When I took the VIA signature strength test, the top one that came through was Love of Learning. (And if you’re curious, the lowest was Spirituality. I do feel meaning or purpose but not traditional spirituality.)
Part of my interest is about growth mindset, the ability to improve oneself and grow. Part of it is the possibility of achieving dreams that others think impossible. Also, the excitement of outwitting a problem or finding a novel approach or insight moves me. Add to that the focus and perseverance to follow through then I get really excited!
So, it should not be…
I have some big news to share. Have you heard?
SeeClickFix, the citizen engagement software company I co-founded in 2008, has been acquired by CivicPlus. In celebration, I wanted to share a few of my memories and offer the deepest thanks to everyone who was a part of the journey.
There I was…
….on the plane flying to our honeymoon. Instead of staring longingly into my beloved’s eyes, I was staring at a yellow legal pad. No, not composing a poem to my new bride. Instead, I was making a list of criteria for my next startup. Deciding which industry…
Venture Patterns catalogs the best of what other startups and venture capitalists have figured out. Subscribe for future updates.
Summary:
Bottom Up Sales is a venture pattern where individual employees start using or buy a version of a product and when enough employees of a company do so, then the company buys it for many more employees or makes it an official tool.
Description and Background:
At SeeClickFix we were faced with the question, how should we go to market with a software platform for use by citizens, local governments and others? One of the techniques we tried was to…
I was asked to write a short submission for a Yale entrepreneurship book. Here are a few.
Outlook (a haiku)
Within a startup
Team have future optimism
pessimism re: now
For Want of a Customer
Grow users! More cashflow! ‘s my creed.
And to get it, a product I need.
Employees want salary, to build.
To pay, I must woo VC guild.
But investors seek traction indeed!
The Benefit of Co-Founders
With a cofounder,
highs and low in startup land
hit each off cycle.
Begin Now
A startup like a
sailboat can only rightly
steer when moving. Start!
a public art project of and by the community
What started an idea inspired by JR’s Inside Out Project, a Sunday planning session with Ben Berkowitz and then a simple blog post, grew into a movement, a living piece of art and a community.
Here was the pitch we gave:
A multi-lane freeway divides what once was one neighborhood: barren concrete cuts across State at Bradley and Humphrey at State in New Haven, CT.Over the past few years, with the help of URI, we have cleaned-up, planted trees and painted fences. Inspired by the Inside Out Project, now it is time to take one more step to bring the…
meaning, service, community, ethics, education, ceremony and assembly without superstition and dogma
For the past year or so, I’ve been working to help create a Humanist Community at Yale University. As an alum living in New Haven, I feel connected to the university and wanted to contribute in another way. After founding the Yale Entrepreneurial Society, helping start the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, starting companies in town, and building community via projects like scavenger hunt Cluefest and collaborative public art Inside Out #NHV, I was ready for another project.
What is a Humanist Community, you ask? As a shorthand, you can think of it as the key elements of a church or religion…
Miles Lasater
Founder turned investor. Husband, father and book addict. Opinions my own. Writing at VenturePatterns.com.
