12 Must Watch TED Talks for Entrepreneurs

12 Must Watch TED Talks for Entrepreneurs

Stay motivated on your entrepreneur journey!

House Committee of Science, Lamar Smith

My goal here is not to be political, antagonize or be partisan with this post. I thought it prudent to get the word out with people that care about and make a living off the internet so they may have a voice, however small.

Late Tuesday afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that the Republican Steering Committee members have recommended US Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas) to chair the House Committee of Science. The full House vote will happen today, Wednesday, November 28th 2012. 

Mr. Lamar Smith is a Republican Representative from Texas, and a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As a Christian Scientist, Mr. Smith does not believe in scientific fact, scientific or medical research nor medical advancements. Further, he is on the record stating he does not believe in man made global warming. If that were not enough, Representative Lamar Smith authored the infamous and defeated SOPA bill. 

It is my hope that people will share or post this information so that it does not go unnoticed by tech people and those that care about scientific fact and research. If you have concerns, please feel free to contact your local House Representative. http://www.house.gov/

My Birthday and Technological Advantages

Today, October 25^th is historical for two reasons, my birth date and also the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt where the English monarch Henry V defeated the numerically superior, better equipped, rested and better trained French army.  The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day), near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France and is immortalized in Shakespeare's Henry V.

Every year I think of this historical event around my birthday.

Today it makes me think of all the startups which will eventually eat the lunches of larger businesses and how much technology change has created opportunity for more of this cycle to happen.

For the English to win they needed to have advantage. They had none. They were downhill from the French and outnumbered, weakened by travel, sickness and fighting. On top of that as a final insult it had been raining on them as they tried to leave France.

Opportunity was not seized upon but happened organically as the battle unfolded. The result was unexpected to all.

The battle field was a cleared field with woodlands on either side of the downward (To English location) sloping field. With all the rain the fields had become saturated with water. When the horses trod down the recently plowed field they started creating a deep muddy mess. When troops marched on the field they formed enough mud to lose traction and create suction on their armored feet. English did not have armored foot wear and did not have suction issues when their troops moved. The French delayed by constricted movement and mud allowed Henry's long bows more time to strike a target with their new armor piercing arrows delivered by a new stronger long bow. This allowed the English to pierce the new thicker and harder French armor. 

As the French troops fell and stumbled further chaos ensued for the French as troops backed up upon previous waves of troops and tripped over dead bodies.

The victory is not only one of the English longbow but the poor French tactics and battle management.

Summary: due to weather, poor management, new technology and the problems with the new technology of France. Technology which under normal circumstances would have given advantage to the French. They lost advantage because of their failure to enact a timely response to environmental and tactical conditions. In addition, the French failed to recognize their deficiencies and see the disadvantage they were under fast enough.

I see this now in business as older companies fail to recognize the marketplace shifts. The advantage they perceive in reality is not as advantageous as they want to wage business. A smaller more nimble company with a lean management style is able to pivot or address needs faster has advantage. A company which uses technology and social media has advantage over those that spend money on traditional advertisement and infrastructure.

Companies which embrace a cost structure and management style which creates a sense of opportunity for employees, investors and customers have advantage over the old no matter what they sell. Brand management and customer interaction is not really the strong suit of many new businesses and that is where their disadvantage lay. It is incumbent upon all entrepreneurs to focus their attention in that direction as well as trying to grow the company.

Often we focus so intently upon growing or bringing in money we forget our advantage is in having a faster response time and responding to changes needed.

In this decade we will see technology shift again as media such as News Papers, Broadcast TV and telephone services (including cell phones) gives way to new technology and the internet as the preferred delivery system. I see Skype cell phones with video capability, Internet TV Networks removing the need for old style broadcast TV Networks which have affiliate and local programming costs. Lastly we shall see a need erode for daily mail delivery and costs associate with keeping that home delivery service going.

There will be tremendous opportunity. It’s time to start doing and thinking again. It’s time to recreate your life.

For further reading on Henry V, I have added links below.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2612 

On Leadership of Henry V

http://www.britishbattles.com/100-years-war/agincourt.htm 

The Battle Describedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt

You Did Not Build it Alone.

While driving today I saw a sign that said "Government didn't build my business, I did!." on my way to breakfast. On the drive back I wondered if he thought about the government policy, tax revenue collected which put forth the infrastructure in society that helped him have the opportunity to grow a business.

Ironic how his business is dependent upon a stable well organized infrastructure and society, but how he failed to think about that.

A progressive tax policy and good government programs enable society to have the needed stable, educated and safe society that presented the opportunity which allowed him to grow his business.

Our tax dollars and government programs, building initiatives and our pro entrepreneurial society helped him have the opportunity he exploited to grow his business. Yet he thinks he built it by himself.

Rule number 1: Always be honest, be brutally honest with yourself.

This guy was in a state of delusion or just not thinking. Tough to think on your own when Fox talking points tell you how you should react.

Rule 2: Don't react, enact a plan...I may add THINK for yourself.

Income Tax Graph

Please click on image to see larger picture.

Income Tax by Age, Location, Income and Exemptions

Samsung SIII v iPhone5

Result of US Economic Policies

Gini Index is a measurement of income inequality in a country. A lower number (0) indicates wealth dispersed in a more equal way. The higher the number represents a disproportionate tilting of wealth to a very small segment of society.

The chart represents 1967 to 2011 and shows a timeline which includes recessions. 

In 1967 the United States had a rating significantly lower than now. Much on par with other world economic powers. During this time the American middle class enjoyed and participated in economic growth.

Note the dip during the 70s recession and prior to the most recent recession. Which indicates wealthier people did not gain just prior to the recession. Further, note the increases during periods when Reagan and George Bush (1) were in office. The greater wealth reflected since 2008 is exaggerated due to economic downturn which has impacted the working and middle class of America.

According to the most recent CIA and Census data; at this time the United states has a rating much like the income disparity of the following countries: Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Mozambique, Uganda, and Ivory Coast.

To say the economic policies of the recent past are working for the American middle class would be a mistake if you look closely at this and other economic data.

http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/09/13/is-income-inequality-rising-and-are-a-lot-of-feathers-heavy/

Social Media, Economic Expansion Opportunities

I have been extremely lucky in my social media experience. I have sought out and found many credible and aspiring people in business as well as above average mindsets who are capable of challenging and educating me with their experience, wit and conversations. I have shunned using it for personal reasons until I better understood how to use it for business.

I have found people from all over the World that have similar interests, can tolerate my eccentricities, language, and humor and still thought I was a worthy colleague in business or a worthwhile mind. I have been lucky in that regard and that people share their life and business knowledge with me regularly.

That said, too often we overlook the basic fact that knowledge and skill is ultimately a worldly commodity. Social media allows us to help isolate people with the skill or knowledge we desire to be in contact with. Connecting to great minds and those able to facilitate change is the real value of the internet. It is the thing that governments and some corporate interests fear about the internet as a tool.

I am particularly amazed when I look at the facebook connections map.  If you look at the map it shows economic expansion and growth has reached all sorts of people and regions that were previously not middle class. In some cases just a generation or two ago most people were working in fields or in a feudal, communist, theocratic or repressive region.

To me the map alone is clear evidence that representative democracies and capitalism work for the majority of the people in the world. To me that means economic expansion and educational opportunity. This means a larger worldwide intellectual or skill base and larger economic opportunities.

So as I see it social media is the next generation of economic growth that the internet brings forth.

Just remember Bill Clinton and Al Gore brought a private military, NSF and educational resource to the consumers shortly after they were elected. That was the mid-nineties. That one act has changed the economy and the world. It has expanded opportunity, education, access to information and ideas.

Before the internet there was the creation of the personal computer which changed the world view. That was in the mid-eighties.

We stand at the beginning of a new world as we watch the old world die. I am very bullish and positive on our future. We have more opportunity for more people than ever before and savvy business people will thrive because of that!

Business opportunity is not dead because of one politician or the economy. Business opportunity is now a merit based opportunity which depends on how one thinks and if one can gather the resources needed to bring an idea to the marketplace. As an individual you have an advantage over larger companies and you have the opportunity presented by this new world technology.

Happy hunting!

America's Legacy and Future Opportunity

I like to think we as a people are still the beacon of opportunity for the world. The positive perspective other peoples have for the United States ebbs and flows in cycles. America has never lost the shiny sheen the world looks for, the opportunity and ability to inspire hope and dreams.

People forget what America has and continues to contribute to the world. That the majority of people’s lives have improved because of what has happened in America, what has emanated from America and it’s people, our ideals and economic expansion.

People further forget that it was America which worked hard to improve the lives of others living under colonial rule. A recent example is the Atlantic Charter (1941) where by agreeing to help Britain in WWII America outlined a future after WWII without colonization and a rule of law derived from the people as set forth by an American example.

As has often been the case; sometimes it takes a defining moment for a people's will to be brought forth and a change made.

I believe we live in such a moment and we are experiencing the last gasps of the old industrial and class world trying to retain its economic and mental grasp on the world's populace. We stand in front of future knowing we live in a meritocracy where education is the limiting factor to increased opportunity.

We are ready to evolve, due in part to people in technology, science and freethinkers. This change did not happen because of religion or state sponsored enterprise. While the state spending on military projects brought the computer, people engaged in business created the marketplace of technology we now see. With the technology of today and enhanced technology of the future we will have more opportunity. The entry to opportunity will be at a lower cost and more easily accessible. One's education can be freely available and thoughts more easily transmitted, understood faster and with greater acceptance.

In my opinion, now is truly a momentous time for humanity, democratic republics, capitalistic societies and the world. We stand at the precipice of the uncertain future with greater opportunity for more people and a better lifestyle for most people than ever before in history. People, technology and will to do more without the control of big corporations or the investor class controlling as they have in the past.

I know it sounds jingoistic and sappy. I just cannot help but be bullish and optimistic for our future and that of the world. I hope my optimism is contagious.

For further reading on the Atlantic Charter: http://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/AtlanticConf

Three Events Which Slowed Progress

I was talking about history last night with a friend. I was telling him about the Golden Age of Islam and how it ended.

At one time Islam was open, tolerant and intellectual. This was prior to Imam al-Ghazzali (1058-1111) who started a movement based on theology which eventually would end the period of scientific discovery or the Golden Age of Islam. This age of enlightenment, literature, culture, mathematics, astronomy, medical advances and public education; this was enjoyed in much of the Islamic world. This age would span almost 400 years then end abruptly with the sacking of Baghdad.

Imam al-Ghazzali was so influential he successfully changed the course of Islamic philosophy. His book "The Incoherence of Philosophers" successfully refuted logic and reason used in the past by stating that those who employed Greek intellectual methods and ideas were corrupting the Islamic faith.

One has to wonder about three events in history which slowed intellectual discovery:

1. Sacking of Rome by Alaric and the Visigoths in 410ce 
2. Theodosius' decree, Christians sack Library of Alexandria. They then strip, murder and flay Hypatia in 415ce 
3. Sack of Baghdad 1258ce by the Mongols 

All three examples show us a society, culture and intellect taken down by ignorance and fear. Imagine how much more advanced we would be as a people had these three events not occurred.

In Rome alone, they had running water, flushing toilets, heated houses through radiant floor heat and hot water when needed. These are just a few examples of what was lost.

It would take over 1000 years to get some of that back for the rich people in society. It would take until post WWII for the majority of Americans to have that level of lifestyle.

It would be a shame to get set back again because of religious fanaticism and ignorance. Maybe it is time for reasonable people to start confronting those who use Fox talking points and loud talk instead of tolerance, reason and facts.

America's future is cemented in its educational system and the sciences. Our economy, culture and lifestyle depend on a future with a foundation in intellect, creative thought, arts, math and the sciences.

Entrepreneurship Revolution!

I recently had a discussion with several people regarding the popular belief that America and the economy were on the decline. Several indicators and research show that is not at all factual.

My position is that America will not lose its prominent position in the World. That we shall grow as a country when we as a nation stop bickering about cultural opinions on how others live in this country. When we realize our collective future is greater than leadership in this current political austerity movement will have us believe (solely for one party’s political gain).

That with good leadership, goals, understanding and tolerance of the diversity in America and on our planet, with greater educational opportunities America can impact and influence our future and the future of others.

At this time, America is the economic engine that drives the capitalistic world. When America’s economy expands the World economy will benefit. As Economies and countries benefit from American economic expansion their constituents will benefit as they are better able to enjoy their lives. Gain access to more opportunity and expand their middle class in countries not as advanced as The G7 (I did not include Russia).

I Believe America and America’s small business startups in tech will spur economic growth, will create more jobs and add to the taxable income base. This will allow America to pay down debt, reduce deficits and add budgetary items which will further expand the economy. Our well educated people and entrepreneurs will inspire the world again.

Through economic growth Americans can change the premise that our lifestyle is slipping away from us and that America is on the decline. We can change perception; we can lead people to believe and accept the premise that we alone can impact and create our own future. That one does not have to accept the fate put upon us by others. We alone are the masters of our future.

Technology enables us to change our job, education and experiences as well as income levels and education more easily than at any other time in history.

I am a startup founder, entrepreneur and venture capitalist because of that belief. I am surrounded by a great multitude of others with the same belief. I am involved with companies and individuals that enhance, encourage and support the startup experience. These people and companies will help America and show us the many positive ways entrepreneurship improves our lives and the economy.

I believe that our leadership and citizens need to be of the same opinion and should take positions which support entrepreneurship and education to achieve that result.

I am bullish on America, please join me!

Patterson Cycles in Technology:

I talk a great deal about startups, especially tech startups, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial communities. As I talk I often speak of cycles in the tech startup world and technologies. When people ask about the cycle of tech startups and tech funding my answer is often confusing to them because they are unfamiliar with what I talk about. I like to mention the Patterson Cycle to them; this post seeks to address some issues with the Patterson Cycle.

Arthur Patterson postulated that the tech industry follows an approximate 14 year cycles - 8 years of growth and 6 years of "retrenchment". This pattern has held up since the 1960s. Most likely the current cycle began in 2000/2001 (6 retrenchment years) and will last until 2014. The best time for VC returns are supposedly at the end of the cycle (the next 3 years).

Every cycle has both a supply and demand cycle. In the case of this one, it is the supply side (availability of great new companies) which determines timing, despite the attention the demand side (investor money sloshing around chasing higher returns) gets. The underlying secular forces of creative destruction are at work at the bottom of the Information Technology stack -eg 30% per year productivity increases for semiconductors, fiber optics, software development methodologies, etc. Observably, these secular forces require about 14 years to obsolete the existing order and set the stage for most of the great companies (and IPOs) of the next generation. We'll see hundreds of these companies pace the "new bubble" for the next few years. Enjoy it and hope no macro events (the government) interrupt. -Arthur C. Patterson

http://www.accel.com/bio/arthurpatterson.php