Category Archives: startups

Startup anti-pattern: elephant hunting

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Simeon Simeonov

As part of the continued series on startup anti-patterns, we look at elephant hunting: chasing big customers/deals. Continue reading →

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More startup anti-patterns

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Simeon Simeonov

It’s been a decade since I first assembled the list of startup anti-patterns, the repeatable ways startups waste time and money. The project has always been near and dear to my heart, as I often find myself directing entrepreneurs to … Continue reading →

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Unicorn pressures and startup failures

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Simeon Simeonov

The startup anti-patterns section of my blog summarizes the repeatable ways startups waste time & money and, often, fail. Learning from startup failure is valuable because there are many more examples of failures that successes. (Anti-)Patterns become more noticeable and … Continue reading →

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Startup anti-pattern: platform risk

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Simeon Simeonov

One of the fastest ways for a startup to grow has always been to ride on the shoulders of a successful platform: from Microsoft/OSS in software to AWS in cloud computing to iOS/Android in mobile to Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest in social to … Continue reading →

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Startup anti-pattern: ignorance

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Simeon Simeonov

Listening to a startup pitch a few weeks ago I had to exercise effort not to shake my head in disbelief. The presenters were describing the products and business model of an established company I was very familiar with and … Continue reading →

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Top startup anti-patterns

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Simeon Simeonov

Following my post on the value of startup anti-patterns, with the help of readers of this blog and friends from the startup ecosystem, I put together a list of the more common ones that I encounter. The list used to … Continue reading →

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The value of startup anti-patterns

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Simeon Simeonov

The TechStars Boston spring startups are looking very promising. At the mentors dinner tonight I had conversations with several of the companies and a common question came up: “What makes startups succeed?” My usual answer to this question is along … Continue reading →

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Startups and intellectual property: how much is a muse worth?

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Simeon Simeonov

Startup founder agreements has been the top post on my blog for a long time. The post has become much more valuable due to the many interesting questions & situations described in the comments. Every now and then, a comment … Continue reading →

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Raising money for revolutionary startup ideas

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Simeon Simeonov

Between the work we do at Swoop and some big idea startups I’m advising, revolutionary innovation has been top of mind for me recently. That is why the following statement Richard Feynman makes in a lecture about the difficulty of … Continue reading →

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Startup Weekend Rocks

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Simeon Simeonov

Startup Weekend has become a real force for fostering entrepreneurship. I had the pleasure of speaking at the BostonEDU Startup Weekend kick-off yesterday. Some of the ideas were impressive and I do expect to see a couple of interesting companies … Continue reading →

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