Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

By now you probably know that David Sacks , co-founder of PayPal and founder of both Geni & Yammer made some observations on Facebook that Silicon Valley “as we know it” was coming to an end. He says. “In order to create a successful new company, you have to find an idea that. (1) has escaped the attention of the major Internet companies, which are better run than ever before; (2) is capable of being launched and proven out for ~$5M, the typical seed plus series A investmen

Silicon Valley 299

Silicon Valley Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder 299

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. If you have been working 20 hours a day, and spent your last dollar, but have no results to show, investors will be sympathetic, but will probably tell you that your dream doesn’t have wheels. Traction means forward progress. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 28, 2012

In today’s startup landscape, practically everything can be outsourced. But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. So how do you decide what’s right for your new company? To find the best way to integrate core technical skills into a start up, we asked eight successful young entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) whether startups need tech-oriented f

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Cofounder Founder Software Review 131

Mike Michalowicz

AUGUST 30, 2012

The Watering Hole Is Putrid. Have you had bad results when using job boards to find top talent? It isn’t that the job listing sites are bad, its just that employer and their mother uses those systems to find employees. In other words, the job board watering hole is saturated, and the select few great employees get picked up before you even get a chance to print out their resume.

Employee 144

Employee LLC Non-Compete Utah 144

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

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2012

This is a hot topic I’ve been asked a lot about recently. You’re on a first date with a VC – how much should you tell them? You’re heading into a full partner meeting and you’ve been asked for a full data pack before – should you give it? When is it appropriate for a VC to call your customers? There is no universal answer and my discussions with various VCs on these topics have yielded many differing opinions.

Technical Review 316

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Cap Table 316

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2012

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs these days is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. The problem is that crowd funding means something different to everyone, and even I have been confused by the different ways the term gets used. So I have set out here to outline and offer some practical advice on the many different models currently used with the term “crowd funding” and “crow

Intellectual Property 242

Intellectual Property Venture Capital Angel Investor Equity 242

David Teten

AUGUST 29, 2012

I’ll be a judge for IGNITE!, a pitch event featuring ten early stage tech startups, Tuesday night , September 4 at Microsoft’s midtown office at 1290 Avenue of the Americas. RSVP. Presenting Companies. geekli.st. A place for geeks to share what they’ve done, who they did it with and connect with great companies and communities. Geeklist is a vibrant platform for geeks to discover, connect and share the great work they have done.

Curation 114

Curation Japan Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 114

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 28, 2012

In today’s startup landscape, practically everything can be outsourced. But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. So how do you decide what’s right for your new company? To find the best way to integrate core technical skills into a start up, we asked eight successful young entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) whether startups need tech-oriented f

Technical Review 79

Technical Review Cofounder Founder Software Review 79

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 28, 2012

This is a guest post by Christian Gheorghe, founder and CEO of Tidemark. It’s a start, a work of art. To revolutionize make a change nothing’s strange. People, people we are the same. No we’re not the same. Cause we don’t know the game. What we need is awareness, we can’t get careless. You say what is this? —Public Enemy, Fight The Power.

Romania 77

Romania Software Review Cloud Mobile 77

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 29, 2012

What does the pain of organizational change have to do with a bunch of conference goers, a little girl and a missing rag doll, and a raging hurricane? Plenty, it seems, according to the authors of “ The Pivot Point “ Authors and organizational behavior experts Victoria Grady and James Grady use the scenario of some participants of an organizational management conference caught by a huge storm who are forced to take shelter in a hotel.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Management Employee Technology 164

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 29, 2012

I’ve been meaning to write a post on freemium since reading Alan Patrick’s When freemium fails, and doesn’t last week. The point of Alan’s post is to say that whilst having a freemium business model works for some companies it is not as widely applicable as everyone (including me) thought a couple of years back. I think he’s largely right. The basic problem is illustrated by the story of Chargify (from WSJ ): for some, the "freemium" strategy is turning out to be a costly trap, leaving t

Bankruptcy 100

Bankruptcy Software Review LLC Business Model 100

Growthink Blog

AUGUST 28, 2012

Speaking at events is a great way to generate quality leads and expand your business. The truth is, you don't have to be a great orator or the next Tony Robbins, so long as you know what you're talking about (which you will), come across as credible, and most of all, interest the audience. Below are some tips to help you find and speak at events to generate new business.

Customer 89

Customer Audience Technical Support Channel 89

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 29, 2012

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.

Minnesota 60

Minnesota Design Software Review Community 60

Startup Company Lawyer

AUGUST 31, 2012

Quick answer: convertible equity (or a convertible security) is convertible debt without the repayment feature at maturity or interest. Background. Over the past few years, convertible debt has emerged as a quick and inexpensive method for startup companies to raise money from angel investors and early stage venture funds. Paul Graham sparked some commentary by declaring in a tweet in August 2010 that “Convertible notes have won.

Convertible Security 73

Convertible Security Equity Security Preferred Stock 73

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 28, 2012

'This is a guest post by Christian Gheorghe, founder and CEO of Tidemark. It''s a start, a work of art To revolutionize make a change nothing''s strange People, people we are the same No we''re not the same Cause we don''t know the game What we need is awareness, we can''t get careless You say what is this? —Public Enemy, Fight The Power. In retrospect revolutions appear self-evident, yet at the time they seem unlikely.

Romania 44

Romania Software Review Cloud Mobile 44

deal architect

AUGUST 30, 2012

This continues a series of columns from practitioners I respect. The category "Real Deal" describes them well. This time it is Charles Phillips, the CEO of Infor. I have had the honor of knowing Charles for 2 decades in his.

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crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 29, 2012

Well, the time has come. The sun is setting earlier and earlier; kids are filtering back into school; summer is ending. And while many of us are looking forward to finding our flannels and getting ourselves to an apple orchard, the end of summer is always bittersweet. But! Before September 21st rolls around, there is still plenty of time to get one last good, summer day in.

Small Business 68

Small Business Demand Technical Review Community 68

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2012

A founder’s skill is knowing how to recognize new patterns and to pivot on a dime. At times the pattern is noise, and the vision turns out to be a hallucination. Knowing how to sort between vision and hallucination can avoid chaos inside your startup. ——— Yuri, one of my ex students started a big-data analytics company last year. He turned his PhD thesis into a killer product, got it funded and now was CEO of a company of 30.

Founder 316

Founder Cofounder Advisory Board Burn Rate 316

www.ashmaurya.com

AUGUST 29, 2012

This is a guest post from Robert Graham – a solo bootstrapper who blogs about the experience. Robert has been working in software since 2005. He is a Ph.D. dropout who spent time working for Google. Someday he ‘d like to work for himself. You can learn more about his approach to developing customer relationships in his new book Cold Calling Early Customers.

Email 52

Email Customer Tennessee Software Review 52

deal architect

AUGUST 27, 2012

I suspect Dennis Howlett will get similar comments to his post comparing Workday to Apple as I did when I compared SAP and IBM to Apple. The enterprise world continues to believe it is much more complex, more secure, higher.

Security 274

Security 274

The Startup Toolkit

AUGUST 29, 2012

Advisors aren’t pokemon. You don’t need to collect the full set (tech, industry, product, customer, etc). Instead, focus on the problems your company has. Sometimes advisors are a quick and cheap way to overcome. Situations where advisors can add huge value. If the founding team is non-technical and you can’t figure out whether you are being screwed by your developers or whether your potential new CTO is amazing, a tech advisor can help by joining you in interviews and revie

Technical Review 38

Technical Review CTO Hire Cap Table Software Review 38

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2012

Entrepreneurs need to listen to constructive criticism, but ignore negative vibes and complainers at all costs. If you are a complainer, and you are thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, think again. The world of an entrepreneur is tough, unpredictable, and fraught with risk. Most importantly, the buck stops with you, so there is no room for excuses and negativity.

Entrepreneur 261

Entrepreneur Restful Demand Conversion 261

Venture Chronicles

AUGUST 30, 2012

Ray Wang wrote a summary of CRM Evolution that I found particularly interesting, and one point in particular resonated with me because it aligns to something I have been talking about at Get Satisfaction for a while now… B2B and B2C distinctions are dead. The segmentation of business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) behaviors is a false dichotomy to begin from, what really matters is the customer lifecycle and renew-ability of the relationship.

B2C 36

B2C B2B Technical Review Software Review 36

deal architect

AUGUST 31, 2012

Workday has filed its S-1 with the SEC as part of its IPO process. For the 37 months ending January 31, 2012, total revenues were $ 227 million, accelerating year on year, so let’s round off to lifetime revenues of.

SEC 262

SEC IPO Revenue Cloud 262

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 28, 2012

Singapore’s average household income has risen to S$2,925 per month in 2011, according to global services information company Experian. The Experian Mosaic Singapore , an index that looks at the Singapore consumer, was recently updated with over 200 new data points from sources including SingPost postcodes, Census 2010 data, property and market research data and shows that average monthly household income has risen some 25 percent from 2007.

Singapore 249

Singapore Asia Distribution Matching 249

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! A perfect round number is ten slides, with the right content, that can be covered in ten minutes. Even if you have an hour booked, the advice is the same.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

The Startup Toolkit

AUGUST 30, 2012

Entrepreneurs worldwide suspect the grass is greener in San Francisco. And so they uproot their companies, pay a king’s ransom to immigration lawyers, and generally allow it to distract them from building their company. But check it. The valley only has about 4x more VC deals than London (although average valuations are admittedly 2x higher): The valley is not 1000x better.

Silicon Valley 52

Silicon Valley San Francisco New Jersey India 52

deal architect

AUGUST 26, 2012

I would love to write a case study on the security scenarios that are being played out in Tampa over the next few days a) The RNC convention was already making the city a focus of the Secret Service, Coast.

Security 239

Security Tampa 239

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 30, 2012

What’s cooler than a top-secret, high-tech research facility? One that’s run by Google! Located in the Bay Area of Northern California (though only a select few know the exact location), Google X Labs has a purported list of 100 projects in development that delve into the realm of science fiction, the products of which may just change how we interact with our technology and each other in the coming decades.

Artificial Inteligence 187

Artificial Inteligence Nevada California Web 187

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2012

I’ve often said that creating and building a business is not a one-man show, even though it usually springs from the mind and determination of one person – committees don’t start successful businesses. But taking an idea to a business success requires many people to work together effectively, and that requires entrepreneurial leadership. Leadership is not a skill one is born with, but it can be learned and honed from experience and failures.

Leadership 237

Leadership Startup Programming Entrepreneur 237

The Startup Toolkit

AUGUST 29, 2012

If you want funding, don’t pay freelancers (or agencies) to have your first product version built. Doing so is a dead end, a trap, a red herring, and generally expensive. This trap is easy to fall into because investors truthfully claim that they need to see a product before they can invest. But they also need to see a product team , and hiring someone to build your version 1 does not bring you any closer to finding a team.

Sweat Equity 45

Sweat Equity Bootstrapping Equity Salary 45

deal architect

AUGUST 29, 2012

An executive who was honored at the recent annual CIO 100 event was describing the privilege of being with rock stars like Rob Carter, CIO of Fedex. He then observed “I was surprised how few CIOs at the event used.

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YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 31, 2012

For many brands, moms are a much desired target market. It’s also a very lucrative one – after all, they control around 85-percent of household spending, so it’s no surprise that entire businesses are created or geared towards that segment. In fact, moms, especially those with young children, make decisions on kids’ products or activities each and every day.

New Jersey 183

New Jersey Internet Search Web 183

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2012

An underutilized, but valuable resource, every startup should investigate is a formal or informal connection to your alma mater, or even any local university. These resources are definitely not limited to students, since every university seeks out and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already are active in the real world marketplace.

Arizona 231

Arizona Phoenix Intellectual Property Incubator 231

For Entrepreneurs

AUGUST 28, 2012

Summary This article describes in detail how to use on-line survey tools to validate your key startup assumptions, and gain actionable insights into topics such as pricing, target demographics, messaging, etc. Introduction By now pretty much every entrepreneur knows the basics of Lean Startup methodology: start by searching for product/market fit. Get out of the [.].

Startup 167

Startup Lean Search Entrepreneur 167

deal architect

AUGUST 29, 2012

on the innovation blog Dude, you are getting an Ultrabook! The “Big Data” of Drought Analysis Stars 2.0 Blueseed: “The Googleplex of the Sea” The Garmin G1000 Glass Cockpit Police Robots Swedish Medical Center and Aurora shooting More HaHa than.

Technology 220

Technology 220