@dhh vs @ericries from Farhan Rehman on Vimeo.
The video above is shows an excellent debate between the lean startup vs. getting real methodology to build businesses: Daniel Heinemeier Hansson (co-founder of 37 Signals and co-author of Getting Real and Rework) and Eric Ries (founder of IMVU and father of the lean startup movement). Hansson is very much of the mindset that today’s early-stage companies aren’t focused on the only metric that matters in business: profit. If today’s so-called successful startups like Facebook or Twitter charged their customers from day one, they …

Of late, I’ve been asked by people to shed some light about the Angel, Venture Capital, and Private Equity industries. People are absolutely fascinated and intrigued about early-stage financing. It’s sexy, right? To be able to invest thousands or millions of dollars into innovative ideas and turn them into millions or billions more is something not everyone gets to do everyday. But the rate at which I hear young, talented people wanting to be on “that side of the table” is alarming.
Let me digress for a moment. Every business needs …

Recently, I sat down with some close friends who’ve wanted to learn more about Pocket Tales, and each time the same question seems to arise – “so where did you learn how to start and build a company?” Sometimes I struggle to answer the question. I’d tell them, “I just started a company and learned along the way,” but that answer wasn’t appeasing to any of them. They wanted something more tangible and concrete. In their defense, the answer does seem ludicrous, doesn’t it? Think about this – the first …

Venture Hacks has a pretty quick but to-the-point rundown of starting up a company. I’ve embedded it below. Take 3 minutes and read it, you’ll be glad you did.

A Quick And Dirty Guide To Starting Up
View more documents from Venture Hacks .

AngelBlog.net has a great checklist of items you should consider when starting a company. I included the first 20 steps and you can find the full list here (it’s long, 50+ steps), but its worth the read. I can say that with Pocket Tales, we covered many of these when we started, not because we planned to but because there was no way of getting around it. Some things are probably overkill (like the offsite planning retreat) but everything is still worth consideration.

Build a startup team (if it’s still just you, repeat …

In my short existence working on a startup, I’ve come to realize that one of the biggest impediments to building a company is finding motivation to get things done. It’s tough working for myself. Somedays, I’m up until 2 am anticipating the challenge of tomorrow’s problems and a world of critics. Other days, I’d rather watch Entrourage all day and vicariously live the dream. It’s a struggle, one that requires a seemingly endless supply of self-motivation. I will say, I’d like to think I’m a pretty motivated individual (you almost have …

Investors want to invest in startups that will be successful with or without them. And those who succeed don’t wait for investors before they begin to create. They can’t wait to carry their idea forward.
-Pitching Hacks, VentureHacks.com

What’s the greatest quality of any startup?
A Phenomenal Idea? There have been plenty of businesses with stupid ideas that have flourished, and plenty more with “interesting” ideas and epic failures. No, the idea can’t be a startup’s greatest quality.
A savvy Management team? This can definitely be helpful, but many startups with smart founders also stutter in finding paths to revenue and profitability. No, I don’t think a savvy management team is the greatest quality either.
Lots of Cash? Well… cash is nice, and definitely necessary to build a business. But cash …