Your unhealthy fixation on being #1 – and why it's pointless

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

Most sporting contests culminate in a single-elimination tournament, meaning that after each match the winner continues and the loser goes home. At the end, only one contender will be undefeated, which makes it seem logical to crown them the undisputed champion.

But this isn’t as clear and fair a process as it seems … Continue Reading

Cash vs. equity: The compensation conundrum

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

As we bring on new employees at my new venture, I’ve been struggling with the question of how much equity (shares) should I give a new employee or partner.

I’m not alone. It’s one of the most frequent questions in start-up forums – and it’s doubly complicated when the company is young and … Continue Reading

There's no room for common sense in startups

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. A longer version of this story originally appeared on his blog.)

Let’s say you’ve decided to provide something tremendously fantastic for your customers, even though it meant great expense and hardship. It would be incontrovertible — you’d refuse to compromise on that one thing, even if it seems impossible to work out how to do it profitably.

It’s easy to … Continue Reading

If you build it, they won’t come (unless…)

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

Ask a technical founder about his startup, and he’ll proudly describe his stunning software — simple, compelling, useful, fun. Then he’ll describe his cutting-edge platform — cloud-based, scalable, distributed version control, continuous integration, one-click-deploy. Maybe you’ll even get a wobbly demo.

“Great,” I always exclaim, sharing the thrill of modern software development, … Continue Reading

Branding isn’t as important as ‘experts’ say

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

Every founder struggles to find a great name for his or her company. Often it’s the first source of good-natured strife between co-founders. It’s an exhilarating, scary combination of having to decide who you are — what you do, the persona you expose — combined with the technical issues of being memorable, … Continue Reading

The right way to position your startup against competition

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

The two most common errors in positioning a company against competition are, strangely, opposites. Some entrepreneurs claim they have no competition, while others define their company’s offering and positioning by combining “the best” traits of 6 competitors.

This isn’t just a problem when pitching — it’s a problem when defining who your … Continue Reading

Why getting 10 customers is all that matters

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

I recently reviewed hundreds of startup pitches at Capital Factory, an early stage accelerator program for tech startups. Of those, almost none had unearthed 10 people willing to say, “If you build this product, I’ll give you $X.”

Think about that: Hundreds of people were ready to quit their day jobs, burn … Continue Reading

How to build customer loyalty by screwing up

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

A lovely new company/customer etiquette has emerged, and small startups are especially suited for exploiting it. I hope you’re not ignoring it.

Just yesterday someone explained to me what they expect from their website hosting company: “I want someone else making sure the server doesn’t go down. Or, if it does go … Continue Reading

Tech support: The hidden sales force

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

You probably think of “tech support” as the bottom of the food chain.

After all, the people in that department deal with insane customers, answer the phone all day (a job even salesmen don’t want) and keep angry customers at bay while having no power to effect change.

Yep, that sounds lowly. … Continue Reading

An argument against disruptive technologies

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

I remember “disruptive” when it was called “paradigm shift.” But while that phrase may have died during the tech-bubble, the concept has returned.

When I get pitched by someone that claims to have “something disruptive,” a little part of me dies. You should be worrying about making something useful, not how disruptive … Continue Reading

6 critical tips for launching a startup while holding a day job

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

Most people start their first company while they still have a day job. It makes sense: You don’t need loans. You don’t need funding. And if you “fail,” all you’ve lost is time.

But you’ve also placed yourself in a hazardous – potentially legally ambiguous – situation. If managed improperly, you’re unnecessarily … Continue Reading

Startup therapy: More questions to force you to face reality

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

Welcome back. Make yourself comfortable on the couch…

Last week, you’ll recall, we looked at ways to help you discover what was true for you and your business – as well as what you need to do now to seek profits and growth. We’ll continue that line of questioning today – and we … Continue Reading

Startup therapy: Six questions to ask yourself regularly

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

Therapists don’t tell you what to do. Rather, they ask probing questions that get you to discover for yourself what is true for you, your situation, and what you want.

You’re smart. You’ll make good decisions. But you also get bogged down in daily minutiae and putting out fires, meanwhile missing the big … Continue Reading

Answering entrepreneurs’ most vexing questions

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.)

I characterize running a business as making 1,000 decisions every day – and being sure of none of them.

It’s a difficult, harrowing (and often lonely) truth. Even with co-founders to collude with, you’re always uncertain, and you always have a pile of questions you wish you could ask someone who’s been down this … Continue Reading

Sacrifice your health for your startup

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

The Internet is full of good advice about how to lead a healthy, balanced work/home life.

If you don’t have your health and your family, it generally says, nothing else matters. On your deathbed, will you wish you had worked longer hours or been a better parent? Will you wish you had … Continue Reading

4 MORE ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. He contributed this column to VentureBeat.)

As someone who has both sought venture capital and distributed it, I’m lucky to have a pretty unique perspective on what works and doesn’t work.

As I mentioned in the first part of this list, the mistakes don’t seem to change over time. And people who make them often walk away not only … Continue Reading

4 ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor

I’ve started three companies, and now I’m an angel investor. So I’ve been on both sides of the table.
There are lots of good articles out there about pitching, and surely everyone who pitches me has read some of them. Still though, a few problems appear over and over again. If you’ve ever had to sort through resumes and cover letters, you’ve seen this effect: People tend to have the same misconceptions and therefore make

… Continue Reading

The infinite to-do list

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is founder of Smart Bear Software. He contributed this column to VentureBeat.)

As a start-up owner, there’s always more you could be doing. No matter how hard you work, it always feels like you’re falling behind. Worse still: Every time you cross something off the to-do list, you add three – or ten – more things.

After seven years of running my company, I can tell you this: It never gets … Continue Reading

You're a little company, now act like one

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is founder of Smart Bear Software. He contributed this column to VentureBeat.)

I talk to a lot of companies that are still hunting for customer number one, or have made a few sales, but the ball really isn’t rolling yet.

Most of them are making the same mistake: Their public persona is exactly wrong.

I know, because I made the same mistake – but I learned my lesson.

Even before I … Continue Reading