Catching Up On Readings: Outsourcing Redux

Tony Scott’s series of interviews exploring all aspects of outsourcing with executives of firms both here and abroad is back! This next installment is with David Wert and Niraj Sridhar of Tata Communications. Click on the full article to read the rest of this week’s posts. >>>

Can You Do It All? Eventbrite Cofounder And Mother Julia Hartz (Part 4)

SM: Is Kevin significantly older than you?

JH: Ten years. I met him when I was twenty-three and he was thirty-three. It was more significant for me because it curtailed a lot of mistakes I would have made. For him, at thirty-three, he had just begun to know exactly what he wanted. Our relationship began right when we met, and we were on a linear path that was free of drama and question. >>>

Can You Do It All? Eventbrite Cofounder And Mother Julia Hartz (Part 3)

SM: Why should it feel was wrong if he was not pulling his weight? You don’t get paid to exist.

JH: Now as a manager I do not feel that it was the wrong decision, but I did not like the fact that I was involved. Either way, I graduated on a Friday and started work on Monday, which was perfect for me. I quickly rose up the ranks there. >>>

Can You Do It All? Eventbrite Cofounder And Mother Julia Hartz (Part 2)

SM: How did your middle-class background impact you at Pepperdine? Did you feel as though you belonged?

JH: I went through stages. At first, I went through an envy stage. I have never told anybody this but hopefully you will understand. I felt like wealthy females always had this look on their face that was completely relaxed, as if they had no stress. >>>

Roundtable Recap: July 22 – Bootstrap Using Services

This week’s roundtable had several interesting discussions around techniques for bootstrapping, both in the entrepreneur pitches, as well as during the Q&A. One of the most effective mechanics that I know for bootstrapping the early phases of a startup venture is by using services – consulting services, contact development work – such that you can achieve customer intimacy and also bring in revenue that can help fund your business. Even if you do product or IP development in parallel, that revenue stream is very valuable, as is the direct access to customer feedback. Some of my favorite entrepreneurs who have bootstrapped using services are Paul Kocher (Cryptography Research) and Jerry Rawls & Frank Levinson (Finisar).

I gave this advice to one of today’s presenters: Ademola Osindero of Lopworks Ltd. from Nigeria. Ademola has a network integration services company for the last 3-4 years, which generates revenues. But now, he wants to build SaaS business apps for healthcare, for instance, and would like to raise $1M to do so. Well, the problem is that he doesn’t have any validation for the software business, and the chances of his raising money against an idea are slim. It is slim in a mature market like Silicon Valley, so I cannot believe that it has a prayer in a backward market like Africa. I advised Ademola to use his network integration services business to validate the healthcare IT product idea that he has, work with customers, build a product, and generate some revenue momentum by using the bootstrap using services principle.
>>>

July 22 Roundtable Recording

In case you missed it, here is the recording:

Roundtable Starting In 30 Minutes

Today’s roundtable is starting in 30 minutes, at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST/8:30 p.m. IST. Click here to join.

Can You Do It All? Eventbrite Cofounder And Mother Julia Hartz (Part 1)

Julia is cofounder and president of Eventbrite and is responsible for the overall vision and strategy of the company. She is a former television network executive and comes to Eventbrite by way of Hollywood. During her tenure in the television industry, Julia was a creative executive at FX Networks and helped to supervise “The Shield,” “Nascar Drivers: 360,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Rescue Me,” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Prior to FX Networks, she was in creative development at MTV Networks, where she was fortunate enough to work on several popular shows such as “Jackass.” Julia holds a BA from Pepperdine University and lives in San Francisco with her husband Kevin and their young daughter.

SM: Julia, let’s go back to your story’s beginning. Where are you from? Where did you grow up?

JH: I grew up in Santa Cruz. My parents divorced when I was two, but they remained good friends and always lived within blocks of each other. My mother was remarried when I was five. I had one of those idyllic childhoods on the beach. I had no worries about safety like we do today. >>>