One lesson I learned the hard way as a founder is that investors never like to say “no.” They especially don’t like to say “yes,” but “no” is almost as difficult to get out of them.

I'm an equal-opportunity critic, and I've already done my fair share of ragging on investors in past posts. Most recently with, "17 Things Investors Say When Really What They Mean is, No".

Reinhold Niebuhr wrote a prayer that many of you will recognize. It goes roughly: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

This is a repost from my blog, The Digital Letter, published on September 2, 2014. Just a little more than a decade ago, an entrepreneur named Jeff Bezos started a company called Cadabra.

Our client Christopher knew something was wrong. "It just didn't make sense," he said.

"The fastest way to spread your product is by distributing it on a platform using APIs, not MBAs. Business development is now API-centric, not people-centric.

Google has made multiple not-so-successful attempts over the past 5 years to enter the TV space. What went wrong in the past attempts? Did they really resolve the problems in the most recent attempt at Google I/O 2014.

Top 25 Takeaways from VidCon 2014 YouTube Industry Panel BONUS: Top 5 Tools to drive channel growth led by Ze Frank EVP of Video at BuzzFeed Matt Gielen, Director of Programming & Audience Development at Frederator Networks; Karem Mohamed, KSic; Jim Louderback, GM Discovery Digital Networks; Jen Oli

Why would an MBA want to work for Google? The real question is, who wouldn’t want to be a Googler? Let’s face it: Google is cool. They’re still young, growing, and innovative.

Several times each week, I get contacted by job seekers who ask the following: "How can I get a job with Google?" I cringe each time I get that question. It's like asking, "How can I get a one-on-one meeting with the President?" The chances of it happening are highly unlikely.

As I'm sure you've already read, Facebook recently acquired Oculus Virtual Reality for $2 billion. This is a huge deal.

Remaining humble and grounded might be just as challenging as obtaining riches and success. In life, most of us seek out wealth and power, but if we can remain humble and wise along the journey, then that is the true reflection of successful life.

It’s hard to know what to expect when a renowned actor makes an appearance as a keynote speaker at a technology conference. When Kevin Spacey was about to make his entrance onto the stage at this year’s IBM Impact in Las Vegas I found myself wondering the same thing.

In a recent study reported in TIME magazine, people check their phone on average 110 times a day. Some people checked it as much as 900 times a day; that’s once every minute of every waking hour of the day.

Motown, the preeminent Detroit hit-maker of the 1960's and 70's, possessed an impressive ability to produce chart-topping winners. (From 1961 to 1971 the label produced more than 100 Top 10 hits.

A growing number of experts question educator’s traditional approach to assessing and developing intelligence. Howard Gardner, from Harvard University, explains that traditional measures of intelligence such as IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests fail to take into account cognitive and interpersonal ab

Ever heard of Jingdong, Nutanix or Zalando? They are all members of the exclusive “Billion-Dollar Startup Club,” a growing list of startups valued at $1 billion or more by venture capitalists. A new interactive chart from The Wall Street Journal's ace Scott Austin ranks these billion-dollar startups

[from my favorite cartoonist/marketer, Tom Fishburne] One of my biggest frustrations with the world of marketing over the years has been that metrics have focused on quantity over quality. I’m all for measuring outcomes and making certain that our strategies and tactics align with our goals - but as

As Eric and I are getting ready for this semester’s kickoff of the fourth year teaching our course, “Building Internet Startups,” at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, I am reflecting on the concept of teaching entrepreneurship. It is a relatively new concept, as entrepreneurship wa

I recently had someone ask me, "What if your consumers aren't on social media?" My knee-jerk reaction was "Then you shouldn't be there," but what's more likely is that you're just wrong. Either that or not willing to dig deep enough to find them.

When your mom friended you on on Facebook, you wondered if social media was going mainstream. When your grandmother did, you knew it was.

There's an article making the rounds in tech circles titled "Growth Hacking is Bull" written by Muhammad Saleem. I'd like to make the case that the article is wrong.

There is unrest in Silicon Valley. In a move that surprised many, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has just dismissed her second in command, Chief Operating Officer Henrique De Castro.

I was talking with a founder/CEO of an enterprise startup about what it is like to disrupt a sizable incumbent. In the case we were talking about the disrupting technology was losing traction and the incumbent was regaining control of the situation, back on their feet, and generally felt like they h

A few months ago, I proposed that Amazon start shipping me products that its algorithms predict that I will want and need, before I even think of making an order. I was joking and making a point about the future of eCommerce.