Guillermo Söhnlein's Page

No matter how many ventures I help start, how many entrepreneurs I speak with, or how much research I do on the subject, it never ceases to amaze me how entrepreneurs must always walk a very fine line between embracing failure and rejecting defeat.

There are many folks who contend that successful entrepreneurs are "risk-takers" because they are willing to fail. In fact, a recent study conducted by the University of Southern California business school found that most successful entrepreneurs had… Continue

I came across this interesting blog post, which talks a bit about some of these advantages enjoyed by smaller ventures:

1. Focus - In order to survive, most small businesses must adopt a narrow market focus. In doing so, they can develop a premium reputation for serving that narrow market.

2. Reach - Small business owners are so close to… Continue

After a 2-month IASE sabbatical due to overseas assignments, I wanted my to write a comeback blog post sharing either some of my international experiences or perhaps my recently acquired collection of tidbits on using Twitter for business. However, as I sat down this evening to think about my latest post, I received a Tweet with this video clip and decided to share this instead.

If this video doesn't get you pumped up and ready to fire up your team or your investors, then you probably shouldn't… Continue

A while back, one of my mentors drew a mental picture for me as to why most first-time or prospective entrepreneurs want to be CEOs and yet *most* serial entrepreneurs who have been startup CEOs do NOT want the job again. I have since taken that mental picture, sketched it out, and used it in various talks. Never mind the spartan drawings (I never claimed to be artistic!), but I would welcome feedback/comments on the general principles.

First, we start with how most people view the role of the… Continue

As I listened to several entrepreneur panelists during a conference a couple of weeks ago, I was struck once again by how often the topic came up regarding the role of spouses, significant others, and families in the lives of entrepreneurs. My wife does not believe me when I tell her that during my public appearances I tend to talk about her almost as much as I talk about my startup experiences!

After 10+ years of the "entrepreneurial lifestyle," my wife still occasionally asks me the now-tired… Continue