Entrepreneur Corner Roundup: Surefire ways to get rejected by an angel investor and clearing up lean startup myths

November 7, 2009 | Chris Morris | Comments | |

Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner:entrepreneur-corner

Shoestring marketing for startups – Young companies typically don’t have the budget for a substantial marketing campaign, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As you search for your niche and your company evolves, serial entrepreneur Scott Olson offers advice on the best ways to get a big marketing bang for your buck.

Lean startups aren’t cheap startups – Too many entrepreneurs assume the lean startup methodology is a way to save money. It can be, but that’s not the idea behind the philosophy. Serial entrepreneur Steve Blank clears up some of the confusion, clearing up some commonly held misconceptions.

4 ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor – Angel investor Jason Cohen has been on both sides of the table – both seeking money as a business owner and handing it out as an investor. It’s a unique insight and he runs down four of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when they’re trying to raise funds.

Hey VCs, it’s not your company! – It’s great when your VC has a lot of pride in your company and shows a lot of interest in what you do. But, as angel investor Brad Feld points out, they sometimes need to be reminded that they’re not the ones running the business.

The 5 biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make – The formula to entrepreneurial success changes constantly, but the formula to failure in a constant. Serial entrepreneur Jerry Kaplan runs down some of the dumbest moves start-up owners make.

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About the Author, Chris Morris

Chris Morris is editor of the Entrepreneur Corner on VentureBeat, helping start-up business owners launch and grow their companies. He previously worked at Yahoo! Finance, where he was managing editor, and as director of content development at CNNMoney.com. His work has also appeared in Variety, CNBC.com, AOL and Forbes.com.

  • Minor correction - the post above refers to me as an "angel investor." I'm actually a VC at Foundry Group (www.foundrygroup.com) - I wrote this as a "peer" to my VC colleagues (vs. as an angel investor being critical of VCs.)