February, 2017

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What’s FinTech, And What Does It Mean For Your Business?

YoungUpstarts

by Andriy Skoropad, co-founder & CEO at Perfectial. You know PayPal, have heard of Bitcoin and, probably, even stumbled upon the term FinTech a few times. But have you a clear understanding of what exactly does this word stand for? Some claim that all possible interactions of finance and technology, which I guess includes credit cards – the 1950’s invention, are FinTech.

Ruby 210
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How Do I Feel About the Snap IPO Given I Didn’t Invest?

Both Sides of the Table

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” I won’t speak to most of them due to time and also due to the fact that I simply am not the story and don’t want to pretend like I am.

IPO 214
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Book Review: What to Do When Machines Do Everything

deal architect

Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig and Ben Pring, thought leaders at Cognizant are back with a follow up to their last book, Code Halos. The title of the new book is gloomy but the book (they sent me a review copy).

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Why Good Marketing Campaign Costs Continue To Rise

Startup Professionals Musings

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth.

Campaign 167
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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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Top Hat Raises $22.5M Series C in a Tough Vertical: What Can We Learn from their Success

Version One Ventures

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 133
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6 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Restaurant Business Plan

Up and Running

If you’re serious about opening a restaurant, you’ll have to draft up a formal and accurate business plan to pitch to banks, investors, and even potential employees. I won’t lie—writing a formal business plan isn’t exactly a breeze. It takes a lot of time, effort, dedication, knowledge, and passion to get it right. But if opening a restaurant is your goal, a business plan is one of the first steps toward reaching it.

More Trending

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Enterprise Collaboration Wars

BeyondVC

It’s going to be fun to watch the enterprise collaboration wars and how each company is approaching the market! In my mind it is a microcosm of many battles being played out with startups versus incumbents. Do large enterprises go for “best of breed” providers or the “one throat to choke” model? How does the bottom-up model work versus the traditional top-down enterprise sales model?

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How to Use Smoke Tests to Validate Your Product or Feature Ideas

ConversionXL

Think you’re sitting on the next big idea for a product or a product feature? Before you spend dozens of hours and tens of thousands of dollars on the idea, you need to validate it. In other words, you need to make sure your audience is just as excited about the idea as you are. So, how can you validate the ideas sitting in your startup notebook or your product feature backlog without wasting resources?

Product 61
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5 Success Practices of Ultra-Effective Business Teams

Startup Professionals Musings

It takes an effective team to attract and serve a community in business these days. With real-time online reviews and feedback via the Internet, and instant relationships via social media, a voice from the top that is inconsistent with what is heard from the firing line defines a dysfunctional and noncompetitive company for today’s customer. Thus team makeup is the critical success factor.

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Understanding What’s Going on in #LATech

Both Sides of the Table

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.

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How I Ranked First Page on Google But Still Failed

Up and Running

When I became the copywriter at the call technology company Phonexa , I had to crack down on several unexplored topics, one of which completely fascinated me and had me spellbound during and after work hours. While immersed in my research and pumping out at least 2,000 words a day on the topic, I noticed that I was slowly consumed by the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

SEO 102
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Will You Survive The Job-Loss Tsunami?

YoungUpstarts

by Edward D. Hess and Katherine Ludwig, coauthors of “ Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age “. If you think you’ve lived through a bad economy, you haven’t seen anything yet. On the horizon is a “technology tsunami” poised to destroy tens of millions of jobs due to automation. The best research to date from researchers at Oxford University predicts that 47 percent of all jobs in the United States have a high probability of being

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This could be mutually assured destruction in SAP world

deal architect

One of the most toxic contractual terms in SAP world is that of “indirect access” where users exchange information with the SAP software in dialog or prompt mode. The issue is not with licensed users who access the software using.

Software 314
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IBM: Where Corporate Responsibility is Not a Trend, but a Lifestyle

Austin Startup

Latinitas Austin and El Paso chapters together at last for our strategic planning session with IBM. Coffee and pink cake helped with the process. If you looked at just the business pages in American newspapers, you’d think corporations working with nonprofits and delivering global responsibility was a new trend. However, global companies like IBM have been modeling social impact for decades now and Latinitas can attest to their commitment.

El Paso 59
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8 Key Ingredients to a Profitable Consulting Business

Startup Professionals Musings

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). Yet, according to statistics from the Small Business Association (SBA), over half of new businesses offer something else - personal professional services, including consulting, business coaching, and advisory services.

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The One-Week Social Selling Action Plan

Duct Tape Marketing

The One-Week Social Selling Action Plan written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Think back to a sales situation with a friend of a friend, one where you started with a huge trust advantage: how much smoother and faster was the process? What if you could replicate that dynamic on a much larger digital scale? Your friends of friends are not hiding in distant corners of the world, in fact, they’re probably right in front of you, and you can take advantage of warm connections withou

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7 Ways to Set Team Goals (That Actually Work)

Up and Running

We’re big fans of goal setting here at Palo Alto Software. We set goals for the company as a whole, and by specific team as well. We even set additional personal development goals, using the OKR (“objectives and key results”) goal-setting technique. We take the time to review our progress often, and we’re always working to refine and optimize it. That being said, creating a goal-setting methodology for an entire company doesn’t happen overnight.

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Startup Ideas For The New Year

YoungUpstarts

Although the New Year is almost two months old, you should not give up on your resolutions if they involve starting a new business. If you want to pursue that entrepreneurial dream, it is not too late. Getting started can be scary, but these ideas can help you get your business off the ground this year: Tech Consultants. Do your friends call you a ‘tech geek’ and come to you when they are having issues with their mobile devices or networks?

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Could Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Stephen Hawking all be wrong? Yes

deal architect

Quincy Larson quotes Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking as he warns There’s a rising chorus of concern about how quickly robots are taking away human jobs. He also cites an Oxford U. study In 2013, policy makers largely.

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Alexa, what is the Alexa Accelerator?

David Cohen

The Alexa Accelerator , powered by Techstars , is a new program designed to support early-stage companies advancing the state-of-the-art in voice-powered technologies, interfaces and applications. Created in partnership with Amazon’s Alexa Fund , the program will focus on Alexa domains such as connected home and car, wearables and hearables, communication devices and more.

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10 Keys To A Killer-First-Impression Website Rollout

Startup Professionals Musings

Smart people only visit and buy from credible and memorable websites. In the past, if your startup had a website presence, the company was credible by definition. In today’s world, a website is necessary but not sufficient for credibility. Dreamers and gamblers have found out that if the website isn’t validated as credible, it’s probably a scam, and everyone loses.

Affiliate 136
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How to Optimize Your Referral Program and Boost Your Sales

Duct Tape Marketing

How to Optimize Your Referral Program and Boost Your Sales written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Referral marketing looks like the elixir of marketing. You are making your customers refer their friends to your business at no extra cost. Doesn’t that sound great? If you are a business owner, I know it does. But here’s the thing: creating a referral program isn’t hard.

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In a World of Startup How-Tos, What About Bucking the Trend? [Traction #37: Chad Laurans, SimpliSafe]

View from Seed

Chad Laurans is the CEO of SimpliSafe, a large and growing tech company located in the Boston area. Years ago, in the span of 30 days, three of Chad’s friends were robbed. The companies that should serve them well in those moments were anything but helpful, comforting, and simple to work with. That led to Chad’s thriving business today. Today, we discuss how Chad built an Internet of Things-like product before that phrase existed, before the hype helps your marketing or fundraising,

Chad 189
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7 Things That Can Kill A Startup

YoungUpstarts

by Nate Vickery, editor-in-chief of Bizzmarkblog.com. Running a startup business can often be a double-edged sword. As one might think, the investments and potential profits are enough to lure business owners into potentially dangerous situations. Some get too greedy, some are not careful enough, and some are just inexperienced enough to overlook an important part of the job.

Startup 113
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The 90s called: They want you to reengineer again with Deloitte and SAP

deal architect

Dr. Michael Hammer was a rock star in the 90s with his reengineering books and his booming voice and entertaining speaking style. While at Gartner, Deloitte invited me to a workshop at Hammer’s consulting firm. I gladly accepted, then could.

Software 253
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Fred Wilson and Andy Weissman Talk with Lindel Eakman about Transitioning Leadership at a VC Fund

Both Sides of the Table

Union Square Ventures (USV) has been one of the most successful venture capital firms of the past 10–15 years and continues to be a leader in our industry. Recently the firms two founding partners (and also Managing Partners) —  Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham  — decided to transition management of the firm to Andy Weissman (who joined in 2012) and Albert Wenger (joined in 2008 and writes one of the most thoughtful blogs in our industry ).

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6 Strategies to Keep Your Business Self-Sustaining

Startup Professionals Musings

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
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3 ways startups can slash operating costs

The Next Web

One of the more expensive aspects of running a business revolves around handling money. Yes, a budget is important. But, even more important, is how much it costs for an enterprise to move their money around. After all, just because you know how to generate revenue, doesn’t mean you know how to generate a profit. Expenses add up and can easily get out of control.

Cost 167
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How Smart Founders Vet Tech Talent for Coding and Culture [Traction #36: Dan Reich, Troops]

View from Seed

Dan Reich is the CEO and co-founder of Troops, a company bringing artificial intelligence to your sales team’s workflow, right in Slack. (Disclosure: NextView is an investor in Troops.). Today, we discuss Dan’s smart process hiring his early technical talent — both leadership and front-line developers. Subscribe to the NextView blog for future episodes and more resources for seed-stage startups: nextviewvc.com/blog.

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How Fintech Startups Are Transforming Business

YoungUpstarts

Financial technology, also known as fintech , is changing business in a number of ways, and the value it provides for the average investor will only accelerate the transformation. Fintech affects every aspect of the financial sector, may it be investing, money transfers, online purchases or banking. Let’s look at how fintech startups are completely transforming the world of business and finance: On Demand Financial Products.

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Workdays milestone quarter

deal architect

I don’t usually write about earnings announcements, but Workday’s $436.7 million Q4 which summed up a $ 1.57 billion year deserves attention. A few years ago, I would have said Workday needed a bunch of industry applications, not just its.

Cloud 226
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Don’t let process distract you from finding the strategy

Steve Blank

When you’re up to your neck in alligators, don’t forget the goal was to drain the swamp. I love teaching because I learn something new every class. This time it was, “Don’t let process distract you from finding the strategy.”. The latest “aha” moment for me when I was at Columbia University teaching an intensive 5-day version of the Lean LaunchPad/I-Corps class.

Lean 255
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Social Entrepreneurs Seek Social Change vs Profits

Startup Professionals Musings

An entrepreneur lifestyle that continues to gain in popularity these days is being a “social entrepreneur.” In the simplest of terms, these are people who seek to generate “social value”, rather than profits, and use traditional business principles to provide solutions to social issues On the surface, this sounds like entrepreneurs who want to build a non-profit organization.

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3 tech founders on scaling multi-million dollar businesses

The Next Web

Creating a startup may be one of the most difficult things you ever attempt, but scaling the venture to a mass market is even harder. As your brand grows, unless you’re fully prepared to scale it properly, everything will become chaotic. Often leading everything to fall into disarray and eventually crumble. With over 90 percent of startups never reaching their fifth birthday, it’s no secret starting a business is just the beginning of the race.

Founder 167
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How to Create a Great First Year in Your Own Business

Brandanew

When starting a new online business, you must take into consideration that most businesses struggle within their first year. Even with helpful technology on their side, the first year of business can be a make or break time. This is why it is important to set up your business the right way with thoughtfulness. Here are some tips to help you get started on the right foot.

Houston 113
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How Teens Must Adapt To Growing Up In The Gig Economy

YoungUpstarts

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