Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 6, 2014
'I’ve written a few posts about boards recently as part of a series on the subject. I should note that my friend Brad Feld has written a new book on the subject that I would recommend if you want the bible on the topic. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic.
Steve Blank
JANUARY 22, 2014
'Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. Over the years Dino and I brainstormed about how Lean entrepreneurship would affect regional development. I visited Bend last year and caught up with his progress. Today with every city, state and country trying to build out a technology cluster, following Dino’s progress can provide others with a roadmap of what’s worked and what has not.
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Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 18, 2014
'I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Maybe it’s time to look harder at the mantra of a new breed of gurus and successful entrepreneurs, including Steve Blank and Eric Ries , called “nail it then scale it” (NISI).
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
JANUARY 28, 2014
'Something interesting happens when you run more than 1,000 servers, as we do at WP Engine. Suppose I told you that on average our servers experience one fatal failure every three years. The kernel panics (the Linux equivalent of the Blue Screen of Death), or both the main and redundant power supply fails, or some other rare event that causes outage.
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
YoungUpstarts
JANUARY 21, 2014
'by Melissa Thompson, CEO of TalkSession. 2014 will be a formative year for new business owners and early-stage entrepreneurs. For those would-be entrepreneurs debating the startup leap? There is no time like the present. For current founders, in our hyper-pressurized worlds of being incubated, accelerated, and constantly switching modes between pitching and executing, how do we successfully navigate the labyrinth to success?
Lightspeed Venture Partners
JANUARY 13, 2014
'Congratulations to Tony Fadell, Matt Rogers and the world class team at Nest! Today Nest announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Google. As investors in the company since the early days, we here at Lightspeed have been honored to be a partner of Nest. Nest is a very special company with a truly exceptional team… a VC’s dream. We are thrilled to see Nest have an opportunity to further accelerate its business as part of Google.
Start Up Roar brings together the best content for start up professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Steve Blank
JANUARY 2, 2014
'This post is part of our series on the National Science Foundation I-Corps Lean LaunchPad class in Life Science and Health Care at UCSF. Doctors, researchers and Principal Investigators in this class got out of the lab and hospital talked to 2,355 customers, tested 947 hypotheses and invalidated 423 of them. The class had 1,145 engagements with instructors and mentors.
The Next Web
JANUARY 24, 2014
'Robert Verwaayen is a Dutch venture capitalist. He is currently setting up his own investment firm, RoBen, and was a principal with Prime Ventures. As a startup hub, Amsterdam grabs the same amount of attention as the girl with braces at the high school dance. Slowly but surely, however, we have a quietly emerging ‘ecosystem’ (as it is often called in tech lingo).
Feld Thoughts
JANUARY 19, 2014
'William Hertling is one of my favorite science fiction writers. If you are in the tech industry and haven’t read his books Avogadro Corp , A.I. Apocalypse , and The Last Firewall , I encourage you to go get them now on your Kindle and get after it. You’ll thank me later. In the mean time, following are William’s thoughts on the future of transportation for you to chew on this Sunday morning.
ConversionXL
JANUARY 31, 2014
'What follows is a list of resources that can be applied specifically to landing page optimization, found here on ConversionXL & from other great websites around the web. We’ve organized everything to best simulate a visitor’s experience on a landing page from first click to final conversion. To get the most out of this guide, please use each resource to focus on one area of your landing page experience at a time.
The Equity Kicker
JANUARY 9, 2014
'As you can see from the chart above (produced by Microsoft) Android devices have been outselling iOS devices for a couple of years now. However, many of the Android devices were barely smartphones and device sales were only half the story. The app economy was the other half of the story, and iOS was stronger here. For most startups the app economy is the more important side of the story because it’s a better proxy than device sales for revenue and customer acquisition potential.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 12, 2014
'Yesterday I wrote a post about “ growth hacking ” and why I thought it was wrong that people were hating on the term unnecessarily. It’s worth a quick read. My argument is pretty simple. If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group.
Hunter Walker
JANUARY 5, 2014
'Lost time is never found again – Benjamin Franklin. “A Venture Capitalist? What exactly is that?” If you’re in the technology industry you can probably answer but as I discovered this holiday season, most of my extended family and childhood friends were a bit fuzzier on the concept. Turns out the best way to explain was to share how I spend my days at Homebrew , the seed fund Satya and I founded in 2013.
The Next Web
JANUARY 16, 2014
'Bryce Keane is an Australian expat now living in London. He is co-founder of international start-up community event organisation 3beards and founder and director of Albion Drive , a fully integrated communicaitons agency for entrepreneurs and challenger brands. Last November, Sydney-based startup Freelancer.com – a global outsourcing marketplace (and now largest global rival to oDesk ), with offices in London, Buenos Aires, Manila and Jakarta – debuted on the Australian Securities Exchange w
Feld Thoughts
JANUARY 2, 2014
'I often get asked how I ended up becoming a venture capitalist. When people ask me how they can become a VC, I point them to my partner Seth Levine’s excellent blog posts How to become a venture capitalist and How to get a job in venture capital (revisited). But it occurred to me today – after getting another email asking me how I’d become a VC, that I wasn’t really answering the question.
ConversionXL
JANUARY 24, 2014
'Today, I was fortunate enough to get Hunter Boyle – Senior Business Development Director of AWeber to talk with us about what exactly business development is, and the role it can play on conversions. Because this is a new feature for ConversionXL, I would love to get your feedback so we can keep making it better. In my interview with Hunter, we discuss: The key responsibilities of a business development professional.
JANUARY 9, 2014
'Medium site navigation Cancel Home Search Collections Sign in with Twitter 10 min read Photo from the Happy Startup Summercamp Next in trending 10 ways you’ll probably f**k up your startup Here I highlight some common early-stage mistakes I come across working closely with startup teams (and how you can avoid them) Laurence McCahill in Spook Studio 10 min read 10 ways you’ll probably f**k up your startup Here I highlight some common early-stage mistakes I come across working closely with startu
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 8, 2014
'Happy official New Year’s, all. It’s that time of year where we think about new beginnings. And there’s none that makes me happier than to announce that Jordan Hudson has been promoted to a Principal at Upfront Ventures. Please help me congratulate him by Re/Tweeting this post (and following him if you don’t already). What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures?
Up and Running
JANUARY 22, 2014
'Jessie Seaman, a tax attorney, offers tips to help startups avoid common tax pitfalls. As a new business owner, you’ve got a lot on your plate. From creating a business plan to hiring employees , your to-do list is a hefty one. But while you’re juggling startup tasks, you’ll also want to think about how taxes will impact your business.
The Next Web
JANUARY 23, 2014
'Timo Rein is the cofounder & CEO of Pipedrive , and was previously the cofounder of Vain & Partners - the leading Sales Training company in the Baltics. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you’re an American, and that means you don’t know how good you have it. Nowhere in the world offers the kind of business climate that is so conducive to innovation, creativity and success for the aspiring entrepreneur.
Hunter Walker
JANUARY 21, 2014
'This is an unusual VC post – we’re asking for help around a new metric we’re tracking but it’s in an area where we’re not experts: underrepresented founders. We’re hoping to learn from those who have spent more time on issues of diversity and inclusion. “What’s on your dashboard?” It’s one of the questions we ask startups during the fundraising process and post-investment to help them collect the information needed to run their business.
ConversionXL
JANUARY 10, 2014
'“ How do I come up with a unique value proposition? What I sell isn’t unique. ” If you’re working on improving your business, you know there’s no shortage about why you need a unique value proposition. You’ve probably even seen a handful of solid examples, but when you go to write your own, you hit a wall. You’ve got too many competitors, they’re selling the same stuff, and it looks like all the good value propositions are taken.
SiliconHills
JANUARY 23, 2014
'By LESLIE ANNE JONES Reporter with Silicon Hills News If you want a hamburger, there are thousands of reviews available online for Austin joints. But until recently, if you wanted a business software package – which might cost a thousand times more than a gruyere-smothered Angus patty – it was much harder to find aggregated […] The post TrustRadius Aims to be the Yelp of Business Software appeared first on SiliconHills.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 22, 2014
'Picking a VC is hard. You don’t really have much to go on to decide who would make a good fit. Reputation of firm? Of partner? Deals done in your industry? It’s a bit of all of these. I had an enjoyable conversation this morning with a young team straight out of college this morning and they were calling to ask advice on how to approach fund raising (angels vs.
Up and Running
JANUARY 20, 2014
'As I walked into our building last Thursday morning at 7, I noticed some unusual work going on in the restaurant on the first floor. Locksmiths were busy changing the locks and securing the doors. It was an odd time have maintenance done, but I didn’t think too much of it. Later that day, as I walked out to lunch, I saw the vegetable delivery sitting outside the locked doors of the dark restaurant.
The Next Web
JANUARY 25, 2014
'Noam Fine, co-Founder and CEO of Widdit , providing app developers engagement solutions over the mobile and Web platforms. We read every day about new startups that have raised capital and have just recently launched their app or platform. Of course, a creative idea and raising funds is only half the battle, as was recently pointed out by Zach Miller in a recent post on Forbes on Israel’s flourishing startup scene.
Duct Tape Marketing
JANUARY 17, 2014
'Why Video Marketing is Underrated (and How to Use it to Your Advantage) written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing Today is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is David Preston – Enjoy! photo credit: Andrew* via photopin cc. Words tell the story. Images illustrate it.
ConversionXL
JANUARY 29, 2014
'Testimonials & word of mouth are the driving force behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions , and yet only about ? of businesses are actively seeking & collecting customer reviews on an ongoing basis. If you’re not investing in testimonials right now, you need to read this. Why? Well, for starters recent behavioral research by Granify revealed that “social proof” is often more important to online buyers than “low prices.” when influencing purchasing decisions.
Growthink Blog
JANUARY 19, 2014
'The technology age has brought with it a long list of business related success stories. There are plenty of cases where a small startup has managed to grow into a billion-dollar company. While most people will think of companies such as Facebook and Amazon, GoDaddy.com is actually one of the greatest successes in recent history. What started as a small company has since grown into an easily recognizable brand which owns a significant portion of its own market.
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 4, 2014
'Yesterday I wrote a post about “ the politics of startups ” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology. I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Of course it makes no sense to have great people management and a crappy product.
crowdSPRING Blog
JANUARY 26, 2014
'The first quarter of the business year is a great time to put in place or review your accounting and bookkeeping systems. Every entrepreneur needs to have a bit of the comptroller in their personality, but relatively few have the skills or patience to learn them. Enter the accounting team: you, your bookkeeper, your CPA, and (sometimes) your tax specialist.Rat.
The Next Web
JANUARY 15, 2014
'James Kenigsberg is the Chief Technology Officer and a founding team member at 2U , an educational technology company that partners with universities to offer online degree programs. The most amazing outcomes start as lofty ambitions. The idea of changing someone’s perspective — or even life — is a notion that many of us aspire to in building our career path.
Hunter Walker
JANUARY 16, 2014
'“ Google Is About to Let Total Strangers Email You ,” a tech site warned. Imagine my total lack of alarm, given that, best as I can tell, total strangers can already contact me if they can find my email address, which isn’t too hard since it’s listed publicly in plenty of places. OMG strangers! was just one of many strong reactions to the news that Google was opting Gmail users in to a confusing new feature.
ConversionXL
JANUARY 16, 2014
'Most people shop online to find lower prices, right? I mean, let’s look at the research. A study from eMarketer.com suggests that 38% of people shop online because of lower prices. Forrester also found that 27% of consumers will sacrifice their shopping cart in the name of a better deal. If competitor’s prices have been dropping & your cart abandonment rates have been getting higher, don’t panic.
Duct Tape Marketing
JANUARY 9, 2014
'The Future of Small Business SEO (Hint: It’s About Content) written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Phil Singleton – Enjoy! 2013 was an exciting year for small business Internet marketing. Search engine optimization transformed from a game of link popularity into what it was supposed to be from the beginning: high quality, relevant content from trusted sourc
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 16, 2014
'I’m a cynic by nature. And I think it pays to be so. I sometimes wish I were an unbridled, happy-go-lucky, assume-the-best-in-everybody sort of chappy. Sadly, I’m not. You know the old Groucho Marx saying, “I would never join a club that would accept me as a member.” I always loved that line. So whenever I get a deal sent my way that is from out of town and seems amazing but seems almost too good to be true, my first thought is always, “Why am I so lucky?
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