标签: UP

Being a company's CEO can be a lonely position. This is especially true among startups. For this reason, I strongly advocate having a mentor. Finding the right mentor, however, may be more important than having one. In this blog I talk about how to recruit a mentor, what qualities to look for, and touch briefly on the compensation.       Finding the right mentor should not be a random choice or one done without some consideration. The mentor you choose should have an understanding of your business and why decisions are being made the way they are. Preferably, the chosen mentor has been an entrepreneur and CEO as well. That's not to suggest a mentor should be involved in day-to-day decision making, however. Someone with experience, who maintains a safe distance from the daily business activities, can offer much-needed perspective.   First, a mentor needs to be a good listener: A good mentor will guide an entrepreneur through the process and empower him or her to come up with the right answer, not give answers. Indeed, the entrepreneur has the great advantage of knowing the business better than anyone else. The role of the mentor is to help the entrepreneur sift through many options or give him or her a boost of confidence to implement a new program.   That's why building a great mentor relationship includes open lines of communication. It is a dialog where each of you approaches the other by asking questions on why and how decisions are made. The discussion will flow from there.   Think of it as establishing a peer-to-peer relationship because you will be working at a personal level. The mentor will serve as a sounding board and can help through the emotional ups and downs. And, there will be many.   Obviously, you're wondering how to go about finding the right person. The answer is there's a maze of different possibilities. A good place to start is to consider which entrepreneurs or corporate executives you admire and want to emulate. That's not to say they will accept your proffered invitation. Or, that they're a good fit once you get to know them. It's well worth making the effort because they may refer you to someone who is a better fit.   Your own network should be tapped, too, to identify potential mentor candidates with relevant experience. Having first-hand, working knowledge of an industry is what to look for. Ask around to find out his or her reputation to better assess strengths or perceived weaknesses.   It’s also not unusual for one of the members of the board of directors to take a more active role as mentor to the new CEO. A potential benefit of this approach, though, is that the mentor becomes an ally at the board level since the mentor would have reviewed and presumably approved key decisions. Of course, the board member/mentor will make sure that he or she still exercises the fiduciary duties of a board member, regardless of the more personal relationship built with the CEO.   Angel investors are good candidates to become mentors. They like to relive the glory days vicariously through investments and the entrepreneurs driving the companies. They’re interested also in helping you succeed.   Mentors can help with a specific need over a limited period of time. For example, if the start-up founding team is weak on the sales side, a seasoned vice president of sales can help build a channel. Or a marketing executive can counsel you on plotting the timeline for your go-to-market strategy. Other experienced executives could come from a customer or a supplier. You might consider approaching a university professor to assist in the technical vision of the company.   As for compensation, entrepreneurs typically offer stock options rather than cash when the company is still in the startup phase. Stock has another advantage as well because it could give a mentor an added attachment to the company and an even stronger desire to see it succeed. An appropriate equity stake for a mentor would be in the 0.25% to 1.0% range, with the higher number more appropriate for an early stage company.   In this blog, I focused on the entrepreneur’s view of having a mentor, but I’ll close with why someone would want to be a mentor. Among the many benefits, it’s profoundly satisfying to help an entrepreneurial company triumph knowing you’ve played a role.   Michel Courtoy is a former design engineer and EDA executive who sits on the board of directors at Breker Verification Systems.

The CEO spot in a company, especially a startup, can be a lonely one. For this reason, I strongly advocate having a mentor. Finding the right mentor, however, may be more important than having one. In this blog I talk about how to recruit a mentor, what qualities to look for, and touch briefly on the compensation.       Finding the right mentor should not be a random choice or one done without some consideration. The mentor you choose should have an understanding of your business and why decisions are being made the way they are. Preferably, the chosen mentor has been an entrepreneur and CEO as well. That's not to suggest a mentor should be involved in day-to-day decision making, however. Someone with experience, who maintains a safe distance from the daily business activities, can offer much-needed perspective.   First, a mentor needs to be a good listener: A good mentor will guide an entrepreneur through the process and empower him or her to come up with the right answer, not give answers. Indeed, the entrepreneur has the great advantage of knowing the business better than anyone else. The role of the mentor is to help the entrepreneur sift through many options or give him or her a boost of confidence to implement a new program.   That's why building a great mentor relationship includes open lines of communication. It is a dialog where each of you approaches the other by asking questions on why and how decisions are made. The discussion will flow from there.   Think of it as establishing a peer-to-peer relationship because you will be working at a personal level. The mentor will serve as a sounding board and can help through the emotional ups and downs. And, there will be many.   Obviously, you're wondering how to go about finding the right person. The answer is there's a maze of different possibilities. A good place to start is to consider which entrepreneurs or corporate executives you admire and want to emulate. That's not to say they will accept your proffered invitation. Or, that they're a good fit once you get to know them. It's well worth making the effort because they may refer you to someone who is a better fit.   Your own network should be tapped, too, to identify potential mentor candidates with relevant experience. Having first-hand, working knowledge of an industry is what to look for. Ask around to find out his or her reputation to better assess strengths or perceived weaknesses.   It’s also not unusual for one of the members of the board of directors to take a more active role as mentor to the new CEO. A potential benefit of this approach, though, is that the mentor becomes an ally at the board level since the mentor would have reviewed and presumably approved key decisions. Of course, the board member/mentor will make sure that he or she still exercises the fiduciary duties of a board member, regardless of the more personal relationship built with the CEO.   Angel investors are good candidates to become mentors. They like to relive the glory days vicariously through investments and the entrepreneurs driving the companies. They’re interested also in helping you succeed.   Mentors can help with a specific need over a limited period of time. For example, if the start-up founding team is weak on the sales side, a seasoned vice president of sales can help build a channel. Or a marketing executive can counsel you on plotting the timeline for your go-to-market strategy. Other experienced executives could come from a customer or a supplier. You might consider approaching a university professor to assist in the technical vision of the company.   As for compensation, entrepreneurs typically offer stock options rather than cash when the company is still in the startup phase. Stock has another advantage as well because it could give a mentor an added attachment to the company and an even stronger desire to see it succeed. An appropriate equity stake for a mentor would be in the 0.25% to 1.0% range, with the higher number more appropriate for an early stage company.   In this blog, I focused on the entrepreneur’s view of having a mentor, but I’ll close with why someone would want to be a mentor. Among the many benefits, it’s profoundly satisfying to help an entrepreneurial company triumph knowing you’ve played a role.   Michel Courtoy is a former design engineer and EDA executive who sits on the board of directors at Breker Verification Systems.

不知道什么叫"latch up"么? 当一个CMOS输出口的电压被从外部拉到高于它的VDD电压或低于它的VSS电压,导致寄生的P-N导通,就有可能使CMOS的四层结构万变一个可控硅,VDD和VSS之间导通并失控,进而温度升高导致热击穿,IC内部破坏,VDD和VSS短路. 运放和MCU连接时,如果运放的电源电压V+MCU的VDD或运放的电源电压V-的vss,就很容易导致latch 的vss,就很容易导致latch   //--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 地线上不应该放磁珠、电阻、电感之类的东东，那个也不叫隔离。这些东西都应该放在电源那一侧。只要不是带光耦或变压器隔离的远端浮地，所有本地等电位的地线都应该直接连接在一起。而且要尽可能使这个底线上所有元件的GND焊盘与电源GND焊盘之间的阻抗最小。 串入多余的电感容易在电感另一端的地线上引入不必要的阻抗，有电流通过时那一端的地电位与电源的地电位就不相等了。地线的功用之一就是提供0V基准，这个基准都变了，噪声就很容易通过电源串入信号了，这样只会画蛇添足。 你的问题不在这里。    

   据俄罗斯 报纸 周三报道，苹果在俄罗斯申请iWatch商标，iWatch是之前传出的苹果将推出的一款智能手表的名称。         美国科技博客Techcrunch今年3月曾报道，苹果已经开发出了iWatch智能手表的原型。该产品采用iOS操作系统，最早将于今年年底前发布。   　　另据彭博社报道，iWatch的功能将包括打电话，查看呼叫方ID，内置地图、步程计和健康指标传感器等。还有报道称，iWatch可通过连接智能手机来显示电子邮件、IM信息和其他数据。          穿戴式智能设备在近两年进入人们的视野，并越来越热，比如Google的眼镜，Nike的Nike+鞋，Jambom的 UP和UP2，Pebble，微米的智能手表（高为方案）等...          所有这些应用都是基于蓝牙技术或者蓝牙低功耗技术，然后和智能手机整合在一起，起到一个信息终端的作用。          可能又是一个新的产业，期待能够发展壮大！