Comments on: Everything I need to know about startups, I learned from a crime boss

By: Octyo Media, LLC.

Octyo Media, LLC. — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:53:47 +0000

Good read for sure. I took away a lot from this article that I will apply to my everyday small business and further progress as an internet badass while my ex-friends and peers stand and sneer in jealousy. Thank you for the positive article.

By: Matt Sharper

Matt Sharper — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:25:00 +0000

“When someone’s doing something for the money, people can sense it, like a desperate lover. It’s a turnoff

Utter nonsense.

read the next comment

“A business without a path to profit isn’t a business, it’s a hobby.” – Jason Fried

By: Danish Ahmed

Danish Ahmed — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:50:59 +0000

Nice to find this line of thinking enter the entrepreneurship domain from fields like psychology,philosophy and political science. I think those who find the comparison fallacious may be still in the domain specifity trap Taleb discusses in his book “The Black Swan”. but in the reverse. I am not an entrepreneur but still would ask what are basic
At the very base what does it require for a person to be a successful entrepreneur . Intellect,knowledge,hard work,pragmatism and luck.

In most cases, it is the chance of birth that dictates which way a person applies her/his abilities. Well it is technical blog so I won’t go much into detail. Instead I will ask a simple question.

It is quite well known that Corporates do apply military principles and concepts (most even have War Rooms) so
should Startups learn lessons from organized crime networks.

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:01:20 +0000

Excellent article. Good points, all of them.

By: Steve Anderson

Steve Anderson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:53:18 +0000

Bad advice all around…

Cut out the middle-men? You slept thru biz school? How so IBM of the 80s, all so make and do everything in house, poorly and bureaucratically. Rely on preferred expert suppliers, and you need a Channel, VAR/Resellers and Distributors. Work the costs down, but cutting down is doom. Not a zero sum game, middle-men, can in turn provide growth.

Thinking big, when you don’t have the infrastructure or the cash-flow or the wiggle room, is pure insanity. Thinking big, kills more, over managed growth. PlanetHolllywoodization.

Asking for it, or taking it, only gets you nose-level items, being a partner, a helper, a mentor, gets you stuff yet undeveloped. And while they may give it to you, they always hate the bratty kid that steals all the toys. You will end up routed out.

Dollars aren’t always made short-term, not making now, could produce later. No set rules, free here, leads to money there. Demanding takes before their time, file-under short-sighted.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder Bad-Asses, don’t last, not even in Crime, Inc., always someone around to take the puffed-ego down, BadAsses produce enemies like so much rain.

By: Donald DeSantis

Donald DeSantis — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:18:38 +0000

Hi Berni. I’d like to think that we can analogize something without glorying it (and that was definitely my intention). That said, I note and appreciate the feedback.

By: Donald DeSantis

Donald DeSantis — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:13:20 +0000

Zornwil – good point, “badass” while colorful is ambiguous. But you’re correct on the message. You can swap out the word “badass” with “awesome” and get a closer representation of the meaning.

The point was to be the most “awesome” (or badass) version of yourself. For many people, that may mean losing another 15 pounds this year, getting investment, or speaking at a their company meeting. It’s an aspirational, very personal, vision of oneself to reach towards.

By: Donald DeSantis

Donald DeSantis — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:03:09 +0000

Hi Nathan – good question. In terms of managing/leading teams, some people really lean on their position in the company (manager, director, dev lead, etc). They lead through enforcement. If you don’t do what they want, they have the ability to fire you. That’s often effective in the context of the organization, but only within that context.

Influence implies leadership through respect, or recognized credibility. This is the ability to lead when a person has do direct authority or those they’re leading (there’s no penalty for not following along). This is the ability to lead teams based on their faith, trust, and loyalty to you.

By: S

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:22:51 +0000

@SNA: Ethical and higher-ambition leadership is a raging trend whose basis has a surprisingly long history, long enough to end soon. Very good points on all sides, we live in a paradox. As soon as you commit to any particular course you become vulnerable. This article reminds me to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:20:00 +0000

great read. I also love the Usual Suspects.