Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

'There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. On the surface the narratives have been. The rise of “micro VCs” or seed-stage funds. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). The poor performance of the asset class (this analysis has largely been wrong as I pointed out here –> most analyses were clumsy rear-view mirror looks at the data).

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2014

'Most small businesses are trying to forget the recent recession, and get back to “business as usual.” They don’t realize that business as usual is gone forever. With social media and smart phone conversations, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. Entrepreneurs that are not listening, not engaging, and not changing will be left behind even in the best of times.

Agile 250

Agile Technical Review Leadership Social Media 250

YoungUpstarts

JULY 25, 2014

'Airline engineering issues arise due to lack of oversight; methods used for risk management and the use of temporary employees and outsourced specialists. An annual conference is held each year in London to discuss the latest trends, allow key players to meet, adapt new business strategies, understand challenges and solve issues, build relationships and learn best practices for the airline industry.

Engineer 229

Engineer Technical Review Video Conversion 229

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

'The most useful meetings with an investor are ones where going in everyone understands that there may actually be a rational reason for the investor to be interested. So even if my own mother asked me to meet with you, and you were pitching me a biotech opportunity for a $10 million investment at a $90 million valuation, I might take the meeting, but it wouldn’t be particularly useful for either of us.

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

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

Up and Running

JULY 23, 2014

'The exit strategy isn’t about you, it’s about your investors. Startups looking for angel investors or venture capital (VC) absolutely need an exit strategy because investors require it. The exit is what gives them a return. Exit strategies related to startup funding are quite often misunderstood: The “exit” in exit strategy is for the money, not the startup founders or small business owners.

Exit Strategy 131

Exit Strategy Software Review Angel Investor Startup 131

ConversionXL

JULY 22, 2014

'According to eConsultancy, up to 30% of eCommerce visitors will use internal site search. Typically speaking, due to the increased level of purchase intent, are also known to convert sometimes up to 5-6X higher than the average non-site search visitor. Natural language processing software Inbenta mentions in this article a client who noticed their site search customers converted 43% higher, and eConsultancy talks about cases where site search visitors are making up as much as 13.8% of the overa

Search 125

Search eCommerce Analytics Software Review 125

K9 Ventures

JULY 24, 2014

'No, not that kind of non-verbal gesture. I believe this was in April 2010 and if memory serves me correct it was an event hosted at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos by Sand Hill Angels , where Vinod Khosla gave a talk. I was relatively new to the investing world at the time having started K9 Ventures just a year before in April 2009. In his talk Vinod walked through some examples of different companies he had invested in through Khosla Ventures.

Technical Review 112

Technical Review Early Stage Operations Hosting 112

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 23, 2014

'Today Benchmark announced that Eric Vishria has joined us as a General Partner. Eric is one of the up-and-coming stars in the technology industry, and we are very excited he is becoming our partner. In Benchmark’s team dynamic, character and attitude really matter. Eric’s keen intellect, his experience as an entrepreneur and CEO, his depth in infrastructure and enterprise software, and his infectious optimism about technology make him an ideal Benchmark partner.

Partner 74

Partner Software Review Technical Review Acquisition 74

Hunter Walker

JULY 22, 2014

'Hey founders, want to hear something incredibly frustrating about seed financing? I don’t believe the forecast you show me. You know the one that inevitably has you at $100 million in revenue by Year Three? Yeah, that one. It’s a great discussion point to understand how you think of your business’ potential but as an operating plan?

Forecast 95

Forecast Early Stage Seed Stage Startup 95

YoungUpstarts

JULY 23, 2014

'by Jessica Oaks. Some of the time, you need more than what a mere smartphone or tablet have to offer. So mobile device manufacturers have taken the best of what smartphones and tablets provide and combined them into a new device coined the “phablet.”. In fact, the phablet is currently beginning to overtake the tablet in sales, becoming the new surrogate for the tablet experience.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Mobile Flash Technology 160

Up and Running

JULY 25, 2014

'Nike’s successful marketing means that everyone will buy their product—even when it isn’t the best. When you are developing a marketing plan, it’s important to focus on the aspect of your product that you mean to be the selling point. You have to have that thing that makes you stand out from the pack, and that’s what you focus on.

Florida 89

Florida United States Campaign Cofounder 89

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

'Since 2009 we’ve been in an unequivocal bull market. Venture capitalists have raised increasing amounts of money from their investors (LPs) every year. An impressive number of new VCs have been created – most of them with new seed funds. We’ve had an explosion of alternate sources of financing from crowd-sourcing, angels, accelerators, incubators, corporates, corporate incubators.

Marketing 354

Marketing Incubator Turkey Metrics 354

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 25, 2014

'30 Tips for Great Digital Marketing written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing. It’s guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest post is from Tara Banda – Enjoy! A man walks into a bar/restaurant/hotel/car repair shop. Chances are, he found it online. That’s because today’s consumers, 80% according to Google , rely more on the Web to find and choose local businesses.

Marketing 77

Marketing Social Media Software Review Metadata 77

deal architect

JULY 22, 2014

'Oracle invited me to moderate a panel in their DaaS launch today. Watch the whole hour for some great perspectives on this exciting new market category, and our panel starting around 26.00. Talking to Steve Miranda and Omar Tawakol before.

Cloud 326

Cloud Software Marketing 326

Up and Running

JULY 25, 2014

'Costly mistakes in basketball history reveal important lessons for your business. In 2009, to commemorate their 30th anniversary, ESPN released a new sports documentary series called “30 for 30.” The series included 30 full-length documentary features that highlighted sports history’s most memorable moments and personalities. The series was so popular that ESPN decided to release a second volume of 30 more documentaries, produce 30 new digital shorts, and even released a ̶

North Carolina 80

North Carolina Detroit Michigan Boston 80

Steve Blank

JULY 23, 2014

'This week the National Science Foundation goes Lean on education by providing $1.2 million to educators who want to bring their classroom innovations to a wider audience. ——– The I-Corps program started when the U.S. National Science Foundation adopted my Lean LaunchPad class. Their goal was to train University scientists and researchers to use Lean Startup methods (business model design, customer development and agile engineering) to commercialize their science.

Lean 283

Lean Minnesota Jordan Agile 283

YoungUpstarts

JULY 23, 2014

'by Steven G. Blum, author of “ Negotiating Your Investments: Use Proven Negotiation Methods to Enrich Your Financial Life “ Life is a series of negotiations. While we may realize this in theory, we probably don’t realize how often it applies in practice. Your work schedule, your pay and benefits, prices in big box stores, cell phone contracts, day care arrangements — you name it, it’s negotiable.

Pennsylvania 279

Pennsylvania Salary Demand Agile 279

deal architect

JULY 25, 2014

'You have heard the expression “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. But if you get fooled 6-7-8 times, who do you blame? As I go through every nook and crevice of the SAP economy.

Software 262

Software 262

Up and Running

JULY 19, 2014

'This Netflix original series is available now on Netflix. The Netflix original series, Orange is the New Black, takes a gritty, poignant, and hilarious look at life inside a women’s federal prison. The show premiered in 2013 to critical acclaim, and in June 2014 Netflix released all 13 episodes of its second season. The show recently won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Comedy Series, and has garnered 12 Emmy nominations.

Distribution 77

Distribution Differentiation Reputation Audience 77

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2014

'Today’s customers are much more in control of their buying decision, as they have more choices and more information than ever before. Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person.

Customer 245

Customer Entrepreneur Social Media Acquisition 245

YoungUpstarts

JULY 25, 2014

'by Bobby Emamian , co-founder and CEO of Prolific Interactive. Synergy. Scalability. Disruption. It’s amazing how quickly an idea can go from buzzworthy to buzzword. Sometimes buzzwords originate because they’re great ideas. But all too often, they become irrelevant once they’re branded a buzzword. The term “transparency” has struggled with this distinction in the business world for the past few years, but it’s time to clarify the role of transparency and the implications it can have for you

San Francisco 252

San Francisco Cofounder Salary New York 252

Steve Blank

JULY 21, 2014

'If you can’t see the video click here. Subscribe for more videos than you can ever watch here Filed under: 2 Minute Lessons , Customer Development.

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Video Developer Customer 262

Rembrandt Communications

JULY 23, 2014

'Does your copy need help? “Content is King!” “Use social media to get new clients!” “Post an SEO blog!” Writing SEO content and posting it online is all the rage. But why? People want to hear about the latest trends that will help them save time, money and have more fun. If they like what […]. The post 5 Tips to Write Buzzworthy SEO Content appeared first on SEO Content Strategy and BtoB Public Relations.

SEO 164

SEO Social Media Public Relations Web 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2014

'Where did this sense of entitlement in our business culture come from? I’ve written about this before, but I was reminded again a while back at a conference for startups when an entrepreneur started berating investors for not funding early-stage startups. It sounded to investors like me that they felt a funding entitlement for their startup idea. Of course, I’m sure entrepreneurs sense that many investors feel entitled to deals with no risk.

Later Stage 240

Later Stage Early Stage Equity Employee 240

YoungUpstarts

JULY 25, 2014

'by Frances Kweller, founder and CEO of Kweller Prep. A new business venture is like a new marriage: it’s really exciting and fun; then it’s a lot of work and fun. Then it’s a lot of work and not so fun; and then it’s just a ton of work mired with headache after headache and you are learning way too many hard-earned lessons and wondering how you got here.

France 237

France Social Media Founder Media 237

Feld Thoughts

JULY 25, 2014

'I was sitting with the founders of a company we’ve funded the other day talking about their competition. I love this product and I use it every day. It doesn’t yet have widespread adoption, but it as extremely actively used by the early adopters. This company has several competitors – long time incumbents with somewhat stale, but useful products, and several new competitors, including well-funded and noisy ones.

Product 169

Product Differentiation Architecture Conversion 169

Gust

JULY 20, 2014

'Image via Flickr by Zaneology. As an entrepreneur, your personal integrity is critical for getting and keeping the support of investors and team members, and your company’s integrity is critical for getting and keeping customers and vendors. But in a practical sense, what does that really mean? Most definitions of integrity include something like “the quality of being honest and morally upright.

Entrepreneur 166

Entrepreneur Leadership Business Plan Customer 166

The Next Web

JULY 24, 2014

'Ken Norton is a product partner at Google Ventures where he advises startups on product management and also helps organize workshops. Congratulations, a product has found its product manager. Perhaps you’re joining a small startup, or maybe you have a new project in a big company. How you approach your first 30 days will make a tremendous difference, setting you up for success or struggle.

Management 167

Management Product Web Hiring 167

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2014

'By Steve Siebold, author of “ How Rich People Think “ Aspiring entrepreneurs today are facing a different kind of world from their parents’ generation. This new kind of world requires a new kind of thinking. When looking to start up your own business, it is critically important to say good-bye to some seemingly harmless old adages of the past.

Intellectual Property 236

Intellectual Property IP Entrepreneur Startup 236

Version One Ventures

JULY 22, 2014

'Over the past few years, we have seen an explosion of start-up activity as the traditional barriers to entry have come down. The ability to raise money no longer determines one’s fate. With lowered costs to build and run websites, acquire and retain users, virtually anybody can pick up coding and start a tech company. At the same time, funding opportunities have expanded for early-stage start-ups.

Finance 167

Finance Seed Money Bootstrapping Angel Investor 167

Feld Thoughts

JULY 21, 2014

'In today’s installation of the Techstars Mentor Manifestor , we deconstruct #3: Be Authentic – Practice What You Preach. Authenticity has once again become a trendy word. When I started blogging in 2004, it was all about transparency. Fred Wilson led the way and I happily followed. And if you want to really understand transparency, look at Rand Fishkin’s epic post on Moz’s $18 Million Venture Financing in 2012.

Vesting 148

Vesting Matching Restful Finance 148

The Next Web

JULY 25, 2014

'Ah, Berlin. The city that wears its history on its sleeve, yet allows ample space for new culture to thrive. Its creative scenes, tech companies and weekend-long dance parties have made headlines in recent articles in Vice, Fast Company and The New Yorker. All eyes seem to be on Berlin. But don’t let its Brooklyn vibe or the Freikörperkultur (FKK) get you too relaxed.

Europe 162

Europe Web Startup Entrepreneur 162

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2014

'by Joel Freimuth, CEO of Blue Pearl Consulting. When one is so invested in a company, it is easy to put the blinders on and focus solely on the operations happening in house. While keeping internal systems running smoothly will positively correlate to success; the best companies are able to maintain an inner strength and keep an eye focused on the external influences that can have a major affect long term.

Chicago 219

Chicago Analytics Operations Networking 219

Gust

JULY 19, 2014

'With Gust , the power of the system is that your completed investor relations profile can now serve as your official application to virtually any organized angel group in the world…all you need to do is share it with them*. I’d suggest that you browse through the Gust investor search engine for investment groups (and accelerators, incubators, business plan competitions, et al) that are relevant to your startup (by location, industry, type of organization, etc.), and read their

Angel Groups 142

Angel Groups New York Deal Flow Incubator 142

Up and Running

JULY 21, 2014

'Are you the one that makes killer cakes for every birthday? Do you churn out to-die-for donuts? If you’re ready to turn your talents into a profitable bakery, you’ve come to the right place. There’s money to be made in the baking biz. The baking industry accounts for $311 billion in total economic output, according to the American Bakers Association.

Green 145

Green Los Angeles Social Media Hiring 145

The Next Web

JULY 22, 2014

'This post originally appeared on the iDoneThis blog. You’re stuck in the trough of sorrow. No matter what you do, nothing in your company is improving. You look around you, and everyone you know is crushing it. Their companies are getting acquired, they’re raising huge funding rounds, and they’re announcing new product features that people love. But not you.

Startup 155

Startup Web Entrepreneur Product 155