Nowadays it seems to be “à la mode” to openly state that’s it OK to fail. But let’s be very careful about what message we try to convey with this. Bottom line is, that’s a steaming pile of horse-crap. And I am allowed to state this, because I have shuttered a company once. And let me tell you: It sucked. Bigtime. You can find my story on Failcon 2012. Read More
In my startup, Sentiance, I think there has not been a single word as popular as the word “focus” in the past few weeks. It drove me nuts, and I also have never been so close to a mental meltdown. Speaking to other entrepreneurs, I have always been fully aware of the importance of focus, yet I forgot to practice it myself in this case. The result was a half-way decent alpha version of an app after six months and little traction. The monstrous number of features we were building were simply too confusing for a user. Ouch. Read More
Finding your ideal co-founder, is something that I value to have a greater importance than your product, your market or investors. The ideal founding team would be two people, that know each other by working together for at least a few years, respect each other, and complement each other. Ideally, one knows how to build the product and the other knows how to sell it. However, it seems to me, that finding your ideal co-founder is often a struggle. Read More
I’ve been building pitch-decks for a while now. I’ve created a heap of crap ones myself, but also built pitch-decks that actually raised money. So if you find yourself in the situation where you’re looking to build a decent pitch deck, I will share you some of my experiences based on some successful pitch-decks I’ve created or seen from others. Read More
This is my shortest blog post, ever, and should actually be a tweet, but I really needed a blog-post that I can refer to every time I hear someone yell out “Hey, that was my idea!” and gives you a look as if the whole world has turned against the poor guy, and spies are lying in wait to steal his next bright idea. If you’re such a guy, let me tell you no one cares about your idea. The only thing that counts is your speed of execution. Read More
In this post, I just want to put down a thought I had for the last decade. The new illiteracy will be the one where people don’t know how to script, code or develop in a computer language. Just hear me out if you think I’m going overboard here. Read More
As part of a large consulting contract, I was looking to acquire a security consulting firm. As my company was too small, I needed to expand. Pronto! I talked with Big Four firms (I quickly grew tired of politics), but also I talked to local boutique firms. Read More
Reading about entrepreneurs and founders is often reading about their bold moves, grit, grandeur and successes. However these may hold valuable lessons, there is a darker side to entrepreneurship I’m sure every founder relates to. Anxiety attacks, feeling depressed after your pitch bombed, self-doubt, feeling emotionally isolated from your dearest and nearest, and a continuous psychological bombardment of opinions that exhaust you. I’m sure you’ve been in this place, and I just wanted to share this post with you if you’re still in this place. Read More
Anyone that knows me, know how dear animals are to me, and know how I enjoy being in their company. It reminds me how fragile our fellow Earth inhabitants are, and how we’re all connected at a level that eludes our comprehension. While I love animals equally, I do have a particular preference for dogs. On this day, this is a remembrance to one dog in particular. Read More
I was at a carnival the other day (I know, don’t ask), and while I was having some popcorn and an ice-cream I was captivated by this magician who did all sorts of tricks. I really felt like a two-year old again and my inner-child was more active than ever. He put on a show for ten minutes, but I wanted more! The magician left and people started talking amongst each other… Right there and then, it hit me. The magician just sold a good product. The intrinsic element of his product is “magic”. But, shouldn’t all good product have a sense of magic in them? Read More
Filip Maertens 