NOT THE CORNER OFFICE  

Don Rainey is a General Partner with Grotech Ventures, which invests in early stage technology companies. He currently serves on the boards of Clarabridge, GramercyOne, HelloWallet, LivingSocial, Personal, SnappCloud, and Zenoss. He was named to the Washingtonian Magazine Tech Titans List and earned the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Lifetime Navigator award for his support of entrepreneurs. Don is also an emerging technology consultant to the CIO of the US Department of Defense through the DeVenCi Program, which is tasked with researching and nominating companies to solve the DOD’s unmet technology needs. Don blogs at VC in DC at http://startups.typepad.com.

How To Commandeer a Trade Show: 4 Tips

By Don Rainey |  Dec 12, 2012

Don't have $35,000 for trade-show real estate? No problem! These guerrilla marketing tips will get you noticed anyway.  Read story

The Smart Way to Lead by Example

By Don Rainey |  Aug 15, 2012

Entrepreneurs who lead by example often end up micromanaging instead. Here's how you can dive in without irritating your team.  Read story

The Making of a CEO: Getting Superior Performance from Ordinary People

By Don Rainey |  Jun 4, 2012

We'd all like to have a team of superstars, but that's just wishful thinking. What you need is extraordinary performance from ordinary people.  Read story

The Making of a CEO: Leading Change

By Don Rainey |  May 23, 2012

How do you become a real CEO, instead of a CEO-by-default? Part two of a five-part series.  Read story

The Making of a CEO: Issue Spotting

By Don Rainey |  Apr 18, 2012

A look at the critical traits that every startup CEO needs to develop. First in a five-part series.  Read story

3 Numbers All Entrepreneurs Should Know

By Don Rainey |  Feb 6, 2012

In the early days of a startup, it can be tough to find good data to help with decision-making. Put a priority on these three numbers, and you'll be fine.  Read story

6 Business Partners to Avoid

By Don Rainey |  Dec 27, 2011

A bad partnership can put you in a hole that takes years to escape. Here are 6 kinds of deals you should never even consider.  Read story

The One Thing You Need to Know About Hiring

By Don Rainey |  Dec 20, 2011

There are some very gifted people out there who can still get you the wrong answer 100 percent of the time. How not to hire one of them.  Read story

Angry Customers: A CEO's Best Spies

By Don Rainey |  Dec 2, 2011

Want to know which of your employees are doing a bang-up job, and which are falling down on it? Take a few calls from irate customers. They'll let you know.  Read story