The Internet Home of Jonathan Cavell

  • About Me
    • Technologist
    • Connoisseur
    • Entrepreneur
    • Athlete
    • Pittsburgher
    • Engage
  • The Blog of Burgher Jon
    • Business
    • Enterprise IT
    • Personal Technology
    • Pittsburgh
    • Social Media
    • Startups
    • Tech News
    • Unsolicited Advice
  1. The Obsolescence of the Non-Compete

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / August 26, 2010 / Leave a comment
    In a previous post, I went on a bit of a rant about the reduction of the unit of work that people are expected to provide their employers.  I included the chart above and discussed how there’s been a steady (and increasingly rapid) movement from the 1920s-1970s mentality of agreeing...
  2. The Golden Handcuffs You Don’t Notice Until They’re Tight

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / August 25, 2010 / 1 Comment
    There is a concept in business known as golden handcuffs.  It’s used by companies in industries with high-turnover to retain employees.  These companies offer their employees stock options that don’t vest for years, retention bonuses that they have to return if they leave, or retirement programs that get larger year...
  3. In Startups (unlike in sports): The Best Team Always Wins

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / August 24, 2010 / Leave a comment
    If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods. Ralph Waldo Emmerson The quote above...
  4. Change in the Startup Industry Means Opportunity for Pittsburgh

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / August 23, 2010 / Leave a comment
    The venture capital business is contracting. There are less VC funds than there were a few years ago. And there will be fewer in a few more years. And the birthrate of web startups is expanding. That is the challenge we all face. So, if you are an entrepreneur you...
  5. CloudCrowd, LaaS and the Unit of Work

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / August 17, 2010 / 2 Comments
    Let’s take a journey through labor beginning in the early 1950s.  At that time, the large American multinational firm hired Americans with High School or college degrees and put them to work.  40 years later those kids retired and their employer paid for their retirement.  People may have been paid...
  6. A Couple Idle Thoughts

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / August 16, 2010 / Leave a comment
    Its my first day of vacation so my mind has floated from place to place without staying on any one of them for too long.  In that vain, my post is going to be a good idea for a startup and a startup that sounds just awful presented in wandering...
  7. More Public Money in the PGH Tech Scene.

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / August 11, 2010 / Leave a comment
    I don’t have time for a long posting this morning, but I wanted to pass on a bit of news that I noticed.  It seems Pittsburgh (or in this case PA’s) other public source of funding for Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs has announced its awards.  While Pittsburgh’s AlphaLab is the most well...
  8. CardStar, I Wish I’d Had That Idea

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / July 30, 2010 / Leave a comment
    If I had the funds and inclination to be a serial entrepreneur or very early angel investor, I’d like to think I’d come up with great ideas.  I have previously commented that I really wish I’d thought of GroupOn, Open Table and a couple of FourSquare apps.  Well, another one...
  9. Foursquare App Ecosystem, Part 2: 3 Apps That Will Win at Foursquare

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / July 20, 2010 / 2 Comments
    Foursquare opened up its API in January, and not much happened.  The only reason I can understand why is that Foursquare itself doesn’t quite have the audience to demand the best and the brightest’s time on app development.  It’s getting there though, and fast.  This lead me to start thinking...
  10. FourSquare App Ecosystem, Part 1: 3 App Types That Won’t Pay

    Posted by Burgher Jon
    / July 19, 2010 / Leave a comment
    Foursquare opened up its API in January, and not much happened.  The only reason I can understand why is that Foursquare itself doesn’t quite have the audience to demand the best and the brightest’s time on app development.  It’s getting there though, and fast.  This lead me to start thinking...
«89101112»

Popular Posts

  1. The 2 Types of Innovation and 5 Types of Companies

    There are essentially two different levels of innovation: Addressing Latent Demand – Most companies...
  2. Hacking Enterprise IT: Flipping the Model

    Note: As a former IBM Architect who loves startups, my sweet spot of the...
  3. Why App Stores are NOT the Future

    Yesterday I talked about why App Stores are so popular right now.  Essentially, I...



Search Through Old Posts:

Find What Interests You:

Historical Posts:




Stay Tuned to the Blog:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

The Blog of Burgher Jon