Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

We are experiencing a frenetic time. I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. One would think entrepreneurs would never want less available cash – until such time as their competitors ridiculously and unnecessarily all raise $50 million in the name of a “land grab” thus mak

Software Review 315

Software Review Turkey Portfolio Syndicate 315

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2015

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. But fortunately, team building is a skill that can be learned and practiced, for those willing to put in some effort.

Technical Review 206

Technical Review Development Team Review Leadership Cofounder 206

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2015

by Edward D. Hess, author of “ Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization “. Not so long ago, our culture really (really) admired people with big egos. We called them rugged individualists, fearless leaders, MVPs, visionaries, and go-getters. We respected these confident and successful folks for (seemingly) having all the answers.

Technical Review 198

Technical Review Developer Leadership Security 198

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2015

I’ve been working with large companies and the U.S. government to help them innovate faster– not just kind of fast, but 10x the number of initiatives in 1/5 the time. A 50x speedup kind of fast. Here’s how. —– Lean Innovation Management. In the last five years “ Lean Startup ” methodologies have enabled entrepreneurs to efficiently build a startup by searching for product/market fit rather than blindly trying to execute.

Lean 262

Lean Management Business Model Incubator 262

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

The Next Web

JUNE 21, 2015

Summer has unofficially begun here in the U.S. And I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing I love more than relaxing with a great book on the beach or laying in the grass at a park. And if I can get better at my job in the process? That, my friends, is a win-win. Or double win, as I like to call it. Since our previous reading lists ( here and here ) were so helpful for me personally as a reader, I want to pay it forward.

PR 126

PR Startup Software Review Technical Review 126

Up and Running

JUNE 18, 2015

My favorite quote on business planning is when former president Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “The plan is useless; but planning is essential.”. What I’ve always taken from that is the importance of keeping a plan live; reviewing it, and revising it. The core concept of my work on lean business planning is that cycle: plan-run-review-revise. One of my favorite quotes from what I’ve written previously is “The value of a plan is the decisions it causes.” All of which brings me to the sub

Business Plan 89

Business Plan Technical Review Forecast Social Media 89

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Few investors these days have the time or patience to read a full business plan, so a better way to catch their eye is with a tightly written and well formatted two-page executive summary. As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product.

Intellectual Property 209

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 209

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 24, 2015

by Richard Milam , the Founder and CEO of EnableSoft Incorporated. The summer brings humidity, heat, vacations and the well-known fact that employee productivity decreases this time of year. Workers become distracted and sluggish when wanting to be out-of-the-office. A Captive Network study of 600 white collar North American workers says that workplace productivity drops 20 percent during the summer months, worker attendance decreases by 19 percent, projects take 13 percent more time to complet

Employee 156

Employee Software Review Technical Review Software 156

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 26, 2015

We love dreams. We love childhood memories. We love stop motion animation. Vera Van Wolferen ‘s How to Catch a Bird pulls it all together in a wonderfully creative and evocative way. Now wake up! Once again, it’s time for our weekly Roundup! Take a little trip through this week’s set of links and articles that we shared with you over the past week on our crowdSPRING Twitter account (as well as my own Twitter account ) is keyboard perfection!

Small Business 82

Small Business Design Guinea Social Media 82

SVPG

JUNE 27, 2015

I would argue that two of the most importance competencies in building great product organizations, indeed nearly any significant organizational undertaking, are leadership and management. Yet so few people actually consider what each of these really means. Many people just lump the two together. Some think this is what’s taught in MBA programs (it’s not).

Leadership 64

Leadership Management CTO Hire United States 64

Up and Running

JUNE 29, 2015

You don’t have to do everything yourself—a partner can be an asset to your business. Entrepreneurs have a reputation for trying to do it all singlehandedly. In the early days of starting your business, you may feel like you’re wearing several hats—too many, in fact. For this reason, you might consider working with a business partner. Not only does having a business partner distribute some of the work, it gives you someone to bounce ideas off of, the benefit of an additional skill set, and

Partner 119

Partner Cofounder Networking Founder 119

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2015

Business leaders have many tasks to accomplish and prioritizing stuff can be hard. Yesterday I wrote about the need to “ do fewer things, more often ” in which I described that frenzied world we live in and why the shiny objects and distractions stop us from living up to our true potential. Today I’d like to give that advice in more tangible terms and with a framework to think about your tasks – the funnel.

LP 329

LP Warrant Portfolio Framework 329

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2015

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. In reality, I’m one of the majority of investors who believe that startup success is more about the execution than the idea. Thus, unless the visionary highlights a cofounder who can take the vision and execute, I assume the worst.

Cofounder 205

Cofounder Bandwidth Matching Leadership 205

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 17, 2015

By Janis Kestenbaum , a partner in Perkins Coie. Startups have bigger concerns than privacy, or so they think. Many startups have learned that being young and small does not keep them off the radar screens of privacy regulators, and they can be vulnerable to costly investigations. Privacy issues that come to light in the course of the due diligence process for an acquisition can also threaten their valuation.

Software Review 153

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 153

YFS Magazine

JUNE 26, 2015

If you are running a business, chances are you will need the services of a software consultant at some point.

Software 96

Software Hiring Software Engineering Operations 96

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 29, 2015

Thank You Taylor Swift! Wow. Words I never once imagined being typed by my own fingers. But, credit where credit is due, Miss Swift went up against Goliath, carefully aimed and swung her sling and, Pow! The monster was vanquished! If you don’t know what I am talking about here, a little background: about a year ago, Apple acquired Beats Music, the music streaming service and manufacturer of a popular line of fashion-forward headphones.

Software Review 69

Software Review Social Media Audience Web 69

Up and Running

JUNE 23, 2015

Meg Wirth and Allyson Cote, founders of Maternova. Maternal health is a concern the world over, especially in developing nations. Childbirth can be a precarious process; for some women and their infants it can be life-threatening. According to the World Health Organization, 800 women die every day during childbirth, with 99 percent of those deaths taking place in the developing world.

Cofounder 99

Cofounder Sweat Equity Social Media Business Model 99

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 24, 2015

5 Ways Writing A Book Will Supercharge Your Online Presence written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing. Let me tell you right off the bat, writing and publishing a book is a lot easier than you think. In September of 2014, when I became a Duct Tape Marketing Certified Consultant, I provided a list of ten reasons why joining the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant network is a no-brainer for digital agencies.

Kansas City 61

Kansas City Kansas Social Media Lead Generation 61

Rob Go

JUNE 23, 2015

When an investor “does work” on a potential investment, it usually means engaging in some form of due diligence. One of my favorite VC sayings is from an investor that has said that “due diligence is something VC’s do very studiously when they want to kill a deal” I’ve often quoted this, half joking, half in truth.

Technical Review 28

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Venture Capital 28

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2015

Providing great customer service is one of the most important parts of the business equation. If you want to ensure that your customers keep coming back to you with their business, you need to make sure that they can find help when they need it, that they are left alone when they want to be, and that your sales team is able to anticipate their needs so that they will feel exceedingly well attended to.

Customer 179

Customer Security Software Review Sales 179

Agile VC

JUNE 17, 2015

I’ve observed what may be an emerging trend, at least in some startups, that I find somewhat unsettling. It has an impact at an individual level, a company level, and an ecosystem level. This is not an easy topic to discuss without coming off like a jerk or a crusty old dude, so I wanted to share two quick stories about my own career below. But I think it’s important to discuss, particularly given today’s heady environment for startups.

Startup 188

Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 188

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 22, 2015

How transparent is too transparent? At crowdSPRING we have worked hard since we first launched to share information openly and honestly with our users, our investors, and our team. We communicate regularly with customers about site issues, new features, and our policies and procedures. We ask for feedback and suggestions and, when users choose to share their ideas with us, we consider these carefully and seriously.

Small Business 73

Small Business Startup Metrics Salary 73

Up and Running

JUNE 19, 2015

Personal and financial freedoms are two selling points that may have convinced you to become a small business owner. Each day you have the freedom to work as hard as you want to grow your company. You don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself about day-to-day decisions. However, with that freedom comes obligation to employees (and possibly family members) who look to you to provide them with financial security.

Small Business 85

Small Business Finance Software Review Employee 85

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2015

Every year around the holidays journalists and bloggers around the world publish “top ten” lists or “annual buyer’s guides” or similar. And every year I think about doing the same. But it’s the holidays and I usually can’t be bothered. Plus, after reading everybody else’s list it feels pedestrian to publish mine.

Product 261

Product San Francisco DC Aggregator 261

Rob Go

JUNE 23, 2015

When an investor “does work” on a potential investment, it usually means engaging in some form of due diligence. One of my favorite VC sayings is from an investor that has said that “due diligence is something VC’s do very studiously when they want to kill a deal” I’ve often quoted this, half joking, half in truth.

Technical Review 57

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Venture Capital 57

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 22, 2015

Here’s a shocking statistic – according to a survey by London-based insights agency Opinion Matters last year revealed that a shocking 85% of enterprises have a backlog of between one and 20 mobile applications. That’s right, mobile app development is lagging far behind the operational needs and burgeoning mobile use in the enterprise, highlighting the dire challenges faced by enterprises when it comes to mobile application development.

Mobile 145

Mobile Application Development Differentiation Revenue 145

deal architect

JUNE 24, 2015

Like most, I have watched many a “One more thing” announcement by Steve Jobs. While it made many run out and line up for blocks when Apple introduced that shiny new thing, it inspired the author in me to write.

Technology 264

Technology Software 264

Early Growth Financial Services

JUNE 30, 2015

This guest post by Geri Stengel was originally published on Forbes. Opportunities are growing for women to sidestep the glass ceiling and steer clear of the glass cliff, that corporate “opportunity” for leadership given to women and minorities when there is high risk of failure due to a crisis created by former leaders or because needed resources aren’t given.

Angel Investor 37

Angel Investor Technical Review Leadership Business Model 37

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 18, 2015

How to Use Email Tracking to Dramatically Ramp Up Sales written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing. It’s no secret that email marketing metrics offer great insights. They let you learn from your customers’ behavior and steer your marketing ship accordingly. But how do you find the best strategy for connecting with customers and prospects directly?

Email 52

Email Sales Technical Review Analytics 52

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 25, 2015

Many people don’t know that I actually became Chairman of my first company and relinquishing the CEO role before the company was sold. It’s a topic I’m well versed in personally and I understand the difficult emotional decision of whether to hand the reigns to someone else of the baby you’ve struggled so hard to launch into the world.

Silicon Valley 268

Silicon Valley IPO Demand Revenue 268

View from Seed

JUNE 30, 2015

A few weeks ago, Manu Kumar wrote an excellent post detailing the current state of the seed financing landscape. Read it – it’s excellent. I agree with most of the things that Manu wrote, and I’ve been thinking about the topic quite a bit over the last several days. One very common meme these days is that “seed is the new A.” I kind of agree, but I also kind of think that the whole phrase is confusing people.

Seed Stage 260

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Dilution 260

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 21, 2015

The modern workplace – and especially those incorporating the open concept office design that’s supposed to combat the evils of cubicles – can be an exceedingly bustling and noisy environment. Between team conversations, people movement and that annoying colleague who keeps stopping by for a chat, there is a decidedly lack of privacy that can keep you from concentrating on your work.

Technical Review 139

Technical Review Audio Conversion Restful 139

deal architect

JUNE 19, 2015

Both sides like to tweak each other. Both like to harangue customers for new revenue. Customers however fume that stuff they have paying maintenance for years cannot seem to get much attention. So I was pleased when reader Tan Ah.

Revenue 197

Revenue Customer Software 197

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2015

The best startup teams don’t shy away from some healthy friction and heated debates between team members or founders. That’s the way smart people with innovative insights make real change happen. Yet we all know that there is a fine line here, beyond which heated debates generate so much emotion and drama that the entire team becomes dysfunctional. The obvious challenge is to channel these interactions in a way that maximizes their value to the startup as positive results, without letting them s

Channel 210

Channel Founder Startup Entrepreneur 210

Brandanew

JUNE 26, 2015

One of the best things about social media is that there are no hard and fast rules set by the snooty experts of the field. But just like every other thing that comes with no restrictions, the platform is often misused for purposes that leave us at our wit’s end. Whether it is a business account or a personal one, it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea to stick to keeping tweets attractive and followable – it requires a little attention to detail.

Warrant 196

Warrant Social Media Media Audience 196

Rembrandt Communications

JUNE 25, 2015

Writing copy that sells is not a passing trend. While there is a lot of hype now about BtoC and BtoB Content Marketing and Content Strategy, these processes have been around for a long time… just with different names. And there is no need for confusion. Let’s keep it simple… What is content marketing? It’s […]. The post Don’t Have a Content Marketing Strategy?

Marketing 144

Marketing PR Sales Naming 144