Ben Spigel
@benspigel.bsky.social
He/him. Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College. I study entrepreneurial ecosystems, how firms grow, and why kittens are the best form of cat.
Missed opportunity to emperically validate the furry spectrum tbh.
September 10, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Missed opportunity to emperically validate the furry spectrum tbh.
Gutted that I wasn't the first person to publish on furries in a respected business and innovation journal. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Gutted that I wasn't the first person to publish on furries in a respected business and innovation journal. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Hard work doesn't lead to being a billionaire. Having the ability to create lasting ties with customers and employees in a way that generates substantial value (along with a lot of luck and structural advantages) can create the opportunity for massive wealth creation. fin
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Hard work doesn't lead to being a billionaire. Having the ability to create lasting ties with customers and employees in a way that generates substantial value (along with a lot of luck and structural advantages) can create the opportunity for massive wealth creation. fin
Duuuude. let's do some math. He claims revenues of 20M a year. That's $2,283 an hour. A 40 minute helicopter flight from NYC to the Hamptons costs $1,145 a seat. Assume he's taking 5 coworkers to a VC meeting. That's $6,875 + tax and fees. Let's say $8,000. An Uber X trip is $300 & takes 2.5 hours
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Duuuude. let's do some math. He claims revenues of 20M a year. That's $2,283 an hour. A 40 minute helicopter flight from NYC to the Hamptons costs $1,145 a seat. Assume he's taking 5 coworkers to a VC meeting. That's $6,875 + tax and fees. Let's say $8,000. An Uber X trip is $300 & takes 2.5 hours
Another idea doesn't work. @chrisserendip.bsky.social's amazing work on serendipity shows the importance of going to seemingly random events. Unplanned events are places to (1) recover from all that stress that's destroying your creativity and (2) create connections that add value in new ways.
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Another idea doesn't work. @chrisserendip.bsky.social's amazing work on serendipity shows the importance of going to seemingly random events. Unplanned events are places to (1) recover from all that stress that's destroying your creativity and (2) create connections that add value in new ways.
Second, if you're not taking advantage of the learning or even networking resources of a college, why are you there, spending your $55K. Miami University of Ohio is a fine institution, but it's not a signaling school that will attract the attention of VCs. See Miller et al 2015. 9/n
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Second, if you're not taking advantage of the learning or even networking resources of a college, why are you there, spending your $55K. Miami University of Ohio is a fine institution, but it's not a signaling school that will attract the attention of VCs. See Miller et al 2015. 9/n
Uggghhhhh....... this is bad advice on two levels. First, on the most basic: your clients do not need 24/7 access to you. Those are bad clients who are costing you money. Fire them and figure out a way to add higher value that doesn't require your direct intervention. 8/n
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Uggghhhhh....... this is bad advice on two levels. First, on the most basic: your clients do not need 24/7 access to you. Those are bad clients who are costing you money. Fire them and figure out a way to add higher value that doesn't require your direct intervention. 8/n
And this is the most wrong thing. Completly, absolutely wrong. Social networks are one of the most important resources a founder has. This is one of the few 'laws of entrepreneurship' Founders with more ties will tend to do better than those with few. Established by gold standard meta-analysis 7/n
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
And this is the most wrong thing. Completly, absolutely wrong. Social networks are one of the most important resources a founder has. This is one of the few 'laws of entrepreneurship' Founders with more ties will tend to do better than those with few. Established by gold standard meta-analysis 7/n
This is maybe the least wrong thing in the essay. If you don't have time to go grocery shopping, sure. Why not. But this of course assumes that the 20 something with a low-revenue startup has cash to burn. Which they likely don't.
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
This is maybe the least wrong thing in the essay. If you don't have time to go grocery shopping, sure. Why not. But this of course assumes that the 20 something with a low-revenue startup has cash to burn. Which they likely don't.
The big mistake here is that 20 something founders are actually the worst founders. The data is very clear. The founders most likely to create high-growth firms are in their early 40s and have at least a decade of experience in the industry they're entering. See Azoulay et al 2020 5/n
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The big mistake here is that 20 something founders are actually the worst founders. The data is very clear. The founders most likely to create high-growth firms are in their early 40s and have at least a decade of experience in the industry they're entering. See Azoulay et al 2020 5/n
It is an incomprehensibly bad idea to sleep 3.5 hours a day. Please do not do this. It, of course, isn't possible. It's also counter productive. There is ample evidence that founders who sleep more perform better and are more creative innovators (see Gish et al 2019). 3/n
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
It is an incomprehensibly bad idea to sleep 3.5 hours a day. Please do not do this. It, of course, isn't possible. It's also counter productive. There is ample evidence that founders who sleep more perform better and are more creative innovators (see Gish et al 2019). 3/n
Well, to start off his understanding of time is wrong. Very few students will have 6 hours of class a day and I'm not sure this acknowledges the existance of weekend and holidays.
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Well, to start off his understanding of time is wrong. Very few students will have 6 hours of class a day and I'm not sure this acknowledges the existance of weekend and holidays.
There is an.....interesting op-ed in today's WSJ from a 22 year old entrepreneur telling everyone that work life balance will "keep you mediocre" It is completly wrong. Let me tell you why with citations. [gift link to the very wrong op-ed] 1/n www.wsj.com/opinion/work...
August 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
There is an.....interesting op-ed in today's WSJ from a 22 year old entrepreneur telling everyone that work life balance will "keep you mediocre" It is completly wrong. Let me tell you why with citations. [gift link to the very wrong op-ed] 1/n www.wsj.com/opinion/work...
Here, short-form streaming founders. I made this for you. Please make use of it.
August 13, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Here, short-form streaming founders. I made this for you. Please make use of it.
This is how my paper revisions are going today. #reviewer2
August 13, 2025 at 4:14 PM
This is how my paper revisions are going today. #reviewer2
Did David Mamet finally get around to watching Snow Piercer? [gift article]
www.wsj.com/opinion/sorr...
www.wsj.com/opinion/sorr...
August 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Did David Mamet finally get around to watching Snow Piercer? [gift article]
www.wsj.com/opinion/sorr...
www.wsj.com/opinion/sorr...
This graph came to me in a dream last night. The rates of high-growth research in the USA vs the number of papers written on it.
June 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
This graph came to me in a dream last night. The rates of high-growth research in the USA vs the number of papers written on it.
Just dug this out of my archives (parents’ basement) after 15 years. I’ve got a (bad, very bad) idea to build an entire class about entrepreneurial growth based on the GURPS system. Really I just want to bill Babson for a bunch of dice.
April 22, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Just dug this out of my archives (parents’ basement) after 15 years. I’ve got a (bad, very bad) idea to build an entire class about entrepreneurial growth based on the GURPS system. Really I just want to bill Babson for a bunch of dice.
I'm doing some more trade data diving to avoid grading, and...ummm....why did e-commerce and mail order companies import $14 million in inediable dead horses in 2022? What do they know that I don't?
April 17, 2025 at 8:19 PM
I'm doing some more trade data diving to avoid grading, and...ummm....why did e-commerce and mail order companies import $14 million in inediable dead horses in 2022? What do they know that I don't?
here are some graphs that are now worth less than Telsa stocks.
April 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM
here are some graphs that are now worth less than Telsa stocks.
Chat, is it weird that 1 week before the introduction of new tarrifs the Census took down a very rich dataset on what firms import and from who? www.census.gov/data/experim...
April 3, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Chat, is it weird that 1 week before the introduction of new tarrifs the Census took down a very rich dataset on what firms import and from who? www.census.gov/data/experim...
Looks like I better buy those plane tickets for Copenhaggen. Time to get to work thinking up interesting thoughts.
March 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Looks like I better buy those plane tickets for Copenhaggen. Time to get to work thinking up interesting thoughts.
And how they didn't learn the most valuable lesson of all.
March 7, 2025 at 8:09 PM
And how they didn't learn the most valuable lesson of all.
Apprapo to this are two graphs I made today. Regulatory burden has no effect on the prevelance of high-growth entrepreneurs in a sector over the past 50 years. But there is a strong relationship between regulation and how much of a market is controled by the top 1% of firms in that sector. Hmm.....
February 26, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Apprapo to this are two graphs I made today. Regulatory burden has no effect on the prevelance of high-growth entrepreneurs in a sector over the past 50 years. But there is a strong relationship between regulation and how much of a market is controled by the top 1% of firms in that sector. Hmm.....
Can we all agree in these Dark Times that Nancy is a national treasure? www.gocomics.com/nancy/2025/0...
February 19, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Can we all agree in these Dark Times that Nancy is a national treasure? www.gocomics.com/nancy/2025/0...