Rob Go's Blog

Rob Go

In search of things new and useful.

Rob Go: 

In search of things new and useful.

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Backwards Goals

I had dinner with an entrepreneur that I really admire a few nights ago.  He raised a small seed round pre-product and the early signs for the company are positive.  He made a very simple remark that I thought was […]

Rob Go
April 16, 2011 · < 1  min.
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Building Something That Lasts

I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while.  This may sound a little strange, butI think there has been a little too much emphasis on the START in recent years.I know that sounds strange coming from a seed investor, […]

Rob Go
April 13, 2011 · 4  min.
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I had the pleasures of sitting down with Matt Lauzon last week to talk about the lessons he’s learned as the founder and CEO of Gemvara.  I’m hoping this will be the first of several chats with some of the new crop of entrepreneurs and investors in BOS that are making things happen. Many thanks to Cort Johnson for helping me make this happen.   We talked about a lot of things – getting noticed, developing as a CEO, etc.  But the best part was his story about “Paying it Forward”.  I get the chills thinking about it.  I’ve embedded that segment of the conversation above. Below are links to two other segments to our conversation.  By way of context, Gemvara is an online retailer of customized jewelry that is growing very rapidly.  The company was seeded by Highland Capital and raised their series A and B from Highland and Canaan Partners.  Matt looks a little giddy in the interview because that morning, he had just signed a term sheet from Balderton Capital for a $15M series C round to scale the business.  Our chat is structured into three parts, and I will point out some of the gems below.  Part I: Getting Gemvara Started Matt founded Gemvara as an undergraduate student at Babson.  What set Matt apart from other students starting companies and entering business plan competitions was his willingness to do the straightforward but slightly intimidating things that you need to get noticed. See 1:36 to hear Matt talk about how he coordinated a tactical strike on Bob Davis’ inbox shortly before his meeting with him.  See 2:52 to hear how Matt cold called the VP of engineering at Bladlogic shortly after the company’s $800M acquisition and convinced him to join him as CTO when the company was not much more than a man with a plan.  Part II: Developing as an Entrepreneur (and getting replaced) I ask a terribly inappropriate question up front about getting replaced as CEO shortly after their series A. See the first 2 1/2 minutes to hear what it was like to be replaced as CEO, and then to come back a few years later.  Why did it happen?  What changed? Why was he equipped to come back? Some other great sound bites: “I know more today than I did yesterday.  But less than I’ll know tomorrow.” “When the first great ecommerce companies were built, no one had ecommerce experience” Part III: Paying It Forward Matt gives his perspective on the state of the Boston startup ecosystem as a someone from “a small town in Maine”.  He speaks candidly about the many good things and some of the things that are potentially more difficult.  He closes with an incredible story at 3:38.  It’s definitely the BEST PART OF THE INTERVIEW and talks about those who helped him early on and what kept him going in the really hard and discouraging moments.  By the way, in the spirit of “Paying it Forward” Matt is organizing an event in mid-May called Ruby Riot.  Details are sparse, but based on the stealthy twitter chatter, I think it will be the “It” event for the local tech community in May.  Hope this video is interesting and instructive.  Follow Matt on twitter here, and please let me know other folks you’d like to hear from in a comment below. 

[youtube=[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-y-FFBnnw&w=640&h=390]]

Rob Go
April 6, 2011 · < 1  min.
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We Are Not Moving to Wellesley

Looks like quite a few people took my April fool’s joke too literally. There were nuggets of truth to the post, but most of it was tongue and cheek. Truth – there is a big wooden table at the old […]

Rob Go
April 5, 2011 · < 1  min.
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How VC’s Win

VC’s grill entrepreneurs all the time about how they will win vs. their competitors.  What’s your “secret sauce”?  How do you have an “unfair advantage”? How do you “get to first base” in light of many other competitors? What entrepreneurs […]

Rob Go
March 22, 2011 · 4  min.
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Top 5 Things I Tell Student Entrepreneurs

I was inspired to write this post after speaking with a group of students at Northeastern this past week. What was most impressive was that this group of ~20 aspiring entrepreneurs actually came out and engaged in a great dialog […]

Rob Go
March 19, 2011 · 2  min.
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How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up? | Recruiting & Job Search, New York City Start-up blog by Marc Cenedella

How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up? | Recruiting & Job Search, New York City Start-up blog by Marc Cenedella Great advice from Marc Cenedella on why entrepreneurs need to be “unreasonable”

Rob Go
March 16, 2011 · < 1  min.
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Getting Noticed

I’ve been thinking about the question of whether startups should do marketing. It’s conventional wisdom to say that marketing isn’t important, since quality products should sell themselves. I’m inclined to agree with this, but I do often see counter-examples. Let’s […]

Rob Go
March 11, 2011 · 3  min.
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Always Ask Twice

This is really simple advice, but I find it remarkably powerful. Always ask twice.  If you get ignored the first time, or hear a “no”, it never hurts to try again when you’ve made more progress.  It’s amazing how far […]

Rob Go
March 8, 2011 · < 1  min.
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What Sports Produce the Best Entrepreneurs?

I love playing sports (although as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more of a watcher than a doer).  In particular, I love the mental side of sports.  I’m convinced that sports are a great training ground for many different disciplines.  […]

Rob Go
March 2, 2011 · 4  min.