Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

There are certain topics that even some of the best journalists can’t fully grok. One of them is profitability. I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate the myth that focusing on profits is ALWAYS the right answer and then I hear many entrepreneurs (and certainly many “normals”

Startup 418

Startup Revenue Technical Review Flash 418

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

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 6, 2011

by Yi Ning Lim, marketing specialist at GMO GlobalSign. Cloud computing has become a buzzword in the recent years, with numerous companies providing the technology to enable organizations to access applications over a network to remote computing sites. It delivers on-demand, self-servicing capacity so as to allow users to run applications through a simple administrative console.

Cloud 223

Cloud Asia Government Mobile 223

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Over the last two months the U.S. government has been running one of the most audacious experiments in entrepreneurship since World War II. They launched an incubator for the top scientists and engineers in the U.S. This week we saw the results. 63 scientists and engineers in 21 teams made 2,000 customer calls in 8 weeks , turning laboratory ideas into formidable startups. 19 of the 21 teams are moving forward in commercializing their technology.

Incubator 310

Incubator Government Silicon Valley Lean 310

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

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

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 21, 2011

My little buddy, the robotic ball controlled by your smartphone named Sphero, has shipped and you can order a Sphero now ! Having watched Sphero come to life over the past 17 months, starting as a seed of an idea in the heads of two mad geniuses (Ian Bernstein and Adam Wilson) has been awesome. I remember seeing Ian and Adam’s video application to TechStars for the Boulder 2010 program (at the time the company was called Gearbox).

Software Review 133

Software Review Technical Review Early Stage Programming 133

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 6, 2011

by Ilene B. Stern , partner at Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, LLP. Congratulations! You’ve graduated from doing business with a handshake to a generic written contract downloaded from the Internet. But don’t pat yourself too hard on the back. Web site development contracts can be legal minefields, as many web site developers learn the hard way.

Web Development 193

Web Development Web Intellectual Property Developer 193

Gust

DECEMBER 22, 2011

So you’ve chosen a name for your startup, product, or both. Having covered all the bases to ensure that your corporate name is available, the domain name can be acquired, and the name doesn’t infringe any existing trademarks (as we discussed last week ), now is a good time to look at the categories of intellectual property (IP) that are relevant to most startups.

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Technical Review Software Review IP 149

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate. You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products.

Early Stage 247

Early Stage Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 247

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 19, 2011

Seemingly to save face, Stanford pulled out of NYC's Applied Sciences initiative to build a world-class engineering school last week. At the same time, Cornell got an anonymous $350 million donation to move forward with it's proposal--and rumor has it that the Mayor will announce Cornell's victory as soon as today. I have no doubt that any new school dedicated to engineering will be a good thing in New York City--one that I will fully support.

New York City 152

New York City New York Engineer Community 152

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

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 30, 2011

Chris Dixon had an excellent post yesterday titled Recruiting programmers to your startup. The post, and the comments, are full of super useful stuff that every entrepreneur should read carefully. I sent the link for the post out to the Foundry Group CEO email list and it generated a great discussion thread, including one of the companies sharing their full day interview / evaluation process which includes a four hour coding exercise.

Software Developers 136

Software Developers Software Development Startup Hiring 136

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 222

Asia Cloud Software Review China 222

Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2011

The resources required to start a company vary significantly , depending on the type of company and growth rate anticipated by the entrepreneur. An experienced software engineer, for example, can develop a new mobile app with his or her own resources and market the product on the web with very little capital. A medical device company, on the other hand, may need cash resources to pay for FDA testing, designing the prototype, manufacturing the product, establishing an inventory of the devices and

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Venture Capital Valuation Software Engineering 179

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2011

Most people think that the Peter Principle (employee rises to his level of incompetence) only applies to large organizations. Let me assure you that it is also alive and well within startups. There I see founders and managers who are stalled transplants from large organizations, and technologists trying to run the business. Forty years ago, in a satiric book named “ The Peter Principle ”, Dr.

Non-Compete 231

Non-Compete Entrepreneur Management Founder 231

For Entrepreneurs

DECEMBER 15, 2011

Today’s application developers are faced with a broad set of architectural decisions that can make or break their company going forward. This presentation, which was given as a keynote for the MassTLC application development conference, highlights the major changes that are taking place in the world of application development. The Application Development Landscape – 2011 [.].

Application Development 159

Application Development Developer Architecture Startup 159

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

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 30, 2011

by Jason Womack, author of “ Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More “ Now that the presents have been unwrapped and the halls have been undecked, it’s back to the daily grind. And while you’d love to feel energized and excited about jumping into 2012, instead you’re weighed down with dread. You know the second you step foot in your office you’ll be hit with 20+ tasks to add to your to-do list and an inbox full of e-mails begging for an immediate response.

Forecast 219

Forecast Software Review Technical Review Product 219

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

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 28, 2011

As someone obsessed with human computer interaction, the Kinect is an important piece of hardware. Of all the various things Microsoft is working on these days, I find it the most interesting. I’ve seen some awesome things done with it by my friends at Oblong and Organic Motion and saw a ton of neat hacks at last year’s Blur Conference.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Common Stock Seattle Cofounder 134

VC Cafe

DECEMBER 5, 2011

This weekend, I took part in Random hacks of Kindness, a social enterprise hackathon taking place all around the world (Google is one of the sponsors). I usually attend these things as a mentor, but this time I decided to roll up my sleeves, pitch an idea and get a project done in one weekend (48 hours). Time flew by and it didn’t feel like ‘work’ Since the organizer in London was a charity call Mybnk (teaching youth financial literacy), the problem we focused on was financial

South America 105

South America Ruby India Early Stage 105

mashable.com

DECEMBER 29, 2011

Top Stories Photo & Video Galleries Top Lists Trending Topics Twitter YouTube Facebook iPhone Google Video More Topics. People Recommended Mashable Staff More people. Jobs Awards Join Mashable on Google+ Welcome to Mashable! Sign in with Facebook or Facebook Mashable Social Media All Social Media How-To Facebook Twitter YouTube Google+ Featured in Social Media Tech All Tech Apps & Software Dev & Design Gadgets Mobile Featured in Tech Business All Business Advertising Marketing Media Small Busine

New York City 83

New York City New York Startup Social Media 83

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 8, 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 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Storably.com ( www.storably.com ) is an online peer-to-peer marketplace for parking and storage. Say you own an apartment that comes with a carpark lot in the middle of a city where parking is limited and expensive – but you don’t drive or own a car. With Storably , you can rent the space out to others who can put that space to better use – so now you can look at unused space as waste… or potentially an opportunity for additional income.

Part-Time VPE 223

Part-Time VPE Philadelphia Singapore Engineer 223

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

DECEMBER 8, 2011

I’ve been involved in internet Marketing since January 18th, 2011. Since I started, I’ve had the privilege of taking part in a number of online courses that have given me a solid Internet Marketing Education.

Software Review 76

Software Review Internet Restful Sales 76

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2011

A few weeks ago I was reading a blog post by MG Siegler that really struck a chord. The title was “The Jerk,” which is a reference to both the Steve Martin film but more precisely to Robert Scoble’s interpretation of Steve Jobs having just read his biography. The gist of MG’s argument is that he’d rather work with people who are openly critical of his ideas if it helps him to perform better than to have a bunch of “yes men” around who just say what a gre

Founder 337

Founder Partner Employee Entrepreneur 337

Rob Go

DECEMBER 28, 2011

I was reflecting on this post last week about the state of consumer web in Boston and shared a few of my thoughts in the comments. It got me thinking about this past year, specifically around consumer tech in Boston. Perhaps it’s been missed by most, but I think it was a remarkable year for this sector within this market. And that’s true pretty much across the board – from exits, late stage financings, scaling companies, and seed activity.

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Boston Software Review IPO 54

sixrevisions.com

DECEMBER 29, 2011

Six Revisions. Skip site navigation. Home. All Articles. Tutorials. Freebies. About. Contact. Subscribe: RSS Feed. Follow on Twitter. Tweet. Guide to Website Navigation Design Patterns. Feb 8 2011 by. Cameron Chapman |. 40 Comments |. Stumble. Bookmark. In web design, there are certain common design patterns that are used for interaction. Site navigation has a wide variety of common and familiar design patterns that can be used as a foundation for building effective information architecture for

Design 83

Design Vertical Architecture Search 83

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

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 213

Cloud Small Business Mobile Social Media 213

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

DECEMBER 1, 2011

There are only a handful of plugins for this blog that make a direct bottom line increase to income. Popup Domination is one them, and they just released a brand new version, Popup Domination 3.0. This plugin is all about increasing the number of people who opt-in to your email list.

Software Review 76

Software Review Restful Email Software 76

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2011

I am a big believer in VC pitches that the bio slide should come up front. Actually, I think the advice in this post applies to any sales meeting also. The short answer is that by knowing the key members of the management team the VC firm can quickly identify strengths on your time and know whether you have some competitive advantage in your chose field relative to other people with whom you will compete.

Partner 296

Partner Sales Management Startup 296

deal architect

DECEMBER 17, 2011

I recently passed the Ayn Rand section in the bookstore and saw her book I had read a long time ago. I also thought if she lived today, given her libertarian views, she would bristle against how many businesses take.

268

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A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

DECEMBER 5, 2011

(Powered by LaunchBit ). I can rip any business idea to shreds. Take NetFlix: The costs of inventory logistics, millions of non-technical customers, the Postal Service, and loss from wear and delivery will make profit impossible with a reasonable retail price. Movie-watchers are accustomed to the immediate gratification of browsing and selecting. People will copy movies, pissing off suppliers.

Lean 281

Lean Analytics Metrics Engineer 281