Month: September 2022

EXPERIENCE IS AN ODD QUALITY to quantify. Mentors and Advisors to entrepreneurs are often sought not for their in-depth expertise, but for their experience. This is that fuzzy combination of: been-there-done-that, connections, worldly awareness of the history of graveyards, gut feel about strategies, the ability of empathic listening, and calm-in-the-storm under fire. It is not what the mentor started with in early life, that was more related to expertise, but is suited to their stage in later life. Go find a mentor, young entrepreneur! View in LinkedIn

A SURPRISE FINDING IN MENTAL DISEASE of distinct illnesses being genetically clustered continues to bolt the foundations of these terrible diseases to biology, rather than 'character', and with this knowledge, will inevitably (eventually) help guide the search for effective drugs to treat these conditions. http://lnkd.in/iP9KCk View in LinkedIn

ASSIGNMENT OF INVENTIONS TO THE COMPANY BY ALL STAFF in early stage tech companies is something that MUST be done day one by everybody. Along with the CDA and any contract, ensure that everybody signs the Assignment agreement. Example of what happens if not: Scientist and Founder fall out. Scientist refuses to give Founder key data. No recourse for Founder without Assignment agreement. This is a very common and often fatal omission in early stage companies. Generic agreements are available on the Internet. View in LinkedIn

ALONG WITH THE ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT in early stage tech companies, ensure that everyone signs a disclaimer that says they will not use protected or trade secret ideas from past employment in your NewCo. This protects NewCo from sloppy work in developing new inventions. Suppose you hire BigCo's brightest scientist. Coup! They are sloppy and apply some trade secret from BigCo to your new invention. You can (and will if it's a big idea) be sued by BigCo and it's Game Over. Be scrupulous about this stuff because it is dead serious. View in LinkedIn

THE VA CENTER FOR INNOVATION has engaged in Open Source innovation in search of new ideas (yes, even in Washington!). It appears to have become innovative (really) and multidisciplinary. Worth investigating for public- private collaborative projects. http://lnkd.in/JeYYXb View in LinkedIn

HONESTY IN LEADERS HAS A HUGE IMPACT, as seen in this fired CEO's letter to employees. If you are faced with a crisis moment, reflect upon the benefits of honest disclosure. If you have the courage to do it, it will reflect well on you, and if you do not have that courage, everyone will see through your fluff and evasion. Are you really going to "spend more time with my family" as the reason for leaving a leadership position? A great read. http://m.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/fired-groupon-ceos-refreshingly-blunt-memo-to-employees/2013/02/28/a5c9f584-820a-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_story.html View in LinkedIn

THE US HEALTHCARE'S OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATOR is trying to unleash startups to solve healthcare delivery problems, and as such offers innovative young companies an opportunity to make proposals and collaborate. Increasingly, private-public partnership opportunities are emerging, and are real venues for early stage technology companies. http://lnkd.in/VatQVQ View in LinkedIn

GREEN CHEMISTRY is now (finally) becoming hot. Avoiding toxic solvents in process manufacturing and on final products has been forced upon some of the giant chemical companies by dint of the fact their suppliers were early adopters of green technology. In many cases, finding safe or safer alternative solvents has not been easy. http://lnkd.in/pvJkt9 View in LinkedIn

SOMEBODY MUST HAVE MEASURED THE RATE OF CHANGE in our lives in terms of society, technology, medicine, and attitudes. It seems intuitive that the rate of change is accelerating. When you consider periods in history like the Dark Ages, where many believe that for 500 years nothing changed significantly, our epoch is a sharp contrast. And remember, we still are evolving biologically at a very slow rate: we have vestigial organs and teeth, our metabolism is geared for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Is this divergence in rate of change important? http://lnkd.in/vg8GvE View in LinkedIn

IN EARLY STAGE TECH COMPANIES, HOW MUCH STOCK SHOULD YOU DISTRIBUTE? The true founders will likely take equal shares of the pie, and then dilute themselves to give stock to early key hires, as much as 5% each; quite early on it is important to creat an Option Pool for future hires, of about 20% pre-Series A, so that parameters are set on the extent of founder dilution. If the key members are not incentivized sufficiently, they may be lost. Too much, and equity has been wasted. View in LinkedIn