startups
Joining Techstars in Detroit
My First 3 Years in Detroit Nearly 3 years ago, I moved to Detroit from San Francisco. I joined Detroit Venture Partners [http://detroitventurepartners.com/] as part of the founding team with Josh Linkner and Jake Cohen. Since then, Detroit Venture Partners has invested in 24 companies. Along the way,
Techstars Announces Techstars Mobility, Driven by Detroit
Written by Dave Drach [https://www.linkedin.com/in/davedrach/] Today, Techstars is announcing Techstars Mobility, driven by Detroit with our partners Ford Motor Company, Magna International and Verizon Telematics. Mobility and transportation are changing and we want to help the next generation of companies make it happen. Techstars is
Startups Should Build Less and Sell More
> “If you build it, they will come.” Field of Dreams [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_Dreams] In this iconic movie, Kevin Costner’s character hears a voice that tells him to plow part of his cornfield and build a baseball field. Once he builds it, they will
4 Tips to Hire an Awesome Software Engineer
As a computer engineer and former CTO [https://tedserbinski.com/about.html], startups often ask me “how can I hire an awesome developer?” and “how do I an interview a software engineer?” It can be tough, but it shouldn’t be much harder than hiring a non-technical person to join
Detroit's Startup Tech Resurgence: Be Part of the Inaugural Tech Week
Detroit’s inaugural Techweek celebration will take place May 19-25th in downtown Detroit. Sign up here [http://techweek.com/detroit/] and be part of the largest tech conference for entrepreneurs in Detroit. Full disclosure: I am the Chairman of Techweek’s Detroit Executive Advisory Board. I’ll also be speaking
Detroit's Startup Ecosystem is Missing 3 Things
I’ve now been in Detroit for 882 days. Or roughly, 2 years, 5 months, and 1 day. As an ex-Silicon Valley guy who co-founded and sold a company, I have a good sense of what makes the valley tick—and how it turns out bombshells like Whatsapp [http://venturebeat.
The Achilles Heel of Every Great Idea
Ever since I started investing, both as an angel, and now as a venture capitalist at Detroit Venture Partners, there has been one recurring phrase that I hear nearly every day. It’s a phrase that once intrigued me by what was to be revealed after hearing it. And now,
The One Competitor Your Startup Forgot About
Startup Competition is Good Startups are competitive by nature. They are out to solve a problem or change the world in an innovative way. As they take on funding, acquire paying customers, and generate revenue, others notice, and the competition heats up. This competition drives innovation and keeps the startup
Disrupting Venture Capital in the Midwest
In my last post, I wrote about the best startup advice I’ve ever gotten [https://tedserbinski.com/the-best-startup-advice-ive-ever-gotten/] — think bigger. Truly the best advice I’ve ever gotten and I encourage you to read that post if you haven’t already. And in my first post, I talked about
MothersClick Acquired by Lifetime Networks
MothersClick.com [http://www.mothersclick.com/] and the rest of the ParentsClick Network [http://www.parentsclick.com/]have been acquired by Lifetime Entertainment [http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/l/story.aspx?guid=%7B764B126C-2071-4605-8222-7FA1E481B0EE%7D] . I’ve been working on this site and with Dietrich (CEO & founder) for over