Ecosystem “Protect what little we have, trust only our own, and unintentionally ensure nothing larger ever emerges.” Let’s unpack that because this is where ecosystems quietly stall. A lesson from the movie (Jerry and Marge Go Large): Your pie doesn’t matter… It’s the people that matter. So what are…
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Coachability is a Competitive Advantage (And You’re Failing It)
Coachability is a Competitive Advantage (And You’re Failing It) One of the most challenging concepts for the over 3,000 funders I’ve mentored and advised over the years is coachability. What the heck does that even mean? Here’s how I see it. Coachability doesn’t start after the meeting; it starts the second you open your mouth.…
