Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 22, 2014
'With the Identity Theft Resource Center® reporting a 30% increase in privacy breaches in 2013, there seems to be a growing population out there worried about all the people intent on hurting them. Why is everyone so paranoid these days? My plea to entrepreneurs is to recognize these concerns as an opportunity, to make people’s life better, rather than stoke the fires.
YoungUpstarts
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
'Perhaps you’re an aspiring technology entrepreneur with a great idea of a product you believe would take off, but due to the lack of technical knowledge or funds have no way to turn your business idea into reality. You could try the hard route and raise funds to put together a team. With funds you could maybe even consider outsourcing the development.
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The Next Web
FEBRUARY 23, 2014
'This post originally appeared on the TransferWise blog. TransferWise is the clever new way to transfer money between countries, from the people the people who built Skype and PayPal. From Silicon Valley to Silicon Alley, and Berlin’s hip coffee shops to East London’s Silicon Roundabout , the world is well versed in the global innovation boom towns.
ConversionXL
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
'Note from the editor: We talk a lot about conversion rate optimization, and how it’s about showing the right people, the right thing, at the right time in order to get more out of your website. For many ConversionXL readers, PPC advertising is a big part of your business & in many ways it is just as critical to the conversion process as what’s happening on the page.
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
crowdSPRING Blog
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
'Supermarkets share a common layout. Many competitive products (toothpaste, for example), have similar packaging. Do supermarket and toothpaste companies lack imagination? It’s possible, but a different explanation is more likely. Smart businesses apply science to marketing. Relying on psychological research, these businesses adapt marketing strategies to maximize revenues and profits.
Gust
FEBRUARY 22, 2014
'The answer is no , yes , and it’s irrelevant. Back in the days of the dinosaurs, my first software company was in the wireless communications space (when that meant “pagers”, not “smartphones”), and our product let you type a message on your computer and send it to a pager, using a very simple protocol known as “TAP” We were—by far—the market leader in the industry (providing the software for Motorola, Nextel, Apple, Sprint, etc.) despite having lots
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
SVPG
FEBRUARY 23, 2014
'One of the most significant changes in how we do product today is our use of analytics. Any capable product leader today is expected to be comfortable with data, and understand how to leverage analytics to learn and improve quickly. Note: For the purposes of this article, consider the terms: “analytics,” “data,” “KPI" (Key Performance Indicator), and “metrics" to be synonymous.
crowdSPRING Blog
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
'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!
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
'By Frank Peters. I became an entrepreneur because I had to. My life in Corporate America wasn’t going so well. I never got fired, but I did quit one job the day before I was to be let go. I used my employee discount that last day to purchase a Compaq luggable computer and drove with my brother to Las Vegas. Now, this would be questionable therapy for anyone who just became unemployed, except we were heading to Comdex , the annual computer show that would eventually grow huge as would th
deal architect
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
'My blogs are celebrating their 9th birthdays – Deal Architect this month, its younger sibling New Florence in March. Together, they represent my longest “book” – 9,000 posts long. It’s been quite a run. In many ways they are ying.
Diego Basch
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
'[ I wrote this draft a week ago and forgot about it, but in the light of the Mt. Gox news I decided to post it because someone might find it useful ]. Over the past few months I’ve noticed a significant number of forum posts by people losing crypto coins due to their own mistakes. This happens because many do not understand the basic concept of Bitcoin/Altcoin ownership, and the implications when it comes to protecting coins.
crowdSPRING Blog
FEBRUARY 23, 2014
'I have written occasionally about legislation in Congress and how it impacts small businesses and startups, and three proposed laws have recently caught my attention. Congress makes a lot of noise about the importance of small businesses to our society, but their track record over the past few years has been abysmal, at best. Proposals come, proposals go, the wind howls, Representatives and Senators shake their collective fists and, at the end of the day, small businesses have little or nothing
Steve Blank
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
'Since 2005 startup accelerators have provided cohorts of startups with mentoring, pitch practice and product focus. However, accelerator Demo Days are a combination of graduation ceremony and pitch contest, with the uncomfortable feel of a swimsuit competition. Other than “I’ll know it when I see it”, there’s no formal way for an investor attending Demo Day to assess project maturity or quantify risks.
deal architect
FEBRUARY 22, 2014
'OK, so I admit. I write books about Digital Enterprises, I prefer digital banking, mobile travel sites, GPS navigation over paper maps, self service airline check-in and grocery store check-out. I will take a digital route way before a paper/people/process.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
'Mark. You disappeared? What the fork happened to you? And what’s up with this crazy new blog design? Well … more on that next week. I will tell more. But for now … Every year we run a big VC, LP & Tech Summit in Los Angeles (this year downtown) to showcase the best of our community and invite others from around the country. Our event this year will feature many portfolio companies and also emerging LA tech companies such as Tinder & Whisper.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 24, 2014
'If your startup is looking for an Angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of Angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. Or does it? Actually numbers and locations are just the beginning. The challenge is to find the right Angel for you, and for your situation. Here are some basic principles: Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas.
Jeff Hilimire
FEBRUARY 24, 2014
'Business Insider had an interesting article recently entitled, “9 CEO’s Share Their Favorite Interview Questions” I thought it might be fun to try to answer these as if I was interviewing at their company. On a scale of one to 10, how weird are you? – Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. 3. Maybe 4. I’m not too weird. I’m a pretty straight and narrow guy.
deal architect
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
'InformationWeek as kindly run a column on the new book The Digital Enterprise. My basic premise was IT has become fun and profitable for most of the companies we interviewed for the book. The reason is they have moved past.
YoungUpstarts
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
'by Cynthia Griffith, author of “ The Sun Village Project “. The 21 st century’s industrial revolution is upon us and totally innovative ways to make a profit are being discovered all the time. Whether you’re introducing the world to your new fashioned take on traditional cuisine or you’re building a skyscraping interactive museum, you should seriously consider starting up in Wilmington, Delaware.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
'Real innovation in the business world is still rare. As I’ve said before, everyone talks about innovation, but the majority of new business plans I see still reflect linear thinking – one more social network with more features, another smartphone app for marketing, or one more platform for faster e-commerce. Historic changes and great successes don’t come from linear thinking.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
'People say the end of the year is a terrible time to raise money or sell a company, because “everyone’s only thinking about the holidays” and “monied people are off skiing in Aspen.” Except, my previous company Smart Bear was sold on Dec 20, 2007. And we completed our Series C round here at WP Engine on Dec 23, 2013. And no fewer then three other companies I was previously an investor in also raised a round that closed in December of 2013.
deal architect
FEBRUARY 24, 2014
'There are so many amazingly positive visuals of Apple. Customers leaping for joy after they have lined for hours outside a store for their new device. My kids when we traded their Blackberries for iPhones. My kids and wife when.
YoungUpstarts
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
'Building a business from scratch is never easy. Far too many businesses – around 80% to be exact – fail within the first 18 months. Did you know that in 2009, about 550,000 small businesses opened in America, yet 660,000 of them actually closed down in the same year? It’s a shocking statistic. Many of those business failures close for a variety of reasons, but surprisingly almost half of them (46%) is down to sheer incompetence, and 11% of them because of the lack of experienc
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 23, 2014
'Every startup founder I know talks about the chaos of their business, which they usually attribute to that burst of growth that is required to get to positive cash flow. They envision a stable environment after that point, and may have convinced themselves that they will be safer and happier with a livable income, maintaining a loyal but flat customer base.
Feld Thoughts
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
'Every year or so my partners and I at Foundry Group create a new company, or start a new project, that we believe had the potential to change the way something works in our world, while simultaneously helping the entrepreneurs we work with, and the entrepreneurs we aspire to work with. For example, in 2006, we co-founded Techstars. At the time David Cohen, the co-founder and CEO, was unhappy with how angel investing worked.
deal architect
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
'My wife says I am an impatient man. She has not seen me in meetings where I hear of enterprise vendors talk about integrating functionality they acquired years prior or ERP rollouts that go on for decades it seems like.
YoungUpstarts
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
'Workplaces are turning virtual – work no longer need to be confined to a desk in the office when the devices at home or the ones in your hand can easily be used to do what needs to be done and get projects delivered on time. In fact, many global companies are embracing virtual teams – where employees scattered across the world but put into teams to complete a project – and the technologies required to make that happen.
The Next Web
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
'Adam Benzion is the founder of Entirely —a Seattle startup focused on social innovation, keen on connecting more people in more places to create special things together. . Your day is finally here. Your two-to-three person team is ready to rock after freeing yourselves from the golden claws of your highly disappointing day job. And you are hell bent on making your new venture a success, as you should be.
Life Beyond Code
FEBRUARY 22, 2014
'You may have experienced this (or might have seen someone go through this situation) – you are on to something big and need a LOT of help but even people who have known you for a while are not actively supporting you in your quest. They seem to listen to everything and say encouraging words about your adventure but when it comes to doing something, they shy away from it.
deal architect
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
'One of the most closely watched metrics at the annual NFL Scouting Combine this time of the year is each athlete’s 40 yard dash timing. At the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference last year a panel decomposed that metric. How.
YoungUpstarts
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
'Global social media analytics and optimization company Socialbakers has announced the opening of its new Asia-Pacific headquarters based in Singapore. Prague, Czech Republic-based Socialbakers’ expansion into the region comes on the heels of its successful Series C funding round to the tune of US$26 million earlier this month, and looks to tap on the rapidly growing demand for social analytics as social media becomes increasingly dominant as part of the marketing mix for brands in this re
The Next Web
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
'Jordy Leiser is co-founder and CEO of StellaService , a company that independently monitors and rates the customer service performance of online retailers. . Starting a new company is difficult. The numbers say that 75 percent of startups fail, but that doesn’t change the fact that lots of people do it every day. Inventing a new category, however, is downright herculean.
Rembrandt Communications
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
'3 Sales Pitch Tips to Grow Your Business… Fast! It’s almost March. How is your year going so far? I don’t know about you, but I’ve talked to many small business owners who are really watching their budgets closely and saving as much money as possible. With this in mind, it can be more difficult […].
deal architect
FEBRUARY 24, 2014
'In the analyst/blogger/media world we have periodic flare-ups of “who’s more independent”. Nothing gets resolved but a few weeks later it flares up again. Independence to me represents many shades of grey. When I joined Gartner from Price Waterhouse I.
YoungUpstarts
FEBRUARY 23, 2014
'According to a recent Research And Markets report , corresponding with explosive growth in the demand for mobile broadband is a similar increase for Over-the-Top (OTT) content, where the delivery of video, audio and other media over the Internet other than via a service provider’s own dedicated, managed IPTV network. In fact the need for OTT content has grown rapidly with a staggering 352.4 million people expected to pay for access to OTT programming by 2016.
The Next Web
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
'George Deeb is the Managing Partner at Chicago-based Red Rocket Ventures , a startup consulting and financial advisory firm based in Chicago. You can follow George on Twitter at @georgedeeb and @RedRocketVC. One of the questions I get, more often than not, is what is the appropriate valuation of my business. This is typically in conjunction with an upcoming financing or pending takeover offer.
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