Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 14, 2011
I was recently approached by Fast Company to comment on “crisis management&# at startups in the wake of the Airbnb “ranksackgate&# story. I agreed to do the interview because the story was about what other companies can learn rather than about airbnb in particular. What are the teachable moments? The short article in Fast Company is here if you’d like to read it.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 13, 2011
I’m not much of a television person, but my family loves one of the popular “reality” shows, called “ So You Think You Can Dance ,” so I’m sort of forced to watch it every week on Fox. Over time, I’ve concluded that even startup entrepreneurs can learn a few things from this one. Of course, you must ignore the pomp and circumstance of the TV staging.
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YoungUpstarts
AUGUST 17, 2011
by Michael Feuer, author of “ The Benevolent Dictator “ In past economic downturns, it was the private sector that bore the brunt of company closings or huge layoffs. Today’s downturn has a twist. Not only is the private sector suffering, but huge budget deficits mean the government sector is feeling the pain as well. And that means America’s educators — a group of professionals — are facing deeper budget cuts and more extensive layoffs than they’ve seen in years.
crowdSPRING Blog
AUGUST 19, 2011
Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account , I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic
Every startup and innovation project exists within an ecosystem that either helps or hurts that project. As innovation managers, we need to keep a pulse of that ecosystem and make sure we're helping those innovation projects we're managing every step of the way. In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in
Growthink Blog
AUGUST 18, 2011
I recently read the following quote from Apple CEO Steve Jobs: "You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new." Job's statement reminds me of a similar statement made by Henry Ford many decades before, which was: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.
ReadWriteStart
AUGUST 15, 2011
There was a wonderful conversation two weeks ago on the NY Times' Room for Debate around " Can New York Rival Silicon Valley." As someone who spent two years in 2003 and 2004 in NYC selling technology to Wall St trading firms and having my friends and clients wonder what this whole startup thing was about and why I was "wasting" my career doing this after doing a fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University it is great to see how vibrant the NY Startup community has become.
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OnlyOnce
AUGUST 18, 2011
People First. I do not think it’s telling that my fourth post in this series of posts on Return Path’s core values ( kickoff post , tag cloud ) is something called People First. Ok, it probably should have been the first post in the series. To be fair, it is the first value on our list, but for whatever reason, the value about Ownership was top of mind when I decided to create this series.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 16, 2011
50 coffee meetings. It should stick in your head as a metaphor for networking. For getting outside of your comfort zone. For starting relationships today that won’t pay off for a year. It’s the entrepreneur’s equivalent of “ 10,000 hours.&#. Anybody who has spent any time with me in person will be tired of this advice because I give it so frequently.
Babbling VC
AUGUST 18, 2011
This is once again more of a public service announcement to help out those trying to "break" into a VC firm. I am not addressing principle, junior partner or partner level positions with this post. There is a completely different path to those positions. What I am addressing here are internships, analyst and maybe even investment manager positions. .
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
AUGUST 15, 2011
I built this software for myself, and then it turned out a million people wanted it exactly how I originally envisioned it. After hiring a few people, being the CEO became a lot easier, and I was able to focus on high-level strategic plans instead of fighting fires. I wish we had spent less time talking to prospective customers before designing interfaces and writing code.
deal architect
AUGUST 16, 2011
Trivia: did you know Munich’s Oktoberfest actually starts in the middle of September? Oh well, the last week of August is shaping up as SaaS-Fest in San Francisco. Courtesy of Marc Benioff’s hospitality at his Dreamforce conference, a number of.
Sophia Perl of Wisdom
AUGUST 17, 2011
A labor of love has finally come to fruition! From start to end, I developed PicPredict , your photo fortune teller. It’s an iPhone app where you can select a photo on your phone, add your own fortunes, then shake for your magical psychic answer. Voila! I had this idea of creating a fortune teller app with a cartoon character and funny fortune sayings.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 17, 2011
If you expect to succeed in the thrill-a-minute, roller coaster ride of a startup, let me assure you it takes more than a good idea, a rich uncle, and luck. In fact, the idea is often the least important part of the equation. Investors tell me that they look at the people first, the business plan second, and only then at the idea. If you want some tips to beat the insurmountable odds, take a look at the following concepts, adapted from Richard C.
YoungUpstarts
AUGUST 16, 2011
If you’re anything like me, I get really annoyed by the stacks upon stacks of bills I receive every month – not only is it a painful reminder of how much hard-earned money is being sucked from me, but also because it’s really, really difficult to keep track of one’s finances this way. Not to mention, it’s a massive waste of paper.
deal architect
AUGUST 16, 2011
One of the chapters in my next book is on how attorneys have in some respects become more important than engineers in the tech industry. Couple of extracts: “If there is a poster child for a regulatory agency which is.
Steve Blank
AUGUST 17, 2011
The Four Steps to the Epiphany ( ?????? ???? ? ???????? ) is now available in Russian. Thanks to Denis Dovgopoliy for making the Russian version happen. It joins the French version: Les quatre étapes vers l’épiphanie. and the Japanese version ???????????? [???????????. Now in Japanese. Pay It Forward. What’s pretty remarkable is these translations are not from a commercial publisher, but rather a labor of entrepreneurial love.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 15, 2011
These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. You have to build a web presence with marketing content to get visibility above the 50 million other new websites created every year, and attract the customers you need. But most entrepreneurs don’t know where to start.
YoungUpstarts
AUGUST 19, 2011
After months of intense competition, Preparazzi has emerged as the winner of ‘ Martell V.S.O.P The Ultimate Start-up Space ’ 2011 competition. The brainchild of Jeremy Nguee, an inspiring chef and businessman who has spent the past two years getting the business up and running, Preparazzi is a meal preparation outfit that plans, cooks and delivers customized, healthy meals for busy people with sophisticated tastes who look to enjoy meals in the comforts of home.
deal architect
AUGUST 17, 2011
on the innovation blog GPS –beyond satellites SAP in the Youtube era @WalmartLabs This drone is also a hacker and a poser.
Rembrandt Communications
AUGUST 15, 2011
Recently, I focused on how it’s important to provide value to your customers in your search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting efforts. You can ask your customers what they want via surveys to get some good information, but there is also another way to get information from your customers. Uncover SEO Secrets with These 3 Social [.].
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 18, 2011
A question that I often hear debated these days is whether a new startup should focus on growth or profits. First of all, the glory days of “dot.coms” are gone, when investors “didn’t care” about profitability, and all the money went to growth. In the long run, everyone wants both profitability and growth, but the question is still which comes first.
YoungUpstarts
AUGUST 15, 2011
What happens when toy robots make sweet mechanical love to smartphone devices? You get something along the lines of Kleekbots , a website that lets owners of LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kit view and control their robot with their iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, iPad and other mobile devices instantly. Developed by Singapore-based toy company MakeAffinity , the site also allows Mindstorms owners to share control of their robots with friends through email.
Life Beyond Code
AUGUST 17, 2011
You have seen these people – the best of the best in the lot. They get promoted to become the leaders and all hell breaks loose. They are not only frustrated but they will also royally frustrate their followers. Here are seven reasons why this might be happening: [ Note : Replace "You" with the appropriate person as applicable]. 1. The ingredients and the recipe for future success is different.
VC Cafe
AUGUST 16, 2011
Let me guess -- you are reading this article because you doubt your audience is online? Welcome to the club! Many marketers and business owners share your hesitation and dip their toes into the waters of inbound marketing with caution. But the truth is, your business needs to transform in order to match the needs of a new marketplace. Today, we tap into online social networks to search for product recommendations, ask for reviews, and share experiences.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 14, 2011
Your startup is gone, it’s never coming back, and you are in mourning. An entrepreneur whose business fails grieves similarly to anyone who has lost a loved one. The pain of losing a business is not only about a significant loss of income, but can send an entire identity into turmoil. Most entrepreneurs define themselves by their business projects. They calibrate self-worth by what they accomplish or do not accomplish.
YoungUpstarts
AUGUST 18, 2011
There are mobile reference apps, and there are mobile game apps. What if there was an app that combined both? Here’s one that does – WordWit from Ballpoint, Inc. allows you to learn (proper) English and have fun while you’re at it. The app pairs often misused words – think ‘principal’ and ‘principle’, or ‘there’ and ‘their’ – and then will explains them clearly, as well as provide entertaining examples from literature
Feld Thoughts
AUGUST 17, 2011
For a limited time, Occipital’s Panorama 360 is free. If you don’t know why this is such an awesome app, watch the short video demonstration below. We closed our investment in Occipital last week and I wrote about it in the post titled The World Is Just A Bunch Of Pixels. The Occipital gang is going to create a bunch of amazing stuff and now’s your chance to get on board with a one minute iPhone download.
ReadWriteStart
AUGUST 17, 2011
I had lunch with one of my favorite Internet entrepreneurs today, Mark Sawyier , the CEO of Off Campus Media. The company provides college students with apartment listings near their schools, and what started out as an idea five years ago is now a multi-million dollar business. Sawyier came to this business without any formal training in computer science, business, management, or other technology training, yet he is a natural when it comes to running a modern-day Internet business.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 16, 2011
Let’s face it, consultants have a bad image. Businesses want experienced people who get their hands dirty, rather than experts who give presentations, make recommendations, and disappear. Even consultants don’t like their job, since they don’t often get to see results, and too much of their time is spent looking for the next gig. The Internet has changed the world.
YoungUpstarts
AUGUST 19, 2011
by Melissa Evans, author of “ Sole to Soul “ Debt-ceiling debates, credit-rating crises and international economies teetering on a double-dip recession might just be more than enough to scare would-be entrepreneurs out of the risky business of pursuing their ambitions. But not all of them. Innovators who have come to know their true strengths and align their business with their purpose and natural abilities will succeed even in turbulent times.
Feld Thoughts
AUGUST 13, 2011
I’ve always loved getting books signed by the author. As an author of two books, it makes me smile a huge smile when someone asks me to sign a copy of my book for them. With Kindlegraph , I can finally sign my Kindle books. I met the founder, Evan Jacobs, at Glue a few months ago. He had just started putting books up on it and I immediately told him that I was game to put Do More Faster up.
David Teten
AUGUST 19, 2011
We took our interns out for dinner last night and one of the topics we discussed was their career planning. Walking to work today, I saw the woman below at 38th & Broadway. According to her T-shirt, “I survived the CFA exam.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 19, 2011
If you are one of the many people who lost your job during the recent depression, you should be working on starting your own business, in parallel with looking for that ideal replacement job. Let me explain why this is a win-win deal, no matter what the outcome. You have probably secretly always wanted to run your own show, but with a full-time job, never had the time to consider a startup.
YoungUpstarts
AUGUST 17, 2011
It’s no secret that certain marketing tricks exist to help separate you from more of your money. Most people know about strategic item placement, music to fit your shopping mood, and other tricks of the trade, but are you sharp enough to spot them all? Take a look at these 20 hidden marketing techniques designed to make you spend more, and be prepared next time you shop. 1.
VC Cafe
AUGUST 18, 2011
The International Broadcast Convention (IBC) 2011 is the leading global tradeshow for broadcasting media and entertainment industry, covering the latest developments in broadcasting, mobile TV, IPTV, digital signage and forward looking R&D. This year, 28 Israeli startups in mobile, media and broadcasting technology are flocking in to IBC 2011.
Feld Thoughts
AUGUST 15, 2011
Today on Brad Feld’s Amazing Deals , we are featuring the Urban Sherpa Strap from Go Gaga. Sherpa Straps distribute the weight from laptop bags, gym bags, and briefcases that take straps, across your back and shoulders. I’ve been using the Sherpa Strap for a while – it’s dynamite. With today’s deal, you can get the strap and free shipping for $19, a discount of 50%.
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