Category Archives: Relationships

Six Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Employees

Posted on March 1, 2013 by

In the spirit of National Employee Appreciation Day, I’d like to share this article about some of the ways I show appreciation to employees. Over my years of managing people and teams, I’ve learned that when you show people appreciation, you get back … Continue reading →

Posted in Relationships, Silicon Valley, Wanderful Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Love the Ones You’re With. Why Startup Success Depends on Relationships | SiliconANGLE

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

I recently wrote this post with Doug Kilponen, COO at Wanderful Media. Having worked together on two different startups over the course of several years, it has become clear to us that loyalty is the secret ingredient for success. The media … Continue reading →

Posted in MerchantCircle, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Startups, Wanderful Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Ben Smith, Mark Boslet: Career Building Like A Startup: Thoughts On Reid Hoffman’s “The Start-up of You”

Posted on April 23, 2012 by

In the 40 years since the publication of What Color Is Your Parachute, the job market has collapsed, collapsed again and changed almost unrecognizably. The time has come for a new job hunter’s bible. Our vote goes to Reid Hoffman’s … Continue reading →

Posted in A.T. Kearney, Deals, Personal, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Spoke Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Tony Scott, Ben Smith: So They’ve Offered You The CEO’s Job. Here’s What You Need To Know Before Jumping With Joy | peHUBpeHUB

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

Tony Scott, Ben Smith: So They’ve Offered You The CEO’s Job. Here’s What You Need To Know Before Jumping With Joy So you’re in the running for the CEO’s job at a startup. Already a creeping sense of uncertainty has … Continue reading →

Posted in A.T. Kearney, Deals, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Startups | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Tom Klaff, Ben Smith: A New Spin On Corporate Venture Capital; How Big Businesses Can Encourage Innovation | peHUB

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

Corporate venture capital comes and goes in waves. In good times, money flows easily into startups. When times turn bad, most corporate investors disappear, and the waves they create crash violently on the shore. It doesn’t have to be this … Continue reading →

Posted in A.T. Kearney, Deals, Investments, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Startups | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Justin Oberman, Ben Smith: America’s Biggest Startup And Its Lessons For Entrepreneurs | peHUB

Posted on December 22, 2011 by

Can you name America’s largest startup? It’s not Facebook or Amazon or even Home Depot. It isn’t even a technology company. This little known giant is the Transportation Security Administration and its massive scale up offers a roadmap for entrepreneurs … Continue reading →

Posted in A.T. Kearney, Politics, Relationships, Startups, TSA | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Ben Smith: Building Startups Is Cheap But Never Run Out of Cash | peHUB

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

Internet startups have been getting cheaper to build for 10 years. So why is it more important than ever not to run out of cash? We built MerchantCircle into one of the 100 most trafficked U.S. sites and I honestly … Continue reading →

Posted in A.T. Kearney, Deals, Investments, MerchantCircle, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Spoke Software | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

peHUB » Will Startup Jumpers Hit It Big? Silicon Valley’s Latest Debate Is Portfolio vs Persistence

Posted on November 22, 2011 by

When gambling on high-risk startups, the more bets you place the better, right? Maybe not. There is an unspoken discussion going on in Silicon Valley now about the value of “Portfolio” versus “Persistence,” especially among people who have never started … Continue reading →

Posted in Deals, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Startups | Tagged , , , , , ,

peHUB » Ben Smith: Silicon Valley Is A Multi-Inning Game, Relationships Are How You Play

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

I heard two things recently. “Silicon Valley is a multi-inning game, relationships matter.“ And. “I am all business, I don’t care about relationships.” The first statement came from a seasoned venture capitalist with 20 years of experience. His point is … Continue reading →

Posted in A.T. Kearney, MerchantCircle, Personal, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Spoke Software | Tagged , , , , , ,

Tapulous and Disney

Posted on July 18, 2010 by

I was fortunate enough to do two great deal with incredible entreprenuers over the last couple of years. Tapulous was the first of these and was just sold to Disney in a great transaction for everyone involved.   In one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Investments, Relationships, Silicon Valley, Startups | Tagged , , , ,