How does the approach of this blog differ from that of other blogs in the best practices arena of venture capital?

This blog differs in its approach from other blogs in the best practices arena of venture capital in two major ways: 

One, this blog is not so much for the venture capital player looking to raise capital but for the venture capital player looking to grow and maximize her venture capital investment. 

Second, This blog is what I am calling a reality blog. This blog is building itself as a sustainable startup. I plan on doing this with the Sustainable Startup Blog live/in real time and transparently. Hopefully we will all be able to take our experience from this Reality Blog and apply it where useful in our own venture investments. 

One might ask;

"That's great!  ...uuuh but how exactly do we do this?"

Step One: Truth be known I don't exactly know how to, but I want to. 

Step two: Lets make a plan.

 

What Business is this Blog in and aganist whom does it compete?

This blog is in the Best Practices arena of the Venture Capital Industry.


This blog competes with any other blog looking to build credibility with and garner the trusted attention of Venture Capital and Angle Investors.

Top Two Operational Values of A Start up

This post is in response to a question from Paul.

I will give you the top two values I have seen in a successful startup. I would give you three but I only have time to write about two of them this afternoon.

1.) Trust. Everything in a startup comes back to trust. If you are trying to attract a new or your first customer, if you are raising capital, if you are recruiting talent or any other aspect of what you are doing in a startup comes down to trust. In a startup you are doing something new or different in some form. It is a risk to not do the “norm”, regardless of the potential cost or time saving or what ever efficiency or cool factor you offer by dealing with you - you are a startup you are a risk in some form. Trust is everything and it is made up of two factors i.) Competence. ii.) Character. A great resource regarding this value of trust and the economics of it is Stephen Covey Jr.'s book Speed of Trust.

2.) The Second Value is something I call "Clarherence" . This is really two values that are interdependent on each other. The first is Clarity. I take my startup clients through a 6 question clarity exercise. By the end of this exercise the startup knows exactly who and what its differentiator is and what it must focus on, (LASER FOCUS!). The second value is Adherence. Adherence is similar to focus but different in the fact that it attaches to something more specific than focus. For Example; Focus is usually a reference point for entrepreneurs to stay with only one deal or stay focused in or on one industry. Adherence by contrast will attach specifically to the clarity questions/answers or exercise. Adherence will then allow you to build an operational plan that actually builds and supports a culture based not just on a vision which is usually vague and unattainable but rather on the clarity of the vision which is specific and executable. Clarherence is the secret sauce of culture, (more on this in some upcoming writings). The best resource I have found for clarity is Patrick Lencioni's book The Four Obsessions Of An Extraordinary Executive.

Behavioral Values

What behavioral values are irreplaceable and fundamental to this blog in order to fulfill it's purpose as outlined in the March 13/09 post? 

In my view there are three fundamental values required in order to fulfill this blogs stated purpose.

1. Adherence.  Containing the scope of posts and discussion within the purpose of the blog.

2. Open Minded Risk.  Allowing posts, comments and all interaction to not have to be the "right" answer but opinions, views and/or insights of how build a sustainable startup.

3. Consistency.  The timing and nature of the posts, comments, discussion and interaction must be such that it not only engages people but keeps them engaged in an ever more passionate manner.

Why does this Blog exist and what difference do I hope for it to make in the world?

The Sustainable Startup Blog exists to be an interactive forum to explore, challenge and flush out ideas and concepts of building a "sustainable startup". My ideas and contributions to this blog come from my 26 years of experience of doing startup's. This difference I hope that this blog makes is that we are able to zero in on what it takes to make a startup sustainable and then somehow in some form and manner take the information and interaction from this blog and expose it in a practical and elegant way to the startup world for the social and economic benefit of entrepreneurs and their glocal communities.