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Instigator Blog

Lean Analytics, startups, angel investing, product management and more!

The Hustler

July 20, 2012 by Ben Yoskovitz

You spend enough time with enough startups and you genuinely come to appreciate the importance of The Hustler. The Hustler plays a few levels above where he* should, but gets away with it because of sheer willpower, ego and perceptivity. Tweet The Hustler learns the rules quickly — breaks those he needs to — and […]

Filed Under: Startups

How to Have Startup Swagger Without Being a Complete Asshole

April 8, 2011 by Ben Yoskovitz

You need a sizeable ego to succeed in the world of startups and venture capital. Without that ego propelling you forward it’s going to be hard to wake up every morning, take the risks you need to take, and aggressively go after what you want. You won’t be able to negotiate from a position of […]

Filed Under: Personal Development

You Have to Jump First

December 13, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

Startups are founded by people that make the leap before anyone else. If you don’t leap first, you don’t stand a chance of winning. Jump. It’s up to you. No one else can jump for you or before you. If you’re waiting for some form of validation from existing co-workers, family or even worse, investors, […]

Filed Under: Startups

The Death of the Business Founder

November 24, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

The commonly accepted structure for startup teams is one business founder and one technical founder. Theoretically it makes sense: one guy builds the product and the other sells it. But it’s not that simple. Some time ago I wrote that founders can’t live in silos. If the business guy doesn’t get the tech side and […]

Filed Under: Startups

10 Frequently Asked Questions about Startups and Why You Should Give a Damn

November 5, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

That was the title of the presentation I gave last night at PHP Quebec. Overall feedback was positive. My goal for the presentation was to convince at least 1 person to start a company. I didn’t ask the audience after if I had accomplished my goal, but I think I moved the needle … at […]

Filed Under: Startups

Beware of Too Much Tinkering

November 4, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

More and more people these days are technology tinkerers. They’re messing around, trying new things, jumping from small project to small project, but never settling on and committing to one thing. It’s certainly easier and easier to tinker, which is great; it makes building stuff more accessible and less expensive. And that can lead to […]

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship

Founder DNA – How Investors Evaluate Startup Founders

October 21, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

Are entrepreneurs born or taught? I’d say a bit of both. Environmental and genetic influences are so intertwined for most things (diseases, our health, intelligence, etc.) there’s no simple answer. Having said that, when we talk about founders and startups we often think of it as something intrinsic to the people, something inside them, built […]

Filed Under: Angel Investing, Startup Fundraising

Paying Yourself is Not a Reason to Raise Early Stage Funding

September 22, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

If you want to earn a market value salary, you need to get a job. Paying yourself isn’t a good enough reason to justify raising early stage funding. I realize that sounds harsh, but it’s not intended to be. Here’s a fairly common scenario for startup founders: Two or three people decide to start a […]

Filed Under: Startup Fundraising

The Importance of Domain Knowledge for Startup Founders

June 21, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

When I launched Standout Jobs I didn’t know much about the HR / recruitment industry. I could clearly identify problems in the space, and I was passionate about fixing some of those problems, but I lacked a real appreciation for the industry itself. This led to numerous challenges, and without a doubt had a negative […]

Filed Under: Startups

How to Balance Passion and Reality in Startups

June 10, 2010 by Ben Yoskovitz

Startup founders need inordinate amounts of passion to succeed. Passion is the self-created drug that inspires startup founders to press on during tough times. Since the startup roller coaster goes from incredible highs to suicidal lows in a matter of moments, it’s important to leverage passion as a driving force. But when is there too […]

Filed Under: Startups

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Ben Yoskovitz

Founding Partner at Highline Beta, a hybrid venture studio and VC firm that works with large, ambitious companies to identify new areas of opportunity through internal and external innovation.

Previously I was VP Product at VarageSale and GoInstant (acq. $CRM), and Founding Partner at Year One Labs.

Angel investments include: Breather, Spoiler Alert, SendWithUs and others.

My bio »

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