Comments for Ask the Entrepreneurs

Comment on A Generation Gap For Entrepreneurs? by “J’ai une excellent job dans une grande entreprise. Cela ne me suffit plus. Je veux lancer mon projet” : Entreprise Globale

Tue, 05 May 2009 13:32:25 +0000

[…] Pour Xavier, une solution passe peut-être par la mise en place de structures qui favorisent et encouragent les employées à lancer leurs propres activités au sein de l’entreprise qui les emploie. Une sorte de fonds de soutien interne pour stimuler l’intrapreneuriat. Si l’envie de se lancer est la plus forte, la maison mère garde un contact étroit et privilégié avec ces start-ups … et ces talents. Bonus : en leur facilitant la tâche, en les accompagnant, ces entreprises peuvent également étendre leur champ d’innovation. Trouver de nouvelles pistes de croissance, dans des créneaux inattendus. Xavier envoyé par EntrepriseGlobale Pour en savoir plus: http://www.entrepriseglobale.biz/131/2008/guerre-des-talents-atout-a-celui-qui-simplante-dans-les-pays-demigration/ http://ask-entrepreneurs.com/2009/03/21/a-generation-gap-for-entrepreneurs/ […]

Comment on Close An Interview Like You’d Close A Deal by Dave

Dave — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:06:13 +0000

Just remember, almost everyone who makes it into a management position is a power hungry, egotistical narcissist. Get them to start talking about themselves and they will eat up the rest of the time on their own. I particularly like “What keeps you coming in every morning?” or “What’s the best and worst thing about working here”. They’ll ramble on about their own petty life while thinking you’re the most engaged candidate they’ve ever met. As long as you nod a lot and laugh at appropriate moments, they won’t even remember that you forgot the name of the company and the role you were interviewing for.

Comment on Close An Interview Like You’d Close A Deal by Paul

Paul — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:56:02 +0000

One interesting thing, turn interview questions about into questions about the company, it’s values and how it interacts with their customers/members.

For example my favorite question to ask a prospective hire is “Tell me about one time you really screwed up on the job and how you kept from getting fired.” By doing this I’m looking for a few things. Someone who says “none” is either risk averse, a liar, or inexperienced. Whether a person owns up to their mistakes and how they deal with the resulting mess tells me a lot about how you are as a person — your values, your communication skills, etc.

Anyway, turn this around and ask the interviewer: “Tell me about one time your firm really messed up and how you kept your customers/members from bolting.”

Comment on My Week: Why Bad News (Lay-Offs) is Good News (For Entrepreneurship) by nooshdawg

nooshdawg — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:54:00 +0000

So shall I preemptively lay myself off? Sounds awesome :P

Comment on My Week: Why Bad News (Lay-Offs) is Good News (For Entrepreneurship) by Today's Layoffs | Today's Layoffs

Today's Layoffs | Today's Layoffs — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:21:32 +0000

[…] your life. take new direction. http://www.getJobListings.comMy take on being laid off last week: http://bit.ly/1byQzHFor Nat’l TV looking for someone who got laid off and got fat…A thought while I’m […]

Comment on Reason #32,457,903 Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Need Grad School: Bob Ippolito by nooshdawg

nooshdawg — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:23:00 +0000

okay okay i hear you Ms. Susan! reason why i love steve jobs.
buuuuut, until i can monetize my talents it’s so hard to be not jaded at a cube while squeezing in my creative pursuits. i admit that getting into that film fest was a boost though that i desperately needed.

Comment on A Generation Gap For Entrepreneurs? by carolee44

carolee44 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:43:43 +0000

This is very interesting…and true from what I know. Life is ever changing as are people. New ideas from new generations. How have we ever survived without all that is available today. Try not to remember the days of pay phones before cell phones, and all the other moderns that are available today.

Some day the generation x and y will be out dated too!

Comment on DO THESE THINGS. Entrepreneur Lessons From Outside the Valley by Sandbox » Blog Archive » Know Your (Geographic) Advantage

Sandbox » Blog Archive » Know Your (Geographic) Advantage — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:15:21 +0000

[…] is the second blog post about Sandbox from Susan Su’s small series “Entrepreneur Lessons from outside the Valley“. Have a look at it! It’s well written and gives good insights into our business model. […]

Comment on Where Are All the Kickass Women in Entrepreneurship? by Kjerstin Erickson

Kjerstin Erickson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:37:29 +0000

Hi Susan,

Yes! Wonderful subject, and all-too-often overlooked. I can think of 2 awesome female entrepreneurs that you should talk to – Anu Shukla (seasoned, serial entrepreneur), and Danielle Cassley (young entrepreneur)

Anu is the co-founder and CEO of OfferPal Media, a huge player in the web application monetization space (via Managed Offers). Check out her bio at and an interview with her at http://www.offerpalmedia.com/management-team.phphttp://www.worldsinmotion.biz/2009/02/interview_offerpal_medias_anu.php. She’s a total powerhouse building one of the most important back-end companies of the new web.

Danielle Cassley is a recent Cal grad and programmer extraordinaire that is the brains and code behind Aurora Feint (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_feint), one of the most popular iPhone apps and OpenFeint, which you can read about on TechCrunch http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/17/openfeint-a-plug-and-play-social-platform-for-iphone-games/. Danielle’s not famous yet because she is so humble, but she should be.

Thanks again for the topic.

Kjerstin

Comment on Make Millions Selling T-Shirts to High School Athletes? You Bet. by Kip Klopp

Kip Klopp — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:07:34 +0000

Chad-
I am probably much like your dad; I’ve had my ups and downs in my career. I owned my own sports specialty store (under capitalized); I put together a private label program for the Athlete’s Foot company in the 1980’s (but the Chinese factories found a way to get rid of me to assure their success); in addition I have worked for several bankrupt companies. But, that being said, I am RESOURCEFUL.

My brother founded and ran THE NORTH FACE for 21 years; my wife was a marketing manager for Helly Hansen (but after 15 years was laid off when they were purchased by an off-shore company out of Bahrain (sp); and now my daughter is the sales rep for specialty shops for Columbia Sportswear.

Last week, I recieved a note that a contact of mine had a contact at your company and they were looking for a salesman. I am pursuing that side of this, but looking for information on Prep Sportswear, found this interview.

I have a young friend that is now an accountant, but while in college at the University of Washington (TKE) he sold t-shirts to fraternities for their events. THIS COULD BE A REAL BOOST TO YOUR BUSINESS; a new channel of distribution.

Please respond to kip.klopp@gmail.com

Kip Klopp
(cell: 425-753-9550)