The Week in Review #12: The Secret to Big Ideas

Bill Gates is attributed to have said “Most people underestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in lifetime”. In a world where there the quest for instant gratification keeps increasing; we are robbing ourselves of our potential of what could be. All of us have the potential to create the change that we want to see in the world. Anything that we say to the contrary is our internal defensive mechanism asking us to take the easier path. The one where there will be the least resistance. It’s time that we start to look at the bigger picture and think about the mark we want to make in the world. It is never too late to begin.

The Secret to Big Ideas Everything is a remix. This article talks about how some of the biggest ideas came from the most unlikeliest of places. There are several origin stories in this article I read for the first time that fascinated me. The key piece of insight from the article is that instead of searching for the next original idea look at the products we already have and repurpose them for something else.

Fascinating Early Posts From Tech Founders Who Changed The World When we read about the companies that changed the world like Amazon, Ebay and Paypal; we often forget that once upon time they were small businesses trying to make it in the world. Reading these emails was inspiring to see what one can accomplish with perseverance and focus.

The 15 Second Rule Pitching is a key skill every entrepreneur needs to be great at. This post walks through the process of how one startup got coaching from some of the best presenters in the world and transformed their pitch. Several great takeaways for founders who are wanting to improve their pitching skills.

Why Louis CK Turned Down $500,000 and Invested in Himself Having the courage to believe in yourself and chart your own path is rare. Several people believe they have the ability to do so. However when it comes time to take that leap, very few are able to. This is a great story about one of the best comedians of our times and how he had the courage to take that leap.

How To Know if Your Cofounder Will Quit on You Cofounders is a topic a fascinates me. This article talks through the eventual breakup of a partnership and the key lessons learned. The main take away is that while starting a company is easy, we have to be doing it for the right reasons. When we do not clarify internally what we truly want, that is when communication eventually breaks down and problems start to occur.

This is How Coursera Competes Against Google and Facebook for the Best TalentRecruiting top talent for a startup is very challenging. If we have any chance of succeeding in attracting top tier talent to work with us we need a process. This article covers extensively the steps you need to put into place in order to do that.

Hustle and getting hired by a startup How do I get hired by a startup when I do not have technical skills? This is a question that I get a lot as well. I share the same sentiments with the author, if you really want the job; you have to be willing to provide value and earn it. The same goes with just about anything that you want to achieve, there will always be many obstacles and excuses; the difference is what you do about it.

The angel trap The world seems to be awash with angel investors these days. The startup euphoria has made the most conservative of investors look into this investment class. The problem is, most inexperienced angels do not have reference points to benchmark performance of this class. This post takes us through the thought process of an experienced angel and how he walks through the investment process.

The surprising secret about SMEs’ Churn If you lose customers as quickly or faster you gain them, eventually you will have to shut down your business. Customer churn is a very important metric that startups need to get better at tracking and rectifying. If the cost to acquire a customer is exceeding the total value that they provide, stop everything and re-evaluate. This article talks through this principle in great detail.