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View from the FishBowl – Negotiation Series Finale: Set parameters, avoid a tie, negative sell and more
My final blog on negotiation includes several points that I wanted to make when thinking about how I appraoch negotiations and various lessons I have learned that helped me in my career. These points have to do with how to approach the negotiation table and how to manage yourself during the …
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Innovation Chamber: A stack of aces
This week I was discussing the need for Nebraska to rebrand itself with a friend, when we struck up an idea that I would like to float out to the Silicon Prairie News readers. Currently our economic development leaders and minds are focused on recruiting companies to the states within the Silicon Prairie. What if…
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Innovation Chamber: What is it like to work in a startup?
On August 29, I began working for Nebraska Global. Nebraska Global is an odd place because it partners a software investment fund with the creation of software enterprises. Currently, our portfolio includes a number of startup companies – including two that I am working with more intimately. Moreover, our company itself is relatively young –…
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Why this student’s startup experience trumps internships
Many computer science and software engineering majors start looking for internships during their sophomore and junior years. They go to career fairs, usually dressed in a suit and tie, or whatever the female equivalent is, shake hands with and smile at people from large companies and talk about how their coursework is somewhat related to…
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View from the FishBowl: Old dog learns new trick
There is hope … even for an old dog like me. My kids (and even my grandkids) are loaded with iPods, iPhones, iPads and everything else technologically advanced that starts with a vowel. My oldest grandson, Jackson, (7 years old) laughs at me when he tries to figure out why I can’t manage to help…
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Innovation Chamber: How to engage in entrepreneurship & keep a day job
So, you are not an entrepreneur, but you want to engage in the Silicon Prairie community. What should you do? First, I question whether or not you are an entrepreneur. In my opinion, entrepreneurship looks a bit like a bell curve. While most people are not as entrepreneurial as Richard Branson, many could become entrepreneurs…
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William Fisher on Nebraska’s Angel Tax Credits: Hats off to Abbie and team … good on you!
This past week, a colleague and I spent time reviewing the various application forms required to qualify for the Angel Tax Credit Program that was approved by the legislature in May of this year. I have to say that I was pleased with the overall clarity of the application process. This will clearly be a…
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Willis Jackson: Six reasons I quit my full-time job to pursue my startup
I recently quit my job to work on my first startup, ShownHome, full-time. Well, sort of my first startup. It all started because I hate to shave. We have no revenue, a hard to reach market and it is so unsexy that TechCrunch will never touch us with a 40-foot pole. So, what in the…
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View from the FishBowl – Negotiation Series: Know what you want … and what the other side wants…
It takes two to tango…and negotiate. Therefore, there are typically two sides any negotiation and if you are able to figure out both sides, you will be successful more often. Simple case; take a used automobile. Unlike a new car that has a sticker price, the used car is priced subject to a variety of…
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Guest Post: Incubators are less important than the people in them
I have heard a lot of discussion regarding incubators recently. There are many advocates, but I would offer that more important than the physical space for an incubator are the people who will go inside of it. I wanted to write a longer post rather than simply commenting on the PIE article because I wanted…