article thumbnail

6 Tips for Coming Up With Your Million-Dollar Business Idea

Up and Running

Voices.com , an online marketplace that matches voice actors with advertising agencies and TV and radio stations, began in 2004 as an idea scribbled down on a napkin by newlyweds David and Stephanie Ciccarelli. David sold his recording equipment for $50,000 and they borrowed the rest of their seed money from a bank.

Detroit 156
article thumbnail

How to Decrease the Odds That Your Startup Fails

Both Sides of the Table

Most of this advice boils down to an argument in favor of basic planning before starting a company or raising money. In many ways the fact that it has become so cheap to start a company and relatively cheap to raise angel/seed money that we as an industry have gotten lazy on basic planning. Incumbent Strengths & Weaknesses.

Startup 150
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not?

Both Sides of the Table

They both raised angel / seed money of $1.5 The advertiser who bought the ads might pay the ad network in 60 days. So for this money I might show that I’m profitable on my income statement but I might actually have paid out $500,000 that I didn’t receive yet (negative cashflow). ” Quick examples: 1.

Startup 418
article thumbnail

Top Startup Advisor Paul Graham Just Warned Against Taking Google's Money

www.businessinsider.com

Advertising. These Spooky Cinemagraphs Will Radically Change Online Advertising. Google Ventures has made more than 100 seed investments, Maris said, including some past and present Y Combinator companies, and is making one to two new ones a week. Your Money Select. Advertising Select. Money Game Chart Of The Day.

article thumbnail

10 Reasons Why Capital Shouldn't Make Or Break Your Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

But when your only capital is your hard-earned seed money, every penny that goes out will be scrutinized painfully. Print advertising is expensive, but social media is free. John is a veteran of over two decades in the advertising industry. Your mortgage and grocery bill depend on it. You can keep overhead low.

article thumbnail

This Week in VC with @VCMike Hirshland of Polaris Ventures

Both Sides of the Table

This includes seed funding Automattic (who produce WordPress, the blog I use for this website) and investing in formspring.me, stickybits, Thing Labs (producer of Brizzly), KissMetrics and many others including Quantcast. So how is Mike able to do this at a time where others have warned against taking seed money from VC funds?

article thumbnail

Mile-High disruption: Why Denver should be on your tech radar next year

The Next Web

Stuart Wall, CEO of Signpost , a local advertising platform funded by Spark Capital and Google Ventures. In January, Denver will become one of the few American cities that allows its residents to purchase and recreationally consume marijuana, a move that is expected to create jobs and generate tax revenue. Denver Mayor Michael B.

Denver 166