Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 2, 2014
'There’s an old joke in software development, “How much time does it take to design software?” Answer: As long as you have scheduled for the design phase. I know. Not funny, “ha, ha” but pretty apropos. If you’ve been involved with a number of software projects you already have an intuitive sense for this. We’ve all been involved with projects that seem to drift and drift and make progress.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 22, 2014
'A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Even if you are looking in all the right places, it helps to know what you are looking for. In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.
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YoungUpstarts
APRIL 7, 2014
'by Don Thomas Jacob, Head Geek at SolarWinds. Today’s technology landscape is littered with buzzwords and seemingly urgent exhortations for businesses: move to the cloud, spend time and money developing a mobile app, support mobility, and so on. They are also inundated with news of trendy tech gear and encouraged to spend on implementing big technologies such as BYOD or big data and associated IT infrastructure.
Steve Blank
APRIL 23, 2014
'For decades large companies have gone shopping in Silicon Valley for startups. Lately the pressure of continuous disruption has forced them to step up the pace. More often than not the results of these acquisitions are disappointing. What can companies learn from others’ failed efforts to integrate startups into large companies? The answer - there are two types of integration strategies, and they depend on where the startup is in its lifecycle.
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
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
APRIL 15, 2014
'Keith Rabois famously quipped , “I don’t know of a single successful CEO or entrepreneur who blogs regularly.” That was five months ago, and people are still talking about it. And agreeing. But why? Sure the usual exceptions are trotted out – Rand Fishkin , Joel Gascoigne , etc. But the examples outweigh the exceptions 100-to-1.
Gust
APRIL 13, 2014
'Photo of Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt with Sergey Brin and Larry Page via Wikipedia. A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Even if you are looking in all the right places, it helps to know what you are looking for.
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 28, 2014
'It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. VCs and Angel investors like to see a startup that is running lean and mean, with no more than three or four of the conventional C-level or VP titles. More executives, or other more creative titles are seen as a big red flag.
YoungUpstarts
APRIL 9, 2014
'Crowdfunding may be set to take off in a big way in Singapore as local telecommunications provider StarHub announced during Crowdsourcing Week that it is set to launch Crowdtivate , an open crowdfunding platform which entrepreneurs and creative professionals can seek funding and obtain financial contributions from supporters around the region via a funding system in return for specific rewards.
Feld Thoughts
APRIL 24, 2014
'This morning littleBits released their Space Kit. I’ve been on the board of littleBits since last year and am just in awe of what the team, led by Ayah Bdeir, is cranking out. Ayah is an example of an amazing female entrepreneur and CEO. I first met her via Joanne Wilson who wrote about here here. I hope to work with her for a long time. Seeing the launch inspired me to go dig up a list of resourced for girls learning to code.
This is going to be BIG.
APRIL 14, 2014
'Last week, there was a Business Insider article measuring the percent of female founded companies that NYC seed funds invest in. Brooklyn Bridge Ventures came in first, with a whopping 61%. Lerer Ventures was second, with just under 20%. So, clearly, I''m making some kind of a portfolio-wide bet there, right? Nope. Well, it''s gotta mean something, right?
Gust
APRIL 27, 2014
'Software Development Process via Wikipedia. Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return. Like it or not, you are now entering the dreaded realm of specifying and documenting “formal business processes.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 6, 2014
'Reference calls. We all have to make them. Whether you’re considering hiring a new employee or as an investor whether you’re looking to do a background check on the founders of a company. My friend Jason Hirschhorn Tweeted about this today. Here are some pointers that I’ve learned over the years: 1. Ask for at least 5 references. As your candidate for at least 5 references.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 14, 2014
'Sponsored by VISA Business If you have a unique product or service, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. The cost of entry has never been lower. Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, lawyers, venture capitalists, or Angels. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites, for example, cost a million dollars to set up.
YoungUpstarts
APRIL 7, 2014
'For small businesses, printing stickers can be a very expensive affair. You really only had three options : to outsource to a professional printer to get the job done, buy and use sticker labels for your existing printer, or buy a small stationery label printing machine to use. Going to the professionals provides the best results but at a cost; using your existing printer to print them up requires pricey consumables, and small label machines are limited to printing, well, small-sized labels at
The Next Web
APRIL 6, 2014
'Walter Chen is the founder and CEO of iDoneThis, the easiest way to share and celebrate what you get done at work, every day. On his downtime, he blogs about management, entrepreneurship, and happiness on the iDoneThis blog. Getting rid of managers may seem like just another tech trend, but much of the skepticism around going “bossless” or flat is due to misleading terminology.
ConversionXL
APRIL 11, 2014
'According to Forrester research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru , product recommendations are responsible for an average of 10-30% of eCommerce site revenues. . Way back in 2006, Amazon reported that 35% of it’s revenues were as a direct result of it’s cross sales and upselling efforts. If you want to increase your Q2 revenues & you don’t currently have a upselling testing program in place, you need to read this.
Gust
APRIL 20, 2014
'Image via Wikimedia Commons. It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. VCs and Angel investors like to see a startup that is running lean and mean, with no more than three or four of the conventional C-level or VP titles. More executives, or other more creative titles are seen as a big red flag.
Occam's Razor
APRIL 21, 2014
'Every once in a while I take a pause and answer your questions, your burning questions (!), about digital marketing and analytics. I'd requested you to submit questions on my Facebook or Google+ pages and am always delighted at the wide range of challenges you share. For some answers, What is Avinash's typical day like? Hour-by-hour report please. :)?
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 19, 2014
'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.
YoungUpstarts
APRIL 24, 2014
'By Ben Carpenter, author of “ The Bigs: The Secrets Nobody Tells Students and Young Professionals About How to Find a Great Job, Do a Great Job, Be a Leader, Start a Business, Stay Out of Trouble, and Live A Happy Life “ An innocent question from his daughter — “Is this okay to send?” — was all it took to convince me that today’s young people are woefully unprepared for a harsh work world.
Guy Nirpaz
APRIL 13, 2014
'In the 2nd annual customer success summit last month in San Francisco, I’ve introduced the Customer Success Manifesto. If you are familiar with the agile software development manifesto will see a similar presentation style (visuals are updated to 2014 though). The Customer Success Manifesto should be viewed as 6 rules for great customer success.
ConversionXL
APRIL 4, 2014
'Marketing doesn’t end after you’ve attracted new users to your website. Marketing doesn’t end after you’ve made the sale. If you’re interested in increasing customer lifetime value , know the real journey begins after that first sale is made. Personalized marketing – messages and actions tailored to the visitor based on their previous viewing & purchasing behavior- is the key to all of this.
Gust
APRIL 6, 2014
'Image via Amazon.com. 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. I see startup founders and managers who are stalled transplants from large organizations, as well as highly-capable technologists trying to start and run a business for the first time.
Growthink Blog
APRIL 22, 2014
'It’s been 15 years now since I started working with entrepreneurs. Over this time, I’ve seen lots of successes, and unfortunately lots of failures. So, I started thinking, “what is it about those entrepreneurs who have achieved the most success? What are their common attributes and skills?” While the initial list was pretty large, when I boiled it down, there were 5 common attributes or skills that the successful entrepreneurs all had.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 26, 2014
'Many entrepreneurs fantasize about days longer than 24 hours, convinced that their new venture could change the world, if they just had more time. They don’t realize that a more viable solution is to get more done per existing hour, rather than creating more hours. We all know at least one person who is always “very busy” and works plenty of hours, but generates few significant results.
YoungUpstarts
APRIL 10, 2014
'by Todd Patkin, author of “ Finding Happiness “ What were your last 10 or 15 employee conversations like? Chances are, they included phrases like, “I need you to finish that projection by the end of the day,” or, “I’m putting you on the Brown account,” or, “How much longer do you think it’ll take to finish that PowerPoint the client requested?
Hunter Walker
APRIL 24, 2014
'It’s a shame that consumers largely balk at paying for mobile productivity apps like email, calendars, to do lists and so on. Despite spending our lives inside of this software the developers can’t seem to charge more than a few bucks. Perhaps it’s because the free alternatives are ‘good enough.’ Perhaps because they’re often *just* front-ends to other infrastructure.
ConversionXL
APRIL 30, 2014
'You may have heard that Google recently announced that Universal Analytics was officially out of beta. But what does that mean & more importantly, how can you take advantage of Universal Analytics to improve your business? Let’s start with the basics. You don’t need to run out and upgrade to Universal Analytics right now, but it should be on your roadmap.
Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook
APRIL 21, 2014
'Creativity and innovation training is a highly effective accelerant for business results. When I step into a room to facilitate an innovation, strategy, or idea generation session I nearly always find a great deal of energy. What I also often find is inexperience — in the kind of thinking necessary to innovate. Successful managers and leaders are promoted up the ladder because of their great analytical thinking skills.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 10, 2014
'One of the interesting things about being a VC is that you often see companies in transition. If you’re an early investor like I am that often means writing the first $2-3 million check into a business that previously had either survived on fumes or on a $500,000 angel round. I also see companies as they move from having taken $1-5 million from me to their next round where they raise $8-15 million from Series B investors and sometimes I lead at this round (we’re stage agnostic but 8
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 13, 2014
'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. I see startup founders and managers who are stalled transplants from large organizations, as well as highly-capable technologists trying to start and run a business for the first time.
deal architect
APRIL 8, 2014
'The concept of 2 (or 3) Tier ERP is certainly not new. Platinum (now Epicor), J. D Edwards (now Oracle), and more recently NetSuite have for decades gone to large, typically multi-national companies and convinced them to adopt their software.
Jeff Hilimire
APRIL 25, 2014
'This is the tenth installment of my “5 Questions for a CEO” series. The list so far: Raymond King , Zoo Atlanta. Devon Wijesinghe , Insightpool. Mark Feinberg , Uruut. Simms Jenkins , BrightWave Marketing. Rob Kischuk , PerfectPost. Kyle Porter , SalesLoft. Brett Jacobsen , Mount Vernon Presbyterian School. Jacqui Chew , iFusion Marketing. Joe Koufman , AgencySparks.
Steve Blank
APRIL 28, 2014
'D.R. Widder is the Vice President of Innovation and holds the Steve Blank Innovation Chair at Philadelphia University. He’s helping city government in Philadelphia become more innovative by applying Lean startup methods and Philadelphia University’s innovation curriculum. I asked him to share an update on his work on teaching lean techniques to local governments. —-.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
APRIL 28, 2014
'As the founder of WP Engine, I receive weekly emails from startups proposing a “win-win” deal. So far, approximately zero have resulted in an successful deal. Here’s the problem , and how you can change your approach to business development so that it can succeed. Distribution is the hardest thing for a young startup, defined as “getting in front of potential customers.” Large companies, on the other hand, have solved the distribution problem (proof: 100,000 payin
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 27, 2014
'I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). I was telling him that it was much easier when I started because there were fewer deals, life was less public and somehow the world seemed to be spinning more slowly.
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