Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. And of course on Twitter I’ve seen the Tweets, ReTweets and superlatives on what a great post it is. Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” And when you read the article carefully it allows for a period of discovery in your business.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

When my friend’s small business was struggling a while back, I suggested he add some social media marketing initiatives, and his answer was that he was “too busy.” His business has since closed, but his mindset is still out there. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article , only 60% of companies today use social media for marketing, and only 12% of those feel that they are using it effectively.

Social Media 289

Social Media Small Business Media Technical Review 289

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

by Enrico Moretti, author of “ The New Geography of Jobs ” Over the past three months, Facebook, Zynga and Groupon have lost between 33% and 52% of their market value. They are not alone. Other social networking, online marketing, clean-tech and bio-tech companies have fallen out of favor with some investors, fueling speculation regarding the future of the US technology sector.

Technical Review 155

Technical Review United States Software Review China 155

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

In July I wrote a post where I was Searching For A Collaborative Writing Tool. I got a bunch of suggestions – some people suggested their startups, some suggested Google Docs, and one person (a friend who works for Microsoft) suggested Microsoft SkyDrive . Amy and I were deep in working on Startup Life: Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur.

Software Review 175

Software Review Technical Review Cloud Search 175

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

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Today I’d like to talk about what startup communities outside of Silicon Valley look like, how they emerge and what makes them take hold.

Community 378

Community San Diego Silicon Valley Los Angeles 378

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Presenting your startup vision as a founder to a potential investor, or presenting an idea as an employee to an executive, requires that you effectively communicate, or “translate”, the value proposition into terms that the receiver can fully understand and appreciate. If you fail, it’s your loss, not theirs, no matter what the reason. For example, if your investor has been a senior business leader, like Steve Forbes here, you need to transform your message so that it addresses the issues that s

Technology 206

Technology Agile Architecture Distribution 206

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 28, 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!

Social Media 95

Social Media Small Business Design Media 95

paulgraham.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

September 2012 A startup is a company designed to grow fast. Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup. Nor is it necessary for a startup to work on technology, or take venture funding, or have some sort of "exit." The only essential thing is growth. Everything else we associate with startups follows from growth. If you want to start one its important to understand that.

Startup 111

Startup Technical Review Software Review Acquisition 111

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

I’m a very logical guy, so I still fondly remember when new solutions and technologies started trends on the basis of their logical strengths. In today’s world, it seems that emotion, not logic, sparks the new trends that become culture, and drives our devotion or disappointment in new products and brands. How does an entrepreneur best deal with that environment?

Social Media 201

Social Media Affiliate Viral Technical Review 201

Mike Michalowicz

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) and AARP announced they are teaming up to train entrepreneurs over the age of 50 who want to start a business. This got me thinking about the youth vs. old guy experience debate and how, after twenty years in entrepreneurship, my view on business, money and worth has changed. Old entrepreneurs are in fact the winners.

Entrepreneur 123

Entrepreneur SBA Architecture Washington 123

Lightspeed Venture Partners

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

Like many parents, I rely on a set of tricks skills to get my 3 year old daughter to do the things I know are good for her like eating well, brushing her teeth, etc. – things like turning these activities into a game. That idea is the basis of the interactive educational apps market; take things that are educational and make them fun for kids to do so they want to go back and play over and over again while learning valuable skills in the process.

Technical Review 99

Technical Review Design Developer Technology 99

online.wsj.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

WSJ. WSJ. Facebook. Twitter. WSJ Live. WSJ Live. MarketWatch. MarketWatch. Barrons. Barrons. AllThingsDigital. AllThingsDigital. Factiva. Factiva. Risk. Risk. More. BigCharts. Financial News. Professor Journal. SmartMoney. Student Journal. Virtual Stock Exchange. WSJ Classifieds. WSJ Classroom. WSJ Radio. WSJ Wine. SEARCH. headline. gold man. Companies.

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Software Review Rhode Island North Dakota 107

Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

I’ve been involved* these past two years with a creativity conference in Oklahoma, now called the State of Creativity Forum. This conference has energy to spare, it feels like an accelerating fire of innovative energy. Last year’s event (for a summary look at this post ) exploded with dynamic speakers, cultural, and artist happenings. Even the governor, Mary Fallin, was there to support the notion that creativity and innovation is how Oklahoma moves forward.

Oklahoma 91

Oklahoma Oklahoma City Angel Investor Technical Review 91

Duct Tape Marketing

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Talk about mobile and tablet usage dominates computer hardware conversations and the implications are one of the hottest topics in marketing right now as well. photo credit: waferbaby via photopin cc. Website visitors are now consuming content from our sites in a dizzying array of devices, formats and orientations. There was a time when browser compatibility was a designer’s primary concern.

Mobile 76

Mobile Widget Design Media 76

deal architect

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Dreamforce was extremely enjoyable as I have written earlier – and a key reason was a chance to renew acquaintances with many previous Salesforce contacts and meet several new ones who continue the smart, charitable HR culture that defines the.

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322

dallasbass.com

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

Dallas Bass. @thisisdallas. Github. say hello. rss feed. Projects. wp-svbtle. September 26, 2012. 5 Reasons Why Responsive Design is Absolutely Worth It. Yesterday, I came across a blog post which caught me off guard. The title of the post is “ 5 Reasons Why Responsive Design Is Not Worth It ” and surprisingly, it wasn’t satire. It was a completely genuine article explaining why websites shouldn’t incorporate responsive design.

Design 48

Design Bandwidth Mobile Boston 48

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Here’s some of my super-secret winning strategies from fifteen years of building startups. Stay in stealth mode until the last minute. The last thing any startup needs is people finding out about it. You can get attention later — that’s not difficult. You don’t need the distraction of customers clamoring outside your office while you’re still refactoring your NoSQL database structures.

Stealth 309

Stealth Database Software Founder 309

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

An entrepreneur is literally “one who creates a new business.” The best new businesses are ones that have never been done before, so mastering creativity and recognizing creativity are key skills and mind-sets. But how does one recognize and nurture creativity in a person or team? Recently, I was reviewing a new book by Bryan Mattimore, “ Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs ,” which outlines well eight attributes of the most creative people, which seem to match the mind

Intellectual Property 262

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Social Media Reputation 262

deal architect

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

From a case study I wrote on BP’s CTO innovation Group in The New Polymath As the group ’ s stature has grown within BP, many business unit leaders insist on its involvement in many innovation areas. Darukhanavala cites a.

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287

www.pakman.com

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Disruption: David Pakman's Blog. Chronicling the undoing of traditional media. Home. About Me. Archives. Contact Me. Subscribe. You are here: Home > Not All Traffic Is Created Equal. 26 September 2012. 20 Comments. Not All Traffic Is Created Equal. To build the online media giants of tomorrow, companies need models where the costs of both content and distribution are near zero.

Social Media 47

Social Media Vertical Advertising Distribution 47

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

I’m always amazed at how much short term decisions are driven by lagging indicators. For instance, when Yammer was acquired by Microsoft, the tech market saw this as a major validation of “enterprise 2.0″ In the months leading up to the acquisition (and the months prior) I’ve seen a surge in companies and fundings in and around that theme.

Technical Review 52

Technical Review Acquisition IPO Early Stage 52

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Creating a startup, or managing any business, is all about problem solving. Some people are good at it and some are not – independent of their IQ or their book smarts (there may even be an inverse relationship here). Yet I’m convinced that problem solving is a learnable trait, rather than just a birthright. Entrepreneurs who are great problem solvers within any business are the best prepared to solve their customers’ needs effectively as well.

Advertising 236

Advertising Sales Cost Entrepreneur 236

deal architect

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

After spectacular weeks at Dreamforce and TUCON, Oracle Open World has a high watermark to aim for. But thanks to my friends at Oracle like Susie Penner and Carol Sato, it is already shaping up well. I am looking.

Software 286

Software 286

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

by Gregory Downing, author of “ Entrepreneur Unleashed “ Kids have always worked. They’ve raked leaves, washed cars, and supervised children while Mom and Dad go out on dates. There’s only one problem: While these typical kid jobs do result in a bit of pocket cash, they do very little to teach kids the all-important principles of entrepreneurial wealth building.

Database 210

Database Advertising Audio Management 210

Rembrandt Communications

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

The kids are back at school, and you are settling into a regular work-schedule for the fall. With this in mind, it’s time to think about your SEO processes and make improvements now… before the onslaught of year-end work and the holidays hit. With this in mind, ask yourself these questions: What are your SEO [.].

SEO 187

SEO Search Engineer Sales 187

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for when I join a startup today?” In reality, the number of shares doesn’t mean anything – it’s your percent of the total that you need to negotiate. For example, 200,000 shares may sound like a lot, but if the startup has issued 20 million (a common starting point), that’s just 1% of the company.

Stock Options 230

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 230

deal architect

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Last week at Dreamforce I had a deja vu moment. It felt like SAP’s Sapphire in 1999 with Deloitte and Accenture and Wipro logos on big booths, on conference bags, on party invitations. In the Marketing Cloud session, I wondered.

Cloud 249

Cloud Marketing 249

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Have you noticed? Entrepreneurs are getting younger and younger these days. It’s not at all uncommon to see entrepreneurs in college, high school, and even younger. But why does there seem to be such a boom in young entrepreneurship? It can’t all be about following in Mark Zuckerberg’s footsteps. We’ve discovered 10 big reasons why more and more young entrepreneurs are stepping out on their own.

Entrepreneur 209

Entrepreneur Incubator Bootstrapping Venture Capital 209

Small Business Force

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

One of the chief benefits of being a small business is the agility that being small enables. Smart entrepreneurs have learned to quickly "pivot" (total change of direction) when a strategy, or even a whole business model is not working. "Fail early, fail often," can truly help entrepreneurial innovation. However, this philosophy can be both the biggest asset and the biggest liability for a young business, if it becomes a mode of operation.

Agile 36

Agile Entrepreneur Technical Review Business Model 36

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Reuters TV Interview by Rhonda Schaffler Investing in entrepreneurs and startups is a fun but different world from investing in conventional stocks, bonds, and commodities. First of all, it’s more of an investment in people than in a business, since the startup is usually an idea barely half-baked when they need your money. Secondly, the risk is very high, since as many as 90% of startups fail in the first five years.

Portfolio 228

Portfolio Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC 228

deal architect

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

David Kirkpatrick, author of “The Facebook Effect” posed the question to a panel at the Tibco Tucon conference. I repeated the question one on one to Vivek Ranadive. CEO of Tibco and he said he is seeing it in three.

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YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

by Jason Lynch. When people think about careers, managing a non-profit organization typically isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. It’s not a prestigious option; while it’s a major asset on a resume, working for a non-profit organization almost inevitably means taking a pay cut. For some people, this kind of work isn’t enough of an asset to inflate their future wages and make up for lost pay.

Management 193

Management 193

Mike Michalowicz

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

Win Every Negotiation. Even that title “Win Any Negotiation” is a bit at odds, since negotiation is about comprise. Negotiation is about both sides winning. And ultimately the most effective way to win a negotiation is for your both to win. Since, if you are the only winner, they loser in the negotiation will not be pleased. They may exact revenge by never working with you again or posting a nasty blog about you.

LLC 164

LLC Oman Salary SBA 164

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

It’s hard to describe the satisfaction of “shipping” your product. I know many of you out there have done it many times and I expect you know what I’m talking about. Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City is officially shipping. The Kindle version is available immediately ; the physical copies are still on pre-order on Amazon but I know books are flowing.

Community 159

Community Startup Washington America 159

deal architect

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

on the New Florence blog The death of cash – and credit cards A journey to the center of the Internet For the love of a bike Dallas Love Field renovation Beloit College’s “New Normal” The Planet of the Apps.

Dallas 230

Dallas Internet Technology 230

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

by Ronnie Chapman. Cell phones have come a long way in recent years. Now almost everyone has a smart phone; phones can do so much more than in the past. It is now at the point that having a cell phone is hard to avoid. With the global economy and travel, the businessman needs his phone to do a lot. That is why apps are even more important for businessmen.

Mobile 188

Mobile Security Cloud Programming 188