Call for Topics

Please send ideas for topics and questions that you'd like me to cover here. I need to know what you want to know.

I can't say I'm qualified to do them all, but like my mother used to say, “You don't get if you don't ask.”

I could also use about 5,000 links in my quest to be in the top ten of Technorati!

Thanks!

Guy

Comments

[Alexander Peschkoff]

BOLLOCKS! to most of the people who made a topic suggestion above. Pardon my French, that's to lengthen your attention span. If you couldn't bother to read Guy's books (the answers to 99% of the above questions are in them) or do some research using Google, you need breast-feeding and Guy is not very good in that role, guys! To put it in other words, if you need the basics to be explained to you (instead of using self-education), no VC will ever bother dealing with you. Sorry for the harsh words, I thought you'd rather hear them from an asshole like me than from a VC (in more "strict" terms).

GUY: As I am not that clever as I pretend to be, could you write about:

(a) why the majority of VCs are betting on the same things like lemmings (how many "xyz"-based "abc"-oriented companies can realistically become successful; even it 10 will, does the market need more than one or two)?

(b) One of VCs blogged about the cliche of "staying ahead of the curve" - what, in your opinion, could be round the corner (or even "the next big thing")? I.e. what type of a product/service one needs to come up with to make KP and DFJ go "Wow!"?..

Many thanks!

[David Roberts]

Hello Guy,

If one truly has good news to tell about their idea or product or service then they probably have a real market opportunity. Unfortunately, many of these opportune situations come at a time where personal responsibility temper any market outreach efforts.

I believe that so many people, like myself, have great opportunities with their market (customer) vision but never get beyond the perceived (or real) risk barrier associated with having a family or other commitments.

Is this just a sad truth or are there ways to move into a position where vision can become market excitement?

[Peter Johnson]

Write about BOSSES. Specifically, why the problem of bad bosses is so widespread and why no one talks about it. Everyone likes talking of high minded stuff like leadership, and all management gurus just ignore the topic of bad bosses. Perhaps there's not much money it it. I read this brilliant manifesto, 'why your boss is programmed to be a dictator' at http://www.changethis.com/19.BossDictator
I wonder what you make of it.

[John]

"I need to know what you want to know."

Translation: I'm out of ideas.

"I could also use about 5,000 links in my quest to be in the top ten of Technorati!"

...AND I've turned into a link whore.

Nice one.

[Tim McClintock]

hmmm, I might have asked "How to get buy-in, foster communty, encourage the troops, and let innovation/new ideas bubble up from the bottom"?

But you just did it!

Great ideas everyone.

And as always, Guy, thanks for leading the way. We're listening!

t

[Smart Posting]

google is the good search engine.

[Andrea J. Lee]

A few more...

- How an average person becomes a VC, in addition to getting rich first.
- Life as an Asian American, if this is on your radar.
- What you're going to do next. :)

[John]

"I could also use about 5,000 links in my quest to be in the top ten of Technorati!"

Is that what you're trying to do? If so, it's a shame. It would be better if you concentrated on writing good content, and let the ratings take care of themselves.

A topic suggestion: Offshore Outsourcing.

[D]

More case studies. Fewer pithy top 10 lists.

[Hello]

google is the good search engine.

[Isaac Garcia]

Guy,
Tell us about how you (and your team) collaborate and share information?

What tools do you use to manage your projects, teams, ideas and business?

Everyone loves to hear about "what works" for some people (especially successful people).

[phill Longmire]

Not sure you know this but a lot of pastors follow what you say. I am one of those at a “Mega church” in SO CAL.

But when you talked about evangelizing that really got my attention. I never thought of it outside the context of the church.

And then I went to Starbucks…I know I am behind the game…but Starbucks evangelized me…not with people but atmosphere…

I would like to see you talk about evangelism more…in more in creating buzz and POP with the environment that you work…

Just an idea…

Thanks

http://pastorphill.typepad.com/phillip_longmire/

[Glenn Nicholas]

Guy,
Cover global warming.

[Tracy Oliver]

This is a philosophy question. I'd be curious to know where you stand on merchandisers giving products to bloggers in exchange for endorsements or product visibility. How do you see it impacting the medium? Do you have thoughts on guiding principles when it comes to blogging for merchandise?

[richard winters]

The art of forming an advisory panel for a new company. Who to choose, how to utilize, and how to reimburse.

[Gary Davis]

I don't intend to raise VC money or quit my job just yet. I'd like to keep my passion without pressure.

Is it outside your area to talk about bootstrapping? I'm a big fan of your books since "selling the dream" haven't read "art of the start" yet but my impression (from reading this blog) is that it deals a lot with spending other people's money.

[MJ]

Okay, how about how to deal with senior management (your peers) in your own company

[Tom Guarriello]

After Guy LaFleur and Yvan Cournoyer, the eight next coolest names in the history of the NHL.

[Drew McManus]

I'm in the process of starting up a non-profit. I've been reading Art of the Start, and I think much of the advice is pertinent.

Any key differences I should keep in mind? How is raising foundation money different than raising VC money? Are there incubators that help startup non-profits?

I'd love to see a blog entry on that topic.

[Geordie]

How about an entry on knowing when to pack up and move on from a startup....

[Tod]

Well, anything without "the art of" in front of it is A-OK by me. Kinda burned out on that phrase.

How about five things to remember as an advertising client.

[Alexander]

What about your information overload?

[Paul]

One big challenge facing any startup is getting noticed. This seems particularly hard for business to business companies (the company I work for sells software development infrastructure to large electronic system companies) since it is not even clear which channels might get listened to and thus where it is worth investing the limited marketing bandwidth available.

[MFB]

Here's a thought. Why not let people pitch here and then explain what's good or bad about the pitch. Like a workshop. Imagine the links!

[Peter C. Thompson]

Hi Guy,

Having been through several startups, one of the biggest challenges that I saw was the conversion of the company from "startup" to "production". This has been called Bridging the Gap (going from early adoptors to mainstream).

I would really love it if you could cover this a bit.

Cheers,
Peter