Networking

Who have you actually watched build the startup you're trying to build? Saeed Amidi makes a point about Stanford I keep coming back to: the reason so many students there start companies is that they grow up seeing it as normal. A graduate feels they could just as easily go build the next Google as go get a job at one. He points to the poster children — Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Bill Hewlett, Dave Packard. When you can see people like you doing it, building becomes something you can picture yourself doing. I launched the startup incubator at San José State, where I still teach. Same engineering talent as anywhere. Far fewer startups. The gap isn't intellect... it's whether or not students believe they can do it. The same dynamic runs for anyone starting a business. What you believe you can attempt is shaped by the peers you can watch attempting it. That's why community isn't just encouragement — it's the infrastructure your belief runs on. Watch Saeed make the point himself here: https://youtu.be/bb9n-CnDGVA Who in your peer group has already made this leap? And if you can't name anyone... is that why you're hesitating? #IndependentConsultant #Coaching #Consulting …more

What did you actually keep from the last program you paid to be in? For me it wasn't the degree. Years after my MBA, the thing that still pays off is a handful of relationships I made there, not any single lecture. One of them started with a guest speaker. He came in, presented, and most of the room took notes and left. I introduced myself. Then I did the part almost nobody bothers with... I stayed in touch, for years. That one relationship went on to matter more to my business than anything on the syllabus. The curriculum has a shelf life. A relationship you actually tend can compound for decades. If you're building a practice of your own, treat the people you meet now as the asset. Positioning gets you in the room; the relationships you keep are what pay you back for years. That's the work I help with. See how on my site, linked in the first comment. #IndependentConsultant #Coaching #GoingIndependent #PersonalBrand #ThoughtLeadership …more

“Vitamin or pain killer?” - advisors love to ask this question about your product. And they love to tell you it has to be a pain killer, because it’s easier to sell. But the truth is less about pain and more about understanding your customer. When I was 23 I worked at Threshold, one of the largest distributors of vitamins and supplements to the industry. They easily sold hundreds of millions of dollars every year into supplement stores all over the country. What made them special wasn’t their inventory. It was their sales organization. Every sales rep would spend time on the phone with their customers, they knew them by name, they talked like old friends. But more than that they spent time educating. And in turn their customers, the shop owners, educated their own customers. What they created was an environment of conscious empathy and learning for people who didn’t want pain killers. So here’s the question for your business: Are you chasing the same customers as all your competitors? The ones looking for pain killers? Or are you building a community that’s tired of popping pills and wants a real, long-term solution? Selling “vitamins” isn’t bad, it’s just very different from selling “pain killers” …more

After working with hundreds of founders, one pattern keeps repeating. The ones who make faster progress are not the ones reading more blog posts or watching more tutorials. They are the ones sitting in a room with other founders who have already solved the same problem. You skip the trial and error. You see what actually works. You adapt it to your business and move forward. That is exactly why I created the Inspiring Founders Peer Group. It is built for founders who want to build a valuable business without burning cash on marketing or headcount. We meet once a month in person in San Jose or Santa Cruz. The focus is on practical problems, real workflows, and honest feedback from people who understand the tradeoffs you are making. You do not need to have everything dialed in. You just need to be willing to show up, ask good questions, and apply what you learn. If this sounds like your next step, apply to join the next meeting at inspiringfounders.com. https://www.inspiringfounders.com/ #Founders #PeerGroup #BayArea …more

Santa Cruz Works Rooftop New Tech is back on May 6, and I'll be there. If you're a founder working on something in tech, this is one of the best nights to show up. Six startups will present on the rooftop at Anton Pacific. Solid food and drinks. Great views. Real conversations with other builders. I've advised and invested in startups for years. Three of those companies had billion-dollar exits. I've also launched three of my own, with one major acquisition. The early stages are hard when you're doing everything yourself—go-to-market, messaging, content—all while trying to build product. The best part of events like this isn't the presentations. It's the conversations between them. The founder who's stuck on messaging and finally gets clarity. The team that's been guessing at go-to-market and walks away with a plan. I'll be there between presentations. If you want to talk through your go-to-market strategy, your messaging, or how to build a content system that doesn't eat your week, come find me. I'm happy to walk through what's working and where you can get a quick win. https://www.santacruzworks.org/news/santa-cruz-works-rooftop-new-tech-may-6 …more

Last chance: buy tickets today and get a free glass of bubbly from the Chaminade. I'll be presenting at the Santa Cruz Works New Tech on March 4. Networking starts at 6 pm with music, food, and real conversation; rapid-fire startup demos begin at 7 pm from Innovation Within, BrandCapsule, Radi8, Activity Ally, and The Host Mindset. As a CEO I learned that short demos force clarity, so focus on the problem you solve and the next milestone. Let's see if I can put my money where my mouth is... or is it my mouth where the money is! Sponsored by Comcast Business and Wynn Capital. See you there. #startups #founders https://www.santacruzworks.org/news/santa-cruz-works-new-tech-march-4-2026 …more

Connected University, a Santa Cruz experiment, treats online publishing as an embodied learning space rather than a distraction machine. Short multimedia handbooks—readable in 20–30 minutes and paired with audio, ambient music, visual design and centering practices—are shared openly through voluntary stewardship rather than paywalls. From launching startup programs I learned shorter, ritualized learning experiences drive engagement and invite community stewardship. If you are redesigning learning or pilot programs, send me a message to compare notes. #learning https://www.santacruzworks.org/news/connected-university-rethinking-how-knowledge-is-shared …more

If you haven’t seen the Chaminade Resort & Spa lately, come check it out. They renovated all 156 guestrooms and suites with EDG’s contemporary mission-style design, natural materials, and Santa Cruz photography. Santa Cruz Works members get 25% off rooms, 50% off meeting rentals, and 20% off team-building. Our New Tech Meetup on March 4 will be at the Chaminade. One lesson from running early-stage events: venue quality reduces friction for attendees and organizers. Interested in attending or collaborating? Send me a message. #NewTechMeetup https://www.santacruzworks.org/news/chaminade-new-elevated-guest-rooms …more