Sat.Aug 23, 2014 - Fri.Aug 29, 2014

article thumbnail

10 Calculated Risks That Lead To Startup Success

Startup Professionals Musings

'There is an old saying that good lawyers run away from risk, while good businessmen run towards risk. Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” In reality, all risks are not the same. Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure.

Startup 283
article thumbnail

Gamification For Better Project Management

YoungUpstarts

'by Monica Wells, BizDB . It’s safe to say that enterprise gamification is one of those increasingly popular trends for management that are simply bound to explode in the next few years. Great project management is all about fostering worker engagement and motivation – and what better way to this than through specifically designed games? Gamification of everyday activities can also pave the way to building a creative and passionate team.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Last Chance for Summer Sale Prices

Startup Lessons Learned

'Post by Sarah Milstein & Eric Ries, co-hosts for The Lean Startup Conference At this year’s Lean Startup Conference , we seek to answer the difficult questions you face as an entrepreneur. To give you a sense of how we’ll do that, we’re introducing you to three of our speakers—all of whom are appearing for the first time at The Lean Startup Conference, and all of whom have advice you can put to work today.

article thumbnail

Tale of Two Valleys: LA and the Bay Area from an Investor’s Perspective

Mucker Lab

'Almost 30 years ago, my father decided to uproot the entire family from Taiwan to the United States so that his academically “inconsistent” son could have an education tolerant and perhaps even encouraging of his idiosyncrasies. As an entrepreneur himself, founding and operating printed circuit board factories in Taiwan, my father was debating between two places to immigrate to and build his next new venture: Los Angeles (“The Valley” aka San Fernando Valley) and Santa

article thumbnail

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

article thumbnail

How Entrepreneurs Must Reinvent Themselves To Thrive

Startup Professionals Musings

'Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for others, that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. Some get stuck in a rut and get run over by competitors with new technology, like Eastman Kodak, and others get pushed into a crisis, like Apple did, before they reinvent themselves into a new market.

article thumbnail

The Delegation Dilemma

YoungUpstarts

'by Dana Brownlee, President of Professionalism Matters, Inc. How many times have you said to yourself, “By the time I teach him/her how to do it, I could have just done it myself!” Has your spouse told you in the heat of an argument about household chores, “Well, you never ask for help anyway. You won’t let anyone help you!” If these refrains sound familiar, you’re not alone.

Atlanta 171

More Trending

article thumbnail

Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Vote? My SXSW Panels.

Hunter Walker

'As many know, SXSW uses a group voting process to help influence what panels are selected for their event. There are four panels that I’m part of for 2015’s event and if you had a moment to click on over and vote for our submissions, it would be great. And also groovy to see everyone in Austin! 1. Building Gender Balanced Startups. Everyone in tech wants more gender balance in the startup ecosystem, but the practical challenges to implementing that goal are complex, and involve man

article thumbnail

Entrepreneurs Need To Keep Their Business Focused

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.

article thumbnail

The 5 Best States In America For New Business

YoungUpstarts

'by Lewis Robinson. Looking to start a business? Prospective business owners must make a myriad of choices before even opening up shop. One of the most important is where to locate the business. The United States is not uniform in its friendliness toward small businesses, and some states make operating a business easier than others. There are many factors to consider in determining which state is the best to locate a new business.

article thumbnail

The Latest Questions Small Businesses Are Asking

Up and Running

'How do I decide if a business idea is likely to be successful? While there are no guarantees any startup business will be successful, a good first step to determine if an idea makes sense before proceeding with an investment of time and resources is to do a venture feasibility study. A venture feasibility study analyzes an idea from several perspectives: market opportunity, competition, resources available, resource gaps, financial viability, operational issues, intellectual property rights, de

article thumbnail

The Top Google Analytics Reports for Assessing Mobile Activity

Duct Tape Marketing

'The Top Google Analytics Reports for Assessing Mobile Activity written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing. It’s guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest post is from Mark Hansen – Enjoy! As the use of mobile devices continues to increase, understanding the needs and behaviors of our mobile visitors is increasingly important.

article thumbnail

Entrepreneurs Need To Be Experts On Social Change

Startup Professionals Musings

'Many entrepreneurs think that adapting to the new technologies, like smart phones and Internet commerce, are the key to attracting new customers. In fact, businesses need to adapt just as completely to the changes in the buying and social behavior of consumers. High-technology product startups, without customers, don’t make a business. Today’s customer buying dynamics are all about “user experience,” according to Brian Solis, in his recent book “ What’s the Future of Business?

article thumbnail

7 Steps For Building Strong Startups In The Highly Regulated Biotech Industry

YoungUpstarts

'by Kevin Xu , CEO of MEBO International. Transforming an innovative idea into a commercially viable business is no small feat for any startup — let alone one competing in the biotechnology industry. Although it’s a tightly regulated field with high barriers to entry, current market trends give a promising prognosis for startups probing this field.

article thumbnail

Grand Challenges

deal architect

'I love interviewing senior corporate executives for my books. The conversations are always about large problems they are trying to solve. So, for this book, an executive talked to me about how they define Big Data. 15 gb of data.

article thumbnail

The Other Amazon Deal this week. Drupal founder attracts over $100 Million in 3 months.

Scalable Startup

'As further market proof of the power of Drupal in the enterprise, Acquia has received about $100 million in funding in the past 3 months, which puts its valuation at over $1 billion. [link]. There’s a lot of buzz about the Amazon acquisition of TWITCH this week. As a personal friend of the original investor, I’m very happy for this transaction – after 7 years of work, repositioning, and sticking to it their vision has paid off.

Founder 42
article thumbnail

8 Principles For Getting Things Done In A Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

'We all know at least one entrepreneur who always gets things done, and appears unstoppable in his quest. All of you probably know many others who talk incessantly about their great ideas, but never seem to even get started, or they give up at the first obstacle. What are the attributes that make an entrepreneur unstoppable, and is it possible for people to learn to be unstoppable?

Startup 283
article thumbnail

Coupon Master: Tips For Saving On DIY At Lowes

YoungUpstarts

'Couponing is one of the most popular methods of saving money at the store, and the savings do not stop at grocery stores. Couponing can come in handy in even fix-it stores, such as Lowes, which can create a lot of cost savings for small businesses that prefer to DIY their office setups. With over 3.5 billion dollars being saved annually via coupons, it would be difficult to resist jumping on the “coupon wagon.”.

Mobile 193
article thumbnail

Are You Missing Errors in Your Content Strategy?

Rembrandt Communications

'Something sneaky in your copy may be ruining sales! I get in the car and rush to my next appointment. Freeway traffic brings everything to a halt, and I sit and wait. My stomach starts growling so I eat the fake-chocolate protein bar I have in my briefcase. Finally, traffic lets up, and I get […]. The post Are You Missing Errors in Your Content Strategy?

SEO 171
article thumbnail

How Do You Select A Revenue Model For Your Startup?

Gust

'Image via Wikipedia. One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). The implications of the decision you make are huge, defining your brand image, your funding requirements, and your long-term business viability.

Revenue 184
article thumbnail

Being Adult In A Relationship

Feld Thoughts

'I was with my close friend Jerry Colonna for dinner last week. We sat outside at the Boulder Teahouse , our favorite place to eat together, and shared a meal, some heavy conversation, and some love. I love Jerry. I learn something every time I’m with him. He’s one of the first VCs I ever worked with and is my favorite other than my Foundry Group partners.

article thumbnail

Ideas And Tips On How To Start A Home Business

YoungUpstarts

'Did you know that many of the entrepreneurs when they start their business, they decide to turn their home into an office? In order for your business to start with the right foot from offices installed in your house we share the following recommendations: Define a space for your office. Empty the space you will use as your office, as you need to avoid distractions.

article thumbnail

How our traffic generation strategy made more than $100,000 in crowdfunding

The Next Web

'Johnathan Leow is the author of “The Crowdfunded Kit.” This post originally appeared on Crowdfund Insider. If there’s one big lesson about crowdfunding I’ve learnt in the past eight months, it is that pre-launch marketing can make or break your campaign. I’ve gone from knowing next to nothing about crowdfunding, to running a successful Indiegogo campaign at a previous startup that raised $106,830.

Campaign 166
article thumbnail

Snapchat – The Next Great Advertising Platform (guest post)

VC Cafe

'How valuable is ten seconds of Millenial mindshare? Brands like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Audi and the NBA are ramping up their advertising efforts with Snapchat , the photo and video app that disappears in 10 seconds. Although there are many skeptics , I am not one of them. Snapchat is poised to become the next great advertising platform. Brands crave scale, demographics and engagement.

article thumbnail

Do You Want To Understand How Accelerators Work?

Feld Thoughts

'FG Press recently released its third book, Accelerate: Founder Insights Into Accelerator Programs. If you want to understand how an accelerator program works from the inside or are considering applying to an accelerator, this is the book for you. Luke Deering interviewed 150 entrepreneurs who have been through a variety of accelerator programs to get their insights.

Global 160
article thumbnail

7 Tips To Follow When Hiring Start-Up Employees

YoungUpstarts

'by Nicole Davies, online content executive at ShortCourseFinder.com.au. One bad employee in a big company will probably not influence the well-designed mechanism in any way, but in a small start-up this effect can be devastating. For this reason it is of utmost importance to choose candidates wisely, check their background, qualifications and select only those who meet your requirements.

Hiring 193
article thumbnail

Habits of a highly productive entrepreneur: Do better work by taking time off

The Next Web

'Jason SurfrApp is the founder of IWearYourShirt and author of Creativity For Sale. Want to read more of his writing? Go to MoreJason.com. I can remember it clear as day. The first year of IWearYourShirt was coming to a (fun and profitable) end and people were emailing in to congratulate me on pulling off such a crazy idea. Besides the accolades, there was a message that got repeated over and over: “Jason, you did a great job with the first year of IWearYourShirt, but you need to plan to take s

Product 165
article thumbnail

How does a VC keep a track of his/her investment?

Gust

'Professional investors typically have a range of information rights that they negotiate for when making an investment. While not every investor will have every right (or every right with the same frequency), the types of things we’re talking about include: Seat on the Board of Directors. Non-voting Board Observer Seat. Monthly, quarterly or annual financial statements (audited or unaudited).

article thumbnail

5 Things to Consider When Choosing Office Space

Up and Running

'The right location and space can make a big difference for your business. If you’re in the market for an office space, what you choose is incredibly important to your business. Not only does it affect your day to day operations and your staff morale, but also your brand image. There are so many things that can impact which office you choose; however, there are five factors that are absolutely crucial to the process.

article thumbnail

3 Considerations Before Deciding To Hire Or Outsource

YoungUpstarts

'By Hunter Hoffmann, Head of US Communications at Hiscox Small Business Insurance. At some point in their journey, most entrepreneurs will reach a tipping point where they need to grow from a one-person shop into a small business with extra help on board to really expand and reach their goals. If you’re reaching the point where there just aren’t enough hours in the day, should you hire some employees and create an in-house team, or outsource as many roles as possible as you work to get your bus

Hiring 189
article thumbnail

Startup founders in Southeast Asia, it’s time to step up

The Next Web

'Dropifi is looking to streamline customer feedback. The Ghanian startup built a widget to replace contact forms and provide businesses with the kind of customer insights most consumers fail to fill out on websites. The company was founded in 2011. Less than two years later, it became the first startup from Africa to receive funding from 500 Startups.

Asia 165
article thumbnail

As a new independent angel investor, how will I find new companies to invest in?

Gust

'The two sites you mentioned are both secondary listing services, for later stage companies. For a new angel investor, by far the best thing to do is to join a local angel investor group that belongs to the Angel Capital Association. There are hundreds of them, with at least one in every state. Major metropolitan areas typically have more than one. Some groups specialize, investing primarily in life sciences or tech companies or women-led ventures or other areas.

article thumbnail

How to Write a Company Overview

Up and Running

'You want to be able to proudly present your business plan. A company overview (also known as company information or a company summary) is an essential part of a business plan. Your company overview should be exactly what it sounds like: an overview containing all of the most important points about your company. It usually appears after the executive summary.

article thumbnail

How To Manage Your Time More Effectively

YoungUpstarts

'by Ian Cowley, managing director of www.cartridgesave.co.uk. Becoming the master of your time is vital to running a successful business. Sometimes it can seem like there are not enough hours in the day to finish your workload. Following our six top tips will not only improve your efficiency in your workplace but help reduce the stress in your life: 1.

article thumbnail

How visiting the Himalayas changed my perception of entrepreneurship

The Next Web

'Nihar Sawant is a co-founder at Expojure. This post originally appeared on his Medium blog. Recently, I was in the Himalayas for two weeks. During those two weeks, I had zero communication with the outside world. Climbing 14,000ft in the dreadful nature left my mind in a complete desolation. By the time I reached home, my mind was a blank slate like I was reborn.

Cofounder 160
article thumbnail

Reconciling Vision and Focus

David Cohen

'Which is more important for your startup–a big vision or a specific focus? Lately I’ve been hearing about this dilemma from several companies I work with through Techstars. These companies have mentors or advisors telling them they need a big, bold vision to draw others to the company, attract investors and be viewed as thought leaders. At the same time, they are also being told they need to focus–they need to do something very specific and really build up a dominant market share wi

Mobile 133
article thumbnail

Pause: 10 Quotes on Why You Should Take Breaks, Relax, and Play

Up and Running

'Small business owners and entrepreneurs are almost always working, whether they’re in the office or not. But is it possible that taking time off and resting is better for your business? Here are 10 quotes from famous authors, poets, and speakers on why time away from work could be just as important to your bottom line. Featuring quotes from Mark Twain, Maya Angelou, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Plato, and more.

Restful 127