A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

DECEMBER 12, 2011

(Powered by LaunchBit ). Tweet. --> It’s a big decision to make your first hire, because what you’re really deciding is whether you want to keep a lifestyle business or attempt to “cross the chasm” and maybe even get rich. Assuming you really are in the market for another pair of hands to screw stuff up worse than you already are, the question is how to acquire resumes, how to pair them down, and how to identify someone who is going to work well in your company.

Hiring 282

Hiring Employee Ruby Java 282

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2011

Mid-level or even top executives who “grew up” in large companies often look with envy at startups, and dream of how easy it must be running a small organization, where you can see the whole picture and it appears you have total control. In reality, very few executives or professional stars from large corporations thrive in the early-stage startup environment.

Startup 263

Startup Early Stage Technical Review .Net 263

Agile VC

DECEMBER 13, 2011

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. How To Think About The Future. Home. About Me. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Making Good Decisions Still Means You’re Sometimes Wrong. December 13, 2011. One of the hardest things for me as a VC remains telling entrepreneurs I like and respect that we’re passing on their investment round.

Seed Stage 185

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 185

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 16, 2011

by Yi Ning Lim, marketing specialist at GMO GlobalSign. This is the second part of a two-part series covering the 2nd Annual Cloud Computing World Forum – Asia edition which was just concluded at The Mira, Hong Kong on 30 th Nov and 1 st Dec. In the previous article , we introduced Cloud Computing and some of the current trending issues in the Asia Pacific region.

Asia 175

Asia Cloud Software Review China 175

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

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2011

At today's roundtable, we had a 30-minute segment on Web 3.0 and Social Dancing. We basically took the Web 3.0 framework - Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS) - and did a blue sky exercise on how to create a comprehensive user experience for social dancers. We also explored business models that not only can span advertising, subscription, and e-commerce, but also hybrid virtual-physical concepts that could even draw upon a Starbucks of Salsa, Tango or Swing!

Romania 123

Romania Web Incubator Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2011

I often get asked the age-old question (by men) of “Who are the best entrepreneurs, men or women?” Women already believe they know the answer, so they never ask. I always try the diplomatic answer of “It depends”, but that doesn’t satisfy anybody. First, here are a few facts to set the stage. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research , only one in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned, but the number of female-owned firms is growing twice as fast as all busines

Entrepreneur 244

Entrepreneur Technical Review Revenue Finance 244

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 14, 2011

We all acknowledge that small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, and that technology is becoming increasingly important to help them survive and thrive in a poor economy. Jerry Nettuno, founder and CEO of online appointment scheduling service Schedulicity , believes that 2012 will be a year that will see a majority of small businesses harness and leverage the power of technology and online productivity tools to effective manage and grow their business.

Cloud 163

Cloud Small Business Mobile Social Media 163

thebarefootvc

DECEMBER 16, 2011

As a venture capitalist, I am privy to innovations long before they become mainstream, one of the things I love about my job. But even more exciting is when I see inflection points of adoption — which is why 2011 was a particularly exhilirating year for me. This was the year that the promise of technology to truly change the world and empower individuals (the reason I entered the tech world in 1994) reached global scale.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review India Mobile Hockey Stick 110

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 16, 2011

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!

Social Media 99

Social Media Small Business Design Media 99

Gust

DECEMBER 15, 2011

Having taken stock of the main legal documents and actions involved in forming and operating a new startup, let’s crack open the “case” (disregarding the warnings about voiding your warranty) and examine a few of the steps, documents and key decisions to be made in getting a new startup ready for business. Most startup lawyers have checklists (at least in their heads) and will interview a new client to gather a wide range of relevant information before moving forward with business entity formati

Naming 141

Naming Delaware Tajikistan California 141

Up and Running

DECEMBER 16, 2011

The common tone going into 2012 is cautious optimism. Economies remain very fragile and so lavish spending on your marketing would be a high risk activity. Instead, focus in 2012 on your high payoff activities and leverage the abundance of low cost, no cost marketing tools available to you. From a budget standpoint, try to secure a monthly amount that won’t increase debt (i.e. avoid ramping up credit lines or credit cards) and instead look at what you can realistically spend to acquire a new cli

Video 75

Video Differentiation Web Development Mobile 75

Guy Nirpaz

DECEMBER 15, 2011

In my last “Top 10″ series for this week, I chose to review another Jeff Bennet’s article: Top 10 Things We Have Learned about Client Retention. Client retention is a critical component to any organization, especially for subscription based revenue model organizations. I agree with Jeff that reducing churn is not only the concern of your Support group – the entire company should focus on client retention and reducing churn as focusing on existing leads is more profitable

Retention 60

Retention Software Review Revenue Technical Review 60

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2011

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.

Software Review 74

Software Review Los Angeles Design Community 74

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 13, 2011

Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds. SEAL Team saying. Over the last 40 years Technology investors have learned that the success of startups are not just about the technology but “it’s about the team.”. We spent a year screwing it up in our Lean LaunchPad classes until we figured out it was about having the right team. Startup Team Lessons Learned.

Startup 324

Startup Lean Business Model Engineer 324

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2011

First things first – your startup needs a name! This may seem a silly and frivolous task, but it may be the most important decision you make. The name of your business has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you, and in today’s small world, it’s a world-wide decision. Please don’t send me any more business plans with TBD or NewCo in the title position.

Naming 271

Naming Cofounder Algorithm .Net 271

Guy Nirpaz

DECEMBER 12, 2011

1. Must be a corporate wide initiative – not just a client services initiative. Without Board and CEO level visibility, buy-in and sponsorship this type of corporate-wide initiative can be challenging to have all key stakeholders involved and invested. Although it is often lead by the client services team, a multi-departmental approach is necessary for it to be highly effective. 2.

Retention 54

Retention Merger Programming Sales 54

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 11, 2011

For those of you unfamiliar with Yiddish, the word ‘mishegoss’ is defined as craziness or senseless activity, and as small business-people we can certainly relate to that concept, particularly as the holidays loom and the year comes to an end. Of course, every small business is unique and every business owner has their own priorities for operating their venture, but there are many things that each has in common and the scramble at the end of the year is one of those.

Small Business 90

Small Business Startup Chicago Retention 90

deal architect

DECEMBER 16, 2011

Apologies to Waylon Jennings Johnny Lee for twisting his words from Urban Cowboy, but I have been pleased to see salesforce.com make Canadian acquisitions – Radian6 and now Rypple, the social performance management vendor.

Technology 210

Technology Acquisition Management 210

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Whether you teach online classes or just love bringing social media and technology into the classroom, Google offers up some amazing tools to help you get students thinking, learning, connecting, and sharing. One of the newest, and perhaps the coolest, additions to Google’s suite of online tools is the recently updated Google+ Hangouts. Through Hangouts, up to ten users can video conference at once, and the service is easily connected to existing Google+ circles, offering up a whole host of exci

Hosting 190

Hosting Social Media Networking Programming 190

Guy Nirpaz

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I declare this week as the “Top 10″ Practices week in Totango! After yesterday’s post on Top 10 Requirements for an Effective Client Lifecycle , Today, I’m going to review Jeff Bennet’s top 10 must do’s for young SaaS companies. Jeff Bennett, who is the founder and CEO of ServiceVantage , has a lot of experience working with SaaS companies in various sizes and being part of the SaaS Industry myself, I see eye to eye with his key strategies and therefore thoug

Retention 44

Retention Software Review Sales Revenue 44

Scalable Startup

DECEMBER 15, 2011

There seems to be a lot of this going around these days – the “I’m just about to start a startup” category of entrepreneurs, or “I just started a startup” when they haven’t. It’s also become the new euphemism for unemployed. Here are the justifications and logic process for so many claiming they have a startup before they really do, and in many cases actually getting some funding: people feel like they might as well start their own business since n

Angel Investor 24

Angel Investor Startup IPO Software Developers 24

deal architect

DECEMBER 15, 2011

I knew I had a conflict and could not be at the SAP Influencer Summit. So, I was pleased when Mike Prosceno of SAP emailed “its all being recorded so you can watch on demand at your leisure.” Then I.

Demand 210

Demand Email 210

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Earlier this week, local bank United Overseas Bank (UOB) launched a new mobile banking application for the iPhone that includes a Mobile Cash service which allows users to withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) without the use of their bank cards. This service also allows users to transfer money to a list of registered recipients – including non-UOB bank customers – by the use of an instant text message and a one-time password, which allows a recipient withdraw cash from

Mobile 177

Mobile Singapore Small Business Equity 177

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 13, 2011

On my run yesterday in Central Park, I was thinking about the characteristics of some of my favorite companies. Suddenly a phrase popped into my head about what ties all of these companies together – they are the silent killers. When I look at the Foundry Group portfolio , we’ve got a bunch of them in it. They don’t spend a lot of time trying to get written up in TechCrunch.

Portfolio 171

Portfolio Community Revenue Partner 171

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I’ve recently taken a look at seed stage funding by venture capitalists (VCs) and angel investors over the past five years. For VCs, I chose to look at all seed stage VC deals (from MoneyTree©) as well as those in five of the most active regions in the country. Note that I merged the two Southern California regions (LA/Orange County and San Diego) into one.

Seed Stage 162

Seed Stage Southern California San Diego Silicon Valley 162

deal architect

DECEMBER 11, 2011

As I run through a near-final edit of my next book, I feel like I am watching a video summarizing the X Games. So many elite technology athletes – buyers, vendors, regulators, influencers – are profiled across the book. While.

Cloud 210

Cloud Video Technology 210

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 13, 2011

Professional online network LinkedIn today revealed the most overused words and phrases in its members’ profiles this year. Here are the most overused words by country: Creative : Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Multinational : Brazil. Dynamic : France. Effective : India. Problem solving : Italy.

United Kingdom 176

United Kingdom Netherlands Ireland Singapore 176

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Recently my partners and I spent some time discussing three of our recent investments – Spanning , Yesware , and Attachments – which are each applications built on top of Google Apps. Specifically, they are built for Google Apps and available in the Google Apps Marketplace or the Chrome Web Store. Each company is going after something very different.

Cloud 134

Cloud Early Stage Email Web 134

Life Beyond Code

DECEMBER 11, 2011

Pain is everywhere. If that depresses you, just know that joy is everywhere too. The problem? Our tolerance level for pain is reasonably low. And, our bar to recognize joy is way higher than it should be. It’s a double-loss really. We can see pain from a mile away but we can’t see joy even if it is right in front of us. I heard it from Tony Robbins once that we constantly move away from pain and move towards joy.

Sales 125

Sales Video Design Product 125

deal architect

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Apologies to Train, but I need to twist their words to “I need a sign to let me know you're here All of these lines are being crossed over the Twitter channel.” I recently chanced upon a GAMEC printout from.

Channel 186

Channel 186

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 15, 2011

by Lior Levin. Investing is never a sure thing according to those who have succeeded. If you can’t find a sure thing, the next best bet is to learn from the best practices of successful investors. Here are tips from active angel investors who have enjoyed success with some of today’s leading technology companies: Investors Rely on Networks. Networking has always been a critical part for investing, especially for angels taking on high risk wagers in startup companies that are unknown quantities.

Exit Strategy 167

Exit Strategy Balance Sheet Startup Salary 167

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Many of the companies that we invest in are the leaders in their respective markets. Often they create the market. Sometimes they appear out of no where and dominate. And sometimes they are in a brutal fight every day with another company or two for market leadership. We don’t care which case it is – we just want to be investors in the companies that are #1 or #2 (and have a chance to be #1) in their markets.

Leadership 129

Leadership Operations Employee Marketing 129

Life Beyond Code

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Thought Leadership is one of my favorite topics. You don’t become a thought leader in a day or a week or in a month. It takes years of investment but when you look at the platform it will provide for you to make a bigger contribution to the world, it makes it all worth it. I met Dr. Liz Alexander who is an expert on helping people on their journey to becoming thought leaders earlier this year and was fascinated by her knowledge and approach to the topic.

Leadership 124

Leadership Differentiation Curation Texas 124

deal architect

DECEMBER 15, 2011

On the New Florence blog The 2011 Hurricane Season in 4 1/2 minutes Kepler-22b Burberry Bespoke Corporate Innovation and Culture

170

170

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 14, 2011

The world is going social, and even CEO of companies are becoming more and more involved in social media. Don’t believe us? Here’s an infographic from CEO.com that shows as company CEOs get younger and younger, many of them are looking towards social media to help in their business. Here are some statistics: - 81-percent of CEOs who use social media marketing agree that it has helped generate exposure for their business. - 65-percent of CEOs under the age of 40 use and maintain work-

Social Media 160

Social Media Media Marketing Management 160

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 16, 2011

My grandfather had a stroke when he was 80. He lived another three years, trapped in his mind. Whenever I saw him, I think he recognized me, but he couldn’t really speak and had trouble reacting to anything I said to him. He was clearly very frustrated, and often angry – not at me, but at his inability to communicate. I’ve always imagined that inside his mind he knew everything that was going on, but he just couldn’t get the words out.

125

125