Author Archives: TechonomicMan

About TechonomicMan

Manager, Entrepreneurial Services at Ben Franklin Technology Partners in Northeast PA.

How Much Money Should I Raise…$29,542?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by TechonomicMan

Hopefully, you remember the classic TV show Taxi and its despicably lovable character, Louie DePalma.  In one memorable episode, the unforgettable Jim Ignatowski accidentally burns down Louie’s apartment. Jim’s wealthy father sends Louie a signed blank check to cover the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Planning, Entrepreneurial Advice, Seed/Venture Capital | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

VentureTips: Don’t Say It! Don’t Say It! Don’t Say It! Ugh, You Said It.

Posted on January 28, 2013 by TechonomicMan

I get to listen to the stories of lots  of entrepreneurs.  I’ve probably spent at least 30 minutes with more than 1,500 of them by this time.  Many of them say some pretty naive things. In fairness, most of them … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Planning, Entrepreneurial Advice | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Four Seasons of Your Start-Up…Winter

Posted on November 5, 2012 by TechonomicMan

If you’ve been reading along in this 4-part series of the evolution of your start-up, you may be expecting that Winter is the end of the line.  You may be thinking that somehow I’m going to wrap up the series with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Planning, Entrepreneurial Advice, Seed/Venture Capital, Tech Based Economic Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Can Humanity Be Saved From Instant Replay?

Posted on October 8, 2012 by TechonomicMan

Global life is increasingly obsessed with instant replay of all types.  In the pre-digital days, the extent of instant replay for use in judging actions and words by people, was largely limited to newspaper editorial pages.  If enough readers read … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary/Editorial, Technology and Society | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Four Seasons of Your Start-Up…Summertime

Posted on September 26, 2012 by TechonomicMan

Ah, summer. Margaritas by the pool.  A little Kenny Chesney on the patio.  Wearing flip flops to BJ’s (wait, that’s a different post!)  But this is not life during summer inside a start-up company.  It is certainly good news if you’re fortunate … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Planning, Entrepreneurial Advice, Seed/Venture Capital | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ladies and Gentlemen…the Next President of the United States…Alexander Hamilton!

Posted on August 29, 2012 by TechonomicMan

I woke up this morning from a dream which was set in the late 1700’s.  I believe it was 1796, because I was presenting to an enormous room full of people and the banners hanging declared “Welcome to the Federalist … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary/Editorial, Economic Development Policy, Economic History Perspsective, Innovation and the World, Tech Based Economic Development | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

VentureTips: In Defense of the Downtrodden Business Plan

Posted on August 14, 2012 by TechonomicMan

The recent consensus from investors and experts on business plans is…don’t do them.  Most often I’m hearing that founders have not written a business plan document.  They’ve prepared executive summaries, powerpoint pitches and filled out forms at online pitch sites. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Planning, Entrepreneurial Advice, Seed/Venture Capital | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Even In the Beginning, Entrepreneurs Created Jobs

Posted on August 8, 2012 by TechonomicMan

I’m going to get right to the point of this blog post.  Sometimes, shocking information is best delivered in a no-nonsense, unapologetic manner.  So, I’m just going to hit you with this right now and I just don’t want you … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary/Editorial, Economic Development Policy, Economic History Perspsective | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Entrepreneurial Quarks…the Elementary Particle of the American Economy

Posted on July 19, 2012 by TechonomicMan

Some of you may have recently read about the Higgs boson particle and how its potentially confirmed existence would explain how anything with mass (ie, everything that exists) is built.  Some of you may have also recently read about how … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary/Editorial, Economic History Perspsective, Just Kidding, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Entrepreneurship…Highway of the Future!

Posted on June 25, 2012 by TechonomicMan

I’d like to suggest a new way for governments to look at seed stage technology company funding.   I’d like to suggest that state governments in particular think about funding seed stage tech companies in the same way that they … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary/Editorial, Economic Development Policy, Economic History Perspsective, Tech Based Economic Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment