January, 2018

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10 Outsourcing Myths Jeopardize Too Many New Ventures

Startup Professionals Musings

These days, it is almost impossible to find a small business where everything is done at the home location, by full-time employees. We are in the age of outsourcing, by any of many popular names, including subcontracting, freelancing, and virtual assistants. These approaches allow your startup to grow more rapidly, save costs, but costly mistakes can lead to business failure.

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The Digital Transformation Is Affordable For SMBs: Where To Start In Your Digital Strategy

YoungUpstarts

by Humberto Farias, CEO and co-founder at Concepta. The digital revolution is disrupting the traditional business model for small and medium businesses (SMBs). Buzzwords like data science, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics are being used by big companies with the ability to invest. This investment in a refined digital strategy is setting large companies up to satisfy needs only an SMB used to be able to.

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How to Set Clear and Actionable Goals for Your Business

Up and Running

When you look back over this year, how happy are you with your business’s performance? Are you patting yourself on the back, having nailed every goal? Smiling as you look over your long list of milestones achieved? Resting on your laurels? If the answer is no, then you’re like many business owners who struggled to hit their business targets. You know exactly what you want—a bigger business, larger per-customer sales, more leads, higher profits—but you struggle to meet your goals.

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20 Entrepreneurs Share Their Business Goals for 2018

Hearpreneur

It’s a new year and right after the ball drops, it’s time to go to work. Often entrepreneurs and business owners create their New Year’s Resolutions around their business. It could be more revenue, hiring clients or launching a new product or service, but every new year is an exciting time because it’s ripe with opportunity. We asked entrepreneurs to share their business goals and what they were looking forward to in 2018. #1- Efficiency.

Detroit 92
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Building Healthy Innovation Ecosystems for Your Projects

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

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Enterprise Software Platforms have underperformed

deal architect

My first exposure to a software “platform” was back in 1983 when McCormack and Dodge introduced Millennium and started to migrate all its modules to have the same look and feel, extensibility, queries and other features. I was part of.

Software 512
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Transcript of How to Apply the Principles of Aikido to Entrepreneurship

Duct Tape Marketing

Transcript of How to Apply the Principles of Aikido to Entrepreneurship written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Back to Podcast. Transcript. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch and my guest today is Michael Veltri. He is a keynote speaker, serial entrepreneurial, leadership expert, and author of the book “ The Mushin Way to Peak Performance: The Path to Productivity, Balance, and Success.” I might also add be

More Trending

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Internet of Things: The Skills Connected Companies Look For In Young Professionals

YoungUpstarts

by Nicolas Windpassinger , author of “ Internet of Things: Digitize or Die “ Everyone speaks about the Internet of Things, by now most people know what it is and some start-ups and young professionals are knees deep in IoT. If it’s relatively new for you, I’m sure that you know and probably have or use one or more consumer IoT applications, maybe even without realizing it.

Internet 150
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How to Start a Small Web Design Firm

Up and Running

For web designers, transitioning from working full-time for someone else to freelancing has some perks, like being your own boss and having a more flexible work schedule. But you’ll also be in charge of every aspect of running your business and making hard decisions which can impact the success and growth of your company. Once you’ve decided that you’re ready to start a small web design firm, you’ll need to develop a host of skills to help you run a successful business, including time management

Web 86
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Innovators podcast @ Stanford

Steve Blank

A fun interview at Stanford about some old things and new ones. [link]. Founders. 2:15: Founders and dysfunctional families. 3:55: Operating in chaos. 7:18: Mentorship is a two-way street. 11:50: Founders are artists. 14:03: Failure=experience. 17:27: Rules for raising a family if you’re a founder. Startups. 19:25: Startups are not smaller versions of large companies. 22:03: How I-Corps and H4X were born. 26:25: Your idea is not a company. 31:19: Why the old way of building startups no lon

Lean 173
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A weekend with inspirational ladies

deal architect

Two books and a movie were the highlight of this long MLK weekend. The common theme – ladies in business whose grit and determination can inspire anyone of any gender, age, race, political belief. First, a couple of personal perspectives.

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We Don’t Talk Enough About Money In Silicon Valley. No, Really.

Hunter Walker

“Look, I’m incredibly thankful for this industry. It made me a millionaire.” The person seated across the table from me went through a series of facial microexpressions as I said this — surprise, disgust, analysis and finally, calm. We don’t really talk about money in Silicon Valley. At least not in public in a personal way with near strangers.

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6 Hurdles For Going Public Through A Reverse Merger

Startup Professionals Musings

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. There just aren’t enough angel investors and VCs to go around. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger.

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6 Tips For Starting A Business On A Budget

YoungUpstarts

by Lewis Robinson. Starting a business on a budget is a formidable challenge, but it certainly is possible. It’s much easier when you don’t require lots of space or expensive equipment. Even so, there are some strategies you can employ to avoid breaking the bank. Here are some tips for bootstrapping your business. 1. Work in a Spare Room. One of the best ways to save money is to run your business out of your home, at least during the startup phase.

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How to Map Out an Ecommerce Business Plan in 1 Hour

Up and Running

Every successful ecommerce business needs to begin with a plan. After all, if you have no direction, how can you be sure when you’ve reached your destination? Plus, research shows that people who plan are more likely to be successful. The first step, therefore, is to fill in the details and create a structured approach for launching your online business.

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Top Two Reasons for Churn

For Entrepreneurs

In working with a number of SaaS portfolio companies, I have found that there are two causes of churn that occur more frequently than any others. They are: Failure to successfully onboard the customer Loss of the champion who drove the purchase Looking at these in order: Failure to successfully onboard It’s easy to understand.

Portfolio 161
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Salesforce Analyst Summit: A solid B

deal architect

I prefer going to vendor analyst summits over user conferences. I always feel like I am intruding on customer time at conferences. Salesforce hosted an analyst summit last week. Here are my scores: Venue: A The venue was to say.

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25 education trends for 2018

This is going to be BIG.

Year after year, educators and those invested in education love to speculate about what will take off in the near future. And as far as riveting news goes, nothing quite peaks the interest like new trends that have the potential to fundamentally change learning. In almost all of the commentary from both educators and industry, the mention of AR and VR for 2018’s big trends were ubiquitous.

Media 160
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5 Key Decision Points Highlight Great Venture Leaders

Startup Professionals Musings

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that the strength of their initial idea somehow defines them as a leader, as well as the success potential of their derivative business. In my experience, it’s a lot more complicated than that. It takes leadership ability, as well as a good idea, to make a successful entrepreneur, and great leaders evolve from key leadership decisions along the way.

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Key Tips For Bridging the Generational Divide In The Workplace

YoungUpstarts

by Kelly Riggs and Robby Riggs, co-authors of “ Counter Mentor Leadership: How to Unlock the Potential of the 4-Generation Workplace “ Millennials now make up the largest percentage of the workforce. As workers, they’re characterized as brazen, fearless and unwilling to take “no” for an answer. Their assuredness and technological expertise have radically changed office dynamics.

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How to Write a Cleaning Service Marketing Plan

Up and Running

Finding new clients is hard for just about any business, but the task can be especially difficult for cleaning services businesses. Why? Here’s my honest opinion—there are a lot of people out there who don’t want to admit they have their house cleaned by a professional. In my mind, allowing yourself a little free time to enjoy a professionally cleaned house isn’t anything to be ashamed of.

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6 things you should negotiate for as a freelancer (that aren’t money)

The Next Web

When business professionals do well at their jobs, they get to negotiate for a higher salary at their next review. When we freelancers do well at our jobs, we usually don’t get that kind of adjustment option. Worse yet, many freelancers get sucked into working for free. Recent research from Approve.io found that 70 percent of freelancers were propositioned to work for free in 2016.

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Why technology financial reporting needs to evolve

deal architect

I started my career at PwC as an accountant. I kept renewing my CPA certificate for a decade after I had moved to the technology consulting practice. These days, I listen to (some) quarterly earnings calls of vendors I analyze.

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What Should I Include in a Pitch Deck? [VIDEO]

This is going to be BIG.

I've rewritten a lot of pitch decks over time and a lot of them are really bad--mostly because founders have been told what should go in them without a lot of consideration as to why. Somewhere along the line, someone came up with things that are supposed to go in a pitch without ever asking investors how they take in a story. Here what I want to see in the video below.

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5 Strategies To Capture Sustainability Opportunities

Startup Professionals Musings

As I have said many times, the cost of entry for an aspiring entrepreneur has never been lower, and the total wealth of opportunities has never been larger. Today you can start a new web site business for as little as $100, produce cheap smart phone apps, or lead the effort to tap the multitude of opportunities brought by capitalizing on our concern for dwindling natural resources.

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Five Must-Have Tools For Virtual Businesses

YoungUpstarts

We live in an online world. The Internet has evolved from a useful tool to a necessary component of everyday life, whether personal or professional. That’s why so many entrepreneurs no longer have a traditional office to host their business operations. Having a virtual office reduces the limiting overhead costs associated with starting and running a business, including rent and equipment.

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How to Set Smart Business Goals for 2018

Up and Running

There’s nothing like the start of a new year to get us all goal setting like crazy. I don’t know about you, but I can count the number of New Year’s Resolutions that I’ve made and actually kept past January on the fingers of, well, one finger! So why is it that we find goals so exciting to make, but so difficult to actually achieve? Well, there are a number of reasons but mostly, it’s because the goals we set just aren’t smart.

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How not to completely fail as a digital consultant

The Next Web

It’s 10pm on a Wednesday evening and your phone starts buzzing. No, it’s not one of your friends sending a nice and cheesy “Sleep tight!” text that will make you smile. It’s the owner of the new business that you’ve taken up as a digital consultant. You know the best choice right now would be to ignore that message because it’s too late, because it’s not the way you agreed to communicate and because you have other, better things to do.

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SAP: When you come to a fork in the road, Take it!

deal architect

“Who pays when the SAP data center goes on strike and the solution is down?” Data Center going on strike? That portion of a quote from Hermann-Josef Haag, spokesperson for the DSAG HR management working group made me stop in.

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It Can All Go To Zero

Feld Thoughts

Perspective can be a useful thing. Cryptocurrencies have had a bad 24 hours. Last night Amy and I watched The Big Short for the second time. If you’ve never seen it, it’s a must watch movie. If you haven’t seen it in at least a year, watch it again. While the events are from 2005 – 2008, they feel like they happened yesterday.

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5 New Venture Deliverables Put You Ahead Of The Crowd

Startup Professionals Musings

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. People cite sources like this recent Inc.com article “ 5 Reasons Why You Don't Need a Business Plan ,” or my own blog discussion on this subject, “ Situations Where A Business Plan Does Not Add Value.

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Why You Should Encourage Customer Reviews (And How To Do It)

YoungUpstarts

by Megan Headley, Research Director at TrustRadius. There’s no two ways about it: the Internet has changed how we do business. Now consumers can order a product online and have it sent to their home the same day, access streaming media in a split second and even hire someone to do their shopping for them if they don’t feel like it! Now that’s diversity of service!

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Starting Your Own Business in 2018? 3 Questions to Ask First

Up and Running

Are you considering starting your own business this year? If so, you’re not alone. According to a report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) , nearly 14 percent of Americans are starting or running new businesses. What’s more, 51 percent of the working population believes there exist good opportunities for starting businesses, according to the aforementioned report.

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6 signs you’re ready to take your startup to the US

The Next Web

If you’re running a startup outside of the United States, introducing your product or service to the US market can be a key opportunity to dramatically increase your customer base, get in front of investors, and even boost your credibility. However, launching in the US requires a significant amount of research and a careful execution plan. Despite the overabundance of information available, many startups outside of the US still find the idea of launching in the US incredibly daunting.

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Rethinking the two technology Moores

deal architect

Throughout our technology careers, most of us have cited Moore’s Law about how fast technology evolves, or Geoffrey Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” to speed up launches of products. To say each has been seminal to strategizing and marketing in technology.

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The Role of SEO in Growth

ConversionXL

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the biggest levers that a business can use within their acquisition strategy as part of their Growth goals. You’re likely familiar with the different Growth frameworks like AARRR (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue). It all start with Acquisition. Getting users familiar with your product by visiting them on your site or in app.

SEO 134
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5 Solution Differentiation Moves That Customers Love

Startup Professionals Musings

Every entrepreneur believes that their product or service is memorable, and that every customer will quickly see the advantage over competitors. Yet true product differentiation in the eye of the customer is rarely achieved. According to an old survey by Bain & Company , 80% of businesses believe they have differentiated offerings, but only 8% of customers agree.