Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 7, 2013
'Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. get the attention of the market they choose.
Steve Blank
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'As our Lean LaunchPad for Life Sciences class winds down, a good number of the 26 teams are trying to figure out whether they should go forward to turn their class project into a business. Given that we’ve been emphasizing Evidence-based entrepreneurship and the Investment Readiness Level , I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when someone asked, “After we figure all this data out, should we pursue our idea based on the numbers?”.
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YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'by Bill McBean, author of “ The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don’t “ There has been a lot of news coverage lately about bullying between teammates on the Miami Dolphins. And by all accounts, it’s an ugly situation — the team in disarray, sponsors canceling contracts, season ticket holders canceling tickets, the Dolphin brand becoming a punch line for comedians’ jokes, and an overall loss of value for the franchise.
Feld Thoughts
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'On Saturday, I read the final draft of a magnificent book by David Rose. The book is titled Enchanted Objects: Design, Human Desire and the Internet of Things. I’ve known David for many years. I was a huge fan and an early customer, but not an investor, in one of his companies ( Ambient Devices ) and we share a lot of friends and colleagues from MIT and the Media Lab.
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
DECEMBER 13, 2013
'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!
The Next Web
DECEMBER 12, 2013
'Navin Chaddha and Tim Chang are Managing Directors at Mayfield. In the era of mobile, social, and the sharing economy, we’re seeing the emergence of next-gen mobile-enabled marketplaces in every ecommerce category, from fashion ( Poshmark ), to health ( Brighter and HealthTap ), lodging ( Airbnb and HotelTonight ), transportation ( Uber and Lyft ), and real estate ( Zillow ).
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Mike Michalowicz
DECEMBER 8, 2013
'I know more about phone systems than I really care to. Having owned three companies of all different sizes over the past 17 years, I have unintentionally become skilled in integrating, configuring, upgrading and replacing phone systems. Good news for me, I have finally found the one system that (I expect) will never need to be replaced. This is a big deal, since it will allow me to use my (limited) brain power on building my business and not on phone maintenance and upgrades.
Rob Go
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'Ed Zimmerman wrote a nice article in the WSJ about the value of VC Associates. It’s a great read, and as a former VC associate, I agree with many of his points. But VC associates continue to get a bad reputation, and I totally understand why. It’s not that VC associates are bad or ineffective. But some are. And almost all are prone to some bad behavior at least sometimes.
Duct Tape Marketing
DECEMBER 10, 2013
'7 Stages of a Successful Consulting System written by John Jantsch read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing I like systems. I think in systems and, even when I don’t realize I’m doing it, I work in systems. There’s something both comforting and efficient about working with familiar patterns. photo credit: brendonhatcher via photopin cc.
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'by Tom Panaggio, author of “ The Risk Advantage: Embracing the Entrepreneur’s Unexpected Edge “ Here’s one of business’s dirty little secrets: Many business owners prefer to keep their customers at arm’s length. They’re very careful to keep every interaction strictly professional, never getting overly personal or friendly. After all, if you get too chummy with customers — or even appear too interested in or sympathetic to their personal circumstances — they might start to want more
Both Sides of the Table
DECEMBER 10, 2013
'Recently I wrote the first post in a series on board meetings, entitled, “ Why You’re Not Getting the Most out of Your Board ,” which focused on the need to prepare properly, set good objectives and discuss mostly strategic topics. Even if you follow this game plan meticulously your board meeting can be taken off course by well-intentioned board members who lead you down a rate hole.
ithacaVC
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'We (Cayuga Venture Fund) just signed up a term sheet with a new company (Company X). No need to disclose the company name or industry for purposes of this post. Rather I want to briefly comment on the process leading up to the term sheet and next steps. First, the process: 1. We first engaged with Company X in mid August. It is now mid December.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 8, 2013
'These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. You have to build a web presence with marketing content to get visibility above the 51 million other new websites created last year, and attract the customers you need. But most entrepreneurs don’t know where to start.
Business Plan Blog
DECEMBER 12, 2013
'Angel Investors vs. Angel Groups. What is an angel investor? It is a high net-worth individual who invests his or her own money directly into promising startup businesses in return for mostly equity share of the company. Angels are often former or current entrepreneurs themselves, as well as business professionals and corporate leaders. There are a few reasons why angels make investments, and those are to gain a return on their money, to participate in the entrepreneurial process, and to give b
deal architect
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'Rob Desisto, my former Gartner colleague, observes This means there is no ability for a SaaS customer to pay for what they use, something we commonly see with infrastructure as a service or in many lower end consumer or SOHO.
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 8, 2013
'by Hunter Hoffmann, Head of US Communications at Hiscox Insurance. Many young entrepreneurs started their business after having trouble finding a job, and that’s a good thing. Youth unemployment is at an all time high, and has stubbornly remained there for several years. It’s just really hard these days for people under 30 years old to get a job.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 10, 2013
'Every entrepreneur can learn from a mentor, no matter how confident or successful they have been to date. Even one of the richest, Bill Gates , still values his friend Warren Buffett as his mentor. Yet these relationships require special efforts on both sides to be productive and satisfying. Mentoring is not as simple as one person giving the other all the right answers.
Business Plan Blog
DECEMBER 12, 2013
'Angel Investors vs. Angel Groups. What is an angel investor? It is a high net-worth individual who invests his or her own money directly into promising startup businesses in return for mostly equity share of the company. Angels are often former or current entrepreneurs themselves, as well as business professionals and corporate leaders. There are a few reasons why angels make investments, and those are to gain a return on their money, to participate in the entrepreneurial process, and to give b
deal architect
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'Congratulations to Mary Barra, the new CEO at GM. While everyone talks about the first female leader in a male dominated industry, the other milestone is she reflects the ascendancy of engineers and technicians in auto world. The car, more.
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 10, 2013
'Reading e-books on mobile devices have become the norm, but while e-book reading applications are a dime to a dozen, those that offer free access to tons of free literature, not so much. Since opening its first US office in San Francisco, Widbook ( www.widbook.com ) – a global crowdwriting community of readers and writers with presence in over 100 countries – launched a version of its reading app for iOS and Android devices.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'Is it possible to be successful in business and not fulfilled? The answer is a resounding yes today, and I’m convinced that it will be even more true tomorrow, as young idealistic entrepreneurs try to adapt to the long-standing business culture if success is only measured in the money you make for yourself and your business. That isn’t very fulfilling to the growing number of entrepreneurs whose vision and satisfaction comes from making the world a better place, and enjoying a leisurely lifesty
Small Business Force
DECEMBER 12, 2013
Every entrepreneur wishes they were as prescient or creative as Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, or Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders, respectively of Apple, Amazon and Google. That they could accurately predict or (in Jobs' case) dictate customer needs. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs are just ordinary schmos. But while they might not be able to predict needs or requirements, they do have a way to, at least, get a feeling for or anticipate customer needs.
deal architect
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'Analytics has replaced Quality as Job 1 and no wonder CEO Alan Mullaly has been rumored as a Microsoft CEO candidate As Ford rolls out the 6th generation of its iconic Ford Mustang, Computerworld reports "Historically, you didn''t want to.
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 10, 2013
'Bringing together the entire staff for a conference can be difficult in the modern virtual office. This is made a little easier with the help of an online video conference. The software and the hardware needed to accomplish this kind of a task is already available for businesses and more companies are starting to see the value in using it for managing their teams, according to Money Magazine.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 13, 2013
'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.
Gust
DECEMBER 8, 2013
'Image via LeadChangeGroup.com. If you really want to impress a startup founder as a potential employee, or you want to be a smart investor, you need to know the right questions to ask. These are the questions that get past the hype of a founder “vision to change the world,” and into the realm of real business strengths, weaknesses, and current health.
deal architect
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'If you have ever been to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, you alternate in awe at the antiquities on display, in wonder at what else is hidden away in the storerooms and in dismay at the areas where number of.
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 12, 2013
'by Stacey Thompson. Big and successful companies, more often than not, start as very small and scruffy startups running off a little money and a lot of dreams. Also, at the head of these ambitious ventures is the founder, taking on the tasks of the CEO, president, and even a few other executive positions rolled together in one hyper-stressful package.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 12, 2013
'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.
The Next Web
DECEMBER 7, 2013
'This post was originally published on the Buffer blog. Since social media is changing so often, it can be hard to keep up with stats and trends that affect how you use it. I quite often forget the facts that I’ve read, or I use Twitter based on stats that are outdated now. In fact, when I recently looked at some of the latest social media statistics , it hit me that the fastest growing demographic on Twitter is is the 55–64 year age bracket.
Version One Ventures
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'I often see two entrepreneurs executing on similar opportunities, but with two very different capital efficiencies. First, there’s the aggressive one who spends money very quickly, building a large team, buying early growth through aggressive marketing and sales, and hoping for a large upround in the next financing round. Then, there’s the bootstrapping entrepreneur who hires carefully (sometimes too little, too late), trying to get as much runway with the current money as possible and build a
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'by Chris Garrett. Brand identity isn’t just about having a pithy slogan and an attractive logo. It’s also about your company’s identity. A solid brand can become recognizable to consumers and represent what kind of company you want to become, laying out plans for how you plan to run your business. The most effective brands are those that have made explicit statements of ethical guidelines they follow.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 9, 2013
'I hear many executives and professionals in large corporations talking about their dream of jumping ship, and starting their own company. What they don’t realize is that the longer they wait, the more big-company habits they are acquiring, which will make their eventual decision harder and entrepreneurial efforts less and less likely to succeed. Certainly, the longer they wait, the greater the variety of excuses they will find for why now is not the time.
Gust
DECEMBER 11, 2013
'The Pacific Northwest has some of the best and most active angel groups in the country (and I say that coming from New York!) Check out: Alliance of Angels - Seattle, WA ( [link] els.com/ ). Bellingham Angel Group - Bellingham, WA ( [link] els.com/ ). Boise Angel Alliance – Boise, ID ( [link] iance.com/ ). Eastern Idaho Angel Group – Rexburg, ID ( [link] org/idah… ).
The Next Web
DECEMBER 7, 2013
'Jordy Leiser is co-founder and CEO of StellaService , a company that independently monitors and rates the customer service performance of online retailers. . The entrepreneurial community is littered with boastful stories of the lengths that people will go to in order to be successful and the sacrifices they’ve made to get there. Legendary all nighters, making that first deal work by the skin of your teeth — all part of the romanticized side of starting your own business.
YoungUpstarts
DECEMBER 10, 2013
'by Andre Boyson, Executive Vice President of Marketing at SecureKey. Decision-makers are becoming increasingly familiar with the benefits of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend. Not needing to purchase the latest hardware or supply phones across an organization can significantly reduce costs as well as create a workforce that uses cutting-edge equipment rather than outdated devices.
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