Entrepreneurial Leadership and Management . . . and Other Stuff
This is great (thanks Techking for creating it and @djilk for pointing it out). A humbling look at where computers started and how they advanced. There are many missing, including some of the more recent super-duper computers produced to work on some nasty computational problems and a couple built to become chess-masters and Jeopardy winners, but the key ones are pretty much all here.
Check out other cool infographics on Techking.
Image via CrunchBase
What’s a FitBit? It’s a tiny device that you clip to your clothing or carry in your pocket that measures the number of steps you take (really, the movement of your torso), and estimates the number of calories you burn during the day. When plugged into its little base station which is connected to your computer, the data is uploaded to a web site for storage, display, comparison and to be combined with manually entered data about your non-measured activities and what you ate. It only costs $99 and is an incredibly nice piece of engineering and packaging. While the company has sold a load of them, it seems that the early adopters are, not surprisingly, geeks, data junkies and fitness-o-philes. I think I may reside in all three camps and as such, was a relatively early adopter.
I’ve been carrying a FitBit with me for the last 8 months. It is so small and light and the battery lasts so long, that I often forget I have it with me (as I did this week when I went through one of those airport x-ray vision machines used to see if you’ve recently changed your underwear with it on me). Usually, I’m disappointed in the calorie consumption it reports at the end of the day through it’s small display, but that’s the point. It kicks me in the ass so I do less sitting on it. It’s not a FitBit issue, it’s a personal one.
As with many such measuring devices, the absolute data is less important than the relative data. If I consistently burn 2,500 calories per day, I know that a lard-retaining 1,900 calories expended in a day is going to get me in trouble. Especially if I have several of those back-to-back.
When I ordered my FitBit, it was DOA. Well, it wasn’t entirely dead, there was a bunch of garbage on the little on-board display. Resetting (by sticking a paperclip into the tiny hole in the bottom of the base station, FWIW) didn’t help. I sent an email to support which, after sending me a long email asking me to try everything I had already tried, RMA’d the device and sent me a new one. Pretty easy and the right way of doing it.
The only downside to the device is in what it can’t do – measure the activity that doesn’t involve moving my torso. You can do bench presses all day long and register nothing north of the number of calories you would be burning if sleeping. What I’m really waiting for is something that does real time blood testing and can capture all muscle movement and extent. Non-invasively, of course. Until then, though, the FitBit tells me an awful lot about what I’ve been doing and sets the stage for thinking more about healthy living.
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time playing angel investor over the years which has given me the chance to meet many great entrepreneurs. In general, when an entrepreneur contacts me, he/she is looking for money, advice or both. Generally speaking, I make a quick determination if the people are some that I might be interested in working with; whether or not the idea is something that I can actually add some value too (an increasingly small set of things, as it turns out); and, oh yeah, whether or not I can make any money by investing in it, if that’s appropriate. About a third of the time, I immediately say “no,” because it doesn’t match up with any of my basic criteria.
The other two thirds of the time, I spend more time with the entrepreneur to understand the business as best I can and as quickly as possible. After 35+ angel investments, I should be able to determine the value of a startup quickly, yet, it doesn’t actually seem to be getting any easier. Or, at least, I’m not getting any better at it. Of course, the amount of time I spend coming up to speed with the team depends on my interest and varies quite a lot. In the end, the vast majority of people I talk with ultimately get a “no.” That’s just how the numbers work out. I can’t invest in everything.
In almost all cases – there are those who take a “no” like I said their mother is ugly and are complete assholes about the situation – I do my best to be supportive and helpful in my rejection, explain why I’m not interested and almost always try to connect the entrepreneur up with someone who might be better equipped to help or might be interested in investing. But, it’s still a rejection and it’s tough to take. It’s in how the entrepreneur handles this situation, that I learn more about them than during any of my previous discussions.
Once in a great while, someone will hang up on me or clumsily end a face-to-face meeting with some poor excuse. More likely and if email has been the primary form of communication, I might never get a response to my “no,” which is also a non-response to my offer to hook the person up with another potential advisor or investors. Sometimes, the entrepreneur digs in his or her heals and pushes even harder, thinking that they can force me into changing my mind. Often, pleading, in various forms, takes place.
I’m here to tell you folks, this is all bad. If you’re an entrepreneur (or any one doing business), you should treat each relationship you establish as a long-term, important one. You just never know when you’re going to need it. Sometimes you need it and you don’t even know it – like when another investor calls for an opinion or a reference. I don’t hold a grudge, but I’m not shy about sharing my thoughts about things, especially with people I have an established relationship with (there’s some recursion here, I think).
I’m making it sound like very few handle the situation well. Many actual do handle themselves wisely and professionally. What do I mean by this?
Yes, for the most part, it’s political and maybe even pandering. It’s also smart. Some people handle it so well, I question my decision not to get involved. Handling it well gives me the impression that the entrepreneur might have the right stuff to be a great CEO. I’ll take that over a great idea any day (although both is nice, obviously). Even if I don’t get involved, that’s what I’m going to tell others when asked.
I’m not trying to be the Emily Post of startup venture engagements here. But handling this basic stuff right can get you very far. There will be MANY more “no’s” in your future. They are always harder to handle than “yes’s.” If you can handle them well, you’ll demonstrate what you can do when things are not so good. A much more important skill than what to do when things are going well. And that’ll get around.
