entrepreneurs | Internet Marketing Blog

The internet is not a meritocracy

I’ve seen it time and time again: the argument that the internet is a meritocracy - a system in which the most talented and able are rewarded. This argument is especially popular in the world of startups, where we're told that the best and brightest rise to the top.

I recently read an article in Forbes, The Fable Of Market Meritocracy, which addresses the concept of meritocracies in markets generally. It got me thinking about the internet, and whether or not the internet really is a meritocracy.

by Patricio Robles 22 February 2010 10:28am 16 comments

Can a popular Facebook group become a real "startup"?

What happens when you start a group on Facebook and two weeks later, you have over 180,000 members? If you're 21 year-old Tiffany Philippou, the creator of the hit Facebook group Secret London, you do the entrepreneurial thing: try to parlay your Facebook popularity into a bona fide startup.

After a 48-hour crowdsourcing marathon during which more money was spent on food and liquor than on design and development, Secret London was reinvented and launched as a standalone online community.

by Patricio Robles 18 February 2010 10:04am 6 comments

Gladwell: entrepreneurs are predators, not risk-takers

Malcolm Gladwell has a knack for distilling interesting observations and drawing bold conclusions.

He's at it again in a fresh New Yorker piece. In it, Gladwell argues that successful entrepreneurs aren't really the prolific risk-takers they're made out to be. What are they? They're predators who pinpoint opportunity and swoop in just when the time is right.

by Patricio Robles 14 January 2010 12:40pm 6 comments

Eight things the 'startup establishment' doesn't tell entrepreneurs

In response to Jason Calacanis’ war on individuals and organizations who charge entrepreneurs money to pitch their startups to investors, I made the point that the biggest scam perpetrated on entrepreneurs is the promotion of the idea that raising money from professional investors is something entrepreneurs should do if they want to be successful.

The truth of the matter is that angels and VCs are great, if you’re a member of the ‘startup establishment’, as Calacanis is.

by Patricio Robles 14 October 2009 11:29am 4 comments

Jason Calacanis sticks up for 'poor' entrepreneurs but is the effort misguided?

Jason Calacanis has declared war on organizations that charge entrepreneurs to pitch investors on their startups. With "boiling blood", he used a post on his blog this weekend to shame these organizations and to threaten them with extinction.

Singled out: a number of groups, including the well-known Keiretsu Forum. All of which charge entrepreneurs fees to present their businesses to "rich angel investors" who Calacanis believes are exploiting "poor" entrepreneurs.

by Patricio Robles 13 October 2009 11:44am 10 comments

Memo to startups: stick to solving problems

If TechCrunch's Sarah Lacy is to be believed, Silicon Valley has lost its way. There was once a golden era of innovation in which every startup sought to change the world (and make billions of dollars in the process).

So to get Silicon Valley back on track, Lacy is sending a message to startups: "you're supposed to be changing the world, remember?"

by Patricio Robles 18 September 2009 11:37am 3 comments

#fail is underrated

For most of us, failure is something to be avoided. After all, who really likes attempting to accomplish something and not succeeding?

But there's an inconvenient truth: failure is underrated. In many cases, it's a prerequisite for success and those who embrace it and learn from it have a strategic advantage over those who won't and can't.

by Patricio Robles 16 September 2009 09:46am 4 comments

New recipe for success: less intelligence and optimism, more grit and pessimism?

When you visualize the quintessential startup, you probably see intelligent and optimistic people working together to solve big challenges. After all, a group of individuals usually has to be somewhat smart to get a new business off the ground and the group probably has to be relatively optimistic to find the motivation to face big challenges and succeed.

But forget what you think you know about the characteristics it takes to succeed. They just might not be accurate.

by Patricio Robles 19 August 2009 11:07am 6 comments

Q&A: Rogan Angelini-Hurll of PROfoundersCapital

PROfoundersCapital is a venture capital fund established for entrepreneurs in the digital media space, and backed by investors including Brent Hoberman and Michael Birch.

I've been talking to General Partner Rogan Angelini-Hurll about the aims of the fund, and what he will be looking for in entrepreneurs seeking investment...

by Graham Charlton 06 August 2009 10:15am 0 comments

Tomorrow's news companies: small, lean and venture capitalist

Future news organisations, the ones that make it out of the recession, will look much different than pre-recession times. They'll be smaller and leaner. But if they're smart, they'll also have a big role in VC for companies developing products that could help them gain a competitive advantage.

by Ben LaMothe 28 July 2009 10:49am 2 comments