Sat.May 25, 2013 - Fri.May 31, 2013

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8 Tips To Get the Most Out of Your Investors and Board

Both Sides of the Table

'Rob Bailey is the CEO of DataSift. He wrote a post this long weekend on how he manages the board of DataSift. You should read it. In his post he asserts, “You get the VCs you deserve” and the corollary “You get the performance out of your board that you deserve.” His argument is as follows. Spend time building investor relationship long before you raise money. .

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8 Key Focus Elements Will Attract Startup Investors

Startup Professionals Musings

'One of the most common failures I see in startups is lack of focus. Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Startup 257
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Why We Choose Safety Over Excellence (And How To Reprogram)

YoungUpstarts

'by Christine Comaford, author of “ SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together “ Brett is over the moon. He has just received a long-awaited promotion and with it the opportunity to present to his firm’s key clients. But his excitement is short-lived: In almost every client meeting, he freezes up and stumbles over the material despite the fact that he knows it well.

Lean 163
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Flashpoint New York Demo Day, Friday, June 14

David Teten

'The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), ff Venture Capital, and The Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York are once again co-sponsoring Flashpoint’s upcoming New York Demo Day, on Friday, June 14, 2013, 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The event will be held at SUNY Global Center, 116 East 55th Street, New York, NY. Flashpoint is a startup accelerator at Georgia Tech.

New York 114
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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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Come Check Out a Very Important LA Tech Event on June 1st

Both Sides of the Table

'Tomorrow LA is hosting an important tech event - please consider registering and coming by. A special thanks to Jason Lehmbeck , founder & ceo of DataPop , a great LA startup of which I have been a long-standing fan, for championing this event and bringing it to my attention. A couple weeks back I laid out the tech case for Eric Garcetti for LA mayor.

Coder 295
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How Your Small Business Or Startup Can Hire A Good Lawyer Without Losing Your Shirt

crowdSPRING Blog

' . Most business owners dread having to talk with and hire lawyers. Some fear they’ll end up paying exorbitant legal fees or that they’ll receive bad advice that will destroy their business (if you’ve watched the show Arrested Development and have seen Barry Zuckerkorn in action, you’ll know exactly what I mean). Others agonize over how to find a reasonably priced, competent lawyer.

More Trending

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Flashpoint New York Demo Day, Friday, June 14

David Teten

'The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), ff Venture Capital, and The Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York are once again co-sponsoring Flashpoint’s upcoming New York Demo Day, on Friday, June 14, 2013, 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The event will be held at SUNY Global Center, 116 East 55th Street, New York, NY. Flashpoint is a startup accelerator at Georgia Tech.

New York 114
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The Power of Solution-Based Strategies

Up and Running

'As small business owners, we tend to avoid a deep dive into strategy at the best of times. Face it, we are usually too busy fighting the day to day fires, keeping up with communications and managing the finances. Yet the time always comes when we need to put down the fire extinguisher long enough to take a hard look at how we are going to take our businesses to a new level.

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As Populist as it May Feel, 98% of VCs Aren’t Dumb

Both Sides of the Table

'By now you will likely have read Andy Dunn’s scathing post about Venture Capitalists in which he decries the industry’s masses. I read Andy’s post with a knowing smile on my face. After all, I am no stranger to the publicly expressing the frustrations of dealing with the downside of this industry as I wrote about in 2006 when I was an entrepreneur.

LP 374
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Steve Blank’s Lean Startup Model: Not Just For Startups Any More

ReadWriteStart

The lean startup – as envisioned and explained by Steve Blank, serial entrepreneur, associate professor at Stanford University and ReadWrite contributor – is no longer just for startups. “Companies are facing continuous disruption. Business-as-usual is not a credible response,” Blank writes in the cover story of the May issue of the Harvard Business Review : Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything.

Lean 60
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7 Reasons Why Fun at Work Makes Winning Startups

Startup Professionals Musings

'I’m convinced that people who have fun at work are more innovative, as well as happier. I don’t have any big scientific studies to prove this, but in my considerable business experience, I haven’t seen many successes come out of a group of fearful pessimists or unhappy people. As I was looking through the literature, I did find evidence that many strong business leaders, like John D.

Startup 285
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Preparing for the Affordable Care Act: Advice for small businesses

Up and Running

'Are you trying to figure out how best to prepare your business for the the impending implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? I sat down with our CEO here at Software Advice , Don Fornes, to get a better handle on how the act will affect our company and other mid-sized businesses. He helped me wrap my head around the ACA’s impact on our company, and came up with five great tips for other businesses who find themselves in the same boat.

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What Would it Look Like if Elon Musk Pitched a VC Today?

Both Sides of the Table

'This week I attended the All Things D Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes. It is always a stellar event. The good and great of the tech industry were there: Tim Cook, Sheryl Sandberg, Dick Costolo, Max Levchin, etc. But Elon Musk stole the show. I thought Michael Lazerow’s Tweet best captured the mood of the crowd. I’m sure you know, but Elon was the co-founder (and largest shareholder) of PayPal, the most important payment transfer technology of its era and still the most instrument

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Cloud in a Love Letter

deal architect

'I think Marc Benioff will have more fun with this than with "Cloud in a Box" SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott on an analyst call thanking Lars Dalgaard who is leaving: "We thank Lars so much for bringing the cloud DNA.

Cloud 268
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8 Reasons All Angel Investor Money May Not Be Equal

Startup Professionals Musings

'A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. The entrepreneur’s tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the funding can end up being disastrous, and play into the hands of these less scrupulous investors. Many entrepreneurs believe all money is created equal.

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Top 10 Tips For Female Entrepreneurs

YoungUpstarts

'by Annie Jie Xu, General Manager of Alibaba.com , Americas. With many women still struggling to find a role in male-dominated boardrooms, a growing number are branching out and setting up their own companies. In the US alone, women-owned enterprises are starting up at a rate of around 550 a day, and this trend is being mirrored across the globe, with figures from the Enterprise Research Centre showing that businesses led by women add around £130 billion to the UK economy.

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Floating In An Isolation Tank

Feld Thoughts

'Yesterday I floated for an hour in an isolation tank at Cloud Nine Float Center. It was awesome. When I was in college, I spent a summer floating. I had recently seen the movie Altered States and was fascinated by it, but uninterested in drugs. I found an isolation tank in Dallas where I was living with my parents and working 100 hours a week at Petcom writing oil and gas software.

Dallas 161
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More New Florence

deal architect

'On the Innovation blog The Walking Billboard The next generation of UI Essay Grading Software Home theater with small room and budget The Amazing logistics of the Afghanistan withdrawal The Long Data of the PGA Tour The “Glass Collective” A.

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Technologists Need to Team With an Entrepreneur

Startup Professionals Musings

'In my experience, inventors and technologists aren’t interested or aren’t very good at building a business, and entrepreneurs aren’t usually good scientists. These people need to find each other, and can jointly make a great team for a new startup. Without the synergy, companies like Apple might never have gotten off the ground. Historically, it’s also not often that a good inventor was also a good entrepreneur.

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4 Things You Should Keep in Mind When Starting Your Own Business

YoungUpstarts

'by Tiffany Matthews. Are you thinking of starting your own business? Many people have plans to become their own boss and manage their own company. There are those, however, who get so caught up in their plans and dwell too long and too much on trivial matters. Planning is indeed crucial but you should focus more time on the essentials. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind when starting your own business: It’s Not about the Size.

San Diego 171
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3 Reasons your AdWords PPC Campaign is Not Working

Rembrandt Communications

'Stop Wasting Time on SEO That Is Not Working By Melanie Rembrandt “Why isn’t my SEO, PPC campaign working?” “My site traffic is not increasing with my AdWords PPC campaign!” “I’m spending a fortune on PPC each month with no results!” If any of these statements sound familiar, you are not alone. Many entrepreneurs come [.].

PPC 145
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More MSM Enterprise Gossip

deal architect

'Last month I wrote about a USA Today story on Infor. Instead of focusing on Infor’s micro-vertical and other investments, Jon Swartz chose to focus on beanbags at HQ and the gossipy aspect of Charles Phillips versus former boss, Larry.

Vertical 230
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Do We Really Need an Alternative Form of Capitalism?

Startup Professionals Musings

'In my view, entrepreneurship has always been the ultimate embodiment of capitalism, and quite synonymous with free enterprise. Yet I find that more and more young entrepreneurs are uncomfortable with the term “capitalism”, somehow thinking that it prioritizes “making money” above all else. They are looking for a business model that makes the world a better place for humanity.

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Evernote Means Business In Asia Pacific, Rolls Out Evernote Business To More Countries

YoungUpstarts

'Evernote launched Evernote Business back in December 2012, introducing a suite of tools and services that help organizations by more collaborative and effective through improved knowledge sharing and discovery between work teams. Evernote Business then came to Asia through Korea and the launch of Yinxiang Biji Business in China earlier this month, but the company has announced that Evernote Business will now be made available in more markets across APAC including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia,

Asia 151
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Good news for Bitcoin in the wake of Liberty Reserve being shut down

Lightspeed Venture Partners

'Earlier this week the Federal Government shut down Liberty Reserve , a digital currency exchange, alleging that it ran “what amounted to an online, underworld bank that handled $6 billion for drug dealers, child pornographers, identity thieves and other criminals around the globe.” Many commentators immediately asked, is Bitcoin next ? It seems like the answer is “no” The LA Times, writing about the Liberty Reserve Press conference, notes.

Internet 164
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More New Renaissance

deal architect

'on the innovation log How Consumers Reports tests cars Gavin Newsom on Digital Government Ansys: Complex Simulations The Brain Initiative Dream Team Larry Page and the Gospel of 10X The Return of American Manufacturing Food Packaging Innovation Delta’s Redeye Innovations.

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5 Rules of Thumb for Startup Financial Projections

Startup Professionals Musings

'Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they can’t deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. However, making no projections, or non-credible projections will get your startup marked as unfundable. I recommend a simple set of guidelines, which work for at least 80% of the business plans I see.

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Can’t Find Your Car? There’s An App For That.

YoungUpstarts

'Do you remember the 2000 movie called “ Dude, Where’s My Car? ” starring a young Ashton Kutcher about two potheads who wake up from a night of partying and can’t remember where they parked their car? Well, now it’s an app. If you find yourself often forgetting where you last parked your car, especially in an area in which you’re not too familiar with, this iOS app is for you.

Mobile 150
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Abstainer vs. Moderator

Feld Thoughts

'I love summer – it’s by far my favorite season of the year. While the summer solstice (6/21) is the official beginning of summer, I always view summer as being bookended by Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. So – for me, summer has begun. As I was walking Brooks this morning for his early morning poop, I pondered the dynamic of “abstainer” vs. “moderator” which Amy pointed out to me comes from Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project.

Restful 159
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I ate the bones

deal architect

'We are such creatures of habit. KFC has been running commercials like below. For decades they have convinced us the Colonel’s original, “secret” recipe had not changed. So, this is a clever way of introducing their boneless, skinless version of. Little to do with IT, but interesting!

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Great Entrepreneurs Lead People and Use Technology

Startup Professionals Musings

'Some entrepreneurs forget that they can’t use people the same way they use technology to build a startup. Inventors, for example, are skilled in manipulating technology, but may have little interest or experience engaging people to make an effective team. Unfortunately, startups are not one-man shows, so entrepreneurs need to study leadership as much as they study technology.

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[Singapore][Infographic] Value Of An Average Singaporean’s Digital Content? $57,500.

YoungUpstarts

'How much do Singaporeans price their digital assets? According to a recent Global Digital Assets survey conducted by computer security software company McAfee , that value stands at $57,500 – almost the cost of acquiring a private university education in Singapore. The amount estimates the total financial value across the various digital items – photos, videos and documents – that the average Singaporean owns, according to the survey which compiled responses from over 6,000 gl

Singapore 140
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Wear Sunscreen and Use Bitcoin

Feld Thoughts

'My long time friend Terry Kawaja (history question – which Colorado-based company was Terry once CFO of) from Luma Partners sent me his latest parody video titled Use Bitcoin. I knew it was a parody of something, but I didn’t remember “ Wear Sunscreen ” (which I saw when it first came out in the late 1990′s) until I read the liner notes on Terry’s Youtube post.

Colorado 157
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The easiest path to growth and profit is up: why startups should focus on the long-tail

Version One Ventures

'The easiest path to growth and profit is up, and the most deadly attacks come from below . This quote from Clayton M. Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma perfectly encapsulates how startups can find success over incumbents in their markets. Incumbents often look left, right, and above – yet sometimes they’re most vulnerable from below.

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3D printing is nothing special

Start Up Blog

'People who read this blog and know me are aware of my obsession with 3D printing – and the fact that I think it will be bigger than the internet. Recently I had an experience with my 3D printer which was most enlightening. Before I share the story let me share a terrific definition of technology: Technology – Something that was invented after you were born.

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[Asia] Online Equity Crowdfunding Platform For Startups SeedAsia Sprouts In Shanghai

YoungUpstarts

'Crowdfunding platforms for startups have been lacking in this part of the world – there’s no version of StartupValley , Fundable or Startup Stock Exchange in Asia, for example. Until this month. Shanghai, China-based SeedAsia was officially launched in mid May as Asia’s first online equity funding platform for Asia-based technology startups.

Asia 134