Sat.Jul 05, 2014 - Fri.Jul 11, 2014

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How To Test The Startup Lifestyle Before You Commit

Startup Professionals Musings

'If you think you are the perfect fit for the entrepreneur lifestyle, but you’re not yet sure if you’re ready to start your own, then I recommend that you take a job with an existing startup first to validate the culture realities against your dream. Without risking all your life savings, you may find that corporate desk you have as an alternative is a lot more satisfying.

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Digital Paralysis

Feld Thoughts

'I heard a great phrase from Jenna Walker at Artifact Uprising yesterday. We had a Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Colorado meeting with her and her partner and in the middle of the discussion about their business Jenna used the phrase “digital paralysis” to describe one of the things she thinks is driving the incredible engagement of their customers.

Colorado 143
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How to Open a Successful Hair Salon

Up and Running

'If your dream is to open a hair salon, now might be one of the best times to do it. According to a report from the Professional Beauty Association, the salon industry is growing. Since the recession, the industry has rebounded and analysts expect continued growth for at least the next five years. While the timing might be right, you’ll still face a lot of competition.

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Twitter Link Roundup #229 – Small Business, Startups, Innovation, Social Media, Design, Marketing and More

crowdSPRING Blog

'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!

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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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How to Miss By a Mile: An Alternative Look at Uber’s Potential Market Size

abovethecrowd.com

'On June 18, Aswath Damodaran , a finance professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, published an article on FiveThirtyEight titled “ Uber Isn’t Worth $17 Billion. ” This post was a shortened version of a more detailed post he had written for his own blog titled “ A Disruptive Cab Ride to Riches: The Uber Payoff.” Using a combination of market data, math, and financial analysis, Professor Damodaran concluded that his best estimate of the value of Uber is $5.9 billion, far short of the value re

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How To Convert Visitors Who Are Considering Switching From a Competitor

ConversionXL

'“I use Tide. I’ve been using Tide for the last 40 years. I’ll use Tide to wash the outfit they bury me in.” “Uh… Thanks Grammy.” I only made the comment that her clothes smelled nice, but her conviction made me realize something very important, “even if they’re on your site, that doesn’t mean they’re going to buy from you.” Later on, I overheard my 18 year old sister say to a friend on the phone, “Oh My God, UGH, Do w

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Slow Cooked

deal architect

'Those who read my books know they tend to be case study heavy and dense with forward looking details – that’s the nature of innovation genre writing. My book on SAP is similar – heavy with customer dialog, but very.

Customer 268
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How Big Is It Really? 2 Minutes to Find Out Why

Steve Blank

'If you can’t see the video click here. Subscribe for more videos than you can ever watch here Filed under: 2 Minute Lessons , Customer Development.

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How To Enhance Innate Business Leadership Abilities

Startup Professionals Musings

'Entrepreneurship is all about leading – leading customers to a new product or service, leading a startup team to peak performance, and leading a new business to the market opportunity, while providing maximum return to stakeholders. Most entrepreneurs feel they have innate leadership talents, but struggle with how to nurture these abilities and measure their effectiveness.

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From Market Research to Writing Your Export Business Plan

Up and Running

'Below is an extract from Laurel Delaney’s book “Exporting: The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably.” This book was published in December 2013 and is available for purchase online. If you would like to find out more about the author, the book, or about exporting in general, Laurel’s blog is an excellent source of information. Where Do You Want to Go?

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Happy 10th, Deal Architect

deal architect

'Filing quarterly corporate taxes I came across Deal Architect’s incorporation papers. Happy (belated) birthday!

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I Just Raised Money On Kickstarter, Now What?

YoungUpstarts

'by Ross Beyeler, founder of Growth Spark. Spend just a few minutes browsing websites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo or Dragon Innovation and you’ll witness a renaissance in DIY entrepreneurship. What’s often been labeled the ‘Maker Movement’, we’re in a time when independent designers, developers, tinkerers and engineers can come up with a unique offering and within a few days have hundreds of thousands of people backing them online through these crowdfunding plat

Campaign 216
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Build Your Brand By Embracing Your Personality

Startup Professionals Musings

'Sponsored by VISA Business Starting a business is usually the result of a personal dream or need. Investors tell me that they invest in people more than the idea. Customers buy from people, not from a company, at least at early startup stages. That’s why it’s important to build a personal brand, in parallel and before your business brand. This will kick-start your business, and improve your odds of success.

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Think Hard Before Jumping From Corporate To Startup

Gust

'Photo via Flickr by Eric Chan. I talk to many people who have spent years struggling up the corporate ladder who dream of jumping ship and becoming an entrepreneur. I hasten to tell them that every job move is fraught with risk, but the move from employee to entrepreneur is on the high end of the risk curve. It’s a big jump, especially in today’s economy, so do your homework first on this one.

Startup 183
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Brasil won

deal architect

'Kudos to Germany for that amazing victory. But it was just a game. Brazil has been winning millions of hearts in the last month. Like that of my nephew who had a fabulous week there during the FIFA WC. And.

Brazil 223
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BYOD Security Made Simple: Solutions To The Top Three Threats

YoungUpstarts

'By Omer Faiyaz, CEO of Remo Software. Late last year, industry analyst Gartner identified the BYOD (bring your own device) phenomenon as a top trend for 2014 , predicting that the proliferation of user-owned devices in the workplace would increasingly cause IT headaches for businesses as they struggle to control data access and protect assets. Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly moving toward the cloud and employing mobile workforces that rely on personal devices to conduct c

Security 205
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Entrepreneur Leadership Today Demands A Human Focus

Startup Professionals Musings

'Most entrepreneurs assume that success is dependent on their product expertise, coupled with some knowledge of how to run a business. In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. Successful entrepreneurs today must practice human-centered leadership to compete and win.

Demand 230
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25 unconventional business books you won’t see on most bookshelves (but should)

The Next Web

'Gregory Ciotti is the marketing director at Help Scout.This post originally appeared on the Help Scout blog. Read to lead, right? There are few better “hacks” in life than reading—distilled knowledge that often took years to assemble can be consumed in just a few hours. The problem is that many business books are just plain awful; bloated to meet book length quotas, overly self-promotional, or a regurgitation of common sense, most serve little purpose.

Lean 167
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Tips to Stop Wasting Time at Work This Summer

Rembrandt Communications

'Woo Hoo! Summer is here, and it’s time for fun in the sun… unless you are bombarded with work and are stuck behind your desk! If this is the case, it’s time to review your workload and start outsourcing. Here are a few questions to answer and help you get started: What are you spending […]. The post Tips to Stop Wasting Time at Work This Summer appeared first on SEO Content Strategy and BtoB Public Relations.

PR 145
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[Infographic] Business Etiquette Around The World

YoungUpstarts

'The way people do business around the world can differ by quite a bit; what may be acceptable or appropriate in one business culture can be an utter faux pas in another. For example, name-dropping and nepotism, while common and widely practiced in Argentina, is largely frowned upon elsewhere. It’s certainly surprising how clueless or insensitive some people can be when it comes to cultural nuances in business etiquette.

Argentina 180
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Where Is Your Technology In The Gartner Hype Cycle?

Startup Professionals Musings

'The Hype Cycle was a concept put forward by Gartner, Inc. back in 1995 meant to apply to technology product evolution and acceptance. As I was reading about it a while back, it occurred to me that the concept relates directly to how investors see startup opportunities and potential success as well, at least those with technology in their offerings.

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What I learned from building my first physical product and mobile game without code

The Next Web

'Len Kendall is the founder of CentUp. Prior to starting a company, he worked in PR where he helped put out fires and manage digital communications. “Software may be eating the world,” but there’s still something extremely rewarding about making a physical product. Like most of the people reading this blog post, I’ve spent most of my career on digital endeavors, from websites to words and PowerPoint decks.

Product 167
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Book: The Alliance

Feld Thoughts

'Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha, and Chris Yeh have written an outstanding and important book called The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age. I encourage you to get a copy right now and read it this weekend. If you are a CEO of a company Foundry Group has invested in, there’s no need to buy it – I just ordered 100 of them and they will be in your hands soon.

Retention 147
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Risks To Real Estate Agents And How To Avoid Them

YoungUpstarts

'by Hunter Hoffmann, Head of US Communications at Hiscox Insurance. Like many small business owners, a real estate business can take years to build. Cementing a reliable client base and establishing your credibility in the industry is hard work. Real estate agents juggle many clients and each brings their own set of details that agents need to keep organized.

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If I have a great startup idea why should I ask for funding?

Gust

'“would a great idea be promoted without any marketing?” By whom? According to that theory, Apple should cut out its entire multi-billion dollar sales and marketing and retail store divisions, because all of its great products will sell themselves. It’s wonderful that you can (now and forever) program, maintain, market and support your product yourself.

Salary 138
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A month at Y Combinator: What it’s like after you’ve been accepted

The Next Web

'Mathilde Collin is the CEO and co-founder of Frontapp. About six weeks ago, I was sitting in front of my computer waiting for one email. Not just any email. The email. We had just flown from Paris to Mountain View for our 10-minute interview at the Y Combinator and it was now over. All we had left to do was wait. Finally, a couple of hours after the interview, the news finally arrived.

Cofounder 166
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Do People Treat Me Differently Since I Talk Openly About Depression?

Feld Thoughts

'As Amy and I get ready to return to Boulder today and physically re-enter the human race, I woke up this morning thinking about how I’m feeling emotionally. We’ve had an excellent three weeks up at our house in Homer, Alaska, far away from the people we know. Our only friends up here are our neighbors (whom we adore) so other than one visitor ( Matt Shobe – who we also adore) it’s been a very solitary and physically introverted time.

Alaska 146
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Why And How To Brand Your Shipping Materials

YoungUpstarts

'For most startups, establishing a brand identity increases recognition, familiarity and retention. Businesses of all sizes use shipping service providers to get their documents, products and other order essentials to consumers. They are well-served by integrating their brand identity into their shipping practices. This initiative can enhance product appeal while increasing customer awareness and opening up new business opportunities.

Green 167
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Is there a difference in expectation and attitude between Angels in the USA vs those in other Geographical regions and are there disadvantages because of this?

Gust

'Surprisingly, no. Angels of a certain ‘level of professionalism’ have more in common with each other regardless of geography, than do novice and ‘super angels’ in the same city. I am friends with many professional angels from around the world, and my analyses (allowing for our individual investment preferences) are virtually identical to those of Dave Berkus in Southern California, Matey de Nedkov in Montreal, Phillippe Gluntz in Paris and Dušan Stojanovic in Sweden.

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5 things US startups need to understand to succeed in the EU

The Next Web

'Tanguy Peers is the co-founder of Co.station, a Brussels and San Francisco-based post-accelerator which helps companies expand on both sides of the Atlantic through access to talent, expertise and capital. There are a lot of blogs out there explaining to European startups how to move to the Valley (and how to move around in the Valley once they arrive).

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How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan

Up and Running

'Starting and running a nonprofit is an exhilarating experience, but it also requires thoughtful planning and execution to be successful. Nonprofit organizations share many overlapping needs with traditional for-profit ventures, including the need for a good business plan. At some point in the process of starting or managing your nonprofit, you will probably realize that you need a business plan.

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Curing CEO Disease: Six Tips For Getting Great Feedback

YoungUpstarts

'by Dan Quiggle, author of “ Lead Like Reagan: Strategies to Motivate, Communicate, and Inspire ” and the founder of The Quiggle Group. Leaders in all areas of the business world suffer from “CEO Disease,” meaning they’re at risk for getting vague, reassuring, less-than-honest feedback from their employees. If you’re one of them, the bad news is you’re probably not making the best decisions for your company.

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For Startups, Knowledge is a Commodity but Insights are Valuable

Hunter Walker

'People overvalue knowing. The Internet turns knowledge into a commodity. Most - market size, a Stack Overflow question, detailed Wikipedia page – are readily available via a Google search or two. At Homebrew we have the chance to meet a good number of teams each month. In the 1000+ we’ve discussed since 2013, I can’t really think of many that I wouldn’t consider to be knowledgable.

Startup 132
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3 things you can change to go from startup to grown up

The Next Web

'Callum Laing is the CEO of Entrevo Asia and the founder of Fitness-Buffet, an employee fitness business in 11 countries. There are few things in life as rewarding as creating a business out of nothing. If you have any love of enterprise, it is hard not to be enamored with the excitement around tech startups. It would be nice to see a few more startups stick around, so here are my three suggestions for how you can significantly improve your chances of success.

Asia 158
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8 Quotes to Motivate You to Make a Plan and Stick to It

Up and Running

'Forget about a “case of the Mondays.” Most weeks, it’s Wednesday when you start to wonder why you’re doing what you do. To get you through hump day with a little more pep in your step, we’ve gathered eight inspirational quotes from some of history’s greatest minds. Maybe they’ll inspire you to stick with what you committed to, or finally take the leap and follow your passion.

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5 Ways To Keep In Contact With Remote Staff

YoungUpstarts

'Starting a business can be difficult enough without having to keep a watchful eye on everyone within your company. When your company strays from the typical small office environment, this can be even more difficult, particularly if your staff telecommutes. Instead of stressing over who is doing what and when, get a grasp on some of the great software that is available for constant communication: Asana.

Cloud 154