June, 2016

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Why Raising Too Much Money Can Harm Your Startup

Both Sides of the Table

Amongst the most often asked questions I get from founders is, “How much money should I raise?” Reflexively founders want to raise as much money as they can because they figure it will give them more resources, better chances of competing and a longer runways before they have to do the often painful job of asking, yet again, for money. Every time you ask for money you’re faced with the possible of feeling literally and figuratively like a failure.

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The 5 Productivity Tools You Need As An Entrepreneur

YoungUpstarts

When you’re starting out in business, you have thousands of things to take care of. With limited resources in capital and manpower, it is the entrepreneur’s responsibility to get things done. It then becomes imperative for small business owners to be efficient in their daily tasks, in order to free up valuable time on the things that matter: cherishing first clients and growing the company.

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7 Attributes of An Entrepreneur's Startup Dream Team

Startup Professionals Musings

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor.

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How to Up Your Board Meeting Game as a Founder [Deck Templates 2.0]

View from Seed

Today we’re thrilled to re-launch our most popular resource ever: board deck templates for seed-stage startups. Last year, we released two different variations of the deck , both contained in the same resource. Since then, they’ve been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. Based on that reaction, we wanted to continue improving the product through both additional revs/design and continuing to evolve how we think about board meetings in the first place.

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Building Healthy Innovation Ecosystems for Your Projects

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

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For Here or To Go

Feld Thoughts

It’s 2am on Friday and I’m awake because Brooks the Wonder Dog is afraid of thunderstorms. His approach to them is to literally try to climb under my body while I’m sleeping, which prevents me from sleeping, which results in me watching the Brexit insanity in real time. Yesterday, we had our own US insanity around immigration as our Supreme Court voted 4-4 on the legality of Obama’s executive orders on immigration.

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How to Write the Competition Section of Your Business Plan

Up and Running

Before anything else, realize that yes, you do have competition. No matter how new your business, you do have competition. I’m in several groups that watch startup pitches as investors, and I can guarantee you that if you say you don’t have competition, your audience is rolling its collective eyes and dismissing you as naive. Once in an extremely rare while, a new technology will appear, for a short time, as if it has no competition.

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What It Means To Be A Professional

YoungUpstarts

By Vadim Kondratiev, Head of Sales at Anadea Inc. When a project owner seeks for a software development company, they often mention in their inquiries that they want to deal with a very professional developer. They want their project to be cared of properly. But what kind of service do they actually want their developers to provide? What is the difference between a professional and an amateur attitude?

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Don’t Let Outside Funding Kill Your Startup Passion

Startup Professionals Musings

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. They don’t realize that according to statistics , more than 90 percent of satisfied entrepreneurs use bootstrapping, since other people’s money always comes with strings, most of them negative.

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Why Your Brand’s Social Media Impact is Low

Brandanew

I was recently talking with a prospective client and we talked through the challenges they were facing. The client had just finished their “father’s day campaign” and the social media impact on sales seemed a little disappointing. She wasn’t sure why this was the case. The gut decision to “do something on social” seemed right, but the results seemed questionable.

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More Coders. More Diversity.

Feld Thoughts

If there’s one consistent concern I hear from the companies I work with, it’s the shortage of qualified tech talent. But just like in so many other areas, a Boulder entrepreneur has come up a great idea to address the problem that not only adds to the talent pipeline, but also brings in more diversity — a personal passion of mine. Too often, aspiring engineers who lack the funds to pursue a computer science degree from a university or take part in a bootcamp find themselves locked out of technol

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This I Believe – 25 Thoughts for Life

ConversionXL

Throughout his life, architect Bill Claudill wrote down notes on this and that, and organized those thoughts under the title This I Believe. When Tom Peters turned 60, he decided to scribble down 60 thoughts , one for each year – that seemed to capture his professional and personal journey. I turn 36 in a couple of days (June 24). Much younger than the above named folks, but I decided to do the same.

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15 Entrepreneurs Explain Why They Started Their Business

Hearpreneur

Share Each business has a story. No matter if the business is a Goliath like Wal-Mart, or a local business owned by a couple or family, the business has roots in an idea. For each business owner, the story of their journey can range from monetary needs or the passion for a unique project. Each story is different though the reasons may remain the same.

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The 5 Biggest Turn-Offs On A Company Website

YoungUpstarts

By Litha Ramirez, Director of User Experience of Breakthrough Technologies. You have around four seconds to grab someone’s attention when they visit your website, and then they could be gone forever. That’s four seconds (or less) to convey what you do and create a positive impression of your brand, to inspire the visitor to explore more and engage their interest.

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The “lead investor” dance

David Cohen

The term “lead investor” is often code. Just like the word “quaint” is code in the real estate business for “small.” Let me know when you have a lead investor. Loosely translated, these words often actually mean “I’m not ready to commit.” You see, many angel and seed investors view it as their job to establish a “free option” on investing in your company.

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6 Strategies Guaranteed to Boost Revenue for Your Hair Salon

Up and Running

Do you dream of owning your own hair salon? In a saturated market, you may be wondering how to stand out from the crowd. Should you use only organic products? Should you focus on edgy haircuts, an unforgettable experience, or something else? . If you already own your own hair salon, you’re wondering how to increase revenue and how to take your business to the next level.

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Book: Where The Jobs Are

Feld Thoughts

A few weeks ago I had lunch with John Dearie to discuss a new non-profit he has started called The Center for American Entrepreneurship. Several friends and people I respect a lot are on the board , including Lucy Sanders (NCWIT), Troy Henikoff (Techstars Chicago), Bob Litan (Brookings Institute), Rebecca Lovell (Seattle’s Office of Economic Development), Monisha Merchant (formerly Senator Bennet’s Economic Advisor), Jonathan Ortmans (Global Entrepreneurship Network), Jason Seats (Techsta

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Web Analytics Analysis: How to Find Problem Areas & A/B Test Ideas

ConversionXL

For an optimizer, these are words to live by: “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” [Tweet It!]. Optimization isn’t about educated guesses and hunches, no matter how many years you’ve been in the industry. It’s about doing the research, asking the right questions, digging for clues in problem areas, paying attention to the signs when they appear, and running smart A/B tests.

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15 Entrepreneurs Explain What They Love About Being An Entrepreneur

Hearpreneur

Share Being in love is great. Being in love with your business, when you’re an entrepreneur, is even better. Waking up each morning knowing you are getting to do exactly what you love is more than most people could ever say about any “job” they have had. Although there are days when tossing in your hat seems like a viable option, remembering how much you love your “job” can quickly snap an entrepreneur out of that mentality.

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Small Business Revenue Is On The Rise: Are You?

YoungUpstarts

By John Orlando, Chief Marketing Officer at Constant Contact. Small business owners might not hear this often enough, but you deserve a round of applause. Not only are you kicking it when it comes to revenue, you’re also savvy marketers with impressive do-it-yourself skills. This insight comes from a recent survey of 1,000 small business owners conducted by Constant Contact.

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Don’t go on a phishing trip!

Berkonomics

Dave’s note: Our guest author this week is Kevin McDonald, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Alvaka Networks, a network services and security firm in Irvine, California. He is a trusted technology and security consultant and public policy advisory to some of America’s most influential people and organizations. .

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“We’ve focused on instagram and Facebook and increasingly, snapchat” -> SMB Tech Talk from 305 Fitness

Hunter Walker

This week I’ll be running a series of Five Question interviews with small businesses which were facilitated by BondStreet , a SMB lending platform (we’re investors). LocalBiz stories are really fun for me since my first high school job was working in an independent bookstore. These people are true founders and entrepreneurs just like any venture backed company.

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A Scaling Magic Trick

Feld Thoughts

By definition, as a company scales rapidly, it adds people quickly. There are many things about this that are difficult, but a vexing one has to do with the leadership team. Often times, the wrong people are in senior positions. The faster a company grows, or the less experienced the CEO is (e.g. a first time founding CEO), the more likely it is a problem.

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High Velocity Testing: Should You Really Move Fast and Break Things?

ConversionXL

Mark Zuckerberg famously said, “Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” Since then, startups and growth marketers have latched onto the statement. “Move fast and break things” has become a way of life , an ideal for aspiring entrepreneurs who just want to hustle all day, hustle all night like Gary Vaynerchuk.

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15 Entrepreneurs Share What Their Favorite Part of Running a Business Is

Hearpreneur

Share Being an entrepreneur or business owner has its share of ups and downs. While the downs can be pretty low the ups always seem to triumph for a true entrepreneur at heart. Milestones are what entrepreneurs and business owners work towards. Once you finally reach a certain point then reflection can truly begin. Finding enjoyment in running your business keeps it from becoming stale in the long run.

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Three Ways To Best Protect Your Business’ Data During Hurricane Season

YoungUpstarts

by Bryan Gregory, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Aldridge. Hurricane season is fast approaching and this year’s forecasted storm activity is abnormally high. The Weather Channel predicts 2016’s season will include 14 named storms and eight hurricanes, three of which are likely to be a category three or higher. The spike in activity is a concern for anyone positioned within the storms’ potential landfall regions, but it’s especially alarming for small businesses whose operations an

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Resources to Help You Start a Successful Real Estate Agency

Up and Running

Do you know where to go online to continue your real estate education? Do you know where to send your clients when they haven’t the first clue about buying a house? Do you know which sites are the best for keeping on top of industry trends? Because we know it’s difficult to set aside the time to find the most valuable resources—especially when all your free time is spent completing paperwork, showing houses, and finding new leads—we’ve collated the sites, tools, and blogs that come highly recomm

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“We’ve focused on instagram and Facebook and increasingly, snapchat” -> SMB Tech Talk from 305 Fitness

Hunter Walker

This week I’ll be running a series of Five Question interviews with small businesses which were facilitated by BondStreet , a SMB lending platform (we’re investors). LocalBiz stories are really fun for me since my first high school job was working in an independent bookstore. These people are true founders and entrepreneurs just like any venture backed company.

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What Marketers Can Learn From Kim Kardashian

crowdSPRING Blog

We’ve got some bad news. Your customers are probably ignoring you. Sure, there are an infinite number of YouTube commercials, product placements, sponsored blog content, and a whole cacophony of other messages being thrown into the interwebs by companies trying to get some brand attention on the daily, but is their target audience really seeing all of these marketing messages?

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How To Use Interactivity to Increase Engagement (and Conversions)

ConversionXL

Interactivity tends to lead to better engagement, and it’s thought that better user engagement equals more conversions and more long term satisfaction with a brand. The web is an inherently interactive medium, so there are infinite ways to implement interactivity onto your site. Of course, it’s not a silver bullet strategy. Just because something is cool or popular – or just because it looks cool – doesn’t mean it works on the bottom line.

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15 Entrepreneurs Discuss Whether or Not Twitter Is Dying

Hearpreneur

Share Twitter has had its shares of ups and downs over the last few years. Every introduction of new social media platforms chip away at current banner holders like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Over the course of the last couple years co-founder Jack Dorsey was reinstated as CEO due to decline, the constant buzz about doing away with 140 has caused uproar on both sides, and every week a headline concerning stolen information is splashed across every news site.

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5 Reasons Why Your Brand Should Have a Following

Duct Tape Marketing

5 Reasons Why Your Brand Should Have a Following written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. photo credit Very Pixel. Have you ever noticed how so many major corporations produce commercials that focus more on their brand name rather than an actual product? At first, this might lead to some head-scratching—after all, isn’t the product what they’re selling?

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Changes in the Venture Capital Funding Environment

Both Sides of the Table

The funding environment for tech startups is an ever shifting ground as we go through predictable shifts that go hand-in-hand with the slowing of the overall market. The most important shift I would characterize as the market moving from “high conviction” and thus strong follow-ons to “limited conviction” and lots of gamesmanship / games of chicken … at your expense.

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I hope this is not SAP Nation 3.0

deal architect

Nucleus Research just issued a report which will make SAP wince SAP’s new marketing tagline – run simple – is not only grammatically incorrect, it’s grossly inaccurate. Nucleus analyzed the experience of SAP customers and found varied – at best.

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Using Artificial Intelligence to Humanize Management and Set Information Free

Reid Hoffman

This essay originally appeared on MIT Sloan Management Review as part of their Frontiers Essay Series. Each essay is a response to this question: “Within the next five years, how will technology change the practice of management in a way we have not yet witnessed?”. • • •. Artificial Intelligence is about to transform management from an art into a combination of art and science.

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What Do You Do When Your Customers Are Afraid To Shop Online?

ConversionXL

You and I may have a hard time believing it, but many people are afraid to shop online. Now, as someone who regularly makes ridiculous impulse purchases, I never second guess entering my credit card information online. In fact, I just bought a Led Zeppelin coffee mug in the time between writing and editing this article. You, too, probably regularly buy books, movies, clothes, and software online.

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Intel Disrupted: Why large companies find it difficult to innovate, and what they can do about it

Steve Blank

In the 21 st century it’s harder for large corporations to create disruptive breakthroughs. Disruptive innovations are coming from startups – Telsa for automobiles, Uber for taxis, Airbnb for hotel rentals, Netflix for video rentals and Facebook for media. What’s holding large companies back? Here are four reasons: First, companies bought into the false premise that they exist to maximize shareholder value – which said “keep the stock price high.