Version One Ventures

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Our portfolio company Top Hat just closed a $22.5M (USD) Series C round. Union Square Ventures – one of our favorite co-investors – added to Top Hat’s existing investors and USV’s Albert Wenger joined their Board of Directors. This funding is big news, particularly since 2016 was a weak year for Ed Tech funding. Generally speaking, Ed Tech has proven to be a tough vertical, primarily due to the fact that it’s hard to charge consumers (students) directly.

Vertical 132

Vertical Technical Review Cofounder Sales Cycle 132

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Upfront Ventures was created 20 years ago as one of the original VC funds in Los Angeles. Back then only 15% of our dollars were invested locally whereas today 50% of our dollars are invested in LA. 10 years ago we found ourselves trying to persuade LPs and VCs that it was worth spending more time getting to know the LA market and now the most common refrain that I hear from them is “there really is something going on in LA.

Los Angeles 321

Los Angeles Portfolio Hosting Media 321

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Every new business owner looks forward to the day when their business becomes self-sustaining, and settles into a long-term growth curve that will assure financial success, as well as a lasting legacy. Unfortunately, in this age of vacillating customer trends and a wealth of new competitors scratching and clawing for a piece of the action, long-term growth requires constant focus.

Vertical 167

Vertical Differentiation Restful Audience 167

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

by Scott Bennett, Founder and CEO of Skratch. Today’s generation of teens will be more prepared for the future work environment than the generations before them because of the accelerating gig economy. Generation Z, which are those born between 1996 and 2010, strive to solve problems instantly and are maturing in a stranger-trusting community that utilizes daily on-demand services for food delivery like Favor, transportation solutions like Uber, and instant current event influence with news sent

Demand 172

Demand Mobile Security Founder 172

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

Brandanew

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Have you ever considered expanding your business, but you are running short of ideas? Perhaps you are thinking that your business idea is so ridiculous that it will be a flop. To keep you motivated , here is a list of five funny business ideas that actually ended up as big hits. Read through these tips and you might actually find a cool and crazy idea that could work for you!

Japan 100

Japan Advertising Design Startup 100

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

by Anand Srinivasan, founder of LeadJoint.com . Doing business with a client who is based outside your country can be a risky affair. For one, you may not really get a chance to meet them personally and vet their credentials. Also, contracts do not really make a lot of sense unless this is a deal worth thousands of dollars – filing lawsuits and getting court orders implemented may be impossible, expensive and time-consuming.

Securities and Exchange Commission 113

Securities and Exchange Commission Security Lead Generation Reputation 113

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Let’s say you have a great business idea that leverages the power of technology to meet a certain consumer or lifestyle need. If you believe that your idea is worth the effort of putting together a business plan and going through the development and funding process, you may have a potentially lucrative tech startup. The American tech startup scene has become similar to the real estate sector in the sense that location is everything.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco District of Columbia Tampa Charlotte 113

YFS Magazine

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Along the way, automation will certainly change the way humans work. But one thing is for sure, humans will always rule the machine. This article Man vs. Machine: How Automation Will Change The Way We Work appeared first in YFS Magazine.

Operations 116

Operations Technology 116

BeyondVC

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Just getting back from a few days at RSA. We kicked it off Sunday night with a boldstart founders and execs dinner where we talked about what’s next in cybersecurity with some of our portfolio companies like security scorecard , bigid , snyk , stealth co and many friends from the industry representing strategic partners and IT buyers. After a couple more days of straight security talk with lots of new vendors, VCs, strategics and CISOs, I wanted to share a few observations.

Security 74

Security Artificial Inteligence Stealth SEC 74

SiliconHills

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

uShip, the online shipping marketplace and freight automation software provider, Wednesday announced it has closed on a $25 million round of funding. DB Schenker, one of the world’s largest logistics companies owned by Deutsche Bahn AG, led the Series D round. To date, Austin-based uShip has raised $50 million with previous rounds led by Benchmark […] The post uShip Lands $25 Million in Venture Capital Funding appeared first on SiliconHills.

Venture Capital 75

Venture Capital Austin Software 75

OnlyOnce

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

I’ve written a lot over the years about Return Path’s Core Values (summary post with lots of links to other posts here ). And I’ve also written and believe strongly that there’s a big difference between values, which are pretty unchanging, and culture, which can evolve a lot over time. But I had a couple conversations recently that led me to think more philosophically about a company’s values.

Framework 59

Framework Conversion Employee Design 59

SiliconHills

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Austin-based Indeed plans to hire 500 employees in Ireland during the next two years as part of an expansion plan for its Dublin-based headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Indeed is hiring sales, client services, human resource, business development, marketing, finance, strategy and operations employees, according to a news release from Ireland IDA. […] The post Indeed to Add 500 Jobs in Ireland appeared first on SiliconHills.

Ireland 50

Ireland Africa Europe Austin 50

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

This past Saturday night me and my nine and ten year old sons went to see the new Lego Batman movie. I would like to say that they begged me to take them, but it was really the other way around. Because I love Batman and I love Legos! And I have been so impressed with how Lego has re-invented itself from a stodgy manufacturer of plastic kid's building blocks into to one of the leading toy and entertainment brands in the world.

Forecast 48

Forecast Matching Audience Analytics 48

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

How to Network Effectively written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing Podcast with Dave Delaney. Networking has always been a powerful way to generate leads. In the same breath, it’s often seen as something to dread on both the hunting and being hunted fronts. People are very good at networking don’t even seem like they are doing it, they’re simply always connecting people and that’s the key.

Networking 40

Networking Social Media Web Small Business 40

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

A few months ago, I finally bit the bullet and bought a Fitbit. I’m a runner and general exerciser; I figured I was “active enough,” so I never really saw the appeal. However, one of my recent goals has been to integrate walks into my daily routine, and I assumed (correctly) that some fun wearable tech would make it easier to build this habit. As an “office worker” (even though I work remotely), it can be easy to stay cooped up inside all day; cultivating a walking habit has helped me disengage,

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Restful Management Networking 126

Aymeric Gaurat-Apelli

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

I presented at the coworking space Fishburners about outsourcing for startups. It is a good way for me to introduce myself to the community here in Sydney, and I got to improve my presentation skills.

Startup 28

Startup Community 28

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will be eating the world. Don’t take my word for it – in the roundup of venture capital predictions for 2017 , I found it to be the top recurring theme. Some examples: AI will be the new mobile. Investors will ask management what their “AI strategy” is before investing and will be wary of companies that don’t have one (Fred Wilson, USV).

Artificial Inteligence 122

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Startup 122

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

6 Alternative Ways to Boost Your Referral Marketing Program written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Referral marketing isn’t exactly a cake walk. Many companies consider it a simple solution that they can create easily, but in reality referral marketing programs are complex. A lot of effort goes into planning and maintaining a referral program.

Programming 43

Programming Marketing Social Media Audience 43