Category: Uncategorized

IDEAS ARE CHEAP, IMPLEMENTATION IS TOUGH. Most of us have a place where we put the crazy, inspired, or creative ideas. Mine used to be a cardboard box, but today it is in electronic notes. These are those great Aha!! Moments that seem to arrive at 4 am. But the reality is, it takes a great deal of effort to turn that idea from a wish to something real. So remember, when you go to that proverbial cardboard box, pick just one, because it is going to take all your steam to push it uphill. Put another way: you only have 24 hours in a day, and focus is one key to success. View in LinkedIn

REFRESHING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS. Mine used to be: "explain your way out of the worst thing that I will find out about you while digging on the street." People confessed to the most remarkable things, and led to tremendous candor. Most HR Directors would probably ban me from interviews today. http://lnkd.in/iiPvhG View in LinkedIn

NEW MEGAFUNDS FOR BIOPHARMA are an innovative suggestion, to break the stranglehold that VCs have on investing in new companies. These ideas are critical to continue to support the economic engine that Biopharma represents. http://lnkd.in/6kkUfT View in LinkedIn

PERSONALIZED MEDICINE has been slow to be adopted, and this insightful article gives some data-driven insights about why, and the remaining barriers. But it is inevitable that medicine is moving in this direction, because the old model of experimenting on the patient is broken. We have many of the tools today to do those costly and dangerous experiments in a dish. http://lnkd.in/Trwuzq View in LinkedIn

R&D HEADS MUST KILL MOLECULES as soon as they show any negative data. I have seen many examples of bio-entrepreneurs who become R&D heads of the new company and are unable and unwilling to kill molecules early. They find every workaround in the book to keep their invention (ego) alive, and have a fight-to -the-death attitude. Beware such entrepreneurs! http://lnkd.in/nTrKQ9 View in LinkedIn

A THOUGHTFUL ARTICLE ON THE PERSONAL CHALLENGES OF FAILURE. The ability to bounce back after failure must be highly correlated with attitudes to risk-taking. If you think you will survive a disaster, you are less afraid of the disaster, and more willing to put yourself (and your family) in harm's way. Given the mythical VC odds of 1 success per ten portfolio companies, these are steep risks of an entrepreneur having to face failure. Think realistically about your personal resilience to failure and ability to bounce back, BEFORE crossing that line. " "" " http://lnkd.in/ynjrqX View in LinkedIn

OVERCOMING FAILURE is both personal and cultural. This is about the cultural aspects. The US social fabric tolerates failure and even applauds Second-Time-Arounders as heroes: rugged individualism and a GoldRush mentality ensures that. In contrast, Japan and Spain have a fear of failure that can stifle those who dare stand out: as intensely gregarious and family-centric societies, the group is valued more than the individual. We are now seeing a generation of young entrepreneurs in both Japan and Spain breaking the cultural inhibition and daring to be different. http://lnkd.in/Q3wGwV View in LinkedIn

UNIVERSITIES ONLINE CAN LIFT MILLIONS OUT OF POVERTY is the theme of this article, and truly the emergence of an historical world change. The implicit equation is education equals a better workforce and thus jobs and opportunities. http://lnkd.in/UQXfva View in LinkedIn

BETTER TO FAIL TRYING THE IMPOSSIBLE THAN TO NEVER TRY. Conversations with entrepreneurs and mentors alike usually return to a central theme: it is a really exciting, interesting and somewhat crazy lifestyle, but once tasted, most people never go back to the steady workforce. They make themselves unemployable except in these high-octane environments. The second theme is always a great pride in changing the world, one brick at a time, and creating something out of nothing. View in LinkedIn

THE BARCELONA ACCIÓ CONFERENCE at the end of January was full to capacity with entrepreneurs and investors: lively speakers, elevator pitches from companies ranging from specialty Pharma to IT, and full-on networking. Among the thousand or so attendees was a Boston entrepreneur, originally from Mumbai, who had moved to Barcelona with his family, because of the dynamic entrepreneurial environment. Barcelona has given birth to a tremendously dynamic and imaginative culture of young companies, and is no longer just a hot vacation destination. View in LinkedIn