YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

Artificial intelligence is increasingly making inroads into different areas of our lives. Many of the current and proposed uses for artificial intelligence are things that only a short time ago would have sounded right at home in speculative science fiction. As more and more of these seemingly magical uses of artificial intelligence come to be realized, there is also an increasing awareness developing of just how much we can achieve with truly intelligent machines and pieces of software.

Artificial Inteligence 257

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Database Stock 257

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

AUGUST 22, 2017

Product teams have been repeating the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) mantra for a decade now, without re-evaluating whether it’s the right way to maximize learning while pleasing the customer. Well, it’s not the best system. It’s selfish and it hurts customers. We don’t build MVPs at WP Engine. The motivation behind the MVP is still valid: Build something small, because small things are predictable and inexpensive to test.

Customer 336

Customer Video Social Network Engineer 336

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” Exactly what is that customer experience that every modern marketer is talking about, and how do you measure it? A classic article in the Harvard Business Review “ The Truth About Customer Experience ” defines it as your customer’s end-to-end journey with you, not just the

Customer 213

Customer Product Technical Review Marketing 213

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

There’s a lot of mystique about what happens at board meetings and a lot of imagined board-room drama. I read commentary or Twitter or blogs and realize that there are also strongly held convictions that there are these evil VCs who do terrible things to mostly altruistic founders. The image of boards and of investors vs. founder conflicts has been so at odds with my experiences on dozens of boards over the past 20 years that I thought it was worth sharing what I actually see.

Cofounder 217

Cofounder Stock Options Equity Technical Review 217

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

Up and Running

AUGUST 8, 2017

I’ve had a 30-year love-hate relationship with mission statements. I’ve read thousands. I love it when a mission statement defines a business so well that it feels like strategy —which does happen—and I hate it when a mission statement is generic, stale, and completely useless. Which also happens, but not nearly as often. What is a mission statement?

Software Review 157

Software Review Employee Differentiation Business Plan 157

ConversionXL

AUGUST 23, 2017

Customer journey mapping is a widely used and impactful technique that can help you make better product, marketing, UX, and merchandising decisions. However, like other UX research techniques (including user personas ), there’s some vagueness and obscurity around how to actually create customer journey maps. This article will draw processes and customer journey mapping examples from experts in the field, and you’ll hopefully walk away with a real and clear picture of how to do it on

Customer 130

Customer Channel Design Retention 130

Austin Startup

AUGUST 7, 2017

Texas has 4 of the 11 largest cities in the United States and they are all within driving distance of each other. Texas is the most promising technology investment opportunity in the United States and Capital Factory is going to turbocharge it. Already the 10th largest economy in the world, there is still untapped potential and more growth in its future.

Texas 97

Texas San Antonio Houston Dallas 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2017

Marketing is everything these days. You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. They skimp on the design of their website, procrastinate on the rollout to make sure the product is perfect, and get so excited about technology features that they forget about creating value f

Marketing 188

Marketing Technical Review Social Media Technology 188

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2017

Many board meetings are bored meetings. Management teams whisk through slides trying to get through a presentation to share how great things are going and they are eager to get through the meeting so they can get back to their real jobs. This is a shame since the value that the right board could add is immense if you select the right board members and manage them effectively.

Early Stage 212

Early Stage Technical Review Email Valuation 212

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 21, 2017

On no sides is genocide an ok thing to promote with your free speech or to organize a group around. On no sides is the Confederacy, the sole purpose of which was to defend the institution of slavery, a thing to be admired. On no sides is the eradication of Nazis and the KKK a slippery slope to the end of free speech in our country. It is perfectly right and acceptable for a society to draw lines--to point to levels of despicable behavior and say "No--in no uncertain terms.

Dallas 116

Dallas Social Media Media Software Developers 116

Up and Running

AUGUST 15, 2017

“The entrepreneur is essentially a visualizer and an actualizer. He can visualize something, and when he visualizes it he sees exactly how to make it happen.” ― Robert L. Schwartz. It takes guts and gumption to leave behind the familiar and secure 9 to 5 job, start something new from scratch, and be completely accountable for its fate. Having said that, entrepreneurship continues to attract a large number of millennials, especially those thirsting to carve a niche for themselves in the crowded b

Software Review 96

Software Review Social Media Search Cloud 96

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 30, 2017

If you have a website, then content improvement should be one of your primary goals as a way to increase visitors. Although there are many different actions you can take to gain search engine recognition, content creation is the one with the most staying power. It makes sense, too – after all, other ranking methods may get people to the page; but only good content can actually make them stay on it.

Curation 164

Curation Analytics Social Media Metrics 164

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 23, 2017

Enterprise is defined as the act of creating, innovating and setting up a business, taking financial risks expecting profits. The enterprise in company form offers a product, a process or service for sale or hires to professionals or individuals, contributing to a community’s overall economic development. Entrepreneurship is known for the high risks involved in launching a startup.

Developer 129

Developer Technical Review Equity Distribution 129

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2017

Time bankruptcy results from the deliberate over-commitment of core resources. Close. You’d know the symptoms, if not the name. You’re fighting to put out the fires from customer complaints, or incomplete work, or are suffering from an inability to focus upon new development or new customers before cleaning up the mess inside your organization. I created the term “time bankruptcy” almost thirty years ago when the computer software business was young, and I was a software developer building a yo

Bankruptcy 97

Bankruptcy Software Developers Software Development Software 97

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 27, 2017

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.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Jordan Serbia Salary 78

VC Adventure

AUGUST 31, 2017

If you read my blog regularly you know I love (LOVE) metrics. So no surprise that when River Cities Capital released an overview of SaaS operating and valuation benchmarks, I hung on every juicy detail. It’s chocked full of them – I’d highly recommend your reading the full report. But if you’re too busy for that, below are some of the key take-aways.

IPO 113

IPO Vertical Balance Sheet Valuation 113

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2017

Working out a business plan for your daycare center can be a challenge. There are many expenses you must calculate—more than you’d think! Projected enrollment growth and market demand can also be tricky to estimate. From knowing your competition to picking the right place to establish your daycare center, there are a lot of lessons to be learned. As someone who owns eight successful daycares in the Chicago area, I know the strategies and approaches that work when it comes to developing a sound b

Business Plan 93

Business Plan SBA Software Review Advisory Board 93

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 20, 2017

by Kamal Brar, Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific at Hortonworks . We all have seen the headlines: “Google’s AlphaGo defeats world-class Chinese “Go” player”; “IBM’s Watson is tackling healthcare with artificial intelligence”; and so on. Artificial intelligence (AI), which is essentially a set of tools and programs that make software ’smarter’ in a way an outside observer thinks the output is generated by a human, is starting to break out on

Artificial Inteligence 150

Artificial Inteligence Asia Singapore Technical Review 150

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 6, 2017

With time and attention scarce, it’s difficult for entrepreneurs and small business owners to upgrade or learn new skills. There are, of course, millions of published articles and blog posts about entrepreneurship, business, finance, and management. But many of these articles are noisy and few offer real, actionable insights that can help you make better business decisions.

Programming 73

Programming Technical Review Small Business Illinois 73

Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2017

Close. There is a relationship between time and money that is more complex than most managers think. Fixed overhead for salaries, rent, equipment leases and more make up the majority of the “burn rate” (monthly expenses) for most companies. Since this number is budgeted and pre-authorized, managers tend to focus upon other things such as sales, marketing and product development issues.

Silicon Valley 97

Silicon Valley Burn Rate Angel Investor Down Round 97

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 11, 2017

Being an entrepreneur is a source of pride. It also evidences an individual with a huge amount of discipline and focus to be able to build a business a lot of times from just an idea. It is the ambition of an entrepreneur that built the most profitable and successful companies. The only issue is that the word entrepreneurship can often vary from person to person. #1- Following dreams.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Harvest New York City New York 115

Transformify

AUGUST 27, 2017

Team comes first. Your team is directly correlated with the valuation of your startup. It is your team that will save you, the entrepreneur, from a disaster. All of the above is true, but it is also true that many startups have failed because they hired too early, too fast, or fired too late. Many of the points below can be found among the best hiring practices for startups and there is nothing wrong with them in general.

Hiring 64

Hiring Software Review Burn Rate Startup 64

Up and Running

AUGUST 9, 2017

Everyone knows that a business name is important. It is the single most used aspect of your future brand. Ideally, yours will be mentioned by reporters, shared by referrals, and hopefully remembered by customers when the need for your solution arises. A great name like PayPal can introduce your company, hinting at what makes it unique and interesting.

Naming 105

Naming Business Plan Community Audience 105

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 24, 2017

by Stefan Pretty, founder of Subbly. Subscription business models have been around for a pretty long time, but thanks to modern technology, this model has evolved from milk or newspapers delivery to a versatile eCommerce experience. One characteristic remains: the products subscription businesses can provide, ranging from magazine subscriptions to literally anything, can appear on a customer’s doorstep every day, week, month or year.

Churn Rate 149

Churn Rate eCommerce Business Model Bootstrapping 149

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

The Forrest Four-Cast: August 20, 2017 More than any other mayor in the history of Austin, Steve Adler has courted and created strong ties with the city’s tech and startup community. These ties proved to be an important pillar of his successful election bid in the spring of 2014. These ties have been re-affirmed by his ongoing efforts to bring dozens of big city US mayors to Austin for SXSW.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Austin HTML Community 88

Berkonomics

AUGUST 2, 2017

Well, if you’ve had a computer long enough, it has certainly happened to you. Power surges, power outages, surges upon reinstatement of power, low or high voltage from your utility (brownouts or surges.) I’ve had all of these over the years and lost equipment from motherboards to microcells. And I’ve lost data due to sudden power loss. I have worried over every wind storm or thunderstorm.

Software Review 106

Software Review Restful Search Software 106

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 31, 2017

Entrepreneurship has evolved. With the advancements of technology, entrepreneurship has also advanced and evolved. Maggie Schlarb is a business coach, entrepreneur and global Joy of Business facilitator. In 2014, Maggie cycled for 5 months around the mountainous roads of New Zealand, towing her two-year-old son the entire way. This journey transformed her views on entrepreneurism and helped her understand that businesses are more likely to grow and succeed if they are approached with a sense

New Zealand 97

New Zealand Italy Europe Technical Review 97

ConversionXL

AUGUST 2, 2017

1,983% boost in annual revenue, 1,000% user base growth within six months with no upfront costs. Can this be true? These are actual results a startup Ringadoc got from their partner program. In today’s environment, if B2B organizations are going to make it, they need to grow. Partnerships can be a big help. Chris Samila , Partnerships Manager at Optimizely shares: “We saw building and supporting a partner ecosystem as a massive opportunity.

Channel 84

Channel Partner Programming B2B 84

Duct Tape Marketing

AUGUST 10, 2017

An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Success written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing Podcast with Landon Ray. Podcast Transcript. I’ve known this week’s guest for about a decade and in that time I’ve watched him grow from tiny start-up to thriving Inc500 stand out. It’s really fun to see this kind of success and these stories are out there and everywhere if you look – no, they don’t always make the nightly news because it’s pret

North America 57

North America Software Review America Technical Review 57

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

by Germán Montoya is the Chief Strategy and Creative Officer at Rokk3r Labs. Venture Capitalism is changing. Almost synonymous with this startup-focused era, the once indomitable VC investor sector is changing and adapting to deal with the changing nature of entrepreneurship. Traditionally, VC investors would invest $X million in a startup for a certain percentage of equity, decision making rights, and the power to block things they didn’t agree with.

Venture Capital 193

Venture Capital Technical Review Kenya Startup 193

Austin Startup

AUGUST 3, 2017

I talk to at least a dozen new entrepreneurs each week and probably review two dozen email pitches. Here’s what to expect the first time you contact me and how to get the most out of it. Get an introduction if you can It’s always best to get an introduction from someone trusted by the person you want to meet. If you contact me cold then we’re probably going to exchange a few emails before I invite you to meet in person (however, it’s worth noting that I still do take a lot of meetings this way).

Startup 69

Startup Technical Review Texas Email 69

Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2017

Close. Let’s examine the relationship between time, quality and competitiveness. If you are getting the impression from these many insights that complex relationships cause simple problems, you are right. We have heard the “haste makes waste” ditty since childhood. There is little need to reinforce the obvious. On a larger scale, there are epoch stories of giant companies eating massive losses in a recall of product, often based upon limited testing before release.

Software Review 97

Software Review Reputation Internet Cost 97

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 4, 2017

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.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Utah Houston Cofounder 97

ConversionXL

AUGUST 2, 2017

1,983% boost in annual revenue, 1,000% user base growth within six months with no upfront costs. Can this be true? These are actual results a startup Ringadoc got from their partner program. In today’s environment, if B2B organizations are going to make it, they need to grow. Partnerships can be a big help. Chris Samila , Partnerships Manager at Optimizely shares: “We saw building and supporting a partner ecosystem as a massive opportunity.

Channel 77

Channel Partner Programming B2B 77

Duct Tape Marketing

AUGUST 4, 2017

Revive and Re-purpose: How to Use Old Content for Better Results written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Today’s modern world relies heavily on the internet to make transactions and businesses even faster. In a single click, an item from the other corner of the world could be right on your doorstep in just a few days time. Truly, the age of the modern world is upon us.

Jamaica 75

Jamaica Curation Technical Review Audience 75

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 7, 2017

Back in the 1970’s, consumers saw about 500 advertising messages per day. Just guess what that number is today. So believe me when I say this: When you’re first starting a business, no one trusts you. You need to work towards a brand that will sell people on the idea of working with you. This requires building trust with as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

Small Business 167

Small Business Software Review Social Media Balance Sheet 167