Following the digital big bang small businesses and start-ups will be able to compete with larger businesses as never before. And anyone will be able to afford to start a small business. Capital will no longer be the scarce resource – ideas, marketing and attitude will. Just look at Twitter. For anyone will be able [...]

As we look out a few years one tremor looks inevitable: the digital big bang. The point at which the tipping trend to connected networks and devices explodes us into a new dawn. Today there are 3.5 billion mobile phone users each connected to one network or another – in cities across the globe many using [...]

TechCrunch recently put out a list of the top 100 ‘networked’ venture capitalists – following some interesting research. They defined ‘networked’ by the number of co-investors that they had in deals and rated firms by the number of exits they had achieved. The top 10 lists most of the usual suspects. Which got me thinking [...]

I was spoilt. Two companies ago I was introduced to Bill Draper III – a legend in Silicon Valley and reputedly the West Coasts king of early stage venture capital. He invested in the company I ran at the time and sat on its board. He was a legend for a good reason – he [...]

I have spent the last four and a half years studying, researching and developing the link between creativity and innovation. After all, I spent my early years surrounded by artists and art on the one hand (my mother is a well know art historian and curator) and the Letts media business on the other. In [...]

Having read an interesting blog from a failed entrepreneur who clearly believes that he should have known better it got me thinking about what he was really missing. And I think it was context. He talks about lacking domain expertise and making certain key decisions that later proved flawed. What I believe he needed was a [...]

Readwritestart produced a neat article recently on what VC’s look for in a first time, Web entrepreneur. I guess the best summary is cool geekness with the determination of a bull and ballerina like flexibility. OK. So, you see, at the end of the day its about charismatic, determined geeks. You know, Zuckerberg look-alikes. Me, I’d go [...]

Design is rapidly moving from posters and toasters to include processes, systems, and organizations. Design is the accelerator for the company car, the power train for sustainable profits. Design drives innovation, innovation powers brand, brand builds loyalty, and loyalty sustains profits. If you want long-term profits, don’t start with technology—start with design. For businesses to [...]