Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 3, 2012
Entrepreneurs always work hard to create an innovative product or service, but often count on standard seller marketing for sales. But the reality is that sellers are no longer in charge of the customer buying process. Reports suggest that 90% of today’s shoppers skip marketing pitches, to research online before they buy, and over 50% check user reviews before making a decision.
The Next Web
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
If Marc Andreesen is right (and I happen to believe he is) then talented software developers will soon be the most sought after type of employee for just about any company, whether that company’s main business is building software or not. Attracting and hiring great software developers for your company is difficult, but it’s not impossible. Here are some tips to get you started: 1.
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Gust
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
As I write this, days after the 2012 presidential election, I’m probably not alone in feeling relieved that the political jeering and soapboxing that reached a feverish pitch during the seemingly endless campaign season has finally subsided. Yet amidst all the partisan cheerleading and name-calling, there has been some discussion of substance.
YoungUpstarts
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
by Eric Tyson, author of “ Personal Finance For Dummies “ Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you know that the presidential election is just around the corner. The constant media coverage and ubiquitous political ads simply won’t let you forget (no matter how much you’d like to!). And amid the candidates’ posturing, daily interviews, debates, and gaffes, one important question keeps popping up: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
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
crowdSPRING Blog
NOVEMBER 9, 2012
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!
ConversionXL
NOVEMBER 9, 2012
If you think people might buy your products or services without checking out the competition first, think again. Research says that on average consumers visit three websites before making a purchase. Another insight by the same study was that the more sites a consumer visits, the more money they are likely to spend. In other words, the more expensive the product, the more time people take to comparison shop.
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Steve Blank
NOVEMBER 6, 2012
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.
crowdSPRING Blog
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
Around this time last year I defined for you the Yiddish word ‘ mishegoss ,’ which many of you were familiar with in spite of never having heard the term before. Yiddish is just that way – it taps into certain archetypes in our consciousness and, as a result, a phrase that we might never have heard before seems familiar, even comfortable.
deal architect
NOVEMBER 6, 2012
A few weeks ago, I wrote it is “Halftime in Enterprise Technology” Workday invited a group of analysts and bloggers to their annual Technology Summit, this year in conjunction with their user event, Rising. To me, the opportunity to mingle.
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. It is election season. So it’s tempting to think this is going to be a partisan post – it is not. I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. I use it because I believe in the power of visual and memorable stories to sink into the consciousness.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 7, 2012
Building a startup is hard work for low pay, it’s risky, and it requires total responsibility to make it work. Yet, many entrepreneurs are the happiest people I know. On the other hand, I know many unhappy individuals who are always partying, have minimal commitments, and little responsibility. I suspect the real parameters of happiness have eluded these people.
Genuine VC
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
There are a couple classic archetypes of internet/software founders, including the genius college student cooking up something quirky but ultimately disruptive in his dorm room who launches his company straight out of undergrad. But the other archetype is a thirty-something entrepreneur who, taking his experience seeing the playbook of success at larger growing startups or even “established” companies, utilizes that domain and functional expertise as unique insight into founding a company.
deal architect
NOVEMBER 6, 2012
Dave Duffield is not slick - he kept forgetting his notes and guest mike at the podium. But during his talk at Workday Rising he was also generous and brought up several executive guests to the stage, thanked his growing.
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
I recently wrote about the 12 tips to building successful startup communities. After a recent discussion I had with Steve Blank it made me remember that I had left off one of the most critical factors – a culture of failure. I remember this lesson well. I lived in London from 1997-2005 and for 6 of those years ran my startup based out of London.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
Getting things done effectively in a startup requires total individual and team accountability. You can’t afford excuses and multiple people doing the same job. In my view, “taking responsibility” is the core element behind accountability. Many people hear responsibility as an obligation, but I hear it as “the ability to respond.” Unfortunately many people don’t have the ability to respond, because they lack confidence in themselves, or simply don’t have the skills required.
YoungUpstarts
NOVEMBER 7, 2012
by Michael Houlihan, coauthor of “ The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built a Bestseller “ “Obama’s tax policies will cripple small businesses!” “Romney cares only about bankers, huge multinational corporations, and the super wealthy!”. With election coverage ramped up to a fevered pitch and blasting the airwaves 24/7, many small business owners are rightfully feeling confused and anxious over which candidate will save the day and which will rain death and destructi
deal architect
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
On the New Florence blog The miniaturization of pacemakers and other implants How Cushing, OK affects all our gas prices A Bird’s Wing View The Mobile Payments Land Grab Always make new mistakes Cognizant Community 2012 Fail Faster at Facebook.
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 9, 2012
Later today I’m presenting at the annual Rincon Ventures Summit in Santa Barbara. Startup Exits: A Primer from msuster. I thought you might like to see an advance copy of what I’m going to cover. I speak privately a lot about getting an exit at a startup. I haven’t spoken publicly about it much but since Rincon asked – I agreed.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest as a co-founder. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.
YoungUpstarts
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
By Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation. Are you ready to shop small? On Saturday November 24 th , Small Business Saturday (SBS) will be making its yearly (since 2010) return in an effort to help drive shoppers to local storefronts and merchants across the United States. Backed by American Express and FedEx this year, promoting the event has never been easier with the free marketing materials available to download on the official SBS website , along with the chance to qualify for free online ad
deal architect
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
on the innovation blog China’s architectural boom Not your parents’ cruise The human face of Big Data Paperless ProcessWorld Software AG innovation awards Pinterest Power You’ve got a Twitter, Pinterest and Gmail mashup The Robo-restaurant.
Rembrandt Communications
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
Have you heard? The Panda is coming! The Panda is here! The SEO world is buzzing with the latest news from Google that they are doing yet another Panda update. Google recently stated that about three billion searches go on every day at Google so this latest update to their algorithm could potentially affect over [.].
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 9, 2012
A " perfect storm " is an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances aggravate an environment drastically. In the entrepreneur world, I feel we are in such a situation now for new startups, with the confluence of business recession/recovery, the explosion of new digital technologies, and financial turmoil around the world.
YoungUpstarts
NOVEMBER 7, 2012
by J.B. Brocato, CEO of Intense Coaching and Consulting Worldwide and author of “ A Service Provider’s Guide to Starting a Unique Business Networking Group “ These keys, while applicable to everyone in creating a life of long-term happiness, are particularly relevant to the sales professional. They provide fertile ground on which to not only increase one’s happiness, but to maximize the efficacy of one’s sales efforts. 1.
deal architect
NOVEMBER 6, 2012
One good thing about this long and expensive election cycle is many folks are back to the adage of “Don’t talk politics in polite company” The pilot of this flight politely announced he would not be broadcasting any results and.
The Next Web
NOVEMBER 7, 2012
What have you built lately? 14-year-olds Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and 15-year-old Bello Eniola have created a urine powered generator. All over Africa, young men and women have missioned across the country and arrived in Lagos, Nigeria. All they want to do is show off what they have made. Maker Faire Africa is more than your typical startup event: it actually shows off innovations, inventions, and initiatives that solve immediate challenges and problems, and then wo
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
You don’t have to be likeable to everyone to be a great entrepreneur, just to the people who count. Of course, we can all point to apparent exceptions, like Ted Turner or Larry Ellison, who are sometimes seen as lions, downright predators, or even jerks. Yet I’m told that even these guys are considered quite likable by an intimate group of business and personal associates.
YoungUpstarts
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
We’ve all heard how there can be certain pitfalls when it comes to running a family business, and how both the family unit and the business can both be put at risk when disputes arise. Budge and Linda Collinson of Infusion Sciences should know: the mother and son both work in the same company. As they say, “Just because you love your family member, doesn’t mean you can work with them” And it certainly doesn’t help that in CEO Budge Collinson’s case, mom works for hi
Mike Michalowicz
NOVEMBER 9, 2012
Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Pumpkin Plan , lectured in October 2012 in Philadelphia on how to build a wildly successful business. Using strategies Michalowicz learned from colossal pumpkin farmers, entrepreneurs can grow a colossal business. It all starts with selecting the right seed.
VC Cafe
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
It would not surprise me if you had recently stumbled across the term "collaborative consumption" while roaming the World Wide Web. The Peer-to-peer movement seems to be making waves of technological. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]. It would not surprise me if you had recently stumbled across the term "collaborative consumption" while roaming the World Wide Web.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 6, 2012
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
NOVEMBER 6, 2012
by Kevin Kaiser of Startup Biz Blog. There’s no reason to wait for graduation before diving into the world of entrepreneurship. College students who have a great idea and who believe that they can juggle their entrepreneurship with college should consider taking the dive. Plus, there are many ways that young college students can take advantage of skills that they have.
Gust
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates image via Facebook.com. Every entrepreneur should spend plenty of time thinking about competitors, and how they relate to your business, but you need to be very careful what you say out loud about them to your team, your investors, and your customers. What you say speaks volumes about how you think about your startup, how smart you are, and your personal integrity.
Version One Ventures
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
Barriers to entry! (Photo credit: phill.d) Creating effective barriers to entry can be the single most important driver defining the profit potential of a company. In today’s B2B and B2C web markets, barrier to entry boils down to one thing: demand-side benefits of scale. To be successful, every web start-up needs to be thinking about how it can build demand-side economies of scale.
Feld Thoughts
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
Ever since I did the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run I’ve been fascinated with ultramarathons. After struggling through the emotional fallout of the six weeks after the race , I decided that for now I’m sticking to marathons given my work schedule and general life tempo, but I’m still completely intrigued by them and the people who do them.
YoungUpstarts
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
We often hear how staff are often overworked in the office, but did you know that employee laziness at the workplace actually cost employers a lot of money? For example, the average worker admits to wasting up to 3 hours per eight-hour workday (and this does not include scheduled lunch and break times) on social media, socializing or just plain spacing out.
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