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Ben T Smith, IV wrote a new post, Ben Smith, Steve Goetz: You Are Welcome To Our Facebook Passwords If You Turn Over Your FICO Score 1 year, 1 month ago

Dear Employer. If you think our Facebook passwords are necessary to review our job applications, you are welcome to them. In exchange, we would like to see your FICO score and the recent credit applications of key […]

Ben T Smith, IV wrote a new post, Ben Smith, Mark Boslet: Career Building Like A Startup: Thoughts On Reid Hoffman’s “The Start-up of You” 1 year, 1 month ago

In the 40 years since the publication of What Color Is Your Parachute, the job market has collapsed, collapsed again and changed almost unrecognizably. The time has come for a new job hunter’s bible.

Our vote […]

Ben T Smith, IV wrote a new post, Tony Scott, Ben Smith: So They’ve Offered You The CEO’s Job. Here’s What You Need To Know Before Jumping With Joy 1 year, 2 months ago

So you’re in the running for the CEO’s job at a startup. Already a creeping sense of uncertainty has set in as you prepare for the next interview. What do you need to know about the company? What rocks do you […]

Ben T Smith, IV wrote a new post, Grace Chan, Ben Smith: Building An Online Community Is Hard Work 1 year, 2 months ago

We have seen it all. We’ve seen entrepreneurs set out to build loyal communities for newly minted products only to forget that they are more than just sales assets.

We have seen self-directed, self-driven […]

Ben T Smith, IV wrote a new post, Ben Smith: When The Hardest Thing To Do Is Nothing 1 year, 3 months ago

The hardest thing for entrepreneurs to do is nothing. These Type A personalities have a deep need to act. But great things don’t come along all that often, and picking projects carefully may be the best advice in […]

Ben T Smith, IV wrote a new post, Victor Belfor, Ben Smith: We’ll Trade 100 Employees For One A-Player 1 year, 3 months ago

Mark Zuckerberg famously commented that a great engineer is worth a 100 average engineers (something every developer knows deep in her heart). He was talking about A-players, and in our opinion the worst thing any […]

Ben T. Smith Smith, IV wrote a new post, Maximilian Schroeck, Ben Smith: Unlocking Value From A Portfolio’s Walking Dead 1 year, 4 months ago

We have all seen it. A startup has initial success with an innovative business concept, an early product, a first or second round of capital and a spurt of revenue growth. Then suddenly, its momentum […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Ben Smith: There’s More to the Startup Game than a Post-Exit Payday. It’s Called Fishing 1 year, 4 months ago

It is called fishing and not catching, and it is the dirty secret of Silicon Valley. Unless your startup hits a grand slam, or you are its founder, CEO or a key engineer, your post-exit payday isn’t more than a […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Ben Smith: Silicon Valley Is A Multi-Inning Game, Relationships Are How You Play 1 year, 4 months ago

I heard two things recently.

“Silicon Valley is a multi-inning game, relationships matter.“ And.

“I am all business, I don’t care about relationships.”

The first statement came from a seasoned venture […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Doug Kilponen, Ben Smith: First They Ignore You, Then They Want To Buy You: Managing The Startup-Big Company Relationship 1 year, 4 months ago

Every entrepreneur has met them. Big company executives with big company swagger. They ignore you. They dismiss the business problem you spent your life solving. They think they can crush you.

Then the tables […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Ben Smith: Building Startups Is Cheap But Never Run Out of Cash 1 year, 4 months ago

Internet startups have been getting cheaper to build for 10 years. So why is it more important than ever not to run out of cash?

We built MerchantCircle into one of the 100 most trafficked U.S. sites and I […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Ben Smith: Eight Steps To Mastering Small Company Acquisitions 1 year, 4 months ago

One of the biggest misconceptions in technology is that small acquisitions are less risky and require less attention than large ones. It is not true.

When Reply bought my company, MerchantCircle, in May it put […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Justin Oberman, Ben Smith: America’s Biggest Startup And Its Lessons For Entrepreneurs 1 year, 4 months ago

Can you name America’s largest startup? It’s not Facebook or Amazon or even Home Depot. It isn’t even a technology company.

This little known giant is the Transportation Security Administration and its massive […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Victor Belfor, Ben Smith: Why Startups Innovate Better Than Big Companies 1 year, 4 months ago

With all their resources and talent, why do big companies have trouble innovating? How can a Blekko exist when there is a Google? Or a Tapulous when there is an Electronic Arts?

Even more puzzling, why couldn’t […]

Ben T wrote a new post, Tom Klaff, Ben Smith: A New Spin On Corporate Venture Capital; How Big Businesses Can Encourage Innovation 1 year, 4 months ago

Corporate venture capital comes and goes in waves. In good times, money flows easily into startups. When times turn bad, most corporate investors disappear, and the waves they create crash violently on the […]

Ben T wrote a new post, David Gwynn, Ben Smith: Sooner Is Better Than Better And How To Make Your Startup Tick 1 year, 4 months ago

The key to success in business is execution, whether you run a sprawling multinational or a 12-person startup. So measuring how your company stacks up against the best and brightest in your space is crucial.

If […]

Ben T Smith, IV @bensmith

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