silicon valley users guide
After reading a long email from a wantrepreneur who never gets around to asking for funding, VC blogger Fred Wilson
relays the following advice from a friend on how to close a deal:
The best advice my old man gave, and the advice he drilled most emphatically and repeatedly was, ASK FOR THE ORDER. You'd be amazed how many people talk to customers forever and never actually say ask for the order.
Fellow VC blogger and Half.com founder Josh Kopelman,
advises, however, that "the way you ask is just as important as asking." Kopelman's anecdotal advice in 100 words:
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Valleywag
At Fortune's iMeme conference, Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz repeats a tired old quote about how he likes to drink wine from a bottle while his predecessor, Scott McNealy, drinks wine out of a box. Quips a News.com reporter: "Maybe they should hire someone who likes to drink wine out of a glass and see where that takes them." [News.com]
