Sat.Aug 03, 2019 - Fri.Aug 09, 2019

article thumbnail

The Importance of Diversity on Boards

Board Effect

For a long time, boardrooms were commonly jovial, affable places where board directors were like-minded and knew each other well. An agreeable atmosphere is certainly nice, but it can cause some unintentional problems. Where everyone usually agrees, everyone tends to continue to agree and the group becomes exceedingly insular. Tight-knit boards often feel like they have an obligation to go along with the CEO or the executive director for various reasons.

article thumbnail

Stay Hungry: Helping Startups Commit to Improvement

ReadWriteStart

Let’s say a startup has defied the odds and survived its first several years. The entrepreneur has found a niche market, launched a product, secured funding, and continued to assemble an effective team. The business is moving forward. As the business grows, and entrepreneurs feel they have a safety net where there was none before. But how to stay hungry?

Startup 107
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

7 Ways Small Companies Can Out-Innovate Big Corporations

Up and Running

Innovation has the power to drive even the smallest businesses to success, but is it enough to help them take on the biggest corporations? It’s not an easy question to answer, yet all we need to do is remember that plenty of companies running the world today started as small enterprises. The visionaries behind these companies were innovators. They hit on winning formulas and the rest, as they say, is history. .

article thumbnail

Friday Fun-ism: “Smiling Killer”

View from Seed

One of my favorite descriptions we use half in jest is that a founder seems like a “smiling killer” This is a compliment, I promise. This means that the founder strikes a very delicate balance that is very hard to pull off. First, the founder just seems like a great person. She is kind, charismatic, engaging, and seems genuinely great to work with.

Founder 120
article thumbnail

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

article thumbnail

6 Keys To Marketing That Many Entrepreneurs Overlook

Startup Professionals Musings

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 244
article thumbnail

Does your board give you good advice?

Berkonomics

This may be news, but boards of directors can offer bad advice. Having served on more than forty boards, I’ve seen such a variety of good and bad advice that my stories could fill a book. (oh, wait. They have…) So, lets delve into board composition, risk of an unbalanced board, and one of those stories…. The composition of your board matters. A typical board is composed of five persons in a company that has received outside funds from professional investors.

More Trending

article thumbnail

How to Develop a Clearly Defined Cloud Strategy

ReadWriteStart

Cloud adoption is picking up steam and for a good reason. There are myriad advantages to running a business in the cloud and fewer risks than ever before. According to a LogicMonitor survey, 83% of enterprise workloads will be cloud-based by 2020. While the odds are good that your business could reap significant benefits, cloud adoption isn’t as easy as flipping a switch.

Cloud 115
article thumbnail

7 Common Causes Of Failure To Communicate in Business

Startup Professionals Musings

Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to communication can be overcome one by one.

Semantic 235
article thumbnail

Successful Startup Staffing Strategies: It’s Easy When You Know How

YoungUpstarts

Starting a new business is not as easy as you might think. And launching a startup can be even more challenging. It’s one thing to have a great idea – for instance – but we don’t all have the skills to make it successful. So what should you do if there are gaps in your own knowledge or experience – as a new startup owner? Do you know enough about issues like recruitment, finance, your legal position and management, for example?

article thumbnail

Top 10 Most Expensive Mistakes New Restaurant Owners Make

Up and Running

Every new restaurant business owner is bound to make mistakes. Some will be costly, but if you can keep your sense of humor and learn from those mistakes, your business (and your attitude) will benefit in the long run. . You’ve launched your new restaurant and you’re starting to see customers, but running a restaurant is serious business, especially because your financial livelihood is most likely tied up in startup costs. .

article thumbnail

Growing a Profitable Marketing Consulting Practice: My First Year as a Duct Tape Marketing Consultant

Duct Tape Marketing

Growing a Profitable Marketing Consulting Practice: My First Year as a Duct Tape Marketing Consultant written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. My first interaction with John Jantsch was in April of 2016 at the annual Social Media Marketing World conference in San Diego, CA. I had just begun my digital marketing consulting business a few months prior and, to be honest, hadn’t read his popular book Duct Tape Marketing nor did I know anything about running a successful marketing bu

article thumbnail

What Every CIO Needs to Know From Their PR Team

Rembrandt Communications

Talked to Your PR and Marketing Teams, Lately? You’re in charge of all tech innovation at your B2B, and as the CIO, you are probably analytical and love statistics. Therefore, you probably don’t deal with the “creative, right-brain-oriented” communications people at your organization very often. Now, I may be wrong, but if you don’t talk to your public relations (PR) and marketing people on a regular basis, you are missing out on some huge opportunities for business growth.

PR 100
article thumbnail

Effective Communication Within Your Business

YoungUpstarts

While running any enterprise, everything has to be in sync. However, it isn’t possible without effective communication. Communication involves understanding rather than talking. As a business owner, you may seek to be clear, concise, objective, complete, relevant, and consistent and understand your staff. Efficient communication is crucial. The following are the effective communication that to be followed in business.

article thumbnail

How to Survive “The Amazon Effect” as a Small Ecommerce Business Owner

Up and Running

You’ve just bought something that looked perfect online and you can’t wait to get it in your hands. Take a moment to pause and think about that last bit: How long would you actually be willing to wait to get your item? For the vast majority of products—whatever your target market — people are willing to wait about two days. This desire to have what you want at that speed is what the industry has coined “The Amazon Effect.” It’s turned a vast majority of the ecommerce world into a rac

article thumbnail

Improve Your Retail Sales by Changing Your Business Communication

The Startup Magazine

If you own a retail store or a chain of stores, competing with other companies can feel overwhelming. However, there are things you can do to increase sales that do not require an enormous amount of change. One of the best things for your company is improving business communication among managers, staff, customers and everyone else. Poor Communication Consequences.

Sales 86
article thumbnail

Transcript of Why Customer Service Must Come from the Heart

Duct Tape Marketing

Transcript of Why Customer Service Must Come from the Heart written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Back to Podcast. Transcript. John Jantsch: This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Gusto, modern, easy payroll benefits for small businesses across the country. And because you’re a listener, you get three months free when you run your first payroll.

article thumbnail

Could You Outlive Your Retirement Funds? 3 Ways To Strategize With A Fiduciary

YoungUpstarts

by Alexander Joyce, president/CEO of ReJoyce Financial LLC and author of “ Rejoyce in Your Retirement: Everything You Need to Know to Get Everything You Want “ People are living longer , and as wonderful as that news is to many, there’s a possible downside: outliving your money in retirement. It’s a very large fear many people have. Most retirement plans have not incorporated the longevity risk.

article thumbnail

What Should Not Be Included in Board Meeting Minutes?

Board Effect

Writing board meeting minutes is such a common task that there’s a risk of not giving it the due diligence it deserves. While writing board meeting minutes is a common task, minute-takers should never underestimate their importance. It’s crucial that minute-takers remember the purpose of taking meeting minutes. First and foremost, meeting minutes provide a legal record of board activity.

article thumbnail

Uptake Verticals - Part 1 - Industry Asset Engines

deal architect

I had a chance to talk to two executives at Uptake about vertical markets they focus on, under their tag line of "Our technology has seen millions of machine failures so you don't have to". First are the notes from.

article thumbnail

Why Customer Service Must Come from the Heart

Duct Tape Marketing

Why Customer Service Must Come from the Heart written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing Podcast with Jeanne Bliss. Podcast Transcript. Today on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I visit with Jeanne Bliss , founder and President of CustomerBliss, and the co-founder of The Customer Experience Professionals Association. Bliss pioneered the role of Chief Customer Officer and was the first to hold the role at several organizations, including Lands’ End, Microsoft, Coldwell Ba

article thumbnail

Everything You Need To Know About Virtual Data Rooms

YoungUpstarts

A VDR is an online database in which businesses can share and store confidential information, usually used during a financial transaction. Virtual data rooms may also be described as a type of document filing system or electronic repository. With the ubiquitous reliance on PCs and specialized software to keep a business running smoothly, and coupled with the fact that more enterprises are making the transition of being paperless, many of the previously document-heavy operational practices have b

article thumbnail

7 Emigrant Entrepreneur Traits We All Should Emulate

Startup Professionals Musings

In my experience as a business advisor and angel investor these days, I seem to more frequently hear from entrepreneurs and business owners with “can’t-fail” or “get-rich-quick” ideas. In my view, these are the least likely to succeed, partially because the people behind them have the wrong expectations and traits. The instant gratification approach just doesn’t work in business.

article thumbnail

The "Glo-ver" phase in enterprise apps

deal architect

I don't mean to pick on NetSuite but it is one of the oldest cloud apps vendors - born as it was in 1998. Over 21 years, you would think it would have a fuller global footprint. Especially since it.

Cloud 230
article thumbnail

Putting Social Media Myths to the Test

Duct Tape Marketing

Putting Social Media Myths to the Test written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing Podcast with Scott Ayres. Podcast Transcript. Today’s guest on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is Scott Ayres, content scientist with AgoraPulse’s Social Media Lab. Ayres and the team at the lab are testing every question a marketer has ever had about social media.

article thumbnail

Why NextView Invested in Pattern Brands

View from Seed

Pattern Brands is and will be an exceptional company. It’s completely unique and so special across a number of dimensions, which is why my partners and I just had to be part of its story. Not your ordinary startup, Pattern has actually been around for a decade. Fueled by creative genius of Emmett Shine and leadership of Nick Ling, the company as Gin Lane has become the prestigious modern branding & digital experience agency which has reshaped consumer-first businesses, launching over fift

article thumbnail

10 Business Areas Where Data Is The Key To The Future

Startup Professionals Musings

Even though ‘big data’ has now been around for several years, the opportunities for startups seem to keep growing, just as the amount of data keeps growing. According to IBM , companies have captured more data in the last two years than in the previous 2000 years. This data comes from sensors, social media posts, digital pictures and videos, purchase transactions, everywhere.

Database 236
article thumbnail

Uptake Verticals - Part 2 - Dealers of Industrial Equipment

deal architect

This continues our conversation about verticals at Uptake. Yesterday Lisa Dyer talked about their "asset and maintenance engines" and how they are adapted to several industrial verticals. Below we cover the discussion with Joe Rosing, Director of Product Marketing about.

article thumbnail

Transcript of How Ultralearning Helps You Master New Skills

Duct Tape Marketing

Transcript of How Ultralearning Helps You Master New Skills written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Back to Podcast. Transcript. John Jantsch: This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Klaviyo. Klaviyo is a platform that helps growth-focused eCommerce brands drive more sales with super-targeted, highly relevant email, Facebook and Instagram marketing.

article thumbnail

There’s More To Protecting Your Firm Than Using A Stronger Lock

Women Entrepreneurs Can

We can often feel that in 2019, many business processes are becoming easier to deal with. Workplace modules can help all our staff remain on the same page at the same time. Health and safety standards are routinely updated and cared for, yet often uniform within the same types of business. Marketing has never been easier, as we can now directly target the groups we hope to appeal to most.

article thumbnail

8 Keys To Enjoying Work, And Enhancing Your Career

Startup Professionals Musings

As a business advisor, one of the most frustrating things I see is the number of employees who are unhappy at work. Business owners don’t like it, the new generations think promotions will solve it, and productivity levels continue to suffer. According to the polls, only 32 percent of workers are engaged , and the rest spend much of their time wishing they were somewhere else.

Restful 228
article thumbnail

Focus On Being The Best You Can Be   

YoungUpstarts

by Dean Karrel, author of “ Mastering the Basics: Simple Lessons for Achieving Success in Business “ On occasion, we can all feel a little intimidated by work colleagues who may have more senior titles than us or have an MBA or other advanced degrees. This can especially be true when we first enter the business world, but it can occur throughout our careers.

article thumbnail

Cognizant and the healthcare vertical

deal architect

I had a chance to talk to Larry Bridge, SVP Healthcare Strategy at Cognizant about the sector and how healthcare vertical solutions have evolved in his 30+ year career.

Vertical 170
article thumbnail

Easy Ways To Have More Fun At Work

The Startup Magazine

You spend more time at your place of work than you do at home, yet you have less control over the environment in your workplace. So why not have some fun at work to make it worth the long hours. Image by Henning Westerkamp from Pixabay. It’s no wonder that some companies experience such high staff turnover rates. After all, if you can’t have a little fun at work what’s the point in being there?

article thumbnail

Charting return multiples over time

Version One Ventures

Last week I blogged about the return multiples for our Fund I and how they perfectly illustrate just how much the power law drives VC return. Alex Norman from AngelList asked how these return multiples have changed over time and what insights could be won from that data. It was a great question and I went back and crunched our data for the past 6 years.

Valuation 136
article thumbnail

3 Ways To Build Philanthropy Into Your Culture

YoungUpstarts

by Jason McCann , founder and CEO of VARIDESK. Before we became known for standing, we believed in standing for something. When startups are still in the infant stage, it’s hard to envision the day when philanthropy becomes part of the equation. There’s just so much to accomplish before giving back can be a legitimate, sustainable goal. One of the biggest obstacles to giving back to the community, especially for entrepreneurs, is finding the time to get started.

article thumbnail

H-E-B to Build a New Tech Center in San Antonio and Hire 500 Employees

SiliconHills

At its hometown headquarters in San Antonio, H-E-B is making a big investment to create a state-of-the-art tech center. H-E-B announced Wednesday it plans to add 500 new jobs in San Antonio and build a 150,000 square-foot, five-story building in downtown San Antonio. The building will have the capacity to eventually house 1,000 employees. Construction […].