Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. In our industry we applaud the efforts for entrepreneurs to have tried and we know that today’s failure can bring the experience for tomorrow’s success. We also know that even though many of us who are experienced in startup successes & failures look at businesses and say, “That will never work” (as many people said about Uber) or “You can’t make any money in that business” (as many said

Startup 235

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 235

View from Seed

MARCH 29, 2016

Ask a founder of a growing startup what they need most, and you’ll often get an answer along the lines of, “We need great people, and we need them fast.”. But even well-prepared startups that have laid out strategies for scaling can find themselves scrambling in the face of a fast-growing customer base. Founders need to make sure the quality of the startup’s offerings remains high and provide adequate sales and service support for prospective customers and new users.

Metrics 191

Metrics Founder CTO Hire Technical Review 191

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 8, 2016

by Martin Hunter, co-founder of Free Event Finder. While many consider “ Who Moved My Cheese? ” by Spencer Johnson to be overly simplified, the heart-warming tale of mice and little people learning to adapt under ever-changing conditions was exactly the push in the right direction that me and my wife needed to pack our bags and head off in search of personal growth and adventure.

Philippines 147

Philippines Finder Software Review Asia 147

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

There are many reasons to found a startup. There are many reasons to work at a startup. But there’s only one reason your company got funded. Liquidity. ——-. The Good News. To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. Traditional lenders (banks) think that startups are too risky for a traditional bank loan.

Liquidity Event 186

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Private Equity 186

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

MARCH 11, 2016

Angel investors are still the lifeblood of early-stage startups, despite the surge of activity in crowdfunding and an increasing early interest from venture capitalists. According to the Angel Capital Association , at least 300,000 people have made angel investments in the last two years, totaling $24 billion in the U.S. alone. These are all accredited investors who risk their own money.

Angel Investor 148

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Groups 148

ConversionXL

MARCH 25, 2016

Symbolism is a tricky thing. Different symbols mean different things to different people based on different backgrounds and past experiences. That’s why icons can easily flop, if they’re not properly tested. After all… If the user can’t use it, it doesn’t work. [Tweet It!]. But how do you test icon usability? Is icon usability testing the same as standard usability testing?

Mobile 76

Mobile Design Technical Review Engineer 76

View from Seed

MARCH 22, 2016

This is for the early-stage companies — the entrepreneurs with great ideas and tireless work ethics who feel like they’ve emailed half of the country’s news outlets with nothing but the rare “thanks, but not interested” reply to show for it. The irony hurts. You don’t have the traction, the big-dollar investments, or the marketing staff to attract media attention.

Seed Stage 163

Seed Stage San Francisco Startup CTO Hire 163

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 15, 2016

by Madarapu Nagaraju, co-founder and director at KnowledgeHut. With a single swipe or click, we are able to complete many different tasks and transfers across multiple areas. Mobile apps have changed the way we do business, communicate with each other, and access news, entertainment and other information. This invariably points out to that the role of a mobile app developer has become ever more essential to provide users new ways to engage with their smartphones.

Java 138

Java XML Developer API 138

Steve Blank

MARCH 11, 2016

“Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.”. We just finished the 6 th annual Lean LaunchPad class. This year we made a small but substantive addition to way we teach the class, adding a week for reflection. The results have made the class massively better. For the last 6 years I’ve taught the Lean LaunchPad class at Stanford and Berkeley.

Lean 162

Lean Incubator Business Model Channel 162

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 146

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 146

Up and Running

MARCH 8, 2016

So, you’re in the market to start a cleaning business? You have the skills. There aren’t that many hurdles or license requirements compared to other operations. And you can get started fast and affordably. The thing is, you’re not quite sure what, exactly, is involved in starting a cleaning a business. In this guide, you’ll get a better sense of the industry, what skills you should develop in order to be successful in it, and how to go about starting your own operation.

SBA 74

SBA Technical Review Software Review Business Plan 74

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. While I’m not an LP, the following post represents my discussions with more than 100 LP firms – specifically ones that do fund VCs – and full survey data from 73 firms , so I’ve tried to capture the essence of what I’ve learned.

Venture Capital 186

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 186

ConversionXL

MARCH 15, 2016

Are you familiar with the user experience quote , “User interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it’s not that good.”? While clever, that statement is far from true. User interfaces shouldn’t be complicated, but you can’t expect a new user to understand a new interface without any sort of direction. Similarly, you can’t expect an existing user to understand an updated interface or a new feature without any sort of direction.

Mobile 76

Mobile Retention Email Software Review 76

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 16, 2016

By Nick Goode, VP of Cloud Product Management at Sage One. Wealth has historically been viewed as financial success in business that translates to success in life. Money, real estate, investments, and “stuff” like cars and expensive vacations — if you’ve got these things, you’re doing well for yourself… right? Perhaps it’s time we recognized that the wealth game is changing.

Cloud 150

Cloud Technical Review Employee Retention 150

Version One Ventures

MARCH 15, 2016

Chris Dixon wrote a great post discussing what’s next in the computing industry. Historically, there’s been a major new tech cycle every 10 to 15 years that brings along a new era of computing: we saw this with personal computers in the 80s, the Internet in the 90s, and now with the smartphone era. If this 10-15 year pattern continues, it means we should be entering the growth phase of the next big era in just a few years.

Artificial Inteligence 92

Artificial Inteligence Azure API Technical Review 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2016

Every entrepreneur with a new technology tells me that his innovation will be industry-disrupting, meaning that it will render the existing technology obsolete, and create a new market. Yet truly disruptive innovations, like the smartphone from Apple and the rise of the Internet, are very rare, and are generally unpredicted. So why would any investor ever believe any of these claims?

Non-Compete 142

Non-Compete Technical Review Forecast Social Media 142

Up and Running

MARCH 1, 2016

Note: Nothing within this article should be construed as legal advice. Please consult a patent attorney for more information about filing for a patent, and getting your idea to market. . Everything you see around you—every item you own, every book you’ve read, every app you use, every website you browse—was once nothing more than an idea in someone else’s head.

Non-disclosure Agreement 72

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Non-Compete Naming 72

Hunter Walker

MARCH 23, 2016

I met Kyle when he was starting at Business Insider & took notice of our investments ahead of his peers. Of course this meant he was brilliant, and we struck up a friendship. When he was in discussions with a16z, it was a pleasure to provide him context on why I thought it would be a great role for him, and I’m thrilled it’s been a place where he can grow his curious mind.

Technical Review 67

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Software Review Venture Capital 67

ConversionXL

MARCH 9, 2016

UX mistakes often go undetected because they are quiet. They aren’t a broken image or a misspelled word or a form that isn’t sending. No, UX mistakes are foundational. To visitors, UX mistakes are loud, whether they consciously detect them or not. In fact, IBM is credited for the saying, “Ease of use may be invisible, but its absence sure isn’t.” [Tweet It!].

Cost 76

Cost Vertical Portfolio Design 76

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 18, 2016

by Kim Keller, APR, content marketing specialist with Wasp Barcode Technologies. Evaluating your content marketing efforts starts the moment you decide to launch content marketing. It begins with the simple question, “What do you want out of this?”. It ends with the question, “Did you get what you wanted?”. Start with a plan. Just like any other marketing or public relations effort, content marketing should start with a plan.

Memphis 160

Memphis Marketing Social Media Technical Review 160

OnlyOnce

MARCH 22, 2016

A New Path Forward. Welcome to the world, Path Forward, Inc.! I’m thrilled to announce the launch today of Path Forward, a new non-profit with a goal of empowering millions of women to rejoin the workforce after taking time out for childcare. We are launching today with a Crowdrise campaign. See more about that below. And we launched with a bang, too – the organization is featured in this really amazing story on Fortune.

CTO Hire 76

CTO Hire Cofounder Programming Equity 76

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

Every startup begins with an idea, but from that point forward, it’s all about execution. Founders soon learn that customers only spend real money for solutions rather than ideas. Investors have also learned not to invest in ideas but only in entrepreneurs and teams who can deliver solutions. Success requires moving your passion quickly from the idea to the business implementation.

Technical Review 139

Technical Review Architecture Agile Business Model 139

Up and Running

MARCH 21, 2016

Some businesses are not a great fit for angel or venture capital funding. But, what if your startup is a good candidate, but you’re having trouble getting meetings and convincing investors that your company is the next big thing? Maybe it’s time to try a different approach. Here are 11 tips from the Young Entrepreneur Council that will help you attract the eye of an angel investor or a VC, and make your business a more appealing investment. 1.

Cofounder 85

Cofounder Metrics Angel Investor Silicon Valley 85

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 1, 2016

Lead Generation – A Complete System written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Leads are the lifeblood of every business. Clients are actually the lifeblood, however, without leads there are no clients, but that’s a topic for another post. Today I want to focus on how you get enough appointments, phone calls and contacts to grow your business in a systematic manner.

Lead Generation 44

Lead Generation Channel Partner Campaign 44

ConversionXL

MARCH 1, 2016

It’s always fun to find out what others think about what you do. In regards to conversion optimization, we’re of the belief that UX is a big part of our process and that great UX leads to more conversions. But how do UX people view conversion optimization? What do they think it is, and how do they think it fits into the organizational context with UX?

Conversion 60

Conversion Metrics Analytics Design 60

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 9, 2016

by Larry Fontillas, managing director of the Americas for ansarada. For a young entrepreneur, the mergers and acquisitions process can be exciting and potentially lucrative but it can also be the source of considerable stress. When the company you are selling is your “baby” that you created and nurtured over time, it’s important to make sure that every part of the deal process runs as smoothly as possible.

Technical Review 133

Technical Review Due Diligence San Francisco Merger 133

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 23, 2016

Fear is one of the most common, innate emotions we feel as human beings. From a psychological point of view , fear is a reaction from your Lizard Brain – the part of your brain that is very primitive. Fear is a survival tactic – it warns and protects us against dangers. It can also paralyze us from action. In business, fear can be our worst enemy.

Silicon Valley 56

Silicon Valley Small Business Technical Review Bootstrapping 56

deal architect

MARCH 20, 2016

In my role, I spent a fair amount of time with Chief Marketing Officers of technology companies. Much of the conversation is about their digital journeys - the growing sophistication of their lead generation engines and social marketing. Every time.

Lead Generation 230

Lead Generation Engineer Conversion Technology 230

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2016

When starting your company, the last thing you want to do is spend unnecessary money. Thanks to money constraints, many freelancers and startup owners often view accountants as an expensive luxury, believing instead that they themselves have the knowledge to fill out and file the necessary paperwork. However, not hiring an accountant can often be an expensive mistake.

Software Review 79

Software Review Salary Small Business Hiring 79

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 21, 2016

Ten Steps to Starting a Podcast written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. photo credit: DollarPhotoClub. As the content marketing arms race continues to heat up, it’s becoming harder and harder to get noticed. Sometimes it seems that unless you are a published author, speaker, and prolific blogger, you won’t get much traffic or recognition as an authority in your niche.

Technical Review 37

Technical Review Software Review Audio Jordan 37

ConversionXL

MARCH 3, 2016

“ Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital ,” said Aaron Levenstein, a former professor of business administration at Baruch College. [Tweet It!]. The same is true of your data in Google Analytics. Most of what you spend your time looking at (and re-looking at) is merely suggestive. That’s not the data you want to be analyzing and drawing insights from.

Analytics 76

Analytics Customer PPC Metrics 76

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 30, 2016

Construction is a business that’s uniquely competitive and fraught with risk. Financially, physically and for your reputation. It’s difficult to keep the standard you need to make your company a success. But it’s worth it for the benefits. Steady business, wealth and the perks of flexible, fulfilling work await. But there are a lot of firms out there making use of business practices that range from reckless to downright incompetent.

Lean 122

Lean Reputation Employee Hiring 122

Jeff Hilimire

MARCH 16, 2016

I get this question all the time from friends and peers in the industry, “Why only focus on mobile? Why not have a specialty in mobile, but allow Dragon Army to do other areas of digital marketing, like social media and web development?” It’s a fair question. We could grow faster if we did more than just mobile, for sure. And I’m nothing if not focused on growth.

Mobile 36

Mobile Private Equity Social Media Web Development 36

deal architect

MARCH 17, 2016

I first met Paul Wright, CIO at Accuride at the Plex User Conference last year. I was struck by the level headed, low-hype way he approached technology, and also how much time he had invested with the user community around.

Community 230

Community Technology 230

Up and Running

MARCH 28, 2016

If your marketing plan for women is still focused on the Barbie-days-of-old, you might want to consider taking a page from the sports industry playbook. A recent infographic published by MBA@UNC, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School’s online MBA program, shows just how much marketing to women has changed, and the sports industry is leading this trend. In a shift from “shrink it and pink it” to female empowerment, major sports league advertisers are targeting their female fan base, due to their spen

Marketing 72

Marketing Technical Review Viral Advertising 72

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2016

$30 million. That’s how much Invoca raised and we’re announcing it today. It is an heroic accomplishment in a brutal fund-raising market in which only market leaders can bring in that sort of money. But the story started more than 6 months ago. And the narrative may tell you something about your own journey one day. We started planning our fund raising as much as 14 months ago.

Balance Sheet 207

Balance Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Forecast 207