Cash is King

When the product marketing department tells me it is.

Bungling Bundles

I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone but Montana is a terrible place to do business for those entrepreneurs that only sell their services or products in the local market.

Which are you?

I really dislike the marketing department's regular question "will the dogs eat the dog food" because as we all know, dogs eat anything.

Tis the season when Prairie and Morgan decorate the 'Ranch and we celebrate the achievements of the companies with which we work. Last night we recognized Montana Instruments and Morris Technologies for the progress they have made over the past year.

I'm feeling the downside of the razor/razor blade product model. To be fair, I never liked the original incarnation of this product model -- Gillette.

I recently saw a photo of a newborn baby girl wearing one of those (for lack of a better word) head garters and a bow. We all know that those things are meant to avert the eyes from a very ugly face.

We live in a world of political correctness. We value friendships. We like to be supportive and encouraging. We strive to avoid uncomfortable situations.

I get my share of Linked In and Spoke invitations - some of which I accept, some of which I don't. It's always a bit of concern for me when I don't accept an invitation.

At times I feel like a Luddite. I only carry a flip phone because my wife demands it. I spend so much time in front of computer every day that I don't want to look at one the other 14 hours of the day.

There is heated discussion on several blogs about whether or not angel groups should charge entrepreneurs to present.

Over the past several years we have adopted and added some structure to the model of pushing entrepreneurs to 'fail fast'.

As an awkward teen and well into my 20’s, I was a loser when it came to dating.

Senator Max Baucus addressed a group last night at Riverside CC including LP's from Buerk Dale & Victor, Bozeman CEO's, select guests and the TechRanch team.

Most of us are familiar with the 'Valley of Death' concept as it applies to the funding gap between government backed research and private sources of growth capital.

I would like to thank Jake Cook and Brett DeWoody from Digital Wax Works for presenting at TechRanch event on How to Measure Online Marketing, including Google Analytics.

I was asked recently to do a valuation for an early stage tech company. My first reaction was positive - I haven't done valuation work in while and I kind of miss it.

We had a great TREK event at TechRanch learning about Google AdWords.

Three weeks. Okay, less than three weeks until MSU starts classes up again. Am I bummed? A little. Excited? YES!

Recently a colleague asked me if I thought that getting an MBA was a good idea. The obvious come-back question I had was "relative to what?"

I like shopping on Main Street in Bozeman. I'm excited to see new stores opening and to read about ribbon cuttings. But I can't understand why anyone would choose to be a retail entrepreneur.

Current economic conditions aside, it's my belief that entrepreneurs should always be looking at opportunities to sell their company.

We had another Game Developers User Group (GDUG and yes, a better acronym would be welcomed) at TechRanch last night.

I wrote that title as if to imply that there is an upside to upgrading a small office network. There isn't but the play on words was catchy.

Recently, I spent the afternoon at the county fair with the family. Fairs are at the same time fun and a chore.

I am seeing a lot of articles related to this topic. Many point to the possibility that there are far too many venture capital firms, chasing too few quality investments.

Traveling across the Montana "High Line" and conducting our Bootstrap Montana Seminar Series recently was a rich experience. On the positive, the country and people are beautiful. On the negative, the economic situation is truly depressing.

About a month ago, I created a Twitter account for TechRanch. I had never used the social media website before and was surprised at the quick, effective response that was received.

I made a Memorial Day resolution. I'm going to be a jerk. I'm now 'forty-something' and have been working in business development/ entrepreneurship/ venture capital for 18 years.

The TechRanch team has returned from their second year of Bootstrap Montana Seminars. This year two seminars where held: May 19 in Glasgow, MT and May 20 in Havre, MT. Aside from car trouble and driving sickness, the seminars were once again a success.

As many of you know, a few months ago, there was a large explosion in Bozeman. A number of businesses were drastically damaged and have still not reopened.

Summer has officially begun for Montana State University students. However, within the current recession, MSU students are not experiencing the usual summer.

I have never been much of a traveler. In fact, the furthest I have been away from home is probably Seattle. Oh wait, I went to Florida and Texas for 4-H exchange trips. But that's about it.

I wrote recently on this blog about the reasons to not write a business plan. Now there is some empirical data to back that up.

After a holiday break, I returned to TechRanch to see that my office chair was replaced by a large gray exercise ball. "Okay, why not?" I thought as I sat down.

I had a business plan drop on my desk recently that made a big thud. It was over fifty pages in text and 15 pages in spreadsheets.

The Montana work ethic is continually a topic of discussion. Representing TechRanch as the only native Montanan, I am pleasantly struck by these comments.

Many of us remember being told by teachers that 'there are no stupid questions.' This is more than just a statement designed to get students to explore topics and better understand subjects

'We bring much more to the table than money.' Contacts are important but the ability to make contacts is getting easier.

My father was one of the first venture capitalists in Boulder or for that matter, Colorado.

A letter written to TechRanch on January 27, 2009 by Dinah Adkins, President & CEO, National Business Incubation Association:

The term 'Viral Technology' has been a consistent theme in the Internet culture and has generally been seen as a positive.

I have had some questions as to why we are seeing so many technologies that have proceeded along the tech curve without enough or any thought given to the market curve.