This week has been very productive (and it’s only Tuesday morning): First on Monday, VentureBeat published my guest column on the winning pitch at the Founder Conference. It’s worth watching the video and reading the analysis, if you ever wondered why no one calls you back after you pitch your idea. Then this morning TechCrunch [...]
Possibly the most popular part of the Founder Conference this year was the live pitch feedback, a workshop run by Adeo Ressi. We actually extended its allocated time by 20 minutes because it was so popular. The rules are simple: you give your best elevator pitch, in less than 1 minute, as if you were [...]
I’m posting the videos of the Founder Conference here on my blog until we revamp the Founder Conference website… By the way, if you want to be the first one to know about the next Founder Conference, there is a sign-up form on the right. Should you join an incubator such as Y-Combinator, the Founder [...]
In the tradition of the Co-Founders MeetUp of Silicon Valley, the Founder Conference will feature 12 pitches from startups. If you need help to build your startup, you should apply. However, note that this is not the place to launch your startup to the press, or expect to raise money from venture capitalists. Other conferences [...]
Being an entrepreneur is quite popular these days, in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Everyone thinks they have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. As part of my work with the Founder Institute in Paris, figuring out who will build a great startup is a big topic. Your resume can tell. I know, it sounds [...]
Last Thursday I attended Stanford Design EXPE, where a dozen teams of students present the result of their 9 months of innovative work in relation with a corporate sponsor. The twist is that all projects must build a hardware prototype (I guess because it’s linked to the Mechanical Engineering department). For me, it was a [...]
Yesterday was the third Co-Founders MeetUp of Silicon Valley, which set a new attendance record of 120 people. 12 startups pitched their idea with the goal to attract co-founders. The quality of the ideas was very high. Another thing I liked is that this MeetUp truly opens my mind: it’s like a giant idea brainstorming [...]
Recently, I was contacted by a major TV show, looking to do a segment on what it looks like to be an entrepreneur building a startup from scratch. I am talking major TV show, with an audience in the millions, not some local news channel. So I e-mailed a few entrepreneurs I know to see [...]
If you are like 99% of software developers with a great idea, you don’t live next to Google headquarters in Mountain View or drive by Facebook’s offices in Palo Alto on your daily commute. But Silicon Valley still rules the world of Internet startups, so you should probably check it out. Don’t expect to drop [...]
