ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Jeff Clavier was the first tech investor I ever met; he was introduced to me years ago by some hip engineers in a bar as "one of the few cool VCs." Years later Clavier's name now comes up all the time when one of his portfolio companies finds success; his exits include Mint, Tapulous, and UserPlane, other investments include Mashery (a ReadWriteWeb sponsor), Rapleaf, Fitbit, bitly, GroupOn, Twitter and many more.

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 21, 2011

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 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

Feld Thoughts

JULY 22, 2011

Last week I expressed my frustration with the current lack of financial literacy that I see all around me. In the spirit of Fred Wilson’s awesome blog series MBA Mondays , I’ve decided to write a series of posts about this and asked for suggestions. I got a bunch, but one that stood out was from a group of incoming MBA students at the University of Chicago Booth.

Finance 135

Finance Congo Chicago Cambodia 135

VC Cafe

JULY 20, 2011

Mashable published a brilliant infographic on the connections between the large tech companies in the valley, including Google, Microsoft, Apple, Paypal, eBay and others. So whether someone was a Paypal Mafia member or a Xoogler, the conclusion is that they all end up filling their pockets and working for one of their neighbors in San Francisco, Mountain View or Palo Alto.

Technical Review 102

Technical Review San Francisco Internet Silicon Valley 102

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

ReadWriteStart

JULY 21, 2011

When we were trying to raise money for E.piphany, my last startup, I was negotiating with a venture capital firm called Infinity Capital. They really wanted to invest, but it was the beginning of the bubble, and I wanted (what was then) an absurd valuation. All we had were six slides, and I wanted a $10 million post-money valuation. But it was my eighth startup and my partner Ben was even more experienced.

Post-Money Valuation 122

Post-Money Valuation Valuation IPO Venture Capital 122

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 17, 2011

Just like our larger brethren in the Fortune 100, lots of small businesses have training programs for their workers: lectures, classes, role-playing exercises, and motivational speaker sessions. However, most small businesses and startups ignore training programs altogether, or cobble together ad hoc strategies when on-boarding new hires. These differing approaches are sometimes stylistic, sometimes strategic, often driven by economics, and sometimes prompted by the company’s own culture.

Small Business 88

Small Business Software Review Technical Review Startup 88

SVPG

JULY 17, 2011

In my last article I wrote about the importance of product passion , and I said that one of the reasons this passion is necessary is for product evangelism. Product evangelism is, as Guy Kawasaki put it years ago, “selling the dream.” It’s helping people to imagine the future, and inspiring them to help create that future. If you’re a startup founder or CEO, this is a very big part of your job, and you’ll have a hard time assembling a strong team if you don’t

Product 67

Product Cofounder Sales Developer 67

Growthink Blog

JULY 18, 2011

I attended a meeting last week with Austin Beutner, The City of Los Angeles’ first deputy mayor and economic policy chief. My company Growthink is headquartered just a stones throw from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and the meeting was organized by Laurie Hughes, head of Gateway to LA - the airport business district’s advocacy organization.

Los Angeles 69

Los Angeles Technical Review Austin Government 69

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 21, 2011

With temperature highs steadying at a cool and comfy 100 degrees this week in Chicago, it’s too hot to bother with lengthy, clever intros. So, I’ll just cut to the chase: this week we’re featuring the website Hireology.com. Hiring new employees can be tricky– both Mike and Ross have covered this topic extensively in the past. The hiring process can present specific challenges to small businesses and start-ups since oftentimes, they simply don’t have a procedure in place to help them mak

Small Business 67

Small Business Chicago Technical Review Hiring 67

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 18, 2011

5 Types of Content That Every Business Must Employ This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with John Jantsch (Click to play or right click and “Save As&# to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen) Dawn Endico via Flickr The creation and distribution of content has become such a significant aspect of effective marketing that it requires a high place in the strategy conversation in most every business.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Alaska RSS Audio 76

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

Middle Men. Middle People? They exist in all forms of work and life. They’re essential in helping us get our jobs done because they specialize in something we do not. They do a routine task over-and-over again all year long that we do only periodically. Lawyers. Recruiters. Bankers. Real Estate professionals. PR firms. You name it. And yes, VC’s, too.

Term Sheet 319

Term Sheet PR Liquidation Preference Stock Options 319

Austin Startup

JULY 19, 2011

Unwired Nation, the Mobile-Apps-As-A-Service company, today announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with voiceTech, Inc., a leading systems integrator and technology services provider in the pharmacy industry. The two companies have worked together to add integrated mobile applications (for both Smartphones and tablets) to voiceTech’s suite of pharmacy solutions.

Partner 59

Partner Mobile Technology Application Development 59

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

JULY 18, 2011

A fellow iOS developer buddy of mine told me about iOSDevCamp. It wasn’t on my radar, so I decided to register and check it out. I also convinced my other iOS developer friend to register also. The hackathon follows a similar format of a Startup Weekend, Friday night – networking, idea pitches, some teams form, Saturday – teams done forming, hack hack hack, and Sunday - hack, submit, present your hack.

San Jose 60

San Jose API Coder Ruby 60

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JULY 18, 2011

ICANN recently announced the availability of new top-level domains (TLDs). So now in addition to.com and.org you can get www.startup or blackfly.chardonny.ironic. Just imagine: Slashdot.org could become slashdot.dot, making its full pronunciation &# eych tee tee pee colon slash slash slash dot dot dot.&#. A new TLD can be yours for only $185,000, but get 5% off with promo code “damnthatsalotofmoney05.&#.

Marketing 261

Marketing America Web Government 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2011

True leaders realize that, by definition, the word "leader" places one at the front and not the rear. Yet many, many executives try to lead through fear and intimidation. This isn’t really leading at all. It’s pushing. Those of you with time in the military probably understand this concept well. In startups, leading from the front means that you are not afraid to get your hands dirty, pitching in to get the job done.

Entrepreneur 253

Entrepreneur Leadership Restful Startup 253

Steve Blank

JULY 19, 2011

While on vacation I had a phone interview with Kevin Ohannessian of Fast Company who wanted a few “funding stories.” Here are two of them. Apologies for the rambling stream of consciousness. The original interview in Fast Company can be seen here. Throw in the Photo and You Have a Deal. When we were trying to raise money for E.piphany, my last startup, I was negotiating with a venture capital firm called Infinity Capital.

Post-Money Valuation 250

Post-Money Valuation Venture Capital Valuation IPO 250

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

JULY 18, 2011

Not sure how I’ve come to know about ZURBsoapbox events, but I decided to go to my first one a few weeks ago. Why you might ask (or not). Well, 1) it’s located in Campbell which is 15 minutes away from me, 2) the speaker was Kevin Hartz, CEO of Eventbrite (Eventbrite is an online ticketing service that I buy a lot of local event tickets from), and 3) FREE LUNCH!

Cofounder 49

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Silicon Valley San Francisco 49

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2011

Shaun Neff was always surrounded by Southern California’s skate, surf and snow culture – as an active participant in those sports he’d always dreamed about being involved in the business side of the industry. So Neff started Neff Headwear in 2002, which began as a clothing company selling shirts and hats – he would buy 99-cent headbands and take a paint pen to them, and giving those to friends to help promote the brand.

Southern California 228

Southern California Utah California Distribution 228

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2011

With as many as 100 million active blogs (web logs) in English alone on the Internet, how can you find and read the ones you need to be a leader in your business domain? I’m a speed reader, but that’s a challenge for even the best of us. Yet we know keeping up with the latest trends and techniques can make all the difference in ensuring that your business stands the test of time.

Entrepreneur 242

Entrepreneur Aggregator Email Search 242

deal architect

JULY 17, 2011

On the New Florence blog Cisco’s tablet wrinkles “Social” Architecture Pyrotechnic Science Technology at the Home Depot.

Architecture 218

Architecture Technology 218

Feld Thoughts

JULY 16, 2011

I love LEGOs. So, when I saw the page yesterday of the new LEGO Minifigures (sent to me by Lucy Sanders, the CEO of National Center for Women & Information Technology ) I threw up a little in my mouth. Like me, Lucy is a LEGO enthusiast, but she was not happy to see how women (or minorities) were represented in the LEGO Minifigures sets. Sure, there is a female snowboarder, a female tennis player, and a lifeguard, but the rest of the female Minifigures are a hula dancer, pop star, cheerleade

Restful 168

Restful Engineer Technology Product 168

YoungUpstarts

JULY 18, 2011

All you need is 21 weeks to grow your small business. Or at least, that’s what author of “The SOHO Solution: 21 Selling Strategies For Growing Your Small Business “, Tom Abbott, will show you. In his book, Abbot recommends 21 strategies that you can employ – one for each week – to help you increase sales. Abbott himself is a SOHO (small office home office) entrepreneur as well as a certified sales coach, and he pens down many of the ideas that have helped him explor

Small Business 215

Small Business B2C B2B Sales 215

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2011

Every startup founder I know talks about the chaos of their business, which they usually attribute to that burst of growth that is required to get to positive cash flow. They envision a stable environment after that point, and may have convinced themselves that they will be safer and happier with a livable income, maintaining a loyal but flat customer base.

Entrepreneur 239

Entrepreneur IP Employee Cost 239

deal architect

JULY 20, 2011

on the innovation blog Backing up camera for your GPS screen Stockholm – European Green Capital Space shuttle – end of an era Deep Sea Gold Rush.

Green 186

Green Technology 186

Feld Thoughts

JULY 18, 2011

My partner Jason Mendelson and I are psyched to announce that our book – Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist – has been published and is now available. We are also relaunching AskTheVC – the companion website to the book that we maintained for several years, went dormant for a while, but is alive with content once again.

Term Sheet 162

Term Sheet Venture Capital Capitalization Table Finance 162

YoungUpstarts

JULY 20, 2011

We’re all pretty familiar with the popularity of surfing, but not many of us know that there are many different types of surfing – aside from surfboarding, there are derivatives like kite-surfing and wind-surfing, for example. There’s also a less commonly known one – bodysurfing, where the surfer rides a wave without relying on any bouyant device aside from specialized “swimfins&#.

South Africa 206

South Africa New Zealand Indonesia Africa 206

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2011

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 academic credentials (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 233

Advertising Sales Cost Entrepreneur 233

Rembrandt Communications

JULY 17, 2011

In past entries, I’ve talked about how SEO (search engine optimization) copywriting is all about providing value to your customers. Well, the number one way to do that is to give your customers what they want. And how do you do that? Ask them! Find a free and simple tool like Survey Monkey, Zoomerang or [.].

SEO 124

SEO Customer Engineer Search 124

Feld Thoughts

JULY 20, 2011

I’ve recently discovered two awesome tools for helping me manage my contacts in Google Apps. One is a TechStars Boulder company called Rainmaker and the other is a Paris-based company called Kwaga that has an app called WriteThat.Name. I’ve got a large address book in Gmail (> 11,000 contacts). I get numerous new inbound contacts on a regular basis from people reaching out to me and Google automatically puts their email address in Google Contacts, which is cool.

Management 137

Management Database Social Network Email 137

YoungUpstarts

JULY 19, 2011

If you think seeking funds is the toughest – and most important – part about founding your own startup, you’re likely to be wrong there. The folks over at Founder2be ( www.founder2be.com ) believe that finding the right co-founders for your fledgling company is actually the most difficult yet crucial in determining the ultimate success of your venture.

Cofounder 195

Cofounder Founder Finland Germany 195

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2011

Every startup wants to be a predictable success, yet so few ever achieve this enviable position. In reality, getting there is not a random walk, and requires an understanding of the stages that every business must navigate and the organizational characteristics necessary at each stage. Les McKeown, in his recent book “ Predictable Success ” outlines these stages and characteristics for any business.

Startup 232

Startup Framework Employee Management 232

K9 Ventures

JULY 19, 2011

Software Engineering 48

Software Engineering Engineer Software Hiring 48

Feld Thoughts

JULY 19, 2011

I did eventually solve my Paris smart phone problem. Here’s what I did. I paid AT&T some absurd amount of money for unlimited international everything for my iPhone. The nice senior people at Orange sent me a SIM card that is good until the end of the month for free unlimited everything for my Android. Maxroam sent me a super cool device that gives me 3G and international calling for $15 / day.

Email 128

Email 128

YoungUpstarts

JULY 20, 2011

by Kevin Kaiser , Startup Biz Blog. If one of your company’s predominate goals is to remain on the cutting edge of innovation, then you are not only going to have to hire some brilliant minds, but you are also going to have to engage your target market. Like it or not, a great business usually interacts with its niche audience on a regular basis.

Reputation 193

Reputation Management Social Network Social Media 193

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2011

These days, your online Internet reputation is your reputation. Of course, having no reputation is usually better than a bad one, but don’t wait for someone else to establish a good one for you. It’s time for every business and business person to proactively create a positive presence, before someone else puts you in a defensive mode that is hard to win.

Reputation 229

Reputation Affiliate Social Network Naming 229

ReadWriteStart

JULY 21, 2011

Those of you who are familiar with my work know that I do a lot of trend spotting. Some recent trend posts on my blog include There's a Trend To Spot In Groupon's Growth Rate , Customer Service and the Social Web , SaaS Enabled BPO and Near-shoring and U.S. Policy. During this week's roundtable, I spotted yet another trend. We had two crowdsourced funding ventures, peerbackers and Ekjaa.

Affiliate 130

Affiliate San Francisco Entrepreneur India 130