As a person in the mid thirties, born around the same time Steve Jobs founded Apple, today feels like a very sad sad day.

Steve is a icon for a lot of people as a visionary and an entrepreneur, I been growing up in his world and he is one of the people that have inspired me greatly to take on my own visions and believe that anything is possible.

Mr. Jobs – you left a world that you changed, a world you for many made better – you will always be a part of history and live on in the billion of users of your iconic products – for everything you have given – Thank you!

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Great interview on Bloomberg with Scott Weiss, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (VC).

He talks about software enterprise and how the big giants are changing – I love his take on the growing “bubble” as he states “its an actual boom” because of the CEO of big companies that normally answers their emails with a handwritten note to their secretary, now is running around with their iPad and wants to see the companies stuff on it – who said sharepoint for iPad

I actually is starting to experience it my self through our business – the CEO demanding that we do something with that social media stuff.

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Sitting in my hotel room in the north of Sweden just on the border to Norway where I am attending a conference about CRM and dialog.

After enjoying the first evening in the great company of Michael Lewis the sales & marketing VP from Awareness (@bostonmike) I just needed a quick check of my twitter stream and saw @bussgang´s tweet about – takin the VC money rap – something I had to check out.

Absolutely hilarious and fun especially after an evening discussing different start-ups and scaling/funding strategies they might have.

Check it out – remember to dive into the lyrics

Takin’ VC Money (Money Cash IPO’s) by Smixx

Takin’ VC Money: The Lyrics

this song is dedicated
to all the startups out there
staying caffeinated
pulling all nighters
and trying to launch something amazing

Maybe we can meet up with Ashton Kutcher
see if we agree on some plans for the future
have a drink with Fred Wilson
see if we can sign a deal
or you think Seqouia’s gonna find another 40 mil
It’d be great to secure some investment ends
straight from seeds to 10x dividends
Never complacent, you say exit? we say yes
now we’re in the basement
working with Node.js
While half these other rappers
chase broads
and sip on hennesey
we’re tailing our logs
and drinking 5 hour energy!
3 AM whiteboards and lightbulb moments
this is our time
right now so we should own it
I long for delivering
and its prod we get it in
and we have no problem with the thought of pivoting
we know what our vision is
and we don’t want to waste it
we remain driven so we
continue to chase it

heyo we’re taking VC Money
all we’re tryin’ to do is get some new seed funding yeah
Money Cash & IPO’s
thats how this action goes
heyo we’re taking VC Money
all we’re tryin’ to do is get some new seed funding yeah
Money Cash & IPO’s
thats how this action goes

might as well send a little note over to techcrunch
maybe get an article
thats posted by the next lunch
time to get the word out
we’re ready for beta
limited at first so our servers
don’t crater
yeah we’ve got swag
but its the bad stuff from conferences
you better skip the bag
I’ll just carry my accomplishments
hooked up with Dealmaker
and now we’re live at GROW Conf
prepping for a great night
and hanging at the GROW launch
and tonight you know we’ll brush shoulders // we will brush shoulders
with some angels
not charlies kind
but the ones with the bank rolls
that believe in our team
and also see our market fit
excited by our dream
and they need to be a part of it
if you haven’t heard of us yet
we can flip you our deck
we’ll trade a cheque for convertible debt
I said…if you haven’t heard of us yet
we’ll trade a cheque for convertible debt

heyo we’re taking VC Money
all we’re tryin’ to do is get some new seed funding yeah
Money Cash & IPO’s
thats how this action goes
heyo we’re taking VC Money
all we’re tryin’ to do is get some new seed funding yeah
Money Cash & IPO’s
thats how this action goes

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Through working in the start-up environment with our own start-up – Mindjumpers, the start-up environment around social media  and collaborating with other start-ups in the entrepreneurial venture I am connected to – Akasha Ventures, I believe I have gotten a pretty good look into the world of start-ups.

It´s for many – the land of dreams and anything is possible. I often gets shocked over the lack of reality from people thinking that making a successful start-up is just a good idea and then faith. People – its God damn hard work!!!

Through the last three years I have seen the look in peoples eyes, not really getting why I work so hard – well he must just be a weird guy that loves to work, he probably just hate to hang out with friends, family, see the world and enjoy him self – and this could not be further from the truth.

I have committed myself to a dream of building a company, a few people here and there are successful of doing that with a minimum of work, but for everybody else probably 90% of entrepreneurs – its a commitment of hard work.

I stumbled upon this fantastic presentation by the brilliant author Tara Hunt on Slideshare – it says everything – enjoy!

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Sitting in Copenhagen airport, the Delta plane to New York is delayed with 3 hours, which is not great, but well it leaves me some time to study the program for the Internet Week New York, my whereabouts in the coming 7 days.

I am looking especially forward to some of the following topics.

Local is More than Location

Cutting-edge local applications reach consumers in increasingly relevant and customized ways. Come hear about new ideas that combine the best of mobile and local engagement.

Using mobile/social to Engage TV Audinces

Television and cable networks are increasingly leveraging mobile and social channels to engage with their audience and enhance the viewing experience. Industry leaders will discuss the trends and successes including branded mobile apps, entertainment check-in services, synchronized TV events, and emerging technologies such as augmented reality. Numerous case studies and examples will be presented.

Social Commerce: Hype vs. Reality

What really works when it comes to social commerce? How can brands measure return on investment? In this presentation, Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazerow will reveal best practices for social commerce success

The Evolution of Online Advertising

Internet and social media experts will discuss everything from traditional banner advertising and pushdowns to the integration of brand-sponsored content and how to communicate with consumers in an ever-changing Internet landscape.
Panelists include: Brand Think Tank L2 Founder & NYU Stern Professor Scott Galloway (as moderator), Hearst Magazines Digital Media Chief Revenue Officer Kristine Welker, Pictela CEO and Co-Founder Greg Rogers, AdGenesis CMO Michael Kelley, and Buddy Media Vice President of Strategic Brand Partnerships Myles Kleeger.

Where Will the digital trail take us?

As Web technologies continue to evolve, how will people use the Web and what do they need to have a more holistic browsing experience? New research from Meebo explores where the web will soon be going and how future technologies will enable people to find better, more relevant content in faster and easier ways.

No doubt its going to be an insightful and inspiring week, I will share a lot of my reflections duing the week on this blog or on our company blog at http://mindjumpers.com/blog

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Its an argument no doubt about it – it might be just playing with words, but talking to a lot of different people from striving entrepreneurs, corporate executives or young energetic and hope full students, I just wants to share my thought on “Challenge your comfort zone”.

I see people walking around with the book or the writing on their forehead – need to challenge your comfort zone – and I think its all wrong for most people.

I believe that if you are managing your comfort zone the right way and are able to spend most of your time in your comfort zone – it enables you to do your best – are we not at our best when we are in our comfort zone?

Its statements like this I really don’t like

The point is of course that to grow as a person both personally and professionally – we need to expand our comfort zone – enabling us self to take on new challenges.

Personally I am at my best when I am in my comfort zone. I am no good when I constant need to challenge that state of mind. But I do need to constant expand my comfort zone.

These are some bullet points on how I expand my comfort zone

- Seek new information, read – listen and get comfortable with the new knowledge
- Take one step at a time – one foot in front of the other
- Try out new stuff but on your own terms and not someone trying to push you to
- Meet new people – I use online tools like Twitter and blogs to meet and talk to new people, by doing this online I am in my comfort zone when I do it.
- Be open to help people without expecting anything in return, if you can help, you are in your comfort zone and by helping you will learn something new and expand it.
- Be confident – believe in your self – don’t listen to the narrow-minded voices!
- Stay true to yourself!
- Work hard – put in the hours of expanding – don’t think you can make giant leaps everyday!

You might think I am totally of, that you share the same view or that its all gibberish – any how – I would love to here your thoughts!Similar Posts:

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Yesterday I wrote about some inspiring resources for entrepreneurs to check out, one of the being TechCrunch, one of my favorites on TechCrunch is TechCrunch TV.

Founders stories from TechCrunch TV, interviewing Mike Walrath that got into digital ad sales, started Right Media, which became an online ad exchange that he sold to Yahoo in 2007 for $850 million.

Really interesting to hear him talk about his first mistakes as an investor, falling for the project or product and forgot to look at the entreprenaurs skills.

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Being an ambitious entrepreneur you will need to spend your time on inspiring source every time you have the chance!

The list of media sources like FastCompany, Wired and inspiring leaders and authors like Seth Godin and Tony Hsieh is long but I have tried to narrow it down to 7 resources which I spend a lot of time on – with the sole focus of entrepreneurship, start-ups and venture.

The list goes from individualist, large blog sites, medias to one of the largest social media platforms.

This is my list – please fell free to ad to it in the comment field..

Fred Wilson, a VC since 1986 and Managing Partner of two venture capital firms, Flatiron Partners and Union Square Ventures. He helps people start and build technology companies primarily in NYC. http://www.avc.com/

Jeffrey Bussgang, a successful serial entrepreneur for ten years, is now a general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm with more than $500 million under management. Before becoming a venture capitalist, he was the cofounder of Upromise, the largest private source of college funding contributions in the United States. He serves as an entrepreneur in residence at Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA with highest distinction. Bussgang writes a popular blog and is the  author of the book “Mastering the VC Game” which I also can recommend reading. http://www.jeffbussgang.com/blog and http://www.seeingbothsides.com/

Mark Suster, is a 2x entrepreneur who has gone to the Dark Side of VC. He joined GRP Partners in 2007 as a General Partner after selling his company to Salesforce.com. He focuses on early-stage technology companies. http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/

Venturebeat.com, THE media source when it comes to get updates on new ventures, innovation or inspiration as an entrepreneur – I can recommend visiting the “Entrepreneur Corner” on the site. http://venturebeat.com/

Mashable.com, where founded in 2005 and is mostly known for news from the world of social media, but being a start-up and the brain child of entrepreneur Pete Cashmore it have over the last year started to put more focus on start-ups and done it most successfully in my mind. http://mashable.com/startups/

TechCrunch, probably don’t need a whole lot of introduction,  if you are into Tech – there is no way around not spending a lot of your reading time on the site bound so close to the inspiring Michael Arrington. TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news. Founded in 2005, TechCrunch and its network of websites now reach over 10 million unique visitors and draw more than 33 million page views per month. http://techcrunch.com/

Twitter, is probably my most inspiring source – it’s a chance to follow some of the most inspiring people around the world – and that list can be very long. Do a search column (or ten) in your preferred desktop app (mine is Tweetdeck) monitoring people talking about the stuff that is interesting to you as an entrepreneur. http://Twitter.comSimilar Posts:

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In the book “Where Good Ideas Come From” by Steve Johnson he uses a chapter to explain what the scientist Stuart Kaufmann called “The adjacent possible” and it have just got stuck in my brain ever since I read it – so there for share the thoughts.

Basically, The adjacent possible is a way to describe a frame in innovation and creative thinking that slashes a great big hole through the believe of creative thinking is about special people going into a room and having great thoughts, because the frame is that you can only be innovative or creative in the combination of the possibilities existing or more important the possibilities that you know of and constant challenging these boundaries.

In his book, Steve Johnson writes, “The phrase captures both the limits and the creative potential of change and innovation” and goes on “The Adjacent Possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself. Yet is it not an infinite space, or a totally open playing field.”

Later in the chapter he continuous “What the adjacent possible tells us is that at any moment the world is capable of extraordinary change, but only certain changes can happen. The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore those boundaries. Each new combination ushers new combinations into the adjacent possible.”

In the book there is a lot more explanation to it, and I recommend you reading it, but what it make me think of is some basic rule sets or mind sets you need to follow if you want to be creative or innovative. Some of them of course directly related to my only line of work, tech and digital development and creative agency thinking.

-       The old creative thinker is dead! The new creative thinker is an online savvy constant on the hunt for knowledge and pushing the boundaries of what is possible – tapping into all the great ideas swimming around on the web and being able to connecting the dots.

-       Embrace challenging clients or tasks! Its hard work to have challenging clients buts it’s the ones that pushes you to explore the boundaries of what is possible.

-       Twitter is probably the biggest idea generator on earth as of right now – you need to be able to leverage the possibilities of a tool like Twitter.

-       Your need to tap into the most competitive environment within your business field.  Its hard to imagine the next big innovative tech solution is not coming from a company rooted in one of the most competitive tech hubs around the world and Silicon Valley is not the only one, but its not coming out of Munich.

These are some of my initial rule sets I wanted to share, maybe they will inspire you to develop others – if so please share them – lets push those boundaries.Similar Posts:

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Through my work with Mindjumpers I have had the pleasure of working with Jakob Algreen-Ussing from Akasha Ventures.

Jakob invested in Mindjumpers in a very early stage, which by now is almost 2 years ago. During those two years I been working with Jakob in shaping Mindjumpers (he holds the position of Chairman of our non-executive board) and working with him supporting other start-ups in the Akasha portfolio.

Now Akasha is moving forward to be supporting even more entrepreneurs, the following press statement is in danish.

Den danske entreprenør Jakob Algreen-Ussing har gjort det til en forretning at hjælpe entreprenører – og nu vil han for at støtte endnu flere iværksættere

Igennem sit selskab Akasha Ventures hjælper Jakob Algreen-Ussing entreprenører med at få succes ud fra devisen om, at man sagtens kan skabe noget værdifuldt og godt for verden, samtidigt med at man tjener penge. De største krav Jakob Algreen-Ussing stiller for at investere i entreprenørdrevne virksomheder er ganske enkelt, at virksomheden bliver ledt af en specialiseret og passioneret entreprenør, som har kompetencerne og viljen til at bringe selskabet frem, og at værdierne stemmer overens med Akasha Ventures.

Den danske forretningsmand Jakob Algreen-Ussing har som sit seneste projekt etableret selskabet Akasha Ventures, med henblik på at hjælpe iværksættere med at få succes.  Og nu leder han efter nye og spændende iværksætterdrevne virksomheder, han kan investere i.

’Jeg har selv været i værksætter i snart 20 år, stiftet og solgt en række virksomheder. Det har givet mig en værdifuld viden – og den viden vil jeg gerne dele med andre iværksættere og derfor har jeg startet Akasha Ventures’ fortæller Jakob Algreen-Ussing og uddyber

’Akasha Ventures er ikke bare investeringsvirksomhed; det er et netværk af entreprenører spredt ud over USA, Europa og Asien, som skal hjælpe entreprenører. Og vi hjælper alle de virksomheder, som deler Akasha Ventures værdisæt. Vi har allerede en række virksomheder i vores portefølje, men vi leder efter nye virksomheder, som har brug for den hjælp, Akasha Ventures kan give’

Akasha Ventures

Hvad tilbyder Akasha Ventures iværksætter-virksomheder? Først og fremmest at de bliver del af en global entreprenør-bevægelse og venture-netværk, som støtter og samarbejder på tværs af verden og brancher. Men de får også metoder og værkstøjer til at skabe succes i deres selskab. Samt naturligvis investeringer.

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