It’s the time of year for lists…

… and so here is a short list of random lists under the headings of tech and cycling (which makes it a VC:VC post, too!)

• Startup Therapy: 10 questions to ask yourself every month from Jason Cohen, a Smart Bear
• 10 steps to pitch a VC (A VC’s advice on how to pitch VCs) from Raj Kapoor of Mayfield Fund
• Good Question! The Eight Best Questions We Got While Raising Venture Capital from Glenn Kelman, CEO and of Redfin
• Which investors to avoid… George van Hoegaerden’s view
• When lists become problematic: The Nine Billion Names of God
• (and, to make this a VC:VC post) a fabulous list of 108 Rites of Passage for a Cyclist from Bicycling Magazine

Happy list making season to all.

I’m dreaming …

It’s that time of year folks, when Chanukah Candles glow, Christmas Trees sparkle, and some Venture Capitalists show a little self-deprecating humor in their seasonal greetings.

This year Onset Ventures has a holiday gift catalog well worth reading.

Here are a few of the items on offer:

• Bernie Madoff Fleece-wear: Pockets Fully Lined!
• Mattress: this year’s highest performing investment vehicle
• Series B Knee-Pads (Series C forehead pads also available)
• Lemming-Fur Overcoat (Every VC’s getting into one of these. Don’t be left out.)
• Humble Pie: The season’s most popular food item. A great accompaniment to an entree of crow (sold separately).
• Eyeballs (2 Doz): Volume discount available for internet-based businesses
• IPO Window: This one actually opens! (Priceless!)

As a Venture Cyclist, I can’t resist mentioning the mugs, t-shirts and bike jackets available with this slogan:

Just hear those bike chains jingling
Ring ting tingling too
Come on, it’s lovely weather
For a bike ride together with you!

Finally, I forget if I shared this cartoon in previous years, but even if so, it is the right time of year to enjoy.

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and here’s to a great 2010.

A tale of two vehicles

First check out this amazing video of a recumbent trike, that flies! - with a tip of the hat to Elisa who first sent this to me. You may have to watch a 30 second ad first … it’s worth it. (If you can’t see the embedded video click here.)

And now, check out this David and Goliath story (if you can’t see the embedded video click here):

Monday breakfast buffet

Here are a few interesting articles to start your week…

The Kauffman Foundation (the leading foundation supporting entrepreneurship) in the US, recently published a new study, The Making of a Successful Entrepreneur which I read about in the Small Business Trends blog. The most important success factors reportedly are “previous work experience, learning from their successes and failures, a strong management team and good fortune”. I am not sure to respond “well, duh!” or to recognize that sometimes statement of the obvious is not so obvious. To the budding entrepreneurs reading this, the most important component is what is not included in the list. As I have written before, big ideas (and even good technology) do not pave the path to success. This report reinforces that truth. (Disclaimer: I have not yet read the full study, which I do plan to do, found here).

Since I am a compulsive maker of to-do lists (the only element of the GTD methodology I have adopted wholeheartedly is: if you add it to your to-do list, you don’t worry about it), I was struck by a blog posting on zenhabits. The posting opens with a quote from Taligent’s Guide to Designing Programs which is absolutely brilliant (techies will all agree): Remember that there is no code faster than no code.

Zenhabits blogger Leo Babauta opens with:

What’s the fastest way to get a task off your to-do list?
Just delete it …
or don’t put it there in the first place.

My facetious response is to ask what is the sound of one task forgotten? Answer: screams of agony. But this posting is worth a read and is challenging for me; so I shall immediately write a to-do task to meditate on this.

Finally today, a compilation of the Web’s Best Advice for Entrepreneurs from Tom Eisenmann at HBS. Of course, I think my collection is the best collection… but Eisenmann’s is a pretty good one too!