christine's brain

How To Be More Productive

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:23:00 -0700

There are tons of productivity tips out there. Here are my top 5.

Be present. Multitasking is dangerous and causes you to feel frazzled because you’re never fully concentrating on one thing. If you’re on a phone meeting, don’t plow through email or Facebook or Twitter. If you’re in an in-person mtg, don’t bring your laptop. Just bring yourself (and maybe a notebook) and actually listen to the other person. When you’re spending time w/ your kids before they go to bed, actually play w/ them and engage yourself. Put your phone down. Email can wait.
Be on time. I find that when I start to run late for meetings, my whole day feels frenetic and drains me of energy, leaving me less likely to actually GSD. When I actually do run on time, I feel energized because I know I wasn’t wasting time. In-person mtgs often run late b/c you lose track of time, so I try to avoid this by setting up a calendar event immediately after my mtg (whether I actually have a mtg or not) and setting an alert to go off 5-10 min it’s scheduled for. Then I know I need to skedaddle.
Be good to your body. Folks in Silicon Valley work themselves to the bone like it’s a badge of honor. But it’s not possible to be running at full capacity for a long period of time. Otherwise you burn out. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Eat well, hydrate yourself, get exercise, and SLEEP. Such basic things are hard to do (I have a LOT of trouble w/ all 4 of these things). But when I am able to do them, I am able to get a lot more done.
Be responsive. Everyone is guilty of dragging their feet in getting back to people - particularly over email. Gokul Rajaram (who I worked with @ Google and has been a wonderful mentor) spoke to our accelerator batch yesterday and shared his tips for handling email. He quickly assesses incoming email. Anything he can handle in <= 5 minutes, he tackles right then and there. Anything he deems will take much longer, he categorizes into a different label. He also mentioned how some people don’t even use email, but only communicate via text. Whatever your method of choice is, being quick to respond usually helps productivity. You put the ball back in someone else’s court and that’s one less thing for you to do.
Be crisp. Eric Antonow is one of the most sage people I know. I had the honor of working for him @ Google. He always reminded me to “be crisp.” In other words, be concise, be direct, and prune things down to the most salient points. I have found this to be true. This prevents you from wasting time due to beating around the bush, needing to clear up misunderstandings, etc. and ultimately makes you more efficient. (whether it’s verbal or written communication)

What are your productivity tips? Please leave a comment below and share yours.

Good Boss, Bad Boss

Thu, 30 May 2013 21:25:00 -0700

“As a manager, your team doesn’t exist for you. You exist for your team.”

Wise words uttered (and paraphrased) by Sam Schillace during tonight’s fireside chat at 500.

I have had plenty of managers all across the board. The good, the bad, the ugly. Ultimately whether any relationship works is whether you have good chemistry, understand and trust each other. That said, there are certain behaviors and actions that I’ll sum up as “bad manager” and “good manager.”

A bad manager takes. A good manager gives.

A bad manager errs on the side of “no”. A good manager errs on the side of “yes”.

A bad manager takes credit. A good manager gives credit.

A bad manager talks. A good manager listens.

A bad manager is a closed book and keeps you in the dark. A good manager is an open book and is transparent.

A bad manager makes obstacles more complicated. A good manager helps you get through them.

A bad manager ignores problems and lets them fester. A good manager faces them head on until they’re no longer a problem.

A bad manager closes doors. A good manager opens doors.

A bad manager is insecure and often feels threatened. A good manager unfailingly supports their team and checks their ego at the door.

That isn’t to say that someone w/ one of these “bad” qualities is therefore a bad manager. There are plenty of different styles out there, and what works for one person doesn’t work for another. I’ve worked w/ managers that I loved whom others didn’t. And vice versa.

But in general, there is some truth to these bad/good comparisons.

Note you could essentially replace “manager” with “CEO,” “co-founder,” “leader,” “teammate,” etc.

A Wise Person Once Said...

Thu, 23 May 2013 23:28:25 -0700

“It’s impossible to know everything about everything.” [So don’t stress]

Charles Hudson said this to me when we met up for coffee in the early days of 500 Startups. To this day, it has stuck w/ me.

In the tech world, so much is going on. How many times have you had a conversation w/ someone that started out with, “Hey did you hear Company X just raised X?” or “Whoa, BigOldCo is in talks to acquire NewCo!” or “Neutron funding is the future of investments.” Sometimes your reaction is one of panic that you’re not “in the know”, and you feel self-conscious that you’re behind. NOOOOO!!!!

When this happens to me, I remind myself of Charles’ advice. Remember that there are plenty of things that you know well. For everything you don’t, turn it into an opportunity to learn.

My Week In Seoul

Sun, 05 May 2013 02:40:00 -0700

Above: A view of the Seoul cityscape from my hotel in Gangnam.

I spent this week in Korea attending beLAUNCH and getting a taste of the Seoul startup scene. I head back home today, so here are a few observations and musings while it’s all fresh in my mind.

Brand alone can only get you so far.

Before, I naively assumed that a few emails and press articles would be enough to get Korean startups to apply for the 500 Accelerator program. However, like almost everything in life, relationships are everything. Korean founders will likely feel no urgency to uproot themselves and come over to the U.S. for the program unless they feel some connection to 500. There are movers and shakers (like Richard Min and David Lee) in the Korean startup scene, who I’ve been fortunate to meet but only in the last few months. We’re lucky to have folks like Chang Kim and David Y. Lee as 500 Mentors and portfolio companies, and they’ve done a great job evangelizing 500. But more has to come from 500 itself.

If you’re looking to get traction in an international market as an investor or accelerator program, then you need to be there. It’s impossible to count on brand alone to “win” in a market. You have to be on the ground. You don’t need to relocate, but you have to get yourself out there and build relationships with the influencers.

Above: Seoul Space, Shakr Media, and 500

Be sensitive to cultural differences. Then help bridge the gap.

Many people cite culture as a huge barrier for Korean startups. The fear of failure is real. Failing in Silicon Valley is like a badge of honor. Failing in Korea means you are blacklisted and written off. Hopefully this will change as the ecosystem develops and Korea produces more role models. Many people in Silicon Valley criticize Koreans for lacking hustle and being too ‘safe’ and lambasting such a culture that writes off failed entrepreneurs. It’s important to be sensitive to these cultural differences. In other words, don’t be arrogant. You’re not going to be able to change a country’s culture. Rather, figure out how to work around that and help bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and (strongly) encourage/coach entrepreneurs to hustle and be fearless.

I don’t know if there is a Korean word for “hustle”. When I used the term “aggressive,” that seemed to have a negative connotation. Having a sense of URGENCY and HUSTLE are two qualities that are absolutely critical to have as an entrepreneur. Do Korean entrepreneurs possess these qualities? Yes, I believe so. I met a number of entrepreneurs this week who are building great companies. One girl sold off most of her valuable personal belongings to bootstrap her startup, and volunteered at beLAUNCH as a way to meet people. I think they just need even MORE of it if they truly want to be global and make it to Silicon Valley. Which brings me to my next point.

Above: the D.CAMP co-working space in Seoul

Silicon Valley and being “global” are mostly aspirational, but not realistic. (yet)

Nearly every Korean entrepreneur wants to be global. You’ll rarely hear any of them say that they want to focus solely on Korea (or Asia). However, there seems to be a disconnect between their aspirations and actuality. Most of the products look and feel very Korean down to the UI. Many of them say that they plan to use Korea as a test bed, then go after the U.S. I believe this mostly comes down to the lack of role models - Korean entrepreneurs who have successfully built global companies and are accessible and relevant to the new generation. A lack of mentors who can advise on topics like user acquisition, distribution, virality, conversion funnels, analytics, business development, user experience, fundraising, etc. It’s easy to forget that there is a dearth of such people in Korea, because the ecosystem is not quite there yet. So when Korean founders say they want to be ‘global’, it’s likely they don’t have a game plan to get there.

Above: Phil Libin of Evernote delivering the morning keynote at beLAUNCH.

Events and conferences are critical to the Korean startup ecosystem.

Many people underestimate the value of events - whether they’re casual meetups, hackathons, or large conferences. I was so impressed at beLAUNCH and came away each day feeling energized. I had heard beLAUNCH was sort of like the TechCrunch Disrupt of Korea, and I think it will continue to be THE startup/tech conference to attend. In Silicon Valley, you could attend an event almost every day of the week. There’s easy access to environments where you can network with people. Korea needs that. There are many organizations that are doing this in Korea like Seoul Space, Kstartup, D.Camp, and even big companies like Facebook and Google doing hackathons, meetups, and backing entrepreneurial initiatives.

Above: Startup Expo section at beLAUNCH.

Now is the time for Korean startups.

Korea has historically been cautious towards foreign services. Nowadays, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are huge. Even Google is further along than it used to be. iPhone adoption is growing rapidly. Even things like K-POP, PSY, and Korean dramas have opened the world’s eyes to Korea. CE brands like Samsung and LG are viewed as premium products and are hot. While some may dismiss Korea’s growth potential because the economy is well-established, entrepreneurial activity is simmering and on its way to a rolling boil. If you know anything about Korean culture, when something gets traction, it spreads like wildfire. On the other end of the spectrum, Korean corporates are eagerly looking to startups for innovation and establishing themselves in Silicon Valley. The new Korean government is fiercely supportive of funding entrepreneurs and making it easier for them to build companies. Access to early stage (seed) capital is getting easier.

There’s still a long ways to go, and in many ways it’s still the Wild West. While the country’s population is only 50M people and Seoul alone is just shy of 11M, there’s immense talent and passion in the Korean people. I believe Korea is at an inflection point and it’ll only get better for startups from here on out.

Above: Welcome sign at D.Camp!

Slides from my talk to the n00bs (500 Startups Batch 6)

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:43:16 -0700

How To Hack 500 To Raise Money (500 Startups Batch 6) from Christine Tsai

Here is reason #324238764 why 500 is unlike any other seed fund...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:28:56 -0700

Here is reason #324238764 why 500 is unlike any other seed fund or accelerator. This is a video my partner George Kellerman created for the new incoming batch. He’s in Japan this week, doing low-key things like having dinner w/ the Prime Minister. So he made this video (full on w/ green screen). We all laughed and cried, but I think it was funniest to Team 500. George gave me a sneak preview of this video last week so I had already seen it. But I laughed so hard I cried when we played it on Monday for everyone.

I filmed this video awhile back for Technovation Challenge, a...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 23:31:29 -0800

I filmed this video awhile back for Technovation Challenge, a wonderful organization which encourages young girls to pursue careers in technology and entrepreneurship.

The last thing I was expecting to see on this Monday afternoon...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:06:47 -0800

The last thing I was expecting to see on this Monday afternoon at @500startups :-)

New Year, New Resolutions

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 22:21:00 -0800

Happy New Year! For those of you who missed PSY & MC Hammer performing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (is it still called that?), check it out here.

I haven’t had much time to think about New Year’s resolutions, but now that the holiday hubbub has quieted down, I’ve started to reflect on the past year and what I hope to accomplish in 2013.

First, a look back on 2012.

This isn’t a very long list, mainly because I’m having a hard time remembering what happened aside from a few big things - plus I don’t want to bore you with 100 bullets. So a quick snapshot:

Came back from maternity leave @ the beginning of the year and figured out how to be a working mom. I don’t think there’s any such thing as “work/life balance” - it’s more of a “work/life juggle.”
Completed two successful accelerator batches and took over the reins of running the 500 Accelerator program.
Celebrated the wedding of one of my dear friends. Honored to have been a bridesmaid in such a beautiful, meticulously planned wedding.
Welcomed one of BYT’s newest friends.
Celebrated my mom’s 60th birthday.
Celebrated BYT’s 1st birthday!!!
Moved into our new house, which is always a work in progress.
Had the HUGE honor of introducing two Star Trek stars at separate events - LeVar Burton at our MamaBear conference and George Takei at a special talk at the office. (see photos at the end of the post)
Last but not least, had so much fun watching BYT grow from a baby into a full fledged toddler who has endless energy and endless appetite. He loves FOOD (especially Sweet Tomatoes, his favorite restaurant), riding in his push car, Nickey and Snowball, dancing to upbeat music, Pororo, cars, trains, exploring new things, meeting new people, and taking baths because he loves playing in the water. If his current personality is a strong indication of what he’ll be like when he grows up, then we hope he’ll grow up into a cheery, positive, sociable boy who’s active, athletic, and loves to learn. :) (To quote Phoebe from Friends: “Are you guys talking about the same kid?”)

I have a few aspirational resolutions for 2013, and a few that are very specific goals. Here they are below. Surprisingly (or maybe not), many of them touch upon very basic necessities:

Take at least 1 ballet class before the end of January.
Eat a well-balanced diet.
Get more sleep.
Be more optimistic.
Make 2013 the most transformative, productive, and prosperous year for 500 Startups.
Continue to absorb the startup / investor ecosystem in Korea. (a market which I’ve been personally interested for a long time) I hope that in the Spring 2013 accelerator batch, at least 1 company will hail from Korea.
Visit the Doughnut Plant.
Watch more Michelle Phan.
Blog more regularly.
Take time to enjoy life more.
Do.

LeVar was so sweet and charming.

George was awesome.

Interestingly enough, both of these characters guest starred on one of my favorite TV shows (Big Bang Theory).

Why Startups Need Marketing

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 16:00:59 -0700

At yesterday’s Startup School, Pinterest co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann talked about how the secret behind Pinterest’s growth was marketing, not engineering. In the early days at only 3,000 users, they started holding local meetups w/ Pinterest users (largely women) and engaging w/ bloggers to spread the word. Even when you hear him talk about the company, it’s clear that engineering - while important - does not call all the shots. Marketing and design have equal seats at the table.

No matter what the startup is, marketing’s mission is the same — to tell the world about the product. However, the similarities end there. How you tell your target customers about your product and why it’s valuable couldn’t be more different from company to company. This is why marketing is so often misunderstood. Ask 5 different people what marketing does and you’ll get 5 different answers. However, if you keep that core mission in mind, it’ll be much easier to set marketing goals for your company.

In order to tell the world about your product, there are many important ingredients. Marketing’s responsibilities are as follows:

Positioning the product. Easier said than done, but it’s a critical exercise that every startup should go through. Take Foodspotting. In the early days, they ran the risk of being known as the product for “people who like to take pictures of their food.” However, they worked hard to position themselves as a “visual food discovery guide.. And that is what stuck.
Defining the target customer. To properly position your product, you need to understand and define your target customer. Understand what makes them tick, spending time w/ them regularly, and acting as their voice. (Arguably every stakeholder in the company should be doing this, not just marketing) Products can often have more than 1 target customer segment, but usually you shouldn’t exceed 3, and there is always a pecking order. (One type of customer will ultimately be more valuable than another)
Representing the customer voice in the product roadmap. Too often I see product decisions being made without incorporating marketing - at both small and big companies. Marketing can have an impact on key product and business decisions by representing the voice of the customer. Also, in order to properly market a product, marketing MUST understand the ins and outs of the product and how it works. To do so without that knowledge only makes your marketing weaker and less authentic.
Developing the company’s brand. The key to branding is identifying your core values/attributes and building a compelling narrative. Brands are powerful because of the emotional connection. How will your brand make your customers feel? It starts with the founders. Leah Busque built TaskRabbit after one snowy night in 2008 wishing there was a way to have someone else go out and buy dog food. Aihui Ong has an amazing personal story behind her company LoveWithFood which she shares openly on the website. Brian Wang and Richard Talens were inspired to start Fitocracy after their own personal transformations. Their narratives have been core to their brands, and it has served them well. The beauty of marketing in this day and age is that, like building a company, it’s much easier and cost-efficient. So invest time into blogging, tweeting, Facebook pages, videos, external messaging (website copy, email marketing, basically anything your product touches).
Acquiring customers. Marketing should build the customer acquisition strategy (define key marketing channels), execute on them, track results, and constantly be testing and iterating. Think of it like a stove with pots and pans on each burner. You have to keep an eye on each one, turn down the heat when something’s overflowing, and turn up the heat when something’s not cooking fast enough. Marketing channels can be either organic to the product (ex. changing the colors and copy of your sign-up button), or external (ex. SEM/PPC, SEO, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc). Note that all of this is closely integrated with all bullets mentioned above. For example, blogging is part of building your company’s voice. However, it may also be an effective acquisition tool and you’ll need to figure out how to track users coming in via your blogging.
Keeping customers happy. Call it customer retention or customer engagement - there is huge opportunity in marketing to your installed base. Get them to do more stuff, adopt more features, buy more, etc. Specific tactics may take the form of regular email communication, incentives to invite new customers (referral program), events and meetups, etc. Customer support also plays a huge role in customer happiness.

Should marketing be your first hire?

Yes, or if not your first hire, then bring someone on as early as possible. Many founders first hire engineers before they hire marketing because they think they need more hands on deck in building the product. The other reason is also that they themselves are engineers and don’t know what to look for in a marketing hire. I’d challenge any founder to think closely about how marketing fits into their company. Twilio hired Danielle Morrill as their first employee (and she was marketing). By not treating marketing like a second class citizen, that was one of the best decisions they ever made.

What if you don’t have the budget to hire a marketing person, and it’s just you and your co-founder who have zero marketing background/experience?

As a founder, you’re already wearing many different hats. You’re not just writing code, but you’re also raising money from investors, talking to reporters, taking out the trash, doing partnerships, and so on. Be scrappy and figure it out. Seek out mentors who can help guide your marketing strategy, and talk to other founders. If you’ve raised money, hopefully you’ve raised from good investors who are willing to help you. Tap into them and their networks.

Still don’t think you need a marketing person? Joe Kraus put it best. If you don’t think you need it, then you haven’t seen greatness.

Special thanks to Joyce Sohn and John Fu for their input on this post.

500 Startups Batch 5: Behind The Scenes

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:10:00 -0700

The 5th installment of the 500 Startups Accelerator program kicked off a couple weeks ago. Since then, a lot has already happened - kickoff festivities, 1:1 metrics reviews with each company, and a field trip to visit Google’s HQ.

Blogging is like exercise. It’s critical to focus on building a strong brand that customers connect with, and a strong culture, even when it’s just the founders, and generating content (e.g. a blog) is key. Going through the 500 Accelerator is such a huge investment for these companies, especially for those who traveled halfway across the world to be here. Several companies have vowed to document their experience @ 500 on their company or personal blogs (some have already done so).

In the same spirit, I will do the same - publish weekly posts on what goes into running the 500 Accelerator program. Lessons learned, observations, my own humble advice on making an accelerator program successful and having a significant (positive) impact on the ‘bottom line’ for each company - more customers, revenue, growth, capital.

Each company coming into the accelerator program has a set of goals and milestones they plan to achieve by the end of the program. They often revolve around growth, revenue, hiring, and fundraising. In the same vein, I’d like to share a few high level goals for ourselves:

Enable companies to hit or exceed their milestones by giving strong mentorship, resources, 1:1 time, etc.
Improve our own intelligence of each company to make more data-driven, informed decisions for follow-on investments.
Deepen engagement w/ 500 Mentors - actively communicate ways to participate, invite them to accelerator events and more.
Improve Demo Days to have maximum (positive) impact for the companies.

One last thing to note - this was the first accelerator batch where we utilized an open application process. While the majority of the companies came through referrals, we decided to experiment with an open application process using AngelList’s platform to fill the remaining spots in the program. We were blown away by the number of applications - and strong ones, at that. It was definitely an experiment, and we learned a lot from it. We brought in a few strong companies that I am certain we would never have found otherwise.

We’ll be announcing this batch in a couple weeks. Stay tuned to meet them all.

Creating #500STRONG (Part 2)

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:54:00 -0700

In my last post, I covered how we built a strong community at 500 Startups among our companies. In this post, I will focus on how we built the 500 Mentor network. (Fun factoid: “Mentor” is a character in Greek mythology)

The 500 Mentors are a tribe of 180 people (and growing) who commit time and energy to help our startups. They:

are based all over the world
work at startups
work at big companies
have founded startups
have domain/operational expertise in one or more functional areas and verticals
do this all on a volunteer basis
may or may not invest in startups
are opinionated (I mean this in a good way)
LOVE helping entrepreneurs
LOVE 500 Startups
are LOVED by 500 Startups and our founders

Given mentors at a fund or accelerator program aren’t typically compensated for their time, there’s got to be something else that motivates them. From the beginning, we knew the 500 Mentors would be a very unique group. We wanted them to be as excited about helping our startups as we were, but we also were counting on them to help shape the direction of 500. To be able to come on board as a mentor to a brand new seed fund/accelerator program and actually help steer its direction was definitely a big motivator for the early mentors.

The following slide provides insight into how we approach mentoring. (screen shot from an internal team presentation I created for a recent partner offsite)

How it all got started, and what we’ve done so far:

We compiled a HUGE list of potential mentors from our networks - PayPal, Facebook fbFund, Google, YouTube, Mint, SimplyHired, and the list goes on. We categorized everyone w/ their areas of expertise, how we knew them, their location, and then rated each person by priority. (e.g. likely to be involved, maybe, not likely) We extended invitations to a small number of individuals to join us on this crazy journey and be one of the first 500 Startups mentors. In those days, I actually met with every single mentor in person or by phone. Given we were so new, it was a great way to get their feedback on what a successful mentor program should entail. I will never forget meeting Blake Commagere at SBUX and him warning me that I’d most likely be late for my next appointment due to his incessant chattering.
We created a charter in the form of a Google Doc that captured the goals and objectives for the 500 Mentor Program, the 500 Culture, and 500’s expectations and requirements of any mentor. Every new mentor received this doc when invited to join as a mentor.
We created a community. We felt this was key in getting mentors motivated. While helping startups was already a big motivator, for mentors to feel like they were part of a ‘tribe’ and develop relationships with fellow mentors was just as important. Similar to the 500 portfolio, we also created a Google Groups mailing list and encouraged interaction on that platform. We also kicked things off with the first ever mentor meetup (even before mentors actually started meeting w/ any companies). At the meetup, we gave an overview of 500 Startups and then had mentors split into breakout groups where everyone discussed topics like what good mentoring is/isn’t, how 500 could differentiate ourselves with our mentor program, etc.
We actively communicate with mentors and kept them abreast of the latest with 500 Startups, even if it wasn’t directly related to mentoring. In being open and transparent with the overall fund strategy, that in turn made mentors feel like we were entrusting them with important information and thus really valued the relationship.
We offer numerous ways to mentor. Given mentors all have different schedules and in many cases actual day jobs, we wanted the mentoring options to be flexible. So we offered numerous options - having mentors give talks to the accelerator batch, hold office hours, participate in 1:1 formal mentor/mentee relationships, assist with pitch prep, etc. In the last few months, we revamped the mentor program and instituted a monthly time commitment. Going back to one of the beginning of the post and one of the bullets being “opinionated” (about our mentors), we certainly did hear from them about this time commitment - both good and bad. But as the saying goes, there is a thin line between love and hate, and neither is as bad as indifference.
We hold quarterly meetups at the 500 office for all our mentors. It’s a chance for them to mingle, for us to share updates on 500 Startups, and hold “townhall” discussions for them to tell us what’s working, what’s not, etc. The big challenge of these meetups is that they’re only accessible to the mentors in the local area. Mentors outside of Silicon Valley aren’t able to participate as easily (unless they happen to be in town). To that end, we’ve encouraged mentors in other areas to self-organize 500 meetups in their local geo. And of course if someone from the 500 team happens to be in town at that time, we’ll most certainly join in.
We try to differentiate the mentor experience such that being a mentor for 500 is something unique. In addition to everything I already mentioned, we also come up with creative ways to engage mentors. With the last accelerator batch, we launched a mentor co-investment program where mentors could invest an accelerator company via $5,000 convertible notes. We pushed it out a bit hastily and have more work to do to make the process smoother, but we plan to do more stuff like that.
We’ve even announced the mentors in press.

It really is amazing that we’ve recruited such an amazing group of people. I’m honored that they take time out of their busy schedules to mentor our companies and, in many ways, mentor us.

**From L-R, T-D: Andy Johns, Jenny Gove, Dror Shimshowitz, Blake Commagere, Hong Quan, Rebecca Meissner, Michal Kopec, James Levine, Natala Menezes, Jennifer Lum, Mike Greenfield, Christine Herron. They are 12 of our amazing mentors.

Creating #500STRONG (Part 1)

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:37:00 -0700

The number one reason that entrepreneurs are attracted to 500 Startups is our community. I call it the “500 Family” because it really is a family. Everyone helps each other, is quick to jump in and provide help, gives tough love, and gets into squabbles (or downright fighting). At the end of the day, there is always a sense of unity, of something bigger that connects us all. We call it #500STRONG.

Over 600 founders and 180 mentors make up the 500 Family. Recently, people have asked me how we went about creating and nurturing this tight-knit community. So I’m sharing part I of it in this post. Before I get into any specific tactics, I will take a step back and explain why the notion of #500STRONG matters to us.

Community must be in your DNA.

In the early days of 500, we thought long and hard about the 500 brand and what our identity and culture should be. Fun at all costs. Move quickly, make mistakes, fall down, and get back up again. Willingness to teach others and learn from each other. “Open” rules, stealth drools. Diversity wins. But we didn’t just want this to be the staff’s culture. We wanted it to embody the entire portfolio and mentor network. We knew we’d be investing in a high volume of companies but we didn’t want the value of our resources to be inversely proportional to the size of our portfolio. Rather, we wanted them to scale together. Our solution? Help our founders help each other and build a community for them. We also worked tirelessly to personify all those tenets of our culture in how we engaged with our companies, mentors, etc.

Create a brand that people are proud to be part of.

Meet any 500 Startups founder or mentor and I guarantee that they will tell you how proud they are to be part of 500. In building 500 Startups from the ground up, we relied heavily on our founders and mentors to help us shape the direction of the fund and the accelerator - possibly more than other funds do. In the early days, much of 500’s brand was still closely intertwined w/ Dave’s personal brand. People knew of him, but not of 500. In the last 2 years, 500 alone has become a force to be reckoned with. Some call us edgy and rebellious, fighting tooth and nail for our startups. Others call us crazy, chaotic, and spread too thin. However we are perceived, there’s no denying that people are drawn to the 500 brand.

How you support your startups speaks volumes.

Everyone says they’re founder friendly and that they help their startups. I’m sure there are many ways that we fall short in our founders’ eyes, but I still think we do a pretty awesome job (and sacrifice a lot of sleep while we’re at it). Beyond offering our own time and attention, we work really hard to help our founders. When startups announce funding, we tweet out that they’ve joined the 500 Family. In many cases, we help behind the scenes, connecting them w/ reporters and advising them on how they craft their launch announcements. We constantly play match maker, introducing companies and mentors to each other. We’re actively building out resources in areas like Design and Distribution, including our recent Growth Hacker-in-Residence hire. Our accelerator batches devise wacky videos to announce themselves (partly due to our encouragement), which we amplify with press outreach and social media. All of this helps to truly align the 500 brand with founders. Similar to what I said earlier, an ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.

Now - the actionable stuff. Once you have the foundation set, what are some key tactics in building an engaged community?

Create and nurture an ACTIVE communication channel. A Google Groups mailing list might sound trivial at first, but it can make a huge difference. That’s what we started with. In the beginning, founders would still come to us directly with questions and I would direct them to email the list. I even “seeded” the list with questions to get conversations going. The first couple months were pretty quiet. Eventually, founders started to make more use of it, and the rest is history. The archives of our mailing list contain nuggets of wisdom that have benefitted everyone in the 500 portfolio. Now we have evolved into an awesome internal tool called dashboard that Paul is building - a hybrid of mailing lists, Quora, events calendar, directory, and messaging system. All for the 500 Family.
Create opportunities for the community to interact. We have the “luxury” of running an accelerator program and a physical office space that’s conducive to gatherings. So there’s ample opportunity for the 500 Family to participate and connect with each other — speaking or attending weekly talks, self-organizing meetups, attending one of our founder or mentor meetups, office hours, etc. Christen heads up all our events and conferences, which are also an amazing platform for our companies to get visibility as well as connect with folks inside and outside of the 500 community. Even if you don’t run a formal program, explore the idea of hosting a few workshops, talk series, or meetups for your companies. Many funds hold founder/CEO summits or events specifically for the [marketers/designers/engineers] of these companies, which is also a great way to increase connections among the portfolio.
We are all human. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable to your community. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve screwed up or dropped the ball on our companies because it’s far too many. For example, there was a big stink among the 500 Family about the fact that some of them never hear back from the 500 team when they refer/intro a prospective investment to us. In the end, we were pretty frank in acknowledging that we weren’t doing a good job and were open to ideas on how to fix it. And we really meant it.

Why does community matter for a VC fund/accelerator?

Truth be told, it may not matter. It really depends on what type of investor you want to be. If you’re only interested in writing checks, then community probably isn’t important to you. However, venture capital has gone through some dramatic changes in the last 10 years. To quote Dave’s recent post, “funds that offer serious expertise and mentorship in these areas have a substantial advantage – both in being able to attract higher quality founders and companies who want access to those resources, as well as the potential to improve financial outcomes by amplifying traction.”

Another key reason to foster community - practicing the concept of paying it forward, something that pervades startup culture (at least in Silicon Valley). Building a company is a challenge like no other. It’s impossible to do it on your own. Knowing that you have access to a community that will be there for you, even if it’s just to bounce off ideas with, can help make the journey easier. That is what the 500 Family is.

In Part II, I will talk about building a strong mentor network as part of the community.

Too awesome.

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:54:27 -0700

Too awesome.

Getting Plugged Into The Startup World

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:23:00 -0700

In the last couple months, I’ve met up with old colleagues who are curious about getting plugged into the startup/investing scene. They’re currently employed by big tech companies and haven’t actively been on the job hunt, but they’re intrigued by startups. Everyone’s motivations vary, but the most common one I’ve seen is that they’re hoping it will lead to something better (aka a new gig) or at the very least help them figure out what excites them.

Based on my own personal experience and what I’ve observed others do, here are a few tips I’ve gathered. This is not so much targeted at people who are completely new to Silicon Valley (Ryan Junee’s post is much better for that), but rather people who’ve been around for awhile and worked at big tech companies (ex. Google, Microsoft, etc).

Find ways to weave it into your day job. When I was at Google several years ago, I co-managed a marketing talks series. I was also a big fan of Fred Wilson’s blog (even before he had the avc.com domain). Although he wasn’t a marketing person, I decided to reach out to him anyway and invite him to speak. Which he did. I also helped organize Google mtgs for Seedcamp companies, rallying product managers across different teams to come meet w/ the startups. Think creatively about how you can weave it into what you already do.
Build your brand. A lot of being in the “startup scene” is about you as an individual and what you bring to the table. Sure, your company/resume helps a lot. But what else? That is the beauty of social media. Nowadays, it is easy for you to start building your identity. Start blogging. Tweet. Tweet at people. Be active on Facebook. Think about what your angle is and what perspective you can share. Everyone has something unique they bring to the table.
Read. Read. Read. There are countless blogs out there - founders, investors, company blogs, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, TheNextWeb, etc. Stay abreast of what’s going on. Don’t stress out if you don’t know EVERYTHING (plus it’s impossible to).
Participate in the conversation. Actively comment on other blogs. Tweet at them. Blog yourself. Don’t start a blog, and then post once every 2 months. Make the commitment to write at least a couple posts a week. It’s like exercise. Hard to get going at first, but eventually you get into a rhythm and after awhile, it feels weird not to do it. If your company will let you do it, then consider writing up a guest post for one of the big tech blogs like TechCrunch or GigaOM.
Leverage and grow your own network. Do you have friends/colleagues who’ve gone on to become entrepreneurs and/or investors? Keep in touch with them. One of the most valuable assets a person can bring to the table when it comes to helping startups is their network (aka their rolodex).
Show up at events, or organize one yourself. Now I wouldn’t overdo it and try to attend any and every event/conference. (plus it gets pretty expensive if you’re paying for a ticket) But there are plenty of free or low-cost events where you can meet people — startup happy hours, meetups, hackathons, etc. An ex-Google colleague of mine recently started organizing small ‘women in tech’ dinners at her apartment. You can get creative and try organizing such events yourself. You never know where they might take you.
Take advantage of the “pay it forward” culture. In the startup community, especially in Silicon Valley, there is a very “pay it forward” culture. People are usually very willing to help out strangers and meet them (as long as there is a somewhat close degree of separation), without expecting anything in return. I was amazed at how willing many colleagues were to introduce me to various folks in the startup/investor world simply to have a conversation. I look back on these meetings and appreciate the time they took to chat.
Become an angel investor. If you have the financial means to invest in startups, then by all means go for it. Especially now with the advent of AngelList and the fact that most startups raise from angels first (not big VCs), there’s never been a better time to be an angel. Also, contrary to what you might think, you do not need to be some billionaire to invest in startups. An angel investment can be as small as $5-10K. (depending on what minimum amount a startup wants to accept from investors)
Mentor startups. What better way to get plugged into the startup world than to actually spend time w/ startups? With the increasing number of accelerator programs out there, there are more opportunities to get involved with startups by volunteering time to mentor them. And despite what naysayers say, you do not have to have been a startup founder in order to be helpful to startups.
And finally, take hundreds of coffee meetings. I used to think this type of thing was overrated and that you should always have some clear agenda for any meeting. Sure, there is a time and place for that. However, there is also something to be said about serendipity. Jeffrey Bussgang calls it the “siren song of serendipity” and declares that by putting yourself in more situations like this, it can lead to more serendipitous moments. But that aside, it’s an awesome opportunity to learn from others. That’s how you should always approach these meetings - yet another chance to learn something new and make yourself think. That’s why I love what I do.

Hopefully this is helpful. If you have any suggestions for other ways to get plugged into startups, please leave a comment.

Instagram Blog: International Sushi Day

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:13:50 -0700

Instagram Blog: International Sushi Day:

instagram:

@ricecake1

@danifoodie

@burberriejam

@imakattastrophe

@lairunthiz

Sushi Facts: The word “sushi” doesn’t refer to fish — it refers to vinegar, sugar, & salt seasoned rice. In Japan, an apprentice sushi chef spends years…

Life Is Not Fair

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 01:36:00 -0700

Recently I tweeted this great quote:

In life, you do not get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate.

This seemed to resonate with a lot of people. Why? Because at one point or another, everyone has witnessed and experienced that feeling. You work hard, people around you agree, and you produce awesome results. Yet somehow…

you get passed over for a promotion or raise
others get credit for your work
others take credit for your work
you can’t convince investors to believe in you and your company
you don’t land an offer for a job you really want and are convinced you’re the perfect fit for

… and the list goes on.

Whatever happened to that old adage “Good things come to those who wait?” Even the new version of this adage “Good things come to those who work their asses off and never give up” doesn’t quite ring true. Rather, the most accurate adage seems to be “Good things come to those who are loud about what they do and ask for what they want.”

If you really deserve good things, then why you have to ask for it? It is a question I’ve asked myself many times throughout my career. Long ago, I used to think, “If I work hard and do great things, then people will recognize that and recognize me for it. Why should I have to constantly remind people of my accomplishments? Shouldn’t they notice it already?” That recognition rarely happens. In fact, what’s more likely to happen is something bad. I have countless painful examples from my career to prove that point. Interestingly, bad things always seemed to happen when I felt like I was on a roll - when things were going really well, and I was proud of and super excited about what I was doing. There’s always someone wanting to bring you down or get a piece of the action.

Life is unfair. You’re an awesome startup that’s solving a huge problem for a huge billion dollar market. Yet investors push back and say “this market isn’t big enough,” or ask to see more traction… and then they turn around and fund another company that has barely launched. You’re running an incredibly successful project and leading an entire team and producing great results… and then you find out that rather than you getting promoted, someone else is coming in to manage you and your team - the role you think you deserve.

What I’ve learned from all that pain is this:

Know your worth, be loud about it, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.

It may go against your nature to ask for that raise, to ask for that promotion, to ask for investors to fund you, etc. But you absolutely MUST step outside your comfort zone if it means getting what you want. And asking for stuff always involves negotiation. Everything in life involves negotiation. Don’t expect people to read your mind. If you never say anything, then nothing will ever change and people won’t know what you want or who you are.

Finally - don’t get what you want the first time around? Dust yourself off and try again. And again. And again and again. I have many perseverance stories I’d love to share, but I’ll save that for another time.

Be aggressive.

kari-shma: London by Irene Suchocki

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 22:28:20 -0700

kari-shma:

London by Irene Suchocki

Faster Is Better

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 21:54:00 -0700

The measure of a truly remarkable (ballet) dancer is not the beauty of her lines or how graceful she is. It is in the quality of her footwork during petite allegro, because that is the most difficult skill to master. Many underestimate the sheer amount of precision, speed, strength, and nimbleness required to look as if you’re effortlessly prancing about.

This can be analogized to being an entrepreneur. There is really only 1 reason startups close shop - they run out of money. The reasons they run out of money are numerous- they weren’t able to prove product-market fit, failed to find fruitful distribution channels (or found them but weren’t able to execute), couldn’t raise outside funding, etc… and burned through their capital before they could figure things out. The running theme here is time. Startups must move quickly - whether that means product (launch and iterate and launch again, rinse and repeat) or getting distribution or closing investors or hiring. Patience may be a virtue, but an ounce of action is worth a ton of theory. The more quickly you move, actually produce something (even if they’re bad), and react, the better off your company is.

Don’t get me wrong. It is hard. It’s easy to be reckless and move fast. It’s much harder to move quickly in a ‘smart’ manner. Unfortunately, I was always terrible at petite allegro. So I always felt like that limited my ability to really excel at ballet (that and my feet). Hopefully that doesn’t carry over into my professional life :)

There’s now a Philz coffee right around the corner from my...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:21:41 -0800

There’s now a Philz coffee right around the corner from my old apartment in Berkeley! If only this existed when I was still there… although I didn’t start drinking coffee until after college :-)