Need someone to lead product management at your software company? I create software for people that create software and I'm looking for my next opportunity. Check out my resume and get in touch.

Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

Ideas, Risk, and Investors

Freshness Warning
This blog post is over 14 years old. It's possible that the information you read below isn't current and the links no longer work.

1 Jan 2010

Over at SacStarts, I have piece up discussing a common question I get from entrepreneurs. How can I get investors to put money into my idea?

I often hear would-be entrepreneurs who have an idea for a product or a company and are looking for investors. My advice is always the same. Build something before you start looking for money.

Ideas are cheap. Everyone has them, and most have more than one. The ability to make something work is a whole different matter.

If you want to understand why investors aren’t jumping the chance to put money into your brilliant idea, read Investing in Ideas.

Recently Written

Roadmap Outcomes, not Features (Sep 4)
Drive success by roadmapping the outcomes you'll create instead of the features you'll deliver.
Different roadmaps for different folks (Sep 2)
The key to effective roadmapping? Different views for different needs.
Micromanaging and competence (Jul 2)
Providing feedback or instruction can be seen as micromanagement unless you provide context.
My productivity operating system (Jun 24)
A framework for super-charging productivity on the things that matter.
Great product managers own the outcomes (May 14)
Being a product manager means never having to say, "that's not my job."
Too Big To Fail (Apr 9)
When a company piles resources on a new product idea, it doesn't have room to fail. But failing is an important part of innovation. If you can't let it fail, it can't succeed.
Go small (Apr 4)
The strengths of a large organization are the opposite of what makes innovation work. Starting something new requires that you start with a small team.
Start with a Belief (Apr 1)
You can't use data to build products unless you start with a hypothesis.

Older...

What I'm Reading