Sometimes it’s hard for me to decide which is more impressive, the idea or the entrepreneur, so I thought I’d share some of the stories and see what you think.

Meet a friend in third grade who loves science as much as you do; fast forward to high school; get bored and watch a movie; when a cool scene catches your attention turn the special effect into a science; win a hundred thousand dollars and be given a card by a guy who says, “When you make your company, be sure to give us a call.” That’s the story of Matthew Fernandez and Akash Krishnan.

Then there is Andembwisye Mwakatundu, who figured out how cow poop could solve the energy crisis in Tanzania.

Or consider the story of Warner Johnson, a typical middle class kid whose mother told him, “You care too much about money to be a doctor.” Knowing that, he did as any money-loving college grad does and went to Wall Street where he found that success isn’t necessarily fun, so he went the entrepreneur route to money instead.

Shane O’Neill loves dogs and hated that they were unwanted and euthanized and he decided to attack the root of the problem. He was already a successful entrepreneur, so he started another company and committed 50% of the profits to organizations across the country that spay and neuter.

Finally, Sir David Tang, a billionaire entrepreneur and self-confessed digital dinosaur, started a website for the rich and famous “where celebrities tired of being impersonated on Twitter and high-fliers frustrated by big fat fibs pedalled in perpetuity on Wikipedia can once and for all put the record straight.”

So what’s more impressive, the people or their ideas? What do you think?

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Image credit:  MykReeve on flickr

Mention innovation and most people think of startups and the entrepreneurs who take the risk, so I thought today would be a good time to check in to the goings on in that world.

First, a look at 11 Harsh Realities of Being an Entrepreneur for those who are considering an entrepreneurial path; not to turn you off, but to spur you on.

By knowing the harsh realities that lie ahead, you can be prepared when they come about so you can solider on.

Getting funded is as much a function of who you know as what you do and any serious entrepreneur will walk over hot coals if doing so gives an advantage to that end. Enter Y Combinator, that not only gives entrepreneurs an edge getting funding, but on getting better terms.

Many of the best applications come from accomplished programmers who have working product demos but lack gilt-edged Valley Rolodexes. … The real winners are rising stars like Jessica Mah. “The competition this created for us was amazing.”

Social media, now just called ‘social’ may be a hotbed of the young, but don’t rule the old men of investing out of the game even when it is someone who seems to be constantly switching horses and proclaiming his current mount ‘the next big thing’.

Sand Hill Road was abuzz after Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr rallied Jeff Bezos, Zynga founder Mark Pincus, and Mark Zuckerberg to a joint press conference at Facebook in Palo Alto and announced a $250 million fund to invest in the “next wave of social entrepreneurs.

Marc Andreessen and partner Ben Horowitz are successful entrepreneurs who are changing the focus of the venture world by doing extremely early-stage funding. And here is a more in-depth look at what at what Andreessen is doing.

Although it is too early to judge the firm’s financial success, Andreessen Horowitz represents a new breed of venture capitalist that is financing new kinds of start-ups.

Entrepreneurs come in many flavors and not all are in the commercial world as the new breed of activist shows. If you are one of those who laments the problems overseas, take a look at what’s being done in the name of ‘DIY foreign aid‘.

It’s striking that the most innovative activists aren’t necessarily the ones with the most resources, or the best tools. … Rather, what often happens is that those best positioned to take action look the other way, and then the initiative is taken by the Scharpfs and Shannons of the world, who are fueled by some combustible mix of indignation and vision.

Finally, although the power of social has hardly been tapped, it is already the meeting ground of charity and profit.

Founded in 2007 by political activist Joe Green and former Facebook President Sean Parker (yes, that Sean Parker), Causes uses social media tools to virtually connect thousands of charities with their supporters and potential donors. The Berkeley (Calif.) company began as one of the first applications on Facebook and now serves as a broker for 119 million charitably minded users.

Image credit: pedroCarvalho on flickr

Whether you consider your boss, or yourself, a leader or a manager you should find today’s offerings of interest.

Most of you know that I firmly believe that good managers must also be leaders, and vice versa, in order to get the best from today’s uber-savvy workforce, but that doesn’t always happen. This interview with Randy Komisar, who has been launching startups for 25 years, both as an entrepreneur and a VC, talks about the difference and what needs to be done.

Next is an interview with Aaron Levie, co-founder and C.E.O. of Box.net. Levie talks about how he manages, leads, hires and his company’s culture.

Our third interview today is with executive coach Liz Wiseman, Co-author of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, discussing the difference between ‘multiplier’ and ‘diminishers’ (I sure hope you work for the former!)

In a great column, Bill Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company and co-author of Mavericks at Work, considers the idea of corporate heroes from a different point of view—not are there any left, but rather how do we recognize one in today’s business climate.

Finally another look at Mark Hurd—two, actually.

The first, from Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor and the author of Confidence and SuperCorp, considers a question we’ve all been asking: “How can very smart, accomplished people do such stupid things?” The second, from Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior and author of a new book, Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t, sees Hurd as a teaching moment on the subject of power.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedroelcarvalho/2812091311/

I do love writing rhymes for holidays and special friends. And when I read them again a year or decade later I’m always amazed that I don’t die of embarrassment.

Last Halloween I wrote A Halloween Economy at MAPping Company Success and Scary Times Require Rhymes for Leadership Turn.

So without more ado, here is your rhyming fix for this Halloween.

There was a student named Delf

who had a high opinion of self

He truly believed that with nary a sigh,

he could start a company that would fly high.

He founded it on Halloween

in stealth mode to avoid being seen—

he didn’t want the media calling or

have to deal with VCs stalling.

He started a social networking site

for all the creatures that go bump in the night,

because they had no safe place to gather

cyberspace was perfect to network and blather.

Delf launched his site in 2006

with offices next to the River Styx.

Vampires, demons, werewolves and ghosts

all flocked to the site in order to boast.

The member list grew and grew

’til even Delf didn’t have a clue,

but he was smart and used his noodle

to arrange for the site to be acquired by Ghoulgle!

Image credit: Seamus Murray on flickr

Attention culture mavens. Bob Buderi, Founder, CEO and Editor in Chief of Xconomy, has a great post up comparing Seattle and Boston founders’ one-word descriptions of their cultures.

Here is the lists.

The fact that they look as if the traits were reversed is Bob’s focus (read his post), but ignoring location, let’s consider them based on meaning.

Agreed, one word doesn’t give much leeway, but it is a good indication of a founder’s thoughts, that said, there are some from both coasts that don’t cut it for me in terms of describing a great culture.

Humble and Easy stand out on the western, despite their founders’ explanations, whereas Safety makes sense because it is a pharmaceutical house. Paranoid might turn some people off, but that cultural attitude started at Intel, is still going strong and has served them well.

On the other coast, Cool and Magical don’t make it for me.

What works for you?

Based on this list, in which cultures would you like to work?

Which, based on their chosen word, do you think are most likely to succeed?

Image credit: ckdish on sxc.hu and deboer on sxc.hu

If there is one thing I have learned in more than two decades of working with entrepreneurs is that there is little that is “typical” about them, contrary to the media and even the scientific research.

How many times have you heard that entrepreneurs are risk takers? That may look true on the outside, but talk to them and you’ll find that most consider the risks minimal—based their own personal definition.

Let’s take a look at some proof of what I’m saying.

Most people think of entrepreneurs as loving a high profile as their success increases, but that isn’t always true. Take a look at this story about 24 year-old twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who, as movie stars, are constantly in the news, but as entrepreneurs don’t even associate their names with their businesses.

Entrepreneurs know their culture is a reflection of them and their people. The smart ones are transparent when it comes to sharing that with potential clients; they let it all hang out as opposed to putting on a show. It’s good business.

Next is an entrepreneur’s take on MBA. After all, who but a serial entrepreneur would think to combine networking with a serious adrenalin rush and call it Maverick Business Adventures?

Last, but certainly not least, are brief profiles of six Pacific Northwest entrepreneurs and the cultures they’ve created, good reading!

Before we close I have a homework assignment for you. Heather Clancy is a very smart lady, but I disagree with her take on great culture; come back Monday and find out why.

Have a terrific weekend!

Image credit: MykReeve on flickr

The Stanford Summit is exciting; a marvelous opportunity to catch up with people you know and to make new contacts. Obviously, the economy was a major topic of conversation.

Lorenzo Carver, CEO of Liquid Scenarios, and I sat down for a conversation regarding the positive and negative experience we have both had bootstrapping our companies during the past few years.

We both, after extensive experience sitting on the venture capital, investment banking and entrepreneurial sides of the table, chose to bootstrap our companies through product development and product launch.

I first met Lorenzo at last year’s AlwaysOn Stanford Summit and met him again at this year’s Summit.  It was a pleasure seeing him again as we have both moved forward strongly during the difficult economic environment.  Lorenzo has had a varied career advising companies, developing strategy and assisting in raising capital.  He has raised several billion dollars for his and other’s ventures during his career.

Also my ventures, EMANIO and the M3 Foundation, have developed well during the recession despite strict fiscal discipline.  Or maybe thanks to it.

As I spoke with Lorenzo, he mentioned that bootstrapping is “a double edged sword; companies that are bootstrapped need to have customers and serve customers in order to survive”.

In other words, the order of business for bootstrapped companies is business.  Making money is the order of the game.  In contrast to VC funded companies, bootstrapped companies quickly have to find their way to revenue and profits.  All investment in product or market development is coming from revenue and profits, so acquiring these are the core responsibilities of the CEO and the rest of the management team.

Lorenzo continued, “Companies that have financing when things get tough have more options, but often lack the strong teams and lack control in how to keep the team together when things get tough”.  In other words, the act of bootstrapping builds a certain discipline in a team.  Everyone is aware of the fact that their livelihoods are dependent on getting that revenue and profit.  Costs have to be kept low and sales have to get done.

Well financed companies most often lack that discipline and there is tremendous waste in a lot of VC funded companies.  However, they also are able to do more and grab opportunities that bootstrapped companies are unable to act upon because of a lack of resources or the need to stay profitable.

We were both in agreement with the fact that everyone we had worked with was in a similar situation to the one we found ourselves in.  The business environment turned toxic overnight and fourth quarter last year and first quarter this year were horrendous for everyone we had spoken to, including partners and customers.

There is no question that there will be more bootstrapping as companies are having difficulty finding investment capital or lenders.  This, in turn, will bring greater scrutiny of budgets and purchase orders across the spectrum.  We both believe, though Lorenzo is more optimistic than I am, that bankruptcies will continue to grow and that the business environment will continue to be difficult for years to come.

However, there are few times better to grow a company than during difficult times.  Many of the great companies of today were started during difficult economic environments, had difficulty finding capital and had to find innovative ways of growing.  This developed their corporate cultures to be strong and focused toward creating great value propositions with scant resources.

To any budding entrepreneurs out there, this is the time to truly consider your dreams and take the step.

KG Charles-Harris is CEO of Emanio and a special contributor to MAPping Company Success.

I lived more than 25 years in and around Silicon Valley. There have been many books written about the area, people and happenings (one of my all time favorites is The Nudist On The Nightshift), with many focused on those who start companies—the famous and infamous Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

Contrary to much of what you may read in the media none of it is dead; not the VCs, who are raising new funds, or the angels, who invest their own money, and certainly not the entrepreneurs.

Nor are the folks who write about them; some write from the halls of academia, some from the heights of punditship and a few who have actually been there/done that.

One such is Sramana Mitra, a tech entrepreneur who founded three companies, consults with Silicon Valley VCs, writes a column for Forbes and has a MS in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

Bootstrapping: Weapon of Mass Reconstruction is the second book in her Entrepreneur’s Journeys series and it’s a great read.

As opposed to a series of lessons to be taught, the book is a series of interviews with entrepreneurs highlighting their fascinating histories, the different paths they took and the difficulties they overcame.

It’s about the need for solid management skill—a book about implementers with vision as opposed to visionaries who depend on others to make it happen.

What you learn from them is up to you, but whether you plan to start a business or not you would have to work very hard not to benefit from their experiences.

The book’s focus is on companies that started and progressed without venture investment. Mitra does an excellent job of pointing out that even without IPOs, M&A and VCs throwing money like beads at Mardi Gras starting a company in your garage with a few friends is not only a solid approach—but a better one.

“If the next Google is to emerge and bring with it thousands of new jobs, it must first start over some kitchen table where not only hope but opportunity is readily available. Where entrepreneurs not only start businesses at a higher rate, but also survive and thrive at a higher rate.”

She points that many businesses fail for lack of funding, but if you don’t look for funding that roadblock ceases to exist.

“Through much discussion, writing, and brainstorming on each topic, I arrived at one core thesis: Not just entrepreneurship, but bootstrapped entrepreneurship is the true weapon of mass reconstruction.”

Having lived through the dot com bubble I know that this is true. Too much available investment makes trust fund babies of companies that need to grow up hungry, tough and scrappy.

Image credit: Sramana Mitra