Your Suspect

In early 2007 a new website was founded by someone only known as Ted. The website was simply called The Funded. Simply put, The Funded allows entrepreneurs to rate and review venture capital firms and angel investor groups. While the site, and its founder, has been highly criticized, The Funded took off. For the first time ever, entrepreneurs had a place to go and rate and review investors, and for those searching for potential financing, a place to read those ratings and reviews. The Funded has, in it’s own small way, leveled the playing field and has served the entrepreneurial and VC communities well. For the first time ever, VCs were publicly being held accountable. For example, see here for the most loved VCs of 2009. Some say it’s a one-sided forum, and many just don’t care. Most entrepreneurs agree though – The Funded is a good thing.

The whole idea of The Funded really intrigued me, and had something in common with a little side project of mine called The Founder’s Quandary. But I had no idea who was behind The Funded, so I had no idea who to contact about getting involved or at least offering a virtual high-five.

For it’s first six months it was unknown who “Ted” really was. That is, until Ted unveiled himself as Adeo Ressi, a well known, somewhat controversial, entrepreneur. In the past couple of years Adeo and I have exchanged a number of emails, mostly about how I might help The Funded and perhaps even help with something here in Boston. Well, the good news is that The Funded has announced Founder Institute, and it’s arrived in Boston!

The Funded Founder Institute, a four month program to help founders build the next generation of world-class technology companies, is launching a new semester in Boston from July, 2010, until October, 2010. The program is run by founders for founders, providing a structure for successful entrepreneurs to share their experiences and to provide guidance. Everyone that graduates from the program is invited to join a pool to share in the equity upside generated from the success of their peers. This adds a unique camaraderie to the program and creates a long-term peer support group with a vested interest in your success. If you have a new company or if you are thinking to start a company, take a moment and apply to the program. The program has an early acceptance deadline of May 23rd. Apply here.

If you’re an entrepreneur in Boston I hope you’ll take a look at this opportunity and get involved! I’m just thrilled to see this happen, and I’m eager to see Founder Institute nurture and provide fertile ground for entrepreneurs!

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Founder Institute Launches In Boston, Now Incubating Startups In 10 Cities (techcrunch.com)
• The Trouble With Venture, Through Adeo Ressi’s Eyes (blogs.wsj.com)
• The Founder Institute goes global (venturebeat.com)
• Born in Silicon Valley, Founder Institute Expands to Boston (xconomy.com)

Entrepreneurs come in different flavors, different sizes, different languages, and different abilities. Some entrepreneurs are brilliant engineers, some are opportunists, some are really good at sales and marketing. One thing is for sure though – not all entrepreneurs are leaders.

There are countless books on leadership. I’ve read a few, from Jack Welch to Rudy Guiliani, to Seth Godin. In this entrepreneurial age we’re living in, leadership has taken on a new meaning. Leadership is a bit more scientific too, than say entrepreneurship. Yet leadership can also be as enigmatic as entrepreneurship.

I’ve been thinking about these things lately, thinking about the essence of leadership in an entrepreneurial setting.

Fred Wilson, on his blog, said the following the other day:

I’ve heard people say, “If you want to know about a company, all you need to do is look at the leader” and it certainly is true that companies exhibit the traits of their leaders. But it’s also true that companies exhibit the traits of their founders. In fact, I’d argue that founders leave a longer and more indelible imprint on the DNA of companies than the person who is currently running them.

There are a host of reasons for why that is. To start, the business that the company is in is more often than not determined by the founder. And companies can move into different businesses over time, but most stay fairly rooted in the initial business that they started in. It’s also true that the culture of a company is defined early on and it’s hard to change it. Some companies are technology driven, some are product driven, others are marketing driven, and others are sales driven. That most often comes from the founder and it’s hard for a new leader to change that mindset. Another important reason that the founders often have the greatest impact on the DNA of a company is the entire initial management team is most often built by the founder. That initial selection of people is a critical determinant in the way companies evolve and behave and new management will always struggle to change the behaviors a company exhibits.

Founders are entrepreneurs, whether they like it or not. That’s just inherent in founding a company. It’s like giving birth to a child, you are a mother. However, just because you’re a founder, or just because you’re an entrepreneur, doesn’t mean you’re a leader.

I recently read Tribal Leadership, by various others, and Tribes, by Seth Godin. I’m trying to better understand my own style of leadership, the qualities and the characteristics of it. I’m trying to be a better leader, and know where my weaknesses as a leader may lie in order to do so.

What I enjoy most about doing what I do every day here at CitySquares is not closing deals, analyzing Excel workbooks, or conducting board meetings. I don’t particularly enjoy any of those duties and tasks, or many of the countless other responsibilities that come with being the CEO. And none of those things actually make me a leader. What I do enjoy doing is working with the people within CitySquares, as well as the customers and the advisors. I enjoy affecting change, helping the company move forward as a single unit, as a tribe, who actually enjoy their jobs. I enjoy protecting them from the noise outside these walls, and from those who may try to stop them from succeeding. I enjoy achieving our goals, collectively. I enjoy inspiring. I enjoy seeing them smile at our holiday party, as if they’re actually happy to be there because they like the company, they like who they work for, they like who they work with. I enjoy working with my team to find new ways of accomplishing the greater mission of CitySquares. I enjoy inspiring and affecting change then watching them execute, and learn, and get even better at it.

Is this leadership? I don’t know. It’s me, I know that. It’s who I am and it’s what I do best, I think.

I made a mistake this weekend – I forgot about balance and paid the price. Actually, it’s not so much that I forgot about it, rather that I neglected to enforce it for myself and I know now that it’s been happening for a while. If there’s one thing that’s certain about these stressful times, with the economy and, for me, with CitySquares being at such an exciting precipice, it’s more important than ever that we all keep a healthy balance in our daily lives. Everyone is a bit more on edge these days than normal. People are inevitably going to be a little short-fused, or edgy. Myself included.

As an entrepreneur, my work tends to take over everything in my life – literally everything. When I hop out of bed in the morning, it’s game time. In fact, I don’t sleep much, because in between sleep phases I’m still gaming. When I sleep, I often dream of work. When I’m in the shower, I’m thinking about CitySquares. My iPhone is only an arm’s length away, always. Throughout the day I’m full-on. When I get home to see my wife, I’m full-on. When I eat dinner, when I watch TV or a movie, when I’m out and about, my mind is spinning about CitySquares. I may fake it well, but I’m constantly working. It takes a lot to bring me back down. Like, horse tranquilizer strength to bring me down.

Now, this is mostly expected from an entrepreneur and founder of a company – it’s actually normal in the world I live in every day. But as it pertains being a human and living out my life, it’s not normal – it’s harmful. It hurts. It hurts my relationships with others, my mental health, emotional and physical health. It’s literally caused me health problems – some I’m watching closely. In very rare circumstances it can affect others, even hurt them.

This weekend I had an eye-opening and very plainly realized that I’m on a path to self-destruction if I don’t correct this right now. I must get back to balance. I have some hobbies that I’ve neglected lately, some friends and family that I’ve neglected, some passions that I’ve ignored. Maybe I need a long weekend away on a beach somewhere. I’m not sure, but I’m going to figure it out fast.

As with everything in life, there must be moderation. And that goes for entrepreneurs too! In this fast-paced, web 2.0, always-connected, get-ahead entrepreneurial way of life it’s so easy to get lost in it all.

I believe it was Buddha who said, “everything in moderation, even moderation.”

‘Nuff said.

Serial Entrepreneur Jason Calacanis who recently retired from blogging and started, instead, an email newsletter has always been straight-talker. His candor and quick tongue are traits I find in myself that often, like Jason, get me into trouble. If you subscribe to Jason’s newsletter you certainly received his latest. If not, you can find it here on Alley Insider.

Jason’s email has a “focus on the entrepreneurial and startup depression and economic downturns/depressions–and how you can deal with them.” He suggests that the economic downturns we’re seeing right now will kill 50-80% of startups within the next 18 months, and that entrepreneurs need to be prepared to take certain steps to fortify, but also to monitor and address their own “entrepreneurial depression and anxiety.”

I love this topic. I’ve stated many times on this blog, and otherwise, that one of the biggest defining characteristics of an entrepreneur is his/her perseverence and resiliency. Those characteristics are to an entrepreneur like water to a fish. These are traits that an entrepreneur just requires 100% of the time. Jason states,

“Depending on your DNA, getting your ass kicked is either complete torture or deviantly rewarding. Truth be told, I like getting my ass kicked because it makes me angry, motivated and focused.” (more…)

I believe that if you can see it, you can get there. I was reminded of that notion this morning. I was on my porch early this Sunday morning enjoying the crisp silence of this last day of summer. I looked up and saw a beautiful half moon staring down at me against a sharp blue sky. I stared at it for a moment and remembered how close the moon really is to us, no matter how far away it might seem. But it’s all relative isn’t it? I imagine that during the Apollo missions NASA said the same thing to itself – “We see it. It’s right there. We have the ability, we have the technology. We understand the laws of physics. All we have to do is get there.” And sure enough, one step at a time, they not only got to the moon, they not only orbited the moon, they not only landed on it, they walked on it. Then they drove vehicles on it. Not once, but several times! All it took was some technology, some ability, imagination, innovation, teamwork, and belief in success.

(Wow I just made the Apollo missions sound really simple didn’t I?)

I was raised to believe that anything was possible. Both of my parents are good like that. No matter what crazy idea I had, they supported me, as long as it wasn’t harmful, but they didn’t indulge me too much either. When I wanted to be a fighter pilot, they supported me. I’d study the G force and read about Chuck Yeager. When I wanted to be a major league pitcher, my father taught me proper form and challenged me during little league practice. I could go on. The point is, I tried, and I worked at it very hard. No matter how far off the destination seemed, I believed in myself and I had the support of my parents. I may not have been capable of being a fighter pilot, because of my poor eyesight, but that didn’t matter – anything was possible. My fastball was pretty nasty, but that was all I had. Yet I had the potential.

Entrepreneurship is very much the same way. (more…)