[quote style=”boxed”]Be nice to people. You’ll be surprised how often entrepreneurs pick investors or investors pick other co-investors based on how much they like working with them. This simple strategy alone has done wonders for our deal flow over the past two years.[/quote] Tianxiang (TX) Zhuo was born into a…
One of the things I hear over and over from our community is that you’d like to see some more instructional content in addition to our daily interviews. That got me thinking. At first it seemed like a good idea for me to write more ongoing original content. However, IdeaMensch is a…
Most ideas sound good in theory — until you mention them to others. So I like to bring my team together a couple of times each week to throw out new ideas. Almost instantly, you know if you have a winner or a loser. Clay Bethune is a successful entrepreneur…
I tend to fixate on a specific problem or task until I solve it, or at least until I reach some terminal understanding of the issue. At a startup, different people, tasks, and ideas constantly vie for your attention – it’s so easy to engage superficially and move on. You…
[quote style=”boxed”]Every single time you meet someone and get their business card, write them a follow-up email that same night. It doesn’t matter if you barely have a useful reason to connect with them. If you liked them, and you spoke for more than 5 minutes, then you can write…
[quote style=”boxed”]Hard work will always pay off. You have to believe that if you put a great amount of time and effort in something, sooner or later you will see the results.[/quote] Sara Gulyas is a Hungarian designer with a passion for shoes. She graduated as a leather-designer from the…
[quote style=”boxed”]Focus on revenue. This runs contrary to the traditional Silicon Valley mindset of “build something cool with a large audience, and the money will come later.”[/quote] Zvi Band is the founder and CEO of Contactually, a relationship-marketing platform that maximizes value and drives greater ROI from personal and professional…
[quote style=”boxed”]Constantly do things that you aren’t good at. In doing this, you continue to develop your skill set, while keeping yourself humble. As you progress and refine different skills, you will discover that there are universal rules as to how one can become successful just by having the proper…
Sleep well and wake up early. Naoki Yamada grew up in Japan and went to college in Los Angeles, California. After graduation, he started working for company in Japan as a system engineer. Naoki loves to watch and play sports and travels a lot to know the diversity of every culture. Where…
[quote style=”boxed”]Keeping a written and running list of things to do. When I veer off keeping the list I am less productive. Period.[/quote] Peter Manning is founder and chief creative officer of his eponymous company Peter Manning Five Eight/New York, a company founded in 2012 and dedicated to creating clothes…