A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

'You’re a builder, a creator — whether a back-end programmer, a Linux hacker, a Javascript ninja, a UX magician, a designer. You make stuff. That’s great of course, because in a new startup everyone needs to be either making stuff or selling stuff — there’s no room for managers and executives and strategists. But this also produces a natural weakness , and when I look at what made me a successful entrepreneur — not just a great coder — it’s that I

Fractional CTO 310

Fractional CTO Coder CTO Hire Design 310

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'We’re deep into teaching a Lean LaunchPad class for Life Sciences and Health Care (therapeutics, diagnostics, devices and digital health) at UCSF with a team of veteran venture capitalists. (The class has talked to 1,440 customers to date.). One of the objectives of the class was to become the Life Science Center of Excellence for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps.

Lean 258

Lean Customer Business Model Customer Development 258

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

'I’m a very logical guy, so I still fondly remember when new solutions and technologies started trends on the basis of their logical strengths. In today’s world, it seems that emotion, not logic, sparks the new trends that become culture, and drives our devotion or disappointment in new products and brands. How does an entrepreneur best deal with that environment?

Customer 210

Customer Social Media Affiliate Viral 210

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'Last week Fred and Joanne Wilson announced that they are helping create a $5m seed fund to invest in computer science education in the NYC public school system. A few weeks ago Fred sent me a note and asked if Amy and I would make a contribution from our foundation. We’d previously contributed to another project Fred and Joanne spearheaded for the Academy of Software Engineering last year.

New York 135

New York Software Review Software Engineering Technical Review 135

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

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'by Jessica Oaks. If the recent news out of Washington, D.C. has taught us anything, it’s that staying under budget is essential. It’s natural for businesses, especially small businesses, to constantly seek ways to reduce costs in order to be profitable. It takes a combination of dedication and innovation to cut the fat and stay afloat in today’s economy.

Small Business 168

Small Business Technical Review Washington Advertising 168

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

'This post was originally published on the ooomf blog. Over dinner a couple months ago, one of my friends said he needed some help coming up with a name for a new website. He told me a bit about the site and asked if I could help think of something over dinner. He also asked my other friends to join in so we could get a whole bunch of ideas on the table and choose the best one.

North Carolina 167

North Carolina Incubator Pennsylvania Cofounder 167

Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'I’ve been researching an industry (coin operated vending) in preparation for a speech I’m giving. I make an effort to tailor my keynotes, as much as is practical, in order to deliver more specific value to my audiences. Who Says Elephant’s Can’t Dance? In doing my research some obvious (to me) opportunity areas for innovation have become apparent.

Guerilla 106

Guerilla Technical Review Restful Audience 106

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

'Every startup I see invariably puts up a competitive analysis slide that plots performance on a X/Y graph with their company in the top right. The slide is a holdover from when existing companies launched products into crowded markets. Most of the time this graph is inappropriate for startups or existing companies creating new markets. Here’s what you need to do instead. ——-.

Venture Capital 335

Venture Capital Customer Development Business Model Lean 335

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

'This is a guest post by Mike Lemovitz which originally appeared on his blog. He lives in Central Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters. He works in marketing for a large healthcare organization, and moonlights as a photographer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. Learn more at [link]. Now that SantaDispatch is in the app store , I thought fellow entrepreneurs would be interested in what it was like to have an iPhone app developed through Elance.

Software Review 167

Software Review Developer Hiring Massachusetts 167

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

'Hummingbird and Hashtags: Keeping Your Google Plus Content Strategy Alive written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Lauren Hogan – Enjoy! Photo credit: misspixels. With Google’s recent Hummingbird update, anyone who does online marketing was forced to review & revamp their marketing strategy.

Technical Review 69

Technical Review Social Media SEO Small Business 69

deal architect

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

'The recent PwC decision to acquire Booz took me back to younger days when I was an reluctant accountant at PW (the C came later after it merged with Coopers). I had little desire to do time in auditing or.

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307

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

'In 2012 I got together with Alexander Osterwalder , Henry Chesbrough and Andre Marquis to think about the Lean and the future of corporate innovation. We had some radical thoughts how companies were going to have change to remain competitive in the 21 st century in a blog post. What we didn’t envision was that one creative corporate VP would take that post and build a world-class corporate innovation program around it.

Lean 326

Lean Nepal Cofounder Customer Development 326

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 2, 2013

'Ilya Pozin is an entrepreneur, writer and investor. He is the founder of Open Me , a social greeting card company, and Ciplex , a digital marketing agency. He’s a columnist on entrepreneurship and marketing. As technology evolves, so do the cries against its impact on our personal lives To some, more apps means more time spent staring at a smartphone and less time spent with loved ones.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Technology Video Entrepreneur 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2013

'When my friend’s small business was struggling a while back, I suggested he add some social media marketing initiatives, and his answer was that he was “too busy.” His business has since closed, but his mindset is still out there. According to a study of 1700 CEOs last year, only 60% of companies today use social media for marketing, and only 12% of those feel that they are using it effectively.

Social Media 267

Social Media Media Social Network Viral 267

deal architect

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

'Talking to a CIO a few weeks ago, I was struck by the realism and humility of one of his comments “Innovation technology in our vernacular happens in the business. We (IT) have to earn our place in those projects.

Product 249

Product Technology 249

Jeff Hilimire

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'It was almost a year ago that I made the switch to the iPad Mini. I did that for the following reasons: It was perfect for the middle seat on an airplane (i.e. for crowded situations). And I was traveling. A lot. The non-retina screen didn’t bother me as much as I thought. Typing was better than on the bigger iPad (in portrait). Battery life was great.

Technical Review 52

Technical Review Mobile Programming Technology 52

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

'Herbert Lui is the author of a free guide to building credibility online. This post was originally published on his Medium blog. You know people whose main gig appears to be self-promotion? The ones who talk a lot more than they actually do? If you’re anything like me, you despise bragging and try not to do too much of it yourself. Unfortunately, being a writer already inherently involves a lot of sharing of thoughts, so in a way I already feel like I talk too much.

B2B 144

B2B New York Software Engineering Public Relations 144

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

'The reigning theory in business has long been that “alpha” leaders make the best entrepreneurs. These are aggressive, results-driven achievers who assert control, and insist on a hierarchical organizational model. Yet I am seeing more and more success from “beta” startup cultures, like Zappos and Amazon, where the emphasis is on collaboration, curation, and communication.

Leadership 249

Leadership Curation Community Hiring 249

deal architect

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'The Sunday night v Monday morning disconnect forced enterprises to adopt BYOD and web services – as the retina displays and mobile apps and other attractiveness of consumer tech contrasted with aging laptops and ugly enterprise systems. I get the.

Mobile 246

Mobile Web 246

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

'by Morgan Sims. Running a startup company takes blood, sweat, and tears. It could take years to build a solid foundation, with every step toward success feeling like a failure. Once you’ve planted your feet firmly on stable ground and have a clear sense of direction, though, you can start expanding your team and delegating tasks to other experienced professionals.

Marketing 234

Marketing Startup Florida Social Media 234

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

'Carin van Vuuren is Chief Marketing Officer of Usablenet , a global leader in mobile and multi-channel technology and a pioneer in mobile usability. She is an experienced marketer with a diverse background and over 15 years of experience in brand-building and strategic marketing communications. Today’s shoppers are increasingly mobile-savvy and comfortable with using multiple devices and screens in different ways to achieve their goals.

Mobile 136

Mobile Technical Review Channel Sales 136

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

'An entrepreneur is literally “one who creates a new business.” The best new businesses are ones that have never been done before, so mastering creativity and recognizing creativity are key skills and mind-sets. But how does one recognize and nurture creativity in a person or team? In researching this question, I found a book by Bryan Mattimore, “ Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs ,” which outlines well eight attributes of the most creative people, which seem to match

Intellectual Property 246

Intellectual Property Startup Social Media Reputation 246

deal architect

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'Walt Mossberg at the WSJ and David Pogue at The New York Times have created amazing personal brands over the last few years with their coverage of Apple and other consumer technologies. And in doing so, of course, helped the.

New York 220

New York Technology 220

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'by Bill McBean, author of “ The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don’t “ Every business owner knows that satisfying – and retaining – customers is as important as anything they do to achieve and maintain success. They, as well as most of their employees, understand that customers coming back time and time again translates into both business stability and job security.

Customer 230

Customer Retention Employee .Net 230

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

'Rick Boerebach is a co-founder of ZEEF.com , a curated link directory built by passionate experts. He has a background in affiliate marketing and development and is a startup enthusiast in general. If your startup’s goal is to sell a product or service but you’re having a hard time with your revenue model, affiliate marketing might be the perfect match to give you that much-needed boost.

Affiliate 134

Affiliate Revenue Internet Marketing 134

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

'Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. After celebrating success at that level, they often find themselves ill-prepared to move to the next stage, for scaling their business into a high-performing enterprise. That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and Founders being replaced, to their chagrin.

Mezzanine 240

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 240

deal architect

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'You know SaaS, IaaS, PaaS are all penetrating larger enterprises but the spend is fragmented across several vendors, so you have to go down market to see the full reach of the as-a-service phenomenon Mike Monocello, editor-in-chief, Business Solutions magazine.

Cloud 210

Cloud Marketing 210

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

'by Thomas Moran, CEO of Addison Group. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This saying is never truer than when applied to a person starting a new job. While the thrill of landing a dream position can be exciting, joining a new company can also be quite overwhelming, and it can lead to awkward social interactions and overstepped boundaries.

Chicago 205

Chicago Reputation Restful Finance 205

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

'This post was originally published on the Thoughtbot blog. There has been a lot of talk about empathy with the end user in UX design over the last few years. The importance of understanding what type of product you are building and for whom you are doing it, what needs and knowledge the intended user group has. While this is important, and really hard to get to, there is another type of empathy, that is almost as important during the development of a product and that is the communication and

Design 133

Design Naming Email Restful 133

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

'Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. Why is it that his idea which seemed so fundable only months ago fails to attract investors today? The team is the same. The company''s market is the same. The only change might be a visible new competitor, or another economy downturn, resulting in investors holding their money, and that makes all the difference.

Startup 226

Startup Demand Entrepreneur Business Plan 226

deal architect

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

'As technologists we like to hire engineers and technologists, and encourage our young to look at Science, Technology, Engineering and Math disciplines, but Christina Paxson, President of Brown U makes the case we may have tilted the world a little.

Engineer 207

Engineer Hiring Technology 207

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

'As many of you know, in the past I’ve done a series of posts deconstructing the S-1s of VC-backed internet startups going public. A few years ago this was sort of a novelty… not that many startups were going public and not that many bloggers or mainstream journalists took the time or had familiarity with combing these SEC filings. But now there’s a lot of info reported and a number of good, thorough analyses of S-1s as we enjoy a quiet but very real “boom” in the tech ec

IPO 194

IPO Aggregator B2B Internet 194

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

'David Hassell is the CEO of 15Five. This post was originally published on the 15Five blog. If there is one thing we can say for sure, it’s that life is unpredictable. No matter how much we try to control the outcome of our actions and the consequences of our choices, we are powerless to the unforeseen variables. Sometimes these variables help create a positive result, other times, we’re left shaking our heads in disbelief.

Startup 123

Startup Founder Hiring Leadership 123

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

'Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. They don’t realize that this option would likely be their worst nightmare, since it costs millions for the road show, usually dilutes your equity to a tiny fraction, and takes away all your entrepreneurial control. Consider the recent example of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.

IPO 224

IPO Founder Exit Strategy Investment Bankers 224

deal architect

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

'With the whole world going digital, it is fairly poignant that in the last couple of years we have seen dead-tree books which profile three of the technology industry’s most powerful executives – Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison.

Technology 207

Technology 207

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

'by Kelly Gregorio. As a small business owner your mind (among other things) probably wanders over to the subject of money more times than you’d like to admit. After all times are tough, and if running a small business wasn’t difficult enough, staying profitable within one can sometimes feel impossible. So when the subject of interns comes up it may seem like a light at the end of a long financial tunnel.

Small Business 174

Small Business Social Media Conversion Media 174