Thomas Korte

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-07-26

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:30:00 +0000

"Ask an investor to sign an NDA, and you’ve just filtered out all but the most desperate investors" by @naval http://bit.ly/aXOzQr #
Rummbled 5/10 at Apple Store du Louvre, Paris http://rmb.ly/17WIC Wifi #
Free e-book by Daymond John @TheSharkDaymond can be downloaded till monday: http://bit.ly/bDRdSA via @fundingpost #
Congrats @vanilla for the launch of Vanilla Forums 2 http://vanillaforums.org/blog/vanilla-2-released/ #

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-07-11

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:00 +0000

If you can look past the ugliness of these @davemcclure slides you will can learn a lot: Startup Metrics 4 Pirates http://slidesha.re/btk9Uh #
@KatieS congrats and welcome back to SF! in reply to KatieS #

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-06-20

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 05:30:00 +0000

"Of 48 companies featured on AngelList, about half got funding" http://j.mp/dm13xN – I'm on Angellist, pitch me here: http://j.mp/bT9lX2 #

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-05-23

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:54:57 +0000

Use this coupon code to get 30% one item at Barnes & Noble Y3V4U3X – http://mylikes.com/r/AHY #coupons #
Useful preso by @startuplawyer re. basic incorporation http://slidesha.re/djhnyV #
I just voted for "Doodle 4 Google" http://www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html#grade-k-3 some amazing doodles drawn by kids. #
#AT amp;Twireless I don't care that you "cover 97% of Americans" – just stop dropping my calls in SF. #bad_marketing http://twitpic.com/1owi82 #

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-05-16

Thomas Korte — Sun, 16 May 2010 23:30:00 +0000

Founders have to be "irrationally optimistic" & investors "cynical, pessimistic and critical" http://t.korte.us/ahlsIc 8min video by @naval #
Every restaurant should do this: a tip guide (picture) http://twitpic.com/1mzxb3 #
"Look at fundraising as a sales process: generate leads > qualify > pitch > seal the deal" by @cherevik http://t.korte.us/bDqcmU #

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-05-09

Thomas Korte — Sun, 09 May 2010 23:30:00 +0000

“If I am nice to every startup founder I meet, I will still never pay back how much others have helped me http://bit.ly/dlQ8hP @joefernandez #
Fonders: "unpaid interns .. is risky .. the consequences … are potentially grave." by @Yokum http://t.korte.us/c72hgj #
I was just awarded the "TV Newbie" badge on @gomiso! #
Google CEO @ericschmidt "My estimate would be one-a-month acquisitions and these are largely in lieu of hiring" http://t.korte.us/c7Chn2 #
If you can get over the title, there are great points in the post: "Do Business Like A Prostitute" http://bit.ly/bZBgDx via @founder411 #

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-05-02

Thomas Korte — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:30:00 +0000

“If you make a feature matrix of Dropbox, we’ll never come out in front [...] we do a few things [really] well " http://bit.ly/cBKirq #
I love the #Gmail interface on my brand new iPad 3G. Waiting for Google Voice iPad interface #
"Stop lean-washing. Save the (start-up) world." – good observations by @phineasb http://bit.ly/cKUYEh via @ceonyc #
I read two emails EVERY day: 1. @VentureHacks Twitter Digest http://bit.ly/bBEzAB 2. @Techcrunch Daily Summary http://bit.ly/As87a #
"Access to capital is not the most important value-add that angels bring [...] mentoring or contacts, may help most" http://bit.ly/cgBOhz #
"Silicon Valley is an insular bubble .. we operate in a sheep-like herd and waste a lot of money on really dumb ideas" http://bit.ly/cukyvL #
More seed fund announcements: http://bit.ly/bPu9ZJ << early stage angel investing gets crowded. Founders: ask what's the "value-add"! #
I use @Dropbox to easily store stuff online. 2 gigs are free. Use this link and get 250mb more http://db.tt/cRetf8 #dropbox #coupon #
Survey: 56% say online video adv. is “more effective” or “much more effective” than other forms of ads http://tod.ly/9c3f5x cc/@todsacerdoti #
Congrats #MyLikes on Pay-Per-Video YT Ads Launch http://tcrn.ch/cF9Nll & welcome aboard @DavidScacco #
For anyone who doubts that YC or Techstar is valuable, watch Steve Blank’s SLL Keynote: http://bit.ly/aywS3I (video) #

How to answer if you don't have an answer

Thomas Korte — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:04:35 +0000

David Hornik’s (August Capital) recording on meeting/pitching venture capitalists from Marketing Voices is definitely worth 9 minutes of your time:

Read what resonated most with me:

“It is not a show where everyone listens and claps at the end [...] if there is no engagement it is probably not going so well”.

If a meeting is only a monolog, it is a very bad sign – no matter if it is a pitch, an interview or a date. I invest in people and companies because I am excited about what they are doing. If I don’t interrupt, throw out ideas, ask questions or make comments, I am probably not that excited.

“It is very telling when someone does not know an answer to a question [and] their reaction to that [...] they kinda stop and you see them thinking …”

I classify answers to “not having an answer” in three categories:

The BS answer: “Oh yes, bla bla blah” (fast paced)…- basically a way to talk out of the question hoping than no one notices the “canned-no-thoughts” BS answer.
The politician answer: -annoying pause- ” Hmm, that is an interesting question, it reminds me of bla bla bla …” – a way to not answer the question by answering a different question.
The stop & think answer: -thoughtful pause- “I have not thought of that, maybe we could …” (followed by a thoughtful insight or smart observation).

So how to answer a question that you haven’t thought of before:

Take a moment (a moment, not 2 hours) and think before answering.
Don’t worry about showing that you’re thinking as you speak.
Help me understand your thinking process. Sometimes it is more valuable than the outcome.
Don’t hesitate to re-formulate or start over if you realize there is a “better answer”.
Be honest: it’s best to admit you don’t have a clue about the answer than making up something for the sake of it (just don’t let that happen to often).

I am looking for founders who have thought through most things, done their research (market, competition) and considered alternatives. But above all, I am looking for founders who can think outside the box and have the ability to think quickly under pressure and in stressful situations. How someone reacts to an unexpected question is very telling.

Read my post about cold-emailing. If you like this post, subscribe to my email list or rss feed via feedburner.

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Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-04-18

Thomas Korte — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:30:00 +0000

Nice!! >> Evernote’s Freemium Insights: Cost per active user is $0.09, Revenue per active user is $0.70 per month http://bit.ly/9blV0L #
The space we work in matters: Creative Office Designs Around the World http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/creative-modern-office-designs/ #
Great advice on designing effective Call to Action Buttons http://is.gd/btr2H #
"The worst ideas we see at Y Combinator are from young founders making things they think other people will want" http://t.korte.us/c97mpM #
Technology doesn't seem to take a big place in the 2010 TIME most influential people poll Vote for @marissamayer http://t.korte.us/a1XAM6 #
Really interesting to see "Tweeps" with similar followers using Google's Follow Finder > here are mine http://t.korte.us/bH0EmU #
Great article: 10 Steps to Successfully Sourcing Startup Talent: http://bit.ly/9VLuKS by @byosko #
Startup lessons learned from Warren Buffett via @VentureBeat http://bit.ly/cg0DBZ #
The iphone's persistent location tracking is by far the most important and certainly most exciting addition to OS 4.0 > http://bit.ly/cN65l6 #

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-04-11

Thomas Korte — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:30:00 +0000

RT @venturehacks: Facebook acquires @angellist startup Divvyshots http://j.mp/anQFyN – congrats @rchen. Mashable: http://j.mp/db3VRJ #
ipad vs iphone report: 83% of ipad apps are paid vs 73% on iPhone. http://bit.ly/a64rLH by @Distimo #
Great post about teaching & learning: Teaching Entrepreneurship – The “Survey” Class http://bit.ly/aw2LJ2 by @sgblank #
Only Android and RIM gained smartphone market share in past 3 month. MS -4%, Palm -1.8% Apple -0.1% via @comScore http://t.korte.us/8YBZyx #
Looking for mobile apps developer to build super simple #earthquake reporting and notification app. Short & gratifying project – (please RT) #
Win an iPad from MyLikes: http://t.korte.us/dfNwFQ #
Just got my custom URL shortener from @bitly pro http://t.korte.us/9sBcSJ
The domain: t.korte.us. Why did I get one? I am not sure – LOL. #
Intrusive advertising – maybe. Caught my attention – certainly. #degreedeodorant in San Francisco http://twitpic.com/1d91mb #