Now that you've raised money, how do you build a solid team? You're a first-time entrepreneur. You have an idea that will change the world and you have been fortunate to find an investor to fund it. Now you're faced with your biggest challenge yet. How are you going to recruit people to join you on this mission? Make a plan. Hiring is the same way. MORE >>

Felling a bit ‘listy’ lately, so here is one of 10 books that really helped shape my life and startup philosophy in the past few years. Of course this list is non-exhaustive and in no particular order. The alchemist. Purple cow. The intelligent investor. random walk down Wall st. 22 laws of marketing. whole new mind. The long tail. MORE >>

The U.S. Retail Highlights report is in and lists several trends that your business can use to stay on top. retailers saw a glimmer of hope when the Commerce Department reported a 0.4 percent rise in sales in January. Given the fact that volatile variables that are key to the economic recovery have yet been solved (e.g., The U.S. percent. MORE >>

My first startup was a B2B Enterprise software vendor. In those days enterprise software companies went to market by building a really expensive direct sales force with sales reps and sales engineers out in the field in key cities. We had little visibility into which deals would close when. You had to be where your customers were. MORE >>

If you're employees aren't having fun, they're probably not performing at their highest level. So ease up already and try one of these tactics. How often when you leave your home for the office do you think, "I'm going to have fun today"? Sad, isn’t it? It doesn’t have to be that way. And why not? Use color to brighten your office space. MORE >>