Fred Wilson

Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures

Build a Blog That Builds Your Business

Blogging has become a critical piece of my business. I am an early-stage investor in Internet-delivered services and the co-founder of a venture firm. At first I really didn't know what to write about. So I wrote about things I was passionate about: work, family, music, politics, New York City. I still post about all of those things, but today my blog, called A VC, is mostly about my work and music. I started writing at least one post every day and have done that ever since. When I go on vacation, I write a bunch of posts in advance and then autopost them on a regular schedule. I've found that having something new on the blog every day is the single most important thing to building an audience.

I also like to use a sensational headline. Many people read blogs in aggregators, which generally show only the headline. So you have to give people a reason to click through. Blogs need to be real and personal. Reading it should be like hanging out with you. I play music for my readers. I show them videos I like. I tell them what I did over the weekend. And I tell them what is happening in the technology, Internet, and VC markets.

And it works. About 50,000 people come to my blog every month. The site brings in about $30,000 a year now in ad revenue, and I donate it all to charity. Most important, I'm getting to know entrepreneurs of all kinds - in India, Australia, England, China, and Silicon Valley. They read my blog, correct me when I'm wrong, pound the table when they agree with me. I get to know them, and they get to know me. When it comes time for them to raise money, they know who to ask. And for me, the blog acts as an amplifier and a filter. I see many more opportunities, but they are also way more relevant. It makes me a better investor.

Stewart Butterfield

Co-founder, Flickr

It Has to Be About More Than Just Money

One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that there has got to be a reason for what you're doing. You actually have to care about what you're doing. The business has to be about something. Whatever the point of it is does not have to be inconsistent with making money, but usually if that's the sole reason, it is not very successful. Because you have to have confident employees, happy customers, and reliable suppliers to run a company as much as profits. I am still here to win. All the people on the Flickr team are committed to what we're doing, which is to be the eyes of the world. Otherwise, I would say fuck it, go back to the beach, and get in shape.

Joe Kraus

Co-founder and CEO, JotSpot

Get Bought by Google

I would say don't try. Trying to be acquisition bait is the surest way of not being acquired. If you try to build a company that is fully independent and has a successful business model, that is the way to increase your chances of being acquired. If you don't have options, buyers know it. I say that generically. You have to create options for yourself as an entrepreneur, and the way you create options is to create a stand-alone company.

Ram Shriram

Silicon Valley entrepreneur; Director, Google

Give Your Startup a Fighting Chance

1. Hire smart. Setting the DNA of a company starts with the founders, and hiring is the No. 1 pitfall for young ventures. Don't compromise on quality, verify passion, stay focused on doing one thing really well. The motivation should be to build something of value for the long term.

2. Define the market problem. Rather than rush to form a venture, think hard about the problem you're solving. Break it down into easily understandable pieces so you can explain it first to yourself.

3. Simplify the solution. Set specific goals and milestones to get you to a stage of validation; that ensures that your efforts and energies will be well spent. At that point, be flexible and open to changes. It's better to have half a product with a brutal triage of features at launch than to have a half-assed product.

Marc Benioff

Chairman and CEO, Salesforce.com

Be an Industry Disruptor

My four rules are: Build a great product, build demand in any way you can, make sure you have a distribution organization to fulfill the demand, and make sure your customers are happy - and that is the first rule, by the way. Those are the four elements. Is your product better than anyone else's - is it easier, more efficient, simpler? Can you explain to people how it's better? Can you position it correctly in their minds? That's what you're talking about - consciousness. When you talk about disruption, a market is just a group of people. Can you sell it, distribute it, get people to try it? Can you get it adopted? Then if you get that customer satisfaction, it starts all over again.