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The two-year-old micro fund has made over 40 investments in Asia, among the 140 total deals done in the region by 500 Startups to date 500 Startups has added US$5 million to its US$10 million micro fund 500 Durians — as first reported by TechCrunch. The news was confirmed by a U.S filing. This follows their hiring spree in Singapore two months ago, where the fund brought on angel investor Arnaud Bonzom as Director of Special Projects and lawyer-entrepreneur Vishal Harnal as Investment Manager. 500 Durians was launched in May 2013 for Southeast Asia and was joined by the…
Most Topular Stories
500 Startups tops up US$5M into its SEA micro fund 500 Durianse273 Jul 2015 | 4:42 am
30 startups in Asia that caught our eyeTech in Asia5 Jul 2015 | 3:08 amHere's our newest round-up of the featured startups on our site this week. If you have startup tips or story suggestions, feel free to email us. Enjoy this week's list! 1. Kakatu | Indonesia (Techlist Profile) First released in December 2014, Kakatu is an app for smartphones and tablets that lets parents limit access to apps and monitor their children's use of them. It also has features to inform and educate parents about the best ways to ensure a healthy parent-child-gadget relationship. 2. Fril | Japan (Techlist Profile) Fril is an 'Etsy'-like flea market app developed by Japan…
Startup CEOs: You Don't Need an Office.StartupMuse » StartupMuse - by Alexander Muse1 Jul 2015 | 6:05 pmWhen I got my first 'real' job I had a big office and a huge partners desk. Ironically as I moved up the corporate ladder my offices got smaller and smaller until I found myself working from home without an office. By the time I was running my own company I was very focused on the location and size of my office. In one memorable case I recall explaining to one of my co-founders why I took the bigger, corner office without discussing it first (not my finest moment, sorry Scott). Then one day it occurred to me that my office was actually holding me back. I needed to get back in the…
Need 100 Startup Ideas? Check Your Living Roomthinkfuture3 Jul 2015 | 6:00 amWe live in an awesome time, don't we? As little as 5 years ago, we barely had the tools, frameworks and platforms that we have today in order to build a startup to do almost anything. Do you know what the most interesting thing to me is about the on-demand, sharing economy? It's not because of the crazy valuations (even though they are crazy), it's because I personally feel that one aspect of those businesses touched a chord, deep inside humanity. The desire to help each other. Since we roamed the world in tribes of prehistoric man, we've always been and needed to be, social…
Bootstrapping vs crowdfunding infographicStart Up Donut blog feed22 Jun 2015 | 1:59 am
Fast Company
A Heartwarming Look At The July Fourth Parades Of Yesteryear3 Jul 2015 | 4:30 amStars, stripes, and tiny horses.The 1930s and 1940s were tough decades for the United States. The Great Depression crippled the economy, and World War II tested the nation's resolve. It was also a golden age for documentary photography. Under the direction of Roy Stryker, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and Office of War Information (OWI) created a remarkable pictorial record of American life with the help of top-notch photographers like Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Berenice Abbott. While shots such as Lange's Migrant Mother and Evans's portraits from impoverished Alabama relay…
Take The Fast Company News Quiz3 Jul 2015 | 4:00 amWhat happened this week? Here's our quiz for July 3, 2015.Did you follow the news this week? Research says that one of the best ways to solidify new information is to be tested on it. Here's a chance to bolster your knowledge of current events—and earn a special emoji badge. Read Full Story
5 Great Free Apps For A Long Weekend3 Jul 2015 | 3:00 amHit the road, see the sights, find a room, and more.Summer's in full swing, which means it's time to blow off work and do some sightseeing. If you find yourself with a few extra days on your hands, these free apps can help you make the most of them.Read Full Story
FBI Probes Fiber-Optic Internet Saboteurs In California2 Jul 2015 | 2:15 pmThe suspects attacked the fiber-optic cables that carry the Internet—the eleventh such incident in the past year.After a mysterious Internet outage this week affected customers in the San Francisco Bay Area—even reaching as far as Seattle—the FBI revealed it is investigating the incident. The Bay Area's physical Internet infrastructure has been attacked by highly skilled saboteurs on ten other occasions in the past year alone.Read Full Story
Greek Startups Cut Off From The Cloud2 Jul 2015 | 1:15 pmGreece's emergency foreign spending restrictions have left tech companies scrambling to fund web hosting accounts and other services.The ongoing financial crisis in Greece has left some tech companies struggling to pay the bills—but not because they don't have money in the bank.Read Full Story
Telco, device-maker, ad network alliances will make for better app discovery5 Jul 2015 | 10:00 amIf you're not reaching, engaging, and monetizing customers on mobile, you're likely losing them to someone else. Register now for the 8th annual MobileBeat, July 13-14, where the best and brightest will be exploring the latest strategies and tactics in the mobile space. GUEST: Today, getting discovered in the Play or App stores is a lot like winning America's Got Talent. Giants like Google, Apple, or Facebook enjoy a monopoly-like grip on the content discovery question. But their app store offerings are limiting, laborious, and outdated. They're simply not designed for dynamic content…
Open edX: The open source learning management system for corporations and non-profits5 Jul 2015 | 10:00 amIf you're not reaching, engaging, and monetizing customers on mobile, you're likely losing them to someone else. Register now for the 8th annual MobileBeat, July 13-14, where the best and brightest will be exploring the latest strategies and tactics in the mobile space. GUEST: This month marks the third birthday of edX, the online learning platform developed jointly by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In that short time, usage of the edx.org site has exploded. Over 4 million students have taken one of the hundreds of free online courses provided by dozens…
Amazon Web Services: This generation's Berlin Wall tear-down deflationary event5 Jul 2015 | 8:00 amIf you're not reaching, engaging, and monetizing customers on mobile, you're likely losing them to someone else. Register now for the 8th annual MobileBeat, July 13-14, where the best and brightest will be exploring the latest strategies and tactics in the mobile space. GUEST: Amazon Web Services (AWS), with its 'Walmartesque' everyday low prices strategy, has single handedly altered the enterprise software pricing model and has created the most important deflationary impact of this century. The 'old tech' business model was to dominate an industry and then release mediocre…
Tesla is at another crossroads4 Jul 2015 | 1:30 pmIf you're not reaching, engaging, and monetizing customers on mobile, you're likely losing them to someone else. Register now for the 8th annual MobileBeat, July 13-14, where the best and brightest will be exploring the latest strategies and tactics in the mobile space. It's crunch time for Tesla. Elon Musk's electric-car company has recovered from a gnarly end to 2014 and start to 2015. It just beat expectations for global vehicle deliveries in the second quarter — 11,507, around 500 more than anticipated — and is on track to start rolling its Model X SUV off…
This week in the emerging Age of Touchlessness4 Jul 2015 | 10:49 amIf you're not reaching, engaging, and monetizing customers on mobile, you're likely losing them to someone else. Register now for the 8th annual MobileBeat, July 13-14, where the best and brightest will be exploring the latest strategies and tactics in the mobile space. The Age of Touchlessness took several steps closer this week. Word circulated that credit card giant MasterCard has developed a new app that lets you "sign" a financial transaction with a video of your face blinking once. The blink is apparently to prevent someone from simply using a photo of you, although it…
The Secret to Happiness5 Jul 2015 | 6:25 amHappiness comes from your own actions. Happiness is a choice. When you find yourself in an emotional state that you'd rather not be in, you have the power to change it in an instant.
Women Are Waving The Entrepreneurial Flag And Boosting Economic Growth4 Jul 2015 | 10:30 amThe number of women launching high-growth businesses is a bottomline indicator of America's future economic health.
Donald Trump: Running For President Is Bad For My Brand4 Jul 2015 | 10:10 amThe famous entrepreneur believes he's acting against his business interests. Or is he just acting?
Stars, Stripes, And Startups: Here's Why The Entrepreneurial Spirit Is Unique To The USA4 Jul 2015 | 7:10 amEven surfers here know that they could become billionaires, so they are more likely to start their own companies.
7 Stages of the Entrepreneur's Life Cycle: From Independence to Interdependence4 Jul 2015 | 6:10 amCelebrate your accomplishments as you spend time with your friends and family members today. Know where you are in the 7 stages of the entrepreneur's life cycle so that you can celebrate the independence (or interdependence) of your business.
Entrepreneur: Latest Articles
Anatomy of a VC Deal: How One Seattle Startup Raised $12.5 Million5 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amWe'll take you through the entire process, from pitch decks to cut checks.
Sage Business Advice From America's Founding Fathers4 Jul 2015 | 8:00 amTo celebrate the Fourth of July, here are inspirational quotes from five signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Coming to America: An Immigrant Who Overcame a 'Taxing' Problem4 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amSix years ago, Paula Paredes started her ATAX franchise by first tackling an obstacle that had nothing to do with the IRS.
The Secret to Connecting With Your Audience3 Jul 2015 | 2:00 pmThere's one thing you can do that will rally your customers, colleagues and even competitors.
Failure Is Not the End. It's an Opportunity to Learn.3 Jul 2015 | 1:00 pmFailure is an external event that happens. It is not a personality characteristic.
The Netherlands: A Look At The World's High-Tech Startup Capital5 Jul 2015 | 8:00 amIt's a fascinating time to take stock of startup innovation in the Netherlands, a rare turning point where you can watch the hard work of the past give way to the immense promise of the future. Behind London and Berlin, the Dutch startup scene is already considered to be one of the most prominent in Europe. (If it feels unfair to weigh an entire country against individual cities,… Read More
DIY Disruption Is The Easiest Way To Innovate4 Jul 2015 | 8:00 pmLast month I attended the Collision conference in Las Vegas; it served up a hipster/music festival feel with a decidedly tech twist. The event welcomed old-school headliners like PayPal, Dropbox and Facebook, but also brought in hundreds of tech startups, from cloud management vendor CloudBolt to MedYear, a consumer health information exchange platform. The vibe was electric. Read More
Precision Ag Tech Helps California Farmers Grow More With Less Water4 Jul 2015 | 4:00 pmWill Gerry might look the part of a fourth-generation farmer — dirty denim jeans, shirt sleeves rolled up and a gray beard that wraps from brim to brim on his leather hat. But once Gerry whips the smartphone out of his pocket, he starts rattling off tech jargon and analyzing data points across his farm like a 20-something whiz kid from Silicon Valley. Read More
How To Not Post Crappy Pics Of Fireworks This Fourth Of July4 Jul 2015 | 2:30 pmThe temptation will be great. The urge will be strong. Watching sky-based explosions, geared toward entertainment and celebration, can be a powerful experience. And in the Instagram Age, the powerful experiences are the ones we want to share. But the July 5th edition of Instagram usually sucks pretty hard, based mostly on blurry, drunkenly captured photos of fireworks. This guide should help… Read More
Arcade Dreams4 Jul 2015 | 1:57 pmSummer always makes me think of the 7-11 at the end of East Lakeview in Columbus, Ohio. I was about eight. My grandmother took us there every week to get comic books, which were near the front window, by the counter. In the back corner, in darkness, was a Star Wars stand up arcade game. On the day it first appeared it bleated a snippet of the Star Wars theme and my ears perked up. It took a… Read More
Matching Talent with Jobs, One Click at a Time2 Jul 2015 | 1:31 pmLoulou Khazen Baz is a digital entrepreneur with a social mission: to address the Arab World's unemployment challenges by allowing companies to micro-source talent through her online job market, Nabbesh.
Will Rising Heat in the Climate Change Debate Propel Action?2 Jul 2015 | 8:16 amClimate change and pollution are in focus with a papal call, a court ruling and a government report. Experts at Wharton and a Jesuit priest weigh the possible outcomes.
Should U.S. Investors Care about the Greek Crisis?1 Jul 2015 | 10:00 amDespite the turmoil in Europe about Greece, U.S. investors should see only limited impact on their portfolios, at least in the short run. But there could be complications in the long term.
Can the Eurozone Reverse Its Decline After the Greek Debacle?1 Jul 2015 | 9:28 amThe chaos of eurozone negotiations with Greece is raising questions about Europe's future. An image of a continent in decline is being burnished, say experts from Wharton and elsewhere.
For Greece, 2015 Won't Be Like 20121 Jul 2015 | 8:21 amNo matter how the Greek drama ends, Europe and the euro will survive, writes Peter Vanham, senior media manager for the World Economic Forum, in this opinion piece.
SmartBrief on Entrepreneurs
SmartBrief will not publish Friday2 Jul 2015 | 12:30 pmIn observance of Independence Day in the U.S., SmartBrief will not publish Friday. Publication will resume Monday. -More-
Don't be afraid to help employees be happy2 Jul 2015 | 12:30 pmSome business thinkers appear to believe that making workers happy is less important than ensuring their engagement, but the -More-
Mall managers, hungry for innovation, fund startups2 Jul 2015 | 12:30 pmMall developers are a perhaps surprising breed of startup investor. -More-
Keeping startups private also keeps risk private2 Jul 2015 | 12:30 pmInitial public offerings are no longer an automatic next step for highly funded and valuated startups, Farhad Manjoo writes. -More-
Electric buses could be coming to a street near you2 Jul 2015 | 12:30 pmProterra, a startup, has designed an electric bus that is intended to be more energy-efficient than a diesel bus. -More-
Guy Kawasaki
The Official Guy Kawasaki Father's Day Gift List8 Jun 2015 | 8:21 amA good Father's Day gift embodies two qualities: insight into the male psyche and the appearance of a careful decision. Cost is hardly a factor at all. Because you only have six days left to shop, here's a list of ten items for most modern dads. Anker USB charger. Wall or desktop $25.99. A dad's credo is ABC: always be charging. These multi-port wall chargers enable dad to take care of his phone, tablet, and camera. You might want to buy him two for family vacations when all the other members of the family need a way to charge their devices too. Lumsing High Capacity 10,400 mAh…
Startups: How to Do a Pre-Mortem (and Prevent a Post-Mortem)20 May 2015 | 9:42 amDoctors conduct postmortems to figure why people died. They do this to solve a crime, prevent the death of others, and satisfy curiosity. However, once somebody dies, it's too late to help him. Entrepreneurs and their investors also often analyze why a product, service, or company died—especially if it's someone else's company. And, as in the case of dead people, a postmortem is too late to do much good for a defunct product, service, or company. Enter the concept of premortems, coined by Gary Klein, chief scientist of Klein Associates, and author of Sources of Power: How People Make…
Photos from the May 2015 Maker Faire in San Mateo California18 May 2015 | 2:27 pmThe post Photos from the May 2015 Maker Faire in San Mateo California appeared first on Guy Kawasaki.
The Art of the Panel11 May 2015 | 8:50 amAt any conference, there are ten times more panelists than there are keynote speakers, so the odds are higher that you're on a panel than giving a keynote speech. Therefore, rocking a panel is an important skill for evangelists, too. A panel looks easy. There are four or five other people on it, and it lasts only sixty minutes. How hard could it be? Herein lies the problem: because everyone thinks a panel is short and easy, no one prepares for it. In reality, a panel is harder than an individual speech because you cannot control a panel like your own keynote speech, and you get much less…
Must Do: Intern Like a Rock Star5 May 2015 | 6:00 amThis is a reprint from Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job. Kill it in Your Career. Rock Social Media. By Aliza Licht. I'm publishing it because many students are about to begin their summer internships, and I want them to have the most valuable experience possible. When you enter a real work environment for the first time, especially as a college student starting an internship, remember why you want to be there: First and foremost, to learn real marketable skills that can enhance your resumé and to secure a strong referral from your supervisor. You do not go about getting these…
Meet the VCs - Meet Keval Desai, partner at InterWest Partners4 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amDesai is a former director of product management at Google, and vice president for product at DiggIf you've been following this column for the past couple of months, then you know that we've been trying to highlight some of the newer members of the VC community. But that doesn't mean we want to ignore some Silicon Valley's more experienced firms either. This town has a deep bench of experienced firms and investors, and there is a lot to learn from those that have been around for a while. Keval Desai is a partner at InterWest Partners. He is Google's former director of product…
Weekly M&A Roundup - M&A roundup - week ending 7/4/154 Jul 2015 | 6:00 amPayPal buys Xoom; Vivendi purchased 80% of Dailymotion; Uber shores up maps with Bing tech and teamAdding to the the growing list of payment startups that are exiting this year, PayPal acquired digital money transfer provider Xoom. The deal to buy the publically traded company was priced at $25 per share in cash, or approximately $890 million enterprise value. The San Francisco-based Xoom allows consumers to send money, pay bills and send mobile reloads to family and friends around the world by using their mobile phone, tablet or computer. The company currently…
Daily Funding Roundup - Daily funding roundup - July 3, 20153 Jul 2015 | 3:54 pmCultureAlley raised $6.5M; 500 Durians received $5M; Chirp landed £400KAudio transfer app Chirp has smashed its £400,000 crowdfund on Crowdcube to raise a total £752,530. More than 350 people backed the campaign, which is the first successfully crowdfunded project to come out of University College London and the largest round ever raised by a UK university. The round included a £215,000 investment from London's GuanQun Investment UK. Chirp can be used to transfer any kind of data, from sounds to payments, and can be integrated into other apps. Jaipur-based Intap Labs…
Brief interview with HomeHero's Kyle Hill3 Jul 2015 | 9:23 amStartup looks to dominate the senior care marketWe all know that the baby boomers are aging. In fact, since they started crossing over the 65-yr-old threshold four years ago, they're the group that's causing this senior demographic to nearly double to 88 million by 2050, according to one report. This growing population has many innovators trying to come up with a solution to care for them. One company is Santa Monica, Calif.-based HomeHero, which launched in January 2014, with 20 caregivers. The company matches caregivers with seniors who need care at home. After getting some…
Uber suspends UberPOP in France after riots and arrests3 Jul 2015 | 8:58 amThe service is currently being appealed to France's Constitutional Court, who will rule in SeptemberThings have been going just a little bit crazy for Uber in France lately, with strikes, riots and arrests by taxi drivers, some of it even affecting celebrities (oh no!), and all of it over Uber's peer-to-peer "UberPOP" service. Now that things have gotten out of hand, the company is taking steps to remedy the situation, announcing that it is suspending the service in the country at 8 P.M. local time on Friday for the foreseeable future. "In the light of last…
Small Business Labs
Cats in Kimonos3 Jul 2015 | 1:00 amAccording to Fast Company, cats wearing kimonos are taking over Japan. Key quote: Yes, friends, cats wearing kimonos are having a moment in Japan, much the same way cats as pin-ups and Quokka selfies sparked crazes in other parts of the world. It turns out you can buy cat kimonos on Amazon. In case you don't want a kimono for your cat, they also have hundreds of doggy dresses for sale, most of which can fitted to your cat. Pet humanization continues to be one of our favorite trends - and one that shows no signs of abating. We cover in more detail in our Pet Trends section.
Time on Happy Independent Workers and Survivor Bias2 Jul 2015 | 1:00 amTime's This is Why You Should Consider Dumping Your Traditional Job covers data from the 2015 MBO Partners State of Independence study showing that 79% of independent workers are happier working on their own. The article also points out: To some extent, the study's findings are to be expected. The majority of those surveyed say that, for a variety of reasons, they voluntarily chose the independent work life over more traditional gigs. So it's no surprise nearly two out of three independent workers report being "very satisfied" with their work situation, and why four out of…
Independents Happier, Healthier Working on Their Own1 Jul 2015 | 1:00 amMBO Partners released a preview of their 5th annual State of Independence study. We worked with MBO Partners on this study. One of the key findings is that 79% of independent workers (freelancers, contractors, self-employed, etc.) report being happier working on their own than if they worked in a traditional job. 59% also reported they are healthier. There are many reasons for this, but the key factors are they have work control, autonomy and flexibility. Our research, and the research of others, is finding growing numbers of Americans are willing to trade income and job security for…
Economic Uncertainty Changing People's Decision Making29 Jun 2015 | 1:00 amThe American Institute of CPA's just released the results of an interesting survey looking at major life event decision making by Americans. The survey found that half of American adults (51 percent) have delayed at least one important life decision in the last year due to financial reasons. This up from 31% in 2007. The survey chart below shows that for many life events twice as many Americans are delaying decisions for financial reasons than in 2007. Economic uncertainty is powerful trend. It's a key reason we have lower marriage rates, lower birth…
Millennials Pass Gen X as Largest Generation in the U.S. Workforce25 Jun 2015 | 1:00 amPew Research's Millennials surpass Gen X'ers as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force reports that in Q1 of 2015 Millennials surpassed Generation X to become the largest share of the American workforce. The report chart below shows the generational shifts in the U.S. workforce over the past two decades. An interesting sidelight to the report is Pew's definitions of age cohorts. Somewhat surprisingly there are no official demographic cohort definitions, so different groups use different definitions. Pew's are to the right. Most everyone uses the same…
Don't be threatened by what Rajiv Khaneja did in the 10th grade and learn from his hustle1 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amWatch the FULL program Prefer audio? Great! "Right click" here for the MP3 format. Send to your phone About Rajiv Khaneja This is the latest post from Mixergy Raw transcript Mixergy's audio transcription is done by Speechpad Come back in a few days to get the full transcript of this program. Sponsored by Walker Corporate Law – Scott Edward Walker is the lawyer entrepreneurs turn to when they want to raise money or sell their companies, but if you're just getting started, his firm will help you launch properly. Watch this video to learn about him. The post Don't be…
Master Class: Start your freelance business Taught by Daniel DiPiazza of Rich20Something30 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amMaster Class: Start your freelance business ykr8nzgedd DOWNLOAD VIDEO DOWNLOAD MP3 Report Bugs Course Leader: Daniel DiPiazza, Rich20Something Daniel DiPiazza is the founder of Rich20Something.com, which teaches people how to start businesses using skills they already have and build a happier life. Master Class Toolbox Transcript(show) DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT The post Master Class: Start your freelance business Taught by Daniel DiPiazza of Rich20Something appeared first on Mixergy.
Master Class: Start your freelance business – with Daniel DiPiazza30 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amIf you don't have a business yet, or if you just want to start a little something on the side, this course is for you. That's because you're going to learn how to start a six-figure business, using only the skills you already have. Meaning you don't need developers, investors, a team, or even a cofounder. Just you, your skillz, and a whole lotta hustle… It's exactly what our course leader, Daniel DiPiazza, did for himself. And now, as the founder of Rich20Something.com, he teaches others how to do it, too. And here's the thing… You don't have to have to have mad SEO…
How Dana Severson built a $100k business in six months for less than $10029 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amWatch the FULL program Prefer audio? Great! "Right click" here for the MP3 format. Send to your phone About Dana Severson This is the latest post from Mixergy Raw transcript Mixergy's audio transcription is done by Speechpad Come back in a few days to get the full transcript of this program. Sponsored by Walker Corporate Law – Scott Edward Walker is the lawyer entrepreneurs turn to when they want to raise money or sell their companies, but if you're just getting started, his firm will help you launch properly. Watch this video to learn about him. The post How Dana Severson…
What is "Head Trash" and how do you deal with it? – with Kim Walsh-Phillips26 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amWatch the FULL program Prefer audio? Great! "Right click" here for the MP3 format. Send to your phone About Kim Walsh Phillips This is the latest post from Mixergy Raw transcript Mixergy's audio transcription is done by Speechpad Come back in a few days to get the full transcript of this program. Sponsored by Walker Corporate Law – Scott Edward Walker is the lawyer entrepreneurs turn to when they want to raise money or sell their companies, but if you're just getting started, his firm will help you launch properly. Watch this video to learn about him. The post What is…
The Businessmakers Radio Show
Brandonomics from Savage - Gene Gray3 Jul 2015 | 6:30 pmIs it possible to build a strong company culture while also developing a strong brand? It is! Robin Tooms debriefs with Gene Gray, president, Innovative-IDM.
Women Mean Business - Charlotte Neuville3 Jul 2015 | 6:30 pmSome people are just way more talented than they need to be! Leisa interviews Charlotte Neuville, former fashion guru, owner of Fashion Chef and, now, author of Stylish Cakes.
School of Business 7/4/20153 Jul 2015 | 6:30 pmRuss and John present the show that is "Built for Business" and based on THE TRUTH! (Well, mostly.) It's what people count on us for: our interpretation of the facts. Includes: our Quote of the Week—compassionate humor from American comedian David Sedaris; This Week in Business History includes innovators like The Wall Street Journal, Austin Powers via physicist Theodore Harold Maiman, the Chillicothe Bread Co. (they invented sliced bread) and the amazing Donkey Kong; and Navigating Business Jargon—trendy technospeak to keep you cool with the Millennials.
Flor Dimassi - Global Speak Translations3 Jul 2015 | 6:30 pmFlor Dimassi co-founded Global Speak Translations to support the technical operations of energy companies and their international workers. Translators may be geologists or engineers and specialize in technical (field and service) terminology. Flor is from a family of entrepreneurs and has always loved the study of languages. What could be more perfect? Russ conducts the interview.
PKF Texas: The Entrepreneur's Playbook® - Kenneth Guidry3 Jul 2015 | 6:30 pmKenneth Guidry, CPA, president, PKF Texas, is back to offer more details about Joint Venture Strategic Advisors (JVSA), and how it will serve energy clients in the joint venture space.
Bplans Blog
The Management Magic of Business Planning3 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amTrue story: As my software business began to grow, as we went from two employees to five, then 10, I discovered how hard real management is with startups and small business that grow organically. In a startup, those first few people who join feel like friends, not employees. What they taught in my MBA courses... [Click the title above to read more and comment]
Episode 7: Changing Plans, Niche Marketing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) | The Bcast3 Jul 2015 | 4:30 amThis week Peter and Jonathan debate whether your should stick to your plan or change it. Lara Galloway (@mombizcoach) joins the show to discuss niche marketing. Finally, is the "Internet of Things" the sign of progress, or pushing us toward a grim future? Subscribe: Stitcher | TuneIn | Pocket Casts | PlayerFM | Soundcloud Do... [Click the title above to read more and comment]
How to Recognize and Put a Stop to Employee Burnout2 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amMany, if not all, companies deal with employee burnout. When employees feel burnt out and under-appreciated, then productivity and revenue of the company decreases. Are you worried an employee's flame is sputtering? Here are the most common signs of a burnt out employee. Missing in action When an employee suddenly starts missing work more often... [Click the title above to read more and comment]
10 Essentials Before Launch Branding Checklist [Free Download]1 Jul 2015 | 7:30 amThink a brand is just for big businesses? Think again. Branding is critical for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Your brand is what the outside world thinks of you. That's it. Although you can influence your brand through well-designed logos, hilarious ad campaigns, carefully crafted press releases, or super-friendly service, ultimately, your brand is... [Click the title above to read more and comment]
Should I Borrow Money, Seek Investment, or Bootstrap My Business?1 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amHaving a billion-dollar idea for a new company or a startup is great, but do you actually have a billion dollars to start it? You will most likely need a website, a technical team, a space to work from, and lastly enough money to pay your utilities while you embark on this new venture. All... [Click the title above to read more and comment]
Tech Cocktail
US Jobs Increasing in 2015: What That Means5 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amFor many, the reality is that the U.S. economy has been a struggle to handle since the 2008 market crash. Not only were people easily out of work, but finding a job has been extremely difficult. While some of those difficulties still remain today in 2015, most of us can agree that the U.S. economy and job market has been significantly improving. There have been a few changes in the way that not only employees operate, but also employers. To give you a better sense of these changes, below is an overview of what you can expect for this year. For starters, the US dollar had a narrow brush with…
Unplag Looks to do Away With Plagiarism in Education5 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amI remember in high school when my friend paid me to write a book review of Treasure Island. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't that good of a writer. My idea was to get half of the money upfront and purchase Cliff Notes, using it to make an abridged version of the story (yes, this was before the Internet so Wikipedia wasn't available yet). The paper was perfectly written and even my friend gave me praise after reading the three page review which contained a synopsis, character descriptions, and my opinion on the book. Everything was perfect until his professor, who also owned the Cliff Notes…
Innovative Tips & Tricks for Measuring the Success of Mobile Apps5 Jul 2015 | 5:00 amHow do you know if your app has been successful? For most app entrepreneurs, the challenge is measuring the app success and tinkering with the app marketing strategies to get improved results. There are 5 key ways with which you can measure the success of your mobile apps. Here they are: 1. Acquisition Metrics This metric is used to measure the amount of downloads that the app is getting. It is important to have a large number of downloads. In addition to the number of downloads, the acquisition metrics also features the "Discovery" method, i.e. it is important to understand where the…
Smarthome Estimate Offers All-in-One Home Automation4 Jul 2015 | 1:00 pmThere are so many products on the market now that let you automate your home and control it from your phone. These days you don't even need to be near your home in order to lock and unlock doors, control your home's temperature, and customize the lighting. The only downside to the emergence of smarter homes, is that it can get expensive. The French company SmartThings Mobile has developed a Smarthome Estimator that determines the cost of automating your home for you. They will figure out the most efficient products that will work with your home and customize a package for you.
Peter Thiel's Key Advice For Entrepreneurs And Investors (In 2 Quotes)4 Jul 2015 | 11:49 amEarly Facebook investor and Paypal billionaire, Peter Thiel, revealed two key pieces of advice he gives aspiring entrepreneurs and investors this week at the Atlantic Aspen Ideas Festival. They can be distilled into two simple quotes: To investors — Buzzwords should be a red flag "If there are too many buzzwords in a presentation, that's always a warning sign … Big data, cloud computing, if you hear those words you need to think fraud and run away as fast as possible." Thiel told Atlantic Media owner David Bradley that buzzwords are a sign that the company doesn't have a…
Forbes - Entrepreneurs
Greek Referendum Poll: 52% No -- 48% Yes5 Jul 2015 | 10:21 amUpdate--actual results: 61% for "N0"
Greek Economic Crisis: Is A 'Parallel' Currency The Answer?5 Jul 2015 | 10:00 amWith Greek banks reported to be preparing contingency plans for a potential 'bail-in' of depositors as fears grow that Greece is heading for an economic collapse, some urgent measures now need to be found. Could then a parallel currency provide an answer and be an alternative for Greece?
Business Leaders Step Into Technology While Technologists Step Into Leadership Roles5 Jul 2015 | 9:54 amSay goodbye to the calcified, creaky business systems and processes that we've come to know and love. They're being swept away by clouds and mobile systems at an alarming rate. But that's a positive thing, of course. With this transformation, however, comes a need for deeper knowledge and understanding of the new systems and processes that are driving new businesses, how they interact, and what they are capable of delivering.
A Scary Similarity Between The Greek And Chinese Economy5 Jul 2015 | 7:55 amChina is the world's second largest economy, still growing by leaps and bounds and plenty of foreign currency reserves. Greece is a tiny economy floundering in the swamp of depression, barely holding in the Eurozone.
Mistakes We Didn't Know We Were Making: Muscles, Muscle Head, And A New Website To Differentiate5 Jul 2015 | 7:00 am?We didn?t even know we were making such big mistakes with our visual imaging and the words we used on our website,? says Travis Timmons. ?It probably cost us a lot.?
Startup Professionals Musings
10 Startup Practices That Usually Lead To Disaster5 Jul 2015 | 6:30 amStarting a new business is a serious undertaking. Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. Others quit their day jobs and commit everything to their new passion, without regard for their own well-being, or the welfare of others around them. Neither of these approaches bodes well for success. As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Even though everyone has an opinion on good early stage practices, I was impressed with the actionable…
7 Ways To Balance Business Versus Personal Goals4 Jul 2015 | 6:30 amI know some entrepreneurs with successful businesses, and others who seem to have a great relationship with their family, but I can't think of many who have both. Some people would argue that these two successes are mutually exclusive, but I'm not convinced. Individually, they both take focus, commitment, and a variety of skills, all the strengths of a good entrepreneur. Assuming a person wants both a family and a business, the challenge is to achieve a balance that can satisfy both. This July 4th Independence Day Holiday in the USA is a good time for all of us to do a reality check on…
6 Reasons Smart Entrepreneurs Think Twice Before IPO3 Jul 2015 | 6:30 amThe visibility of Google, Facebook and a few others continues to propagate the myth that the ultimate objective of every entrepreneur should be to take their startups public via an initial public offering at the earliest opportunity. Everyone thinks this is the route to become the next billionaire like Mark Zuckerberg. In reality, this option is a nightmare that can bump you out of the driver seat, dilute your equity and create a business entity you can't control. For financial reasons alone, an IPO is a statistically rare phenomenon, happening just 275 times in 2014, out of almost 500,000…
Mistakes To Avoid With A Startup Board Of Directors1 Jul 2015 | 6:30 amMost entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. That implies that a board of directors has no value to the founder, and is just another burden that to be assumed for the privilege of attracting outside investors or going public. In my view, nothing could be further from the truth. Especially for entrepreneurs who have not built and sold companies before, and need this startup to be an attractive acquisition or IPO target in a few years, I can't think of a better way to enlist outside…
7 Ways To Turn Team Conflict Into Positive Results29 Jun 2015 | 6:30 amThe best startup teams don't shy away from some healthy friction and heated debates between team members or founders. That's the way smart people with innovative insights make real change happen. Yet we all know that there is a fine line here, beyond which heated debates generate so much emotion and drama that the entire team becomes dysfunctional. The obvious challenge is to channel these interactions in a way that maximizes their value to the startup as positive results, without letting them slip into a non-productive or even toxic mode. An equally important challenge is to maintain a…
Presentation Zen
Contribution: the key to authenticity, engagement, & meaning23 Jun 2015 | 6:59 amWhen I wrote the first edition of Presentation Zen back in 2007, I said that presentations are better when they are prepared and delivered in the spirit of truly wanting to make a difference and a belief in the power of sharing ideas. The secret to this spirit or approach is contribution. This is a key part of Presentation Zen. It's not about showing off. It's not about impressing. It's not about winning (or losing). I quoted the incredible Benjamin Zander who said this when speaking to a group of remarkably talented young musicians: "This is the moment — this is the most important moment…
When a bar chart can be misleading18 Jun 2015 | 4:03 amJust because a chart is correct, it does not mean it's not misleading. Here's an example: Back in the USA, on March 12, US Senator Ted Cruz and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden went head to head at a hearing on the President's FY2016 budget request arguing as to what they thought NASA's priorities are today. Sen. Cruz is known to be a climate-change skeptic and has often said that NASA should focus on space exploration and leave earth science to other agencies. Although Cruz and Bolden disagreed strongly, reports are that the hour-long meeting was nonetheless cordial. The interesting…
Scientifically Proven Ways to Persuade & Influence Others2 Jun 2015 | 11:45 pmA good book I often recommend is: Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Dr. Robert B. Cialdini et al. I first read the book when it came out in 2008. The book is designed for professionals who are interested in becoming better at understanding how to persuade or influence others. The book may also help you understand why you decide to do the things you do. Even if you are a researcher or teacher or a medical doctor, and so on, and not a business person, it's still important to understand how people are (or can be) influenced and persuaded by your words and behaviors. Each…
In Memory of The Sushi Maestro, Shuichi Inoue26 May 2015 | 7:34 amShuichi Inoue, the "Sushi Maestro," gave a beautiful, heartfelt presentation at TEDxKyoto last year about his passion and dream to spread the innovative approach of his art to the world. Yesterday, tragically, Shuichi's life was cut short by a careless driver on a Japanese freeway. All of us in the TEDxKyoto community are in a state of shock right now. Both Shuichi and I presented in the same session at TEDxKyoto last Fall. I met him in the green room back stage. He was gracious, humble, and all smiles. Shuichi was the nicest guy you could ever meet. I can't believe he's gone. I'm sorry…
The Key to story structure in two words: Therefore & But22 May 2015 | 7:00 amThere are a ton of storytelling-related books and websites in the cosmos. And there is no shortage of people giving story advice and tips. Much of the advice is helpful, but the enormous volume of information related to writing or telling better stories can be overwhelming. Therefore, when someone credible comes along who offers free, insanely simple yet effective advice for improving one's story, he will find a very large audience indeed. This is exactly what happened just a few years ago, all quite by accident it would seem. In 2011 Comedy Central began shooting a documentary about the…
Great Demo!
The Value of Reducing Risk – Difficult Deltas8 Jun 2015 | 8:23 amWhat is the value, to a customer, of software tools that help reduce risk? This is often difficult to uncover and convey, but the good news is that organizations need to manage and reduce risk. Interestingly, the higher the level of the job title, the more clearly this is understood. Software that helps to manage and reduce risk is often equated to buying insurance – we'd rather pay a small amount each year to make sure we are protected against accidents, malicious acts and natural disasters rather than risking the full cost of replacement or repair of our house, car, or…
Revelation: Why So Few Pre-Demo Prep Calls2 Jun 2015 | 12:20 pmI have often wondered why, in many organizations, there are few or no pre-demo meeting preparation calls (between sales and presales folks). The answer suddenly became clear: it is because there is no point to a pre-demo prep call if:- You always do the same exact demo each time…- There is never any information about the customers' needs, objectives or situation – and the plan is to simply "Show them a demo…"- In spite of completing some degree of Discovery and uncovering some useful information, you stillshow the same exact demo each time…The resulting demos will…
Getting Better - Why I Write Things Down26 May 2015 | 4:29 pmWhen I'm delivering Great Demo! Workshops, I write down new ideas and thoughts to improve the Workshop – right then and there. Why do I do this? I do it to get better. Far too often, we think of a great new idea – and then later on we can't remember what it was…! (Has this ever happened to you?) So I make a brief note, right away, so that the thought is captured and doesn't get forgotten.I find that this is key to making positive changes and improving my practice. I set myself a personal objective to capture one or two new ideas, tips, or…
Frightening Statistics on Doing Discovery20 May 2015 | 7:29 amI've done some informal interviews with heads of sales and presales recently and uncovered the following, rather consistent statements:- Heads of sales and presales tell me that about 10% of their teams actually do Discovery very well. [Group 1]- They also say that about 70% of their team THINK they do Discovery well, but actually do not (in the eyes of their senior managers). [Group 2]- The remaining 20% of their teams do realize that they don't do Discovery well. [Group 3]This reveals an interesting and rather frightening gap that deserves additional thought – and…
Stunningly Awful Car Sales Demo12 May 2015 | 11:08 amThis is a great (sad) story, contributed by Mike Horsfall, a Great Demo! Workshop alumnus:Recently we had a hail storm and there was so much damage to my car that the insurance company "totaled" it, thus I had to look for a replacement.So we went to the same dealer and explained the situation, that we were looking for a newer model of the same car, we know what it is like "all the features, as they are on the web"; we just want to drive it.So the sales person proceeded to leave us for 15 minutes while he got the demo ready and "car brought around". He then proceeded…
The Huffington Post | The Full Feed
Clinton Campaign Frustrates Journalists Yet Again By Roping Off Media At Parade5 Jul 2015 | 10:27 amNEW YORK -- As America celebrated its independence Saturday, journalists covering presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton found theirs restricted by rope-clutching campaign aides. The Clinton campaign corralled journalists at the Fourth of July parade in Gorham, New Hampshire, keeping the Fourth Estate away from the candidate and mostly out of earshot from exchanges with voters. Photos of cordoned-off journalists quickly went viral. Clinton advance aides create a rope line for the press, moving with the candidate pic.twitter.com/9S7CpVt7x4-- Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 4, 2015 The…
3 VERY GOOD REASONS TO PROCRASTINATE THIS SUMMER!5 Jul 2015 | 10:21 amBy Dorothy "TheOrganizer" Breininger Summer time is a perfect time to attack those long-awaited projects, right? Well, we thought we wanted to do them but realize we need a break. It's summer. Can't we just rest? Oh no, suddenly, we don't want to start them. We feel we should, but, well, maybe after the weekend. Is there ever a time to say procrastination is not such a bad thing? Read on to find out. 1. Declare Some Guilt Free Time Off: If you are planning to have some time off this summer, should you really spend each moment reminding yourself over and over again that you need to finish…
Greece Votes In Crucial Bailout Referendum, In Photos5 Jul 2015 | 9:54 amMillions of Greeks headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in a crucial referendum on whether to accept the terms of a bailout deal proposed by the country's creditors. In voting stations across the country Greeks decided between a "No" vote that would reject the deal and potentially pave the way for a Greek exit from the eurozone, or a "Yes" vote that would lead to a possible capitulation by the Greek government and acceptance of austerity measures in exchange for a bailout. The vote was announced just eight days ago, and there has been a week of heated campaigning on both sides. Greece's…
Kim Kardashian's 4th Of July Outfit Is Some Next Level Patriotism5 Jul 2015 | 9:41 amIf you thought Kim Kardashian would stick to her usual designer duds for America's birthday, you thought wrong. The pregnant reality star went all out to celebrate the fourth of July, rocking a flag-patterned bodysuit, matching sparkly short shorts, red, white and blue tube socks, a fanny pack, and some festive beads. Oh, and a hat that says "Merica," because duh: Happy 4th of July!!! ð��ºð��¸ð��¥ð��� A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jul 4, 2015 at 4:33pm PDT Meanwhile, Kim's sister Kourtney Kardashian opted for something just a little more…
Victoria And David Beckham Celebrate 16th Wedding Anniversary On Instagram5 Jul 2015 | 9:36 amWhile Americans were celebrating the Fourth of July, the U.K.'s favorite celebrity couple was honoring another milestone. Victoria and David Beckham took to social media on Saturday to celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary. The current Vogue Australia cover star, 41, posted a photo of her family with the caption, "Happy anniversary, I love u so much x I'm so proud of our beautiful family x." The fashion designer posed in the photo alongside her husband and their children, Romeo, 12, Cruz, 10, daughter Harper, 3, and Brooklyn, 16. Happy anniversary, I love u so much x I'm so proud of our…
Entrepreneur: Latest Articles
Anatomy of a VC Deal: How One Seattle Startup Raised $12.5 Million5 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amWe'll take you through the entire process, from pitch decks to cut checks.
Sage Business Advice From America's Founding Fathers4 Jul 2015 | 8:00 amTo celebrate the Fourth of July, here are inspirational quotes from five signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Coming to America: An Immigrant Who Overcame a 'Taxing' Problem4 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amSix years ago, Paula Paredes started her ATAX franchise by first tackling an obstacle that had nothing to do with the IRS.
The Secret to Connecting With Your Audience3 Jul 2015 | 2:00 pmThere's one thing you can do that will rally your customers, colleagues and even competitors.
Failure Is Not the End. It's an Opportunity to Learn.3 Jul 2015 | 1:00 pmFailure is an external event that happens. It is not a personality characteristic.
silicontap.com - Silicon Valley High Tech News
Airtable Gets $7.6M For Cloud Database Software2 Jul 2015 | 10:23 amSan Francisco-based Airtable, which develops cloud-based database/spreadsheet tools aimed at helping end users create their own, shared lists and databases, said this week that it raised $7.6M in a funding round.... (more) READ MORE>>
NextInput Raises $1.5M For MEMS Force Sensors2 Jul 2015 | 7:40 amMilpitas-based NextInput, a developer of MEMS-based force sensors, said Wednesday that it has raised $1.5M in a funding round. The funding came from Intel Capital, Takata Holdings, Steve Nasiri and the Band of Angels. NextInput is led by Ali Foughi, and says it is now raised a total of $3M. READ MORE>>
PayPal Picks Up Xoom For $890M2 Jul 2015 | 6:14 amSan Jose-based PayPal and San Francisco-based Xoom said late Wednesday that PayPal will pay $25 per share in cash, or approximately $890M, to acquired Xoom. Xoom is a provider of international money transfer services.... (more) READ MORE>>
Pandora Buys Next Big Sound2 Jul 2015 | 6:09 amOakland-based streaming music service Pandora said Wednesday afternoon that it has completed its acquisition of Next Big Sound, a provider of analytics tools aimed at musicians, labels, and marketers. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced.... (more) READ MORE>>
PubNub Raises $20M More1 Jul 2015 | 8:39 amSan Francisco-based PubNub announced this morning that it has raised $20M in a Series C funding, for the company's various web and mobile data messaging APIs. The funding was led by Sapphire Ventures, and also included Relay Ventures and Scale Venture Partners.... (more) READ MORE>>
Entrepreneurship Resources | ZDNet
SCOOP - Magazine, Book and Newspaper Reader28 Jun 2015 | 10:30 pmSCOOP reader support over 50,000 editions of magazine, book and newspaper in its print replica form.Purchase single issue or subscribe...
Thriving Business Launch26 Jun 2015 | 5:50 pmFor most entrepreneurs, selling isnt easy. And selling online can be even more challenging. How do we as entrepreneurs digitally market...
Kidz and Go Marketplace- Learn, Buy, Sell24 Jun 2015 | 5:00 pmKidz and Go is the world's first online marketplace for kids to safely buy and sell new or gently used items online. We are proud to...
The French hope that incubator spaces bring more than hype28 Feb 2014 | 12:00 pmPARIS -- With unemployment high and entrepreneurship morale low, the French are opening tons of incubator space. But will it really help create jobs?
Enterprise software marketing: Sell the value, not the box29 Jan 2014 | 7:38 amMany startups (and even large software companies) focus on features instead of customers. Stanford professor, Steve Blank, redefines how a software startup should approach... everything.
Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog
The Retailer's Crystal Ball: All Signs Point to Innovation2 Jul 2015 | 1:05 amIt's Partner Thursday! Today's post is contributed by ICF Interactive. Adobe's 2014 North American Partner of the Year, ICF Interactive is a full-service interactive marketing agency that guides brands through informed strategy, inspired design, and technical know-how.Looking to the horizon of the digital commerce landscape, one can only imagine what lies beyond – or know exactly how fast it will once again become the foreground of all that we can see. Improvements in business intelligence and technologies, the driving force of the Digital Transformation, and an ever-growing…
Ecommerce Links: June 201529 Jun 2015 | 10:45 pmSummertime…and the livin's easy. At your leisure, enjoy some of our favorite articles from the month of June:Think you've nailed omnichannel ecommerce? Think again. Our own Matt Dion explains how Google's Buy button and Android Pay impact your omnichannel strategies.Speaking of buttons, UX Movement shows why users miss form buttons placed in the action bar, with remedies.42% of online shops get this wrong. Baymard Institute explains how to design applied filters.Can you overoptimize your site? You bet. Rishi Rawat shares an idea of how to streamline your optimization…
How the Internet of Things Impacts Marketing [Infographic]26 Jun 2015 | 1:04 amThis week's infographic hits a hot topic: the Internet of things and how it impacts Marketing by Marketo, via the Smart Insights Blog.Click to enlarge infographic
A Case Study In Commerce Maturity24 Jun 2015 | 1:05 amAt Elastic Path, we're excited to announce the launch of The Advanced Commerce Maturity Scale, a proprietary self-assessment tool that you can use to score your company's ability to conduct omnichannel, experience-driven commerce across touchpoints.We recognize that there's no one-size-fits-all playbook for digital strategy.Inspired by the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, the ACMS divides companies into 16 distinct maturity profiles, each with its own strengths, challenges and opportunities across 4 dimensions: Organization (Autonomous or Integrated), Strategy (Tactical or Fundamental),…
Carts Against Humanity22 Jun 2015 | 1:04 amIf you've never played Cards Against Humanity, congratulations. You're a good person."Cards Against Humanity is a party game for horrible people. Unlike most of the party games you've played before, Cards Against Humanity is as despicable and awkward as you and your friends. The game is simple. Each round, one player asks a question from a black card, and everyone else answers with their funniest white card."Because we're horrible people here at Elastic Path, we've created a custom, ecommerce checkout-themed deck Carts Against Humanity which you can…
Planning, Startups, Stories
10 Qualities I'd Look for in a Business Partner25 Jun 2015 | 9:25 amHere are 10 qualities I'd look for in a future business partner: Integrity. The whole truth, not just the good news. Actually I want to know the bad news instantly; and the good news can wait. I want to work with people who never make me wonder what they are thinking or what they mean. Trustworthy is essential. The kind of intelligence that respects uncertainty and not knowing. People who know things that they are sure of are often not realizing the other side of the question. I want to work with people who respect research and data but use it to spark discussion, not end it. Somebody from…
Timing is the Key to Success? Do You Agree?11 Jun 2015 | 10:30 amHere's food for thought. Idealabs founder Bill Gross analyzed several hundred startups, from big successes to big failures, looking for the most important startup keys to success. He considered idea, team, business model, funding, and timing. This is his TED talk sharing what he found. Here's some of his reasoning, in detail: The number one thing was timing. Timing accounted for 42 percent of the difference between success and failure. Team and execution came in second, and the idea, the differentiability of the idea, the uniqueness of the idea, that actually came in third. Take a…
Startup Ideas Worth Building26 May 2015 | 9:20 am(Note: I rarely do guest posts on this blog, but I ran into this answer on Quora and I am happy to post it here, as a long quote, with credit to its author. – Tim) Noam Kaiser is a professional investment manager, alias venture capitalist, or VC. The question at Quora.com was: Do you have any startup ideas worth building? Here is his answer. Yes I do. But my startup idea/s are worthless. As are yours, and anyone else's. Until you get off the couch and actually DO something about them. This is why I always tell young entrepreneurs to get rid of the word "founder" on…
Lean Business Plan to Get What You Want From Your Business27 Apr 2015 | 7:26 amAre you running your own business or looking to start a new business? The lean business plan is an easy way to set down your strategy, tactics, milestones, and essential business numbers. Just do it for yourself and your team, with a few streamlined bullet points for strategy and tactics; plus lists of key milestones, tasks, assumptions, and performance metrics; and essential business numbers. Then review and revise it regularly and you'll have your progress towards goals, and accountability. Lean Business Plan in Four Steps One: Strategy Strategy is focus. A lean business plan…
All Ideas are Brilliant Before They Are Executed.3 Apr 2015 | 10:28 am"No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy." – Helmuth von Moltke. Similarly, all business ideas are brilliant before they are executed. Ideas have to run through an obstacle course of hard realities before they are really opportunities. Few ideas make it. Everybody has ideas, Millions of business ideas are floating around everywhere. Every problem anybody encounters is a solution waiting to be unwrapped. Every time somebody follows the comment "there should be a better way" by suggesting a better way, that's a business idea. An opportunity is…
Preneur Marketing Blog
Healthy Business with Joe Cross [PreneurCast Ep136]15 Jun 2015 | 6:26 amThis week, Pete talks to Joe Cross, producer of the film, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". They talk about how Joe came to make the movie, the journey he took in filming and promoting it, and the business he has developed around it. Links: Online: Joe Cross's Web Site – http://www.rebootwithjoe.com Video: How Pete Relaunched his MCG Campaign – http://preneurmarketing.com/mcgswipe Tim Ferriss Interview with Josh Waitzkin – http://fourhourworkweek.com/2014/04/22/tim-ferriss-podcast/ Books: The Obstacle is the Way – Ryan Holiday Audible:…
We're Back… [Noise Reduction .84]5 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amHey Gang, After a little hiatus, we're back. Thanks to everyone in the community who's emailed wondering where this little newsletter (and the PreneurCast Podcast) went. Well, we had a few new business projects we wanted to focus on and grow… And with things getting automated and scaled there, we can begin to redeliver Noise Reduction once again. Enjoy! Pete The Most Important Thing To Be Monitoring in Your Business http://noise.re/duction/bookpals-podcast-pete-williams In this episode of BookPals Business Sanity podcast, I was interviewed and spoke about the numbers…
How We've Used Crowdsourcing to Split Test (And Why You Should Too)11 Dec 2014 | 3:15 amIf you've been following us for awhile, you've no doubt heard us mention split testing a couple of times. We love having the ability to be pragmatic in our efforts, trying multiple approaches to achieve the best result. And we use split testing in various aspects of what we do, from trying different pieces of copy to generate website traffic in different regions, to trying out different email messages with subsets of the same audience segment. There's a time for split testing nearly everything in marketing, but one of the most interesting and effective use we've found…
Michael E. Gerber and the E-Myth [PreneurCast152]9 Dec 2014 | 8:34 amPete talks to Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth series of books and Awakening the Entrepreneur Within, about how he became a best-selling author and small-business guru. They also discuss some of Michael's latest projects. Prefer To Watch The Video Version: Links From This Episode: http://www.michaelegerbercompanies.com – Michael's site http://www.michaelegerbercompanies.com/solutions/dreaming-room/ – The Dreaming Room, Michael's latest project http://earherosports.com.au – Pete's latest project Books Mentioned in This Episode: The E-Myth…
80/20 Sales and Marketing with Perry Marshall [PreneurCast Ep151]17 Nov 2014 | 11:48 amPerry Marshall, AdWords Expert and Author of 80/20 Sales and Marketing talks to Pete about the 80/20 principle, how it can be applied to every part of a business, and why people often stop applying it too soon and miss out on the biggest wins. A lot of people might know Perry as an AdWords guy. He was the prominent AdWords advisor and author of the definitive guide to AdWords when AdWords was in its initial peak/wave. This year he wrote a book called 80/20 Sales and Marketing. I got an advance copy 12 months ago before its release, and just put it aside. I can't remember exactly what…
Signal vs. Noise
Empty stomach, poor decisions30 Jun 2015 | 7:37 amEntrepreneurial lore is rife with odes to hunger as a foundational necessity of success. Hungry founders are commended as the ones desperate enough to do whatever it takes. Hustle the gullible, bend the law, persevere through endless death marches. Whatever it takes. But is desperation really the best foundation to build the kind of sustainable and long-term businesses the world benefits from the most? Or, is it rather a cheap trick to juice the odds of a short-term pop to the primary benefit of those who are only ever along for a quick ride? I believe the latter. That it's key to a…
Finding the voice of The Distance18 Jun 2015 | 7:20 amWe introduced The Distance podcast in February as a companion to our longform written stories about businesses that have stood the test of time. In just a few months, we've learned an incredible amount about creating audio narratives and had a great time doing it—so much so, in fact, that we've decided to make the podcast the sole format for The Distance. By focusing on just one medium, we'll be able to bring you new stories every other week. Our last written story will run in early July. In the meantime, check out our bonus episode featuring Jason Fried talking to Shaun…
Hitting our stride with Android16 Jun 2015 | 7:02 amOver the past few months, our newly minted Android team (Jamie, Jay, and myself) has been hard at work on some shiny new Android stuff. And while we can't share it yet (soon, I promise!), we've learned a lot about how to rapidly prototype, explore, and most importantly ship these new ideas within Basecamp. Like any new team, it took us a bit to find our groove. But in the past eight weeks, we've really hit our stride. Now we're moving quickly and making great progress, without causing ourselves a lot of anxiety or creating undue risk. So I wanted to share a bit about…
The special recipe for DELIGHT3 Jun 2015 | 5:43 amDelight is a word interaction designers have been throwing around for the past couple of years. Some people think it's an overblown buzzword, while others believe it's a subject worthy of an entire conference. One part of "designing delight" is about turning otherwise mundane tasks into funny or interesting moments. On the UI side, this might include adding thoughtful animations, cutesy or clever copywriting, and perhaps tossing in a few surprises on top. These surface-level treatments help make a product seem more human and less computery, which is surely a good thing to do whether…
Please allow me to re-introduce myself2 Jun 2015 | 8:36 amOn March 20, 2007, Highrise, Basecamp's simple CRM tool, was launched to the public. Three years later, Highrise for the iPhone was released. Over the years, Highrise has received upgrades and improvements, but it needed a new home and dedicated team to give it the attention it deserved. So, on August 14, 2014, Highrise HQ LLC began – a new company dedicated to Highrise. At the top of the list of things we wanted to update was the iPhone app. It had been over 4 years since it was released, and it hadn't kept up with changes to iOS. Bugs crept in. Some subtle; some significant.
Happy Birthday HubSpot! 9 Lessons From Our First 9 Years9 Jun 2015 | 1:48 pm9 years ago today, on June 9th 2006, HubSpot was officially started. I remember the day, because it was also the day I graduated. (I had promised myself I'd enjoy my 2 years in grad school without too much distraction, so deliberately picked graduation day as the official start-date for HubSpot.) So far, we've had a pretty good run. HubSpot is now public [NYSE:HUBS] and still growing fast. More importantly (at least to me), I'm still having a great time. Rather than bring out the party hats and cake, I thought I'd reflect a bit on some of the hard-won lessons we've learned…
How Emotion Helped Grow Our Startup to 2.8M Users in 20 Months1 Jun 2015 | 10:30 amThis is a guest post by Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva. We are launching Canva For Work that will help you and your team create original stunning visuals faster than ever. Register your interest to win free accounts. I want to start with a question. A question which I think plagues a lot of startups. Should you listen to your users or not? Most people would answer with a simple yes or no. On one side of the argument are people who believe you should test everything. They say you should trial Google AdWords and see if people click on your ad. If they don't, you might not…
Why Your Startup Should Ignore Your Onboarding Experience (For Now)27 Apr 2015 | 12:59 pmThis following article is a guest post by Jackson Noel. Jackson is the Co-Founder ofAppcues, a SaaS product that allows you to create in-product experiences without changing any code. You can follow him on twitter:@jacksonjonson Since I joined a startup that focuses on user onboarding, I've had half a dozen conversations just like this one: Startup Friend: "Dude I need to talk to you about our user onboarding." Me: "Okay, what's up?" Startup Friend: "We've changed it 3 times now. Can't figure out how to get users to engage." Me: "Gotcha. Well what are you doing to…
We Like Humans, But We LOVE Code (Machine Learning Case Study)16 Apr 2015 | 1:16 pmThe following is a guest post by Jonah Lopin (@jonahlopin), founder at Crayon. Jonah is a HubSpot alumnus, and I'm an angel investor in the company. Here at Crayon, we love humans. In fact, all our moms and many of our best friends are humans! But when it comes to solving problems, we prefer code. Humans are awesome at certain things, like closing enterprise sales deals, delivering rousing speeches, and comforting small children. For these tasks and lots of others, humans are far superior to code. But in a business context, humans have some serious drawbacks: 1.
An Insider's Look At HubSpot Sidekick's Growth Approach18 Mar 2015 | 1:27 pmThe Sidekickgrowth team is a small, data driven and aggressive group within HubSpot that works on new, emerging products with massive audiences and a freemium business model (similar to Dropbox and Evernote). We are constantly pushing ourselves to learn new growth strategies, tactics, and techniques. I have personally become more data driven and model driven after joining the team, and wanted to walk through an example of one decision that became much easier with the use of our generic problem solving framework. I am a big believer in the idea that complicated problems look simple when…
Silicon Moon
SparkLabs DemoDay5: SparkLabs Intro25 Jun 2015 | 8:34 amOur "welcome" video from DemoDay5. Thank you for everyone who attended and supported our awesome companies!The final numbers for SparkLabs Demo Day:Pre-registered: 1852 peopleAttended: 1416 people (Largest in Asia. Probably globally too)14 incredible entrepreneurs and teams presented. Congratulations!
Cisco's IoE Innovation Center in Songdo, South Korea18 Jun 2015 | 1:07 amOur Co-founder, Jimmy Kim, helping to promote Cisco's Innovation Center in Songdo, South Korea. N3N, Jimmy's company, was Cisco's first Internet of Everything/Internet of Things in the world and Cisco's first investment into a Korean startup.
U.S. Technology Funding -- What's Going On?16 Jun 2015 | 2:43 amAwesome deck and insights by Morgan Bender, Benedict Evans, and Scott Kupor. U.S. Technology Funding -- What's Going On? from a16z
ESPN First Take - Where Does LeBron James Rank All Time Among NBA Players9 Jun 2015 | 3:13 pm
Robert Downey Jr Asks Forgiveness for Mel Gibson24 May 2015 | 11:32 pm
The Startup Pitch
Pitch for Actisto5 Jul 2015 | 10:17 amCompany / App Name: Actisto http://www.actisto.com Twitter – actisto_com What does it do? Free web app connecting two people via web browser, audiovisual communication, text chat, documents and files sharing, no installation or registration is required, free, secured via SSL encryption Why do we need it? Actisto saves time and money because it enables people to share documents, draw into them, share videos, links or even screen and collaborate online. It is extremely simple and secure. Who is it for? Actisto is for everyone who would benefit from online calling and files,links or screen…
Pitch for Bizin.eu5 Jul 2015 | 8:14 amCompany / App Name: Bizin.eu http://bizin.eu Twitter – https://twitter.com/bizin_eu What does it do? Bizin.eu is unique European B2B directory. Here you will find more then 10 000 000 (and growing) of European companies and business individuals grouped in most popular business categories. Why do we need it? All European companies in one place. Easy search, Multilingual,Local review. Who is it for? Business, partner search, local business search What makes it stand out from the crowd? Multilingual (25 languages supported), 10 000 000 companies data. What's next? Search by phone,…
Pitch for Alcohol Cutdown Coach5 Jul 2015 | 6:12 amCompany / App Name: Alcohol Cutdown Coach http://alcoholcutdowncoach.com/ What does it do? It helps you to concentrate on the drinks that you DON'T have, instead of the drinks you DO have. It helps you to count, track and increase your average Alcohol Free Days (AFDs) and to set, track and view your AFD goals over a set period. Why do we need it? It has been shown that goals can be met more effectively when people can see a visual representation of how they are tracking. Likewise it is known that Alcohol Free Days for adults help the liver to recover among many many other benefits. Who…
Pitch for INFINCASE5 Jul 2015 | 4:29 amCompany / App Name: INFINCASE https://infincase.com Twitter – infincase What does it do? Introducing INFINCASE, the worlds first modular phone case, combining the ever simple but exemplary design allowing you to have the added functions you need, while not compromising on phone size. Why do we need it? This brand will be ever expanding and we offer something that no one else offers, a modular design. interchangeable if you will. Who is it for? – What makes it stand out from the crowd? One thing comes to ones mind when they hear the brand name INFINCASE, Infinite possibilities.
Pitch for Ferris5 Jul 2015 | 1:19 amCompany / App Name: Ferris http://www.ferris.tv Twitter – ferrisapp What does it do? We are a small startup based in Los Angeles, CA. Ferris helps people edit and share videos that are trapped on their phone. Why do we need it? We made Ferris because we believe that memories are being lost because existing platforms discourage or fragment our experience. – What makes it stand out from the crowd? Our patented technology enables people using Ferris to instantly create these stories from as many video clips, however long they want at run-time on their phone. No need to send…
Latest stories
Prepare your small business for the new financial year1 Jul 2015 | 9:01 pmThe new financial year is an opportunity for small businesses to reassess their business practices and see where they can boost success.
Who is Ora and why should you care?1 Jul 2015 | 8:50 pmOra isn't an advertising agency. It's a new type of marketing services business focused on the digital age.
10 great reasons to embrace remote working1 Jul 2015 | 5:47 pmIt's better for you and your employer if work can be something you do, rather than somewhere you go.
Many businesses still lagging behind in BYOD adoption30 Jun 2015 | 7:15 pmNearly a third of companies still do not actively support a BYOD programme, despite the fact that mobility and remote working are growing trends.
No profession immune: Will machines replace you at work?30 Jun 2015 | 2:54 pmNot all doom and gloom on the job front as businesses consider investing in staff or machines.
Campus Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial Nuggets | Adirondack Jack | Wave Extinguisher at Ripley's | Cheap Lego Drones | Warby Parker Makes Public School Hip27 Jun 2015 | 7:56 amAlibaba founder Jack Ma bought 28,000 acres of forestland in the Adirondacks for conservation purposes… While billionaire founders and CEOs conserving land in NY is not new, the fact that a Chinese innovators is there too is interesting. Read the story about Jack and his $23 million dollar buy. Warby Parker, the hip, social impact oriented eye glass firm founded by Wharton Ripley's Believe It or Not! Cartoon of the day 6/26/15. students has partnered with New York City Public Schools and will provide up to 20,000 pairs of glasses to kids in need. GMU's Seth Robertson and…
Do College Drop Outs Thrive?23 Jun 2015 | 6:41 pmThe WSJ ran the headline, College Dropouts Thrive in Tech, a couple of weeks ago (sub required). The article highlights well known dropouts (Jobs, Zuckerberg) and Thiel Fellowship winners, even referring to one as a wunderkind (a concept I reference in my forthcoming research on student entrepreneurs at US colleges and universities). From the piece , Messrs. Weinstein and Kramer live at Mission Control with 10 others, including two women; half are under 21 years old. Three, including Messrs. Weinstein and Kramer, are Thiel Fellows. The house was originally leased by fellowship organizers for…
PhD Update: Entrepreneurship, Students, and Universities18 Jun 2015 | 3:51 pmI am in the final month of my dissertation at George Mason University. This blog grew out of my early research, as did the twitter handle Campus_Entre. I've learned a great deal and am happy with the database of high growth student entrepreneurs, their firms, and schools, as well as the case study of the University of Chicago. I also developed basic campus 'pathways' based on themes that emerged from the qualitative and quantitative data collected. The question of whether the campus offers frontier attributes (liberty, diversity, and assets) is the center of this…
Competition Myth @PeterThiel @ISI | #Conformity Kills | #students #highered5 Feb 2015 | 8:40 pmWas fortunate to have one of our GMU School of Business supporters send us a really strong piece by Peter Thiel at The Intercollegiate Review on being true to oneself and your own vision of truth/value rather than that of those around you. The article is a strong indictment of conformity and mediocrity across a whole host of areas — both micro and societal — and the dangers it presents. Good read for students and others trying recharge and find a truer, self-defined path. (Hint of Earl Nightingale in the article — wonder if Thiel is familiar with The Strangest Secret)…
WSJ On What College Can Teach Aspiring Entrepreneurs #highered3 Nov 2014 | 3:31 pmA nice, thorough piece by Anna Prior of the Wall Street Journal on what aspiring entrepreneurs can gain through their choice and management of their college experience. From the WSJ: Going to college and starting a business can be expensive propositions. Business owners loaded with student debt may end up in a big financial hole—their families may have tapped out their resources helping to pay for school, leaving them unable to contribute to the business, and the entrepreneurs themselves may face a tough time qualifying for traditional business loans or other types of financing. That's…
TheFunded Founder Institute News
Peerby Wins "Most Radical Innovation of 2015", Zipmark Partners with Winestyr, and other Grad News3 Jul 2015 | 4:05 pmSince launching in 2009, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 1,310 new technology companies across 85 cities, 40 countries, and six continents. These companies have gone on to do great things, and create over 10,000+ new jobs. Over the past week, Peerby Wins "Most Radical Innovation of 2015", Zipmark Partners with Winestyr, and other Grad News Below is a roundup of recent Founder Institute Graduates in the news: Peerby wins the "most radical innovations" of 2015 award, as well as the Jury Prize in a competition organized by newspaper De Standaard and the…
A Reality Check: What Being an Entrepreneur is Really Like2 Jul 2015 | 3:15 pmFounder Insight gives you feedback from the startup trenches. In this post from his blog, Berlin Founder Institute mentor, Ramzi Rizk, highlights the challenges startups face. Regardless of what ecosystem a founder calls home, he can be certain that others in every part of the globe will experience his triumphs and tribulations at some point or another. Below, It Takes a Village has been republished with permission: Being a startup founder is not the glamorous occupation outsiders make it to be. For wide-eyed first-time founders, reality sets in very quickly. Regardless of how you get…
The Importance of Timing the Market for a Startup1 Jul 2015 | 1:25 pmGabe Zichermann is the leading expert on gamification – using the power of games to engage customers and build strong loyal communities. He has written four books on the subject of Gamification, his most recent book being Gamification by Design 2. Zichermann is the founder of Gamification.co the leading publication for the industry, as well as the co-founder and CEO of Dopamine, Inc. a creative agency that provides consulting services to businesses looking to employ gamification. Zichermann is also the Co-Director of the New York City Founder Institute. As…
Learn How to Build Your Local Startup Ecosystem with the Founder Institute30 Jun 2015 | 10:30 amDo you want to be a leader in your local startup ecosystem? The Founder Institute (the world's largest entrepreneur training and startup launch program) is on a mission to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and is looking for local startup leaders to launch new chapters around the world. Founder Institute Directors play an essential role in their local economy, share in the value of the companies they help create, and are included in FI's global network of entrepreneurial leaders. If you want to see what some of our current Directors are up to, see some recent director news below: Sergio…
Change The World One Gift Card at a Time29 Jun 2015 | 4:15 pmChoosing to become an entrepreneur is usually fueled by the desire to be different. For many, the drive comes from the desire to create a meaningful life. Some want to create a life that differs from the norm, while some want to build a company that completely changes the norm. One such startup currently working to make a difference globally is Changefindr. A Los Angeles Founder Institute Graduate, Changefindr is a web application that provides a platform for individuals to donate to various charities using balances remaining on gift cards or prepaid cards. Though gift cards are a…
The Difference Between Culture and Values25 Jun 2015 | 12:00 amThe Difference Between Culture and Values This topic has been bugging me for a while, so I am going to use the writing of this post as a means of working through it. We have a great set of core values here at Return Path. And we also have a great corporate culture, as evidenced by our winning multiple employer of choice awards, including being Fortune Magazine's #2 best medium-sized workplace in America. But the two things are different, and they're often confused. I hear statements all the time, both here and at other companies, like "you can't do that —…
Book Short: Blink Part II4 Jun 2015 | 12:00 amBook Short: Blink Part II Years ago I wrote a post about Malcolm Gladwell's excellent book, Blink (post, buy). While my post has lots of specifics in it for entrepreneurs, for VCs, and for marketers, my quick summary was this: Where The Tipping Point theorizes about how humans relate to each other and how fads start and flourish in our society, Blink theorizes about how humans make decisions and about the interplay between the subconscious, learned expertise, and real-time inputs. But Gladwell does more than theorize — he has plenty of real world examples which seem quite plausible,…
Give the Gift of a 360 to Your Board of Directors14 May 2015 | 12:00 amGive the Gift of a 360 to Your Board of Directors I recently ran our biennial Board 360, and I thought it would be interesting to share the details. Attached are a few pages from, my book, Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business which describe the process as well as share the survey I developed, which I adapted from one that the legendary Bill Campbell uses at larger public companies like Intuit. If you've read this blog a lot over the years, you know that we are big on 360s for staff at all levels at Return Path , and at some point a few years ago, I thought,…
ReturnShip Program, Part II29 Apr 2015 | 11:31 amToday marks the graduation for the six women who participated in our inaugural ReturnShip program, which I wrote about here and which was written up at least twice, in Harvard Business Review and in the San Francisco Chronicle. The ReturnShip was a 14-week paid internship program designed for women who have been out of the workforce for more than 1 year to re-enter and build credible and relevant experience, and to feed our funnel of prospective employees. While there are still a couple things in the air, my guess is that at least three, and as many as five, of the program's six…
Corporate Sniglets19 Mar 2015 | 12:00 amCorporate Sniglets This might be showing my age, but those who may have watched Not Necessarily the News in the 80s might remember the Sniglets segment that Rich Hall pioneered which spawned a series of short, fun books. Sniglets are words which are not in the dictionary, but which should be. I can remember a couple of examples from years ago that make the point — aquadexterity is the ability to operate bathtub dials with one's feet; cheedle is the orange residue left on one's fingers after eating a bag of Cheetos. As is the case with many companies, we have made up some of…
The Techstars Experience: Wonders' Story2 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amWhat's it like to go through a Techstars program? Why choose our accelerator program over others? This is the next post in our blog series, "The Techstars Experience," with some thoughts from The Wonders' Team. Wonders is a visual narratives app for the most amazing hand-picked stories about outdoor culture. Here are a few highlights from their recap of the Techstars Austin 2015 program. Re: The Value of Mentorship It was both humbling and motivating to get to meet all these people who had been in the trenches before and knew exactly what mistakes we were about to make.
Meet Amy – Improving Mobility in Detroit1 Jul 2015 | 7:39 amAt Techstars Mobility, we're in the midst of mentor madness with over 150+ mentors and corporate partners meeting our companies. And what better way to facilitate tons of meetings and follow up (and avoid the associated email ping-pong) than with Amy. Wait, you don't know Amy? x.ai is an artificial intelligence driven personal assistant that schedules meetings for you. It's not an app and there is nothing to install or download—users simply cc: Amy (the intelligent agent) and she works with your guest(s) over email to find an agreeable time + location based on your calendar…
Techstars Cloud 2016 Applications Now Open30 Jun 2015 | 8:58 amToday we are very excited to announce that applications are open for the 2016 Techstars Cloud program. The upcoming program will be run in San Antonio, Texas from November 2nd, 2015 through our Demo Day on February 11th, 2016. The program runs over the holidays, so there will be a brief two week break to give everyone a chance to spend time with family and friends. This program will be the fourth Techstars Cloud program, and my second as Managing Director. Alumni companies from the first three programs have gone on to raise close to $100MM in combined funding from investors such as the…
Mentor Spotlight: Tom Chikoore26 Jun 2015 | 8:48 amIt is time to show off another one of our amazing mentors in the Techstars network! Meet Tom Chikoore, Director of Techstars Risingstars. Check out this short clip on Tom's journey to Techstars and the success of the Risingstars program. Learn more at http://www.techstars.com/risingstars/. The post Mentor Spotlight: Tom Chikoore appeared first on Techstars.
Barclays Accelerator Demo Day London 2015: Embracing FinTech Disruption22 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amFinTech in London is incredibly hot right now. As our second cohort takes the stage today, it is clear the innovation in financial services is coming from all angles, the existing problems are extremely painful, and the opportunities are huge. At the same time, the vast number of partnerships announced with Barclays and other banks indicates forward-thinking players are embracing the disruption. Financial services incumbents are responding to the new entrants with more than just an idle curiosity, and many startups are learning how to partner with key stakeholders in order to create a larger…
Jacoline Loewen
Billionaires - architects of wealth and legacy14 Jun 2015 | 2:34 pmThere are times in history when it has been possible to take exraordinary wealth not seen for long stretches of a century. The majority of today's billionaires have made their wealth in the past 20 years. This has been called the 2nd Guilded Age, much like the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.Leveling off is occurring now.The characteristics of billionaires is the ability to take risk, to have the tenacity to keep going and the ability to scale up or grow the business. If they do not have the skill to grow the business, to be able to partner with someone who can grow their…
Sustainable Investing - Jacoline Loewen23 Apr 2015 | 6:25 pmJacoline Loewen with the UBS Bank team on Sustainable Investing.UBS Bank team presenting Sustainable Investing.http://www.moneymagnetbook.ca
For those with $2M to Invest19 Mar 2015 | 3:32 pmFor those who are wondering why you need a Swiss bank to manage your wealth - here is an useful excerpt from Financial Review:UBS manages more than $1.6 trillion of private client money globally. Advisers at the private bank also give strategic financial advice on structuring investments, philanthropy and establishing family trusts and self-managed superannuation funds.STRATEGIC THINKINGEach month, a global team of more than 900 analysts, asset managers and investment bankers, led by UBS global chief investment officer Alex Friedman, work together to review the world environment, assess the…
Managing the expectations of clients of wealth managers30 Dec 2014 | 3:54 pmClients know it all, and want instant satisfaction. With the Web putting information at everyone's fingertips in an instant, advisers face a lot of know-it-all clients. Many clients feel their Internet research makes them more knowledgeable than the advisors are.Many clients also want instant gratification. Jacoline Loewen says, "We need to recognize this phenomenon and try to set realistic expectations for our clients…regarding the process, timing, potential complications, fees and likely results."Jacoline LoewenLinkedIn profile for Jacoline…
The sale of a business brings wealth and other unspoken isues30 Dec 2014 | 3:50 pmA business sale creates wealth, and unease. When a business owner cashes in and sells an enterprise, it often brings some confusion–even unhappiness–along with new wealth. This may seem to be similar to that internet meme - First World Problems. Think about it. People hear you are suddenly wealthy and that you should invest in your neice's startup.To be of help in that situation, advisers may need to step outside their own comfort zone and discuss non-financial issues with clients. Advisors can help their client to focus on a new set of goals.Jacoline Loewen is a Director with…
Reddit In Chaos After Allegedly Firing AMA Coordinator Victoria Taylor2 Jul 2015 | 6:55 pmIf you tried to visit r/IAmA (one of Reddit's biggest subs) recently, you were probably greeted by the image above. And if you've been absolutely anywhere else on the site at all in the past few hours, you probably noticed that everyone is flipping their collective shit over speculation that Victoria Taylor, the high-profile coordinator that kept IAmA afloat, was suddenly and mysteriously fired. Also, something about Jesse Jackson.Read more...
31 Flavors of Bullshit: Your Horror Stories of Working At a Startup1 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amWe asked for your nightmare tales of startup employment. Did you ever deliver—sending narratives of woe, scams, drugs, psychotic managers, drinking at your desk and more hookers than a venture capitalist could handle. Read more...
Inspiring: A Full 0.56% of Facebook's 2013 Hires Were Black26 Jun 2015 | 7:50 amLove Facebook or hate Facebook, you've got to respect the company's commitment to inspiring everyone else in America to do worse. Read more...
Jay Z's Troubled Music Service Tidal Loses Another CEO23 Jun 2015 | 8:25 amThe latest boss of Jay Z's floundering music streaming service Tidal has already washed out. Read more...
'Everything Really Hit Rock Bottom': How Nasty Gal's Culture Went Nasty17 Jun 2015 | 8:30 am"Be a nice person at work," Sophia Amoruso writes in her 2014 book #GIRLBOSS, a combination memoir and self-help book for hungry millennial feminists looking to get ahead in life and business. "If you are a total terror to work with, no one will want to keep you around. And the worst kind of mean is selective mean—the people who are nice to their boss and superiors, but completely rude to their peers or subordinates. If you are a habitual bitch to the front desk girl, the security guard, or even the Starbucks staff downstairs, the news will eventually make its way up the chain. And…
StartupMuse » StartupMuse - by Alexander Muse
Startup CEOs: You Don't Need an Office.1 Jul 2015 | 6:05 pmWhen I got my first 'real' job I had a big office and a huge partners desk. Ironically as I moved up the corporate ladder my offices got smaller and smaller until I found myself working from home without an office. By the time I was running my own company I was very focused on the location and size of my office. In one memorable case I recall explaining to one of my co-founders why I took the bigger, corner office without discussing it first (not my finest moment, sorry Scott). Then one day it occurred to me that my office was actually holding me back. I needed to get back in the…
Sand Hill Road: The VC Address of Choice23 Jun 2015 | 7:14 amMy first visit to Sand Hill Road was in the late 90s when I was raising money for my first startup, LayerOne. Sand Hill Road, located in Menlo Park, is the address of choice for venture capital firms. The price per square foot of space is the highest in an area known for sky-high rents – hovering between $110 and $150 per foot. The first venture capital firm to move to Sand Hill Road was Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 1972, since then companies such as Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Skype have raised money from Sand Hill Road investors. In…
To Taylor, Love Alexander (UPDATED)21 Jun 2015 | 6:02 pmUPDATE: Since writing this post Apple's Eddie Cue announced that the company would not require artists to forgo their cut of subscription revenue during customer's free 90 day trial. Did Apple just cave or did they call Taylor's bluff? I tend to think the latter. Apple's number crunchers must have calculated how much the various anti-trust lawsuits will cost the company and figured that having Taylor Swift on board was worth the cost. Taylor Swift is VERY popular. Now the only question, will Taylor let Apple stream her latest album – she's going to lose…
You can decide to live in a scarce or abundant world.17 Jun 2015 | 8:10 amThe other day a friend was telling me about a book she is reading called "The Power of Intention." She was explaining how the book described that many people have a scarcity-driven world view. The idea that there just isn't enough to go around, i.e. the world is zero sum. Many of our ancestors here in the U.S. just didn't accept the idea that scarcity had to rule their lives, instead they decided that they could live lives of abundance. The old world view was that the pie was finite, the new world view was that the pie could get bigger or was infinite (and I am not talking about…
Startup Founders, You're Going to Get Fired16 Jun 2015 | 7:49 amThere is a dirty little secret in the startup world and if you promise not to tell anyone I'm going to share it with you this afternoon. Deal? Startup founders are completely insane. Seriously, they are total nut jobs. Anyone who thinks they can take an idea born from their head, hire a team, build a product and raise millions of dollars is crazy. The second dirty little secret is that these lunatics are the ONLY people willing to take the risks necessary to change the world. VCs know both of these secrets. Time and time again I watch VCs fire founders who are obviously insane for being…
Sparkplug CEO
Business Ideas For the Future: What Does It Really Look Like For You?13 Jun 2015 | 6:48 pmI was 21 years old and dressed in a cute baby blue "business outfit." I hauled my best friend along after scheduling some meetings in New York City. I was to be the next Victoria's Secret – but better (in my head of course). I was naïve, young, and inexperienced. But my dumb *ss and amateurish […]
Business Resources that Simplify Your Workflow23 Jul 2014 | 6:06 pmHere's another Spark Bits Weekly where I ask a panel of homepreneurs a blazing question about running and growing their businesses from home. Today's Q: What are some business resources you've used that has helped you run or launch projects for your internet home-based business? Which ones can you not do without? Cindy Bidar from The […]
Homepreneurs Talk: Proudest Business Accomplishments16 Jul 2014 | 2:22 pmHere's another Spark Bits Weekly where I ask a panel of homepreneurs a blazing question about running and growing their businesses from home. Today's Q is: What aspect of your business, products or services are you most proud of and why? Stephanie Watson from Barry Publishing says: One of the things I pride myself on, is being […]
The Balancing Act Between Life and Business9 Jul 2014 | 2:27 amHere's another Spark Bits Weekly where I ask a panel of homepreneurs a blazing question about running and growing their businesses from home. Q: How do you manage your personal and business life while working from home? What have you learned about the concept of work-life balance as it pertains to your business? Samantha Pointer-Foxx from Get […]
What Is The Best Way to Get New Customers?1 Jul 2014 | 5:59 pmYet another Spark Bits Weekly where I ask a panel of homepreneurs a blazing question about running and growing their businesses from home. Today's Q is: Q: What medium has proven to be the most successful for attracting clients and customers for your home business? Samantha Pointer-Foxx from Get It Together says: The best medium for me over […]
E-Commerce in the Middle-East: A New Frontier?8 Jun 2015 | 4:23 pmRumor has it that Online Shopping sites are taking over the Middle-East like a sand storm. Arguably, one of the best side effects of globalization is the fact that by the end of the 1990′s, most places in the world had access to the internet, and to the endless possibilities it holds for knowledge, communication, innovation and job opportunities. Nowadays, you don't have to be born to a certain social status to receive education, information and other benefits – the only thing that separates anyone from a new pair of shoes is one click and a pay-pal account. I went on a…
Database Applications Storage – Best Practices23 Dec 2014 | 4:23 pmDаtаbаѕеѕ аrе thе bеаtіng hеаrt оf mаnу оrgаnіѕаtіоnѕ аnd mіѕѕіоn-сrіtісаl SQL dаtаbаѕеѕ аrе іnсrеаѕіnglу hоѕtеd оn ѕhаrеd ѕtоrаgе. Aѕ dеmаnd mоuntѕ аnd mоrе аnd mоrе реорlе trу tо ассеѕѕ аnd wrіtе аn іnсrеаѕіng аmоunt оf dаtа, реrfоrmаnсе іѕ tаkіng а hіt. Entеrрrіѕеѕ аrе ѕtrugglіng wіth dаtаbаѕе ассеѕѕ ѕlоwіng tо а сrаwl. Evеrуоnе wаntѕ tо gеt thеіr hаndѕ оn hоt сuѕtоmеr dаtа іn dоublе quісk tіmе. Dеlауѕ аnd…
Customer Database Software – The Beginners Guide23 Dec 2014 | 4:15 pmOf thе mаnу аdvаntаgеѕ thаt mоdеrn buѕіnеѕѕ іnfоrmаtіоn tесhnоlоgу оffеrѕ, thе mоѕt vаluаblе іѕ іntеrсоnnесtіvіtу. Thе rіѕе оf thе оffісе ѕuіtе, ѕuсh аѕ Mісrоѕоft Offісе оr Gооglе Dосѕ, іѕ а quаntum lеар fоr buѕіnеѕѕеѕ оf аnу ѕіzе аnd аllоwѕ thе ѕеаmlеѕѕ іntеgrаtіоn оf іnfоrmаtіоn оn аnу сuѕtоmеr ассоunt оr fіlе, роtеntіаllу frоm аnу соmрutеr іn thе оffісе оr rеmоtеlу. Hаvіng thе соrrесt сuѕtоmеr dаtаbаѕе ѕоftwаrе…
Cloud Computing Applications – A Brief Definition23 Dec 2014 | 4:10 pmClоud соmрutіng rеfеrѕ tо ассеѕѕіng аnd ѕtоrіng рrоgrаmѕ аnd dаtа оnlіnе. A сlоud соmрutіng ѕуѕtеm wіll hаvе twо еndѕ, thе соmрutеr uѕеr еnd аnd thе сlоud соmрutіng ѕуѕtеm еnd, whісh аrе соnnесtеd thrоugh а nеtwоrk, gеnеrаllу thе Intеrnеt. Clоud ѕуѕtеmѕ оf tоdау аrе knоwn fоr thеіr rеdundаnсу аnd ѕubѕеquеntlу rеlіаbіlіtу. Thіѕ іѕ аlѕо thе rеаѕоn whу сlоud ѕеrvісеѕ аrе ѕо рорulаr nоwаdауѕ. In оrdеr tо асhіеvе thіѕ lеvеl оf…
Comprehending Customer Relationship Management27 Jul 2014 | 8:17 amYоur аbіlіtу tо еffесtіvеlу mаnаgе уоur сuѕtоmеr rеlаtіоnѕhір wіll dеtеrmіnе hоw fаr уоu саn gо іn buѕіnеѕѕ. Thіѕ іѕ bесаuѕе Cuѕtоmеr Rеlаtіоnѕhір Mаnаgеmеnt (CRM) іѕ аn оrgаnіzеd рrосеdurе оf kееріng trасk оf соntасtѕ аnd соnvеrѕаtіоn wіth уоur сuѕtоmеrѕ. In bіg соmраnіеѕ, vаrіоuѕ dераrtmеntѕ dеаl wіth thе ѕаmе сuѕtоmеrѕ аnd іt іѕ іmреrаtіvе fоr thеm tо ѕhаrе іnfоrmаtіоn wіth еасh оthеr. Aѕ а rеѕult оf thіѕ, CRM…
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
How to deal with rejection3 Jul 2015 | 5:00 amRejection sucks. It feels lousy to put yourself out there just to be crushed. When I was in college, I decided to teach a free class about personal finance and invited everyone I knew. No one showed up. An empty room. That rejection stuck with me for years. I was afraid to throw events even after I wrote a New York Times best-selling book and had hundreds of thousands of readers. But over the years I've learned to overcome those fears — and even love rejection. Today I'm going to show you how with my 3 steps for dealing with rejection. Step 1: Let rejection excite you…
The news from IWT: June 20151 Jul 2015 | 7:12 amAnother busy month here at IWT I kicked things off with a little downtime. I took a vacation in Puerto Rico, where this was my view for a few days: My view for the next few days A photo posted by Ramit Sethi (@ramit) on May 26, 2015 at 8:19am PDT When I was there, I hiked to a waterfall. Once I made it, I high-fived with my group since it was a pretty tough hike. Then…we saw a 70-year-old grandmother who'd carried her 1-MONTH-OLD GRANDSON on the same trail. Now, I'm officially retired from hiking. We hiked to a waterfall yesterday. Once we got there, we high-fived each other…
Today is my birthday. Wisdom from 33-year-old Ramit30 Jun 2015 | 8:00 amToday is my 33rd birthday and I'd like to celebrate myself. This year, my greatest accomplishment was not the tens of thousands of new students, or flying our entire team to Vegas for an awesome retreat, or launching an Instagram page where I post nutty emails from readers. No. It was getting accused of using steroids. For a guy who used to weigh 127lbs, I've never felt so proud. This is the best moment of my life. This random redditor accuses me of using steroids (PEDs = performance-enhancing drugs) because of how I look. It hurt my feelings so much I started crying at the gym I…
The Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance29 Jun 2015 | 7:48 amOne of my goals at IWT is to make my free material better than anyone else's paid material. However, for those of you who are new to IWT — or even if you've been following along — you might not have seen ALL the free material I released years ago. But that doesn't mean you can't get tons of value from it. So, I thought, why not revisit my personal finance systems and give away a HUGE update with even more money management tips — as a free gift to you? That's just what I did. And I'm releasing it to you in this new massive ultimate guide on personal…
How to deal with stress25 Jun 2015 | 8:36 amThese are actual tips I found online for how to reduce stress: Walk in the rain Tell someone to have a good day in Latin Throw a paper airplane Goodbye stress! Are you kidding me? Is this what passes for advice these days? If we're going to get a handle on stress we need more than superficial tactics or silly ideas. We've got to get to the root of the problem — our own inner psychology. Once we do that, then we can eliminate our stress — and stop it from ever popping up again. If you're tired of worthless advice and want a practical system for eliminating stress, here are…
Start Up Blog
Why petrol cars will not exist in 10 years2 Jul 2015 | 6:36 pmIf you haven't already realised, cars are no longer machines, but rolling computers. This also means that cars will move from being powered by fossil fuel engines to electric motors. It's already started, and it is going to happen much more quickly than we anticipate. I'd go as far to predict that there will hardly be a petrol car on the road in 10 years. Here's why: When cars transition to rolling computers, the Law of Accelerating Returns applies. Innovation goes from incremental and factory-based to curve-jumping and technology-driven. You've probably…
Australia's top rated TV show – Do you know it?28 Jun 2015 | 8:50 pmThis is Troye. He is the host of Australia's top rated TV show. He gets more than a million viewers every week. He has been around for a few years now and yet I never see him featured in the Nielsen ratings. I find it curious. Sure Troye isn't on channel 7, 9, 10, ABC, SBS or even on Foxtel. He's on Youtube. But tell his 4.3 million subscribers that he isn't on TV and you'll get a dumbfounded look. They might even tell you they already watch it in their lounge room, stream it from their phone to the family flat screen, watch it on their laptop or on any audio…
The hidden asset base23 Jun 2015 | 2:00 pmI was speaking with a friend about some of the great quotes from long gone captains of industry. J.D Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Benjamin Franklin and cohort. One quote that got me thinking was this: "If I went broke, just give me my 5 best people, and we'll be double the size in 5 years." I searched Google, Wikiquotes, Brainyquote and all sorts of places to find who it was with no luck. My buddy said it was JD Rockefeller, but I can't confirm it is, or even find the quote. In the end it doesn't even matter. What I do like about it is the layers…
Yes, the robots will take your job, but…22 Jun 2015 | 2:00 pm…there are not that many bison hunters any more. This is a very short way of saying that all jobs eventually get replaced by technology. Technology will take the role of many white collar jobs, just like machines have taken away many blue collar jobs, just like the plough took away many farming jobs. Technological Unemployment will always be a fixture in human existence – and always has been. It just so happens that it doesn't sell newspapers (or provide click bait) to tell the truth that new jobs will be created. But it seems like a week doesn't go past without a…
The leadership secret no one ever talks about21 Jun 2015 | 2:00 pmAnd it is this simple maxim: If you want to be leader of many, then you must first be faithful with few. One of the most important sentences I learned from the late great Jim Rohn. And it matters in all walks of life and business regardless of our ambitions. The picture above is from an after dinner talk I did recently at a local Rotary Club. One of the things I have done a lot lately is deliver speeches on the technology revolution we are all living through. This is mostly the result of my book. Sometimes I get lucky and get paid to do it at a conference. But often I am also asked by…
Messaging system aims to connect users across generations3 Jul 2015 | 5:45 amAdd / Remove While todays youngsters are growing up familiarized with new technology, the same devices can be intimidating for older users — this can form a communication gap between grandparents, their children and their grandchildren. We have seen a number of devices such as Ensemble — an enhanced landline which bridges the gap between the simplicity of the telephone and the advanced capabilities of today's smart technology. Now, Bloom is a trio of connected devices which could enhance the quality of connections between remote family members. Bloom consists of a smartphone app, an…
App shows users only the news they have time for3 Jul 2015 | 3:45 amAdd / Remove The sheer amount of attention-grabbing headlines online at any one time can overwhelm even the most avid digital reader. We have seen a number of platforms which aim to make their content more succinct. Clippet, for example, creates one-minute long, daily news clips for millennials to listen to on the go. Now, Few Minutes is an app that delivers news articles filtered according to how long they take to read. To begin, users simply download the app for free from Google Play — Chrome and Apple versions are coming soon. Next, they specify a reading length — from two minutes to…
Tapping this app will get corporate donors to help the homeless3 Jul 2015 | 2:45 amAdd / Remove When encountering a homeless person, it's often hard to know the best way to help. While giving up some small change can provide short-term assistance — helping them get a hot meal or raise funds for shelter — these donations are unlikely to help them get off the streets. Now the WeShelter app is using mobile technology to truly empower pedestrians in alleviating homelessness. The app is designed to let users easily inform outreach teams about homeless persons when they spot them. Users simply have to download the app and tap a green button — one of the…
Gesture control system enables hands-free smartwatch interaction2 Jul 2015 | 7:30 amAdd / Remove Owners of a smartwatch benefit from the convenience of having their communication device easily accessible: all they need to do is reach over with their other hand and touch the screen. But there are times when the wearer's other hand is occupied — holding onto the subway pole for instance — so Deux-Ex Aria is a gesture control system that lets users control their Pebble or other smartwatches with simple finger gestures. Aria is available in two forms — the smartstrap for Pebble Time or a clip add-on for Android Wear. Users begin by attaching the system to their…
Amazing Grace. How Sweet The Sound.28 Jun 2015 | 1:56 pmWhat a historic week it's been here in the United States of America! Whether you agree or don't agree on the rulings, the research, the findings, the laws, and/or the songs sung, I think we can all agree that it was historic. Check out Fred Wilson's post called What A Week for a better write-up than I have time to create about the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) rulings on the Affordable Health Care Act, Marriage Equality, and President Obama singing Amazing Grace at Clementa Pinckney's funeral. Here's an interesting article on businesses reactions to the marriage…
How and Why a School was Born6 Jun 2015 | 3:00 pmI was recently given the opportunity to write my story about the founding of The Magellan International School for Latino Magazine. Here's the link to the article on our school site: How and Why a School was Born. It's been an amazing experience to be involved in the ground floor of starting such a phenomenal school! I have not been involved in the day to day activities or in many of the big achievements since it's founding because I chose to take more of a behind the scenes role. I gave birth (and have the illustrative scars) to the kids who inspired it's…
Some Things Are Better Off Left Unsaid Or Unwritten13 Apr 2015 | 6:37 pmI remember a time in high school where I was trying to tell someone who was about 5 years older than me "something about my life" (just like the Indigo Girls Closer To Fine song begins). He was a college aged Sunday school teacher. I was in awe of him for some reason that I can't exactly recall why now. When he saw that I was struggling, he said "some things are better off left unsaid." I figured he was older and wiser, so after he said that I decided not to tell him what I was trying to confess about my atypical life. I'm not sure if it would…
Back A Dream in Honor of International Women's Day3 Mar 2015 | 7:25 pmI don't often publish promotional content on my blog, but when someone reached out to me for this campaign that goes through the end of March 2015, I thought it was worth sharing. You can help an entrepreneurial woman towards achieving her dream by checking this opportunity to help via Kiva.org out. Please watch the video and read the information about how you can participate below. More than seven billion people live on Earth. That's seven billion hearts beating. Seven billion bodies breathing. Seven billion minds creating thoughts and ideas all over the world. Yet, so many face…
Entrepreneurial Traits and Multi-tasking15 Jan 2015 | 3:47 pmHappy New Year! I thought I'd get a new post out before the 15th of January, but here we are half way through the first month of 2015! My boss shared this link: The 7 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs (Tenacity, Passion, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Vision, Self-belief, Flexibility, and Rule-breaking) with our team a while back. I was surprised that they said most entrepreneurs weren't neurotic. I've met more than a few neurotic entrepreneurs and have felt like one myself at times…maybe they define it differently than I have seen others exhibit it. There are so many…
Financial Times - Entrepreneurship
The riff: When two becomes too many1 Jul 2015 | 6:04 amIt takes a pair of co-founders to fire up many start-ups, but things often go wrong
LatAm Autos: revved up for online car ads30 Jun 2015 | 8:03 amTwo Australians are eyeing the region's auto classifieds market as it shifts from print to digital
Karmagenes: gene test for 'personality'30 Jun 2015 | 7:41 amKit taps into an idea with consumer appeal that remains controversial
Foreign groups battle for India ecommerce30 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amTechnology companies are piling in, seeking to replicate the dominance they enjoy in home markets
Cork: role in Ireland's tech aspirations30 Jun 2015 | 6:33 amThe city is ambitious, but dwarfed by the capital Dublin
The Next Web
Game of Thrones keyboard app lets you troll your friends with hundreds of quotes5 Jul 2015 | 6:54 amIf you're missing Game of Thrones since its fifth season finale, new app – Game of Quotes – might help fill the void. The keyboard app for iOS comes preloaded with hundreds of quotes from the good folk of Westeros right back as far as the first episode. Once activated, you can send the quotes direct from within your messages to your friends. It includes some gems from Tyrion like: And some life lessons courtesy of Baelish: While season six seems like it's an eternity away, Game of Quotes will certainly help ease the wait. ➤ Game of Quotes Read next: Here's… This story…
Here's how you can see who deleted you on Facebook5 Jul 2015 | 5:30 amWho Deleted Me on Facebook is an iOS app that lets you keep track of your friends list. Similar to Who Unfollowed Me for Twitter, it tells you when friends have disappeared from your list and whether they've deactivated their accounts or actually deleted you. When you download the app, it won't show you friends who have deleted you in the past, it only starts tracking from the time you activate it. As well as keeping track of the frenemies who might have deleted you, it also shows your newest friends, people you have chosen to block and a 'last… This story continues at The Next…
Kiwi cyberbullies face jail as New Zealand criminalizes trolling5 Jul 2015 | 3:58 amNew Zealand's government has passed the Harmful Digital Communications Bill, which declares that cyberbullying is a criminal offence. Anyone using digital communications like Facebook, Twitter or even WhatsApp in a way that causes "serious emotional distress" is considered to be breaking the law and could face a number of punishments. Posts that are deemed to be racist, sexist, speaking badly of someone's sexual orientation or a disability, or showing religious intolerance are all covered by the bill. Ramifications of committing the newly-declared crimes include mediation, fines of up…
What's wrong with the lean startup methodology?5 Jul 2015 | 2:52 amFor the uninitiated, the Lean Startup methodology is a practice for developing products and businesses based on 'validated learning', getting customer feedback quickly and often. The process was proposed by Eric Ries in 2011. The objective is to eliminate uncertainty in the product development process. This practice has transformed the way companies are developed. Instead of building in isolation from users, startups regularly expose the product to customers throughout the development cycle. In doing so, teams are able to make more informed decisions about what to build, from core product…
Interactive Coding Bootcamp: Get ready for a new career as a developer5 Jul 2015 | 1:30 amThe ability to code is one of the most valuable and sought-after skills around, with professionals earning salaries upwards of $75,000. If it appeals to you as a vocation, then you should check out the Interactive Coding Bootcamp, which readies you for the world of development work, and it's currently on offer for 92 percent off over at TNW Deals. The curriculum totals more than 33 hours of video content, and it teaches HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, Ruby on Rails, Node.js, front-end frameworks, databases, e-commerce, Git, and more, from the ground up. The tuition includes live screen…
The Product Guy
Want a job in Product Management? Check out these openings4 Jul 2015 | 4:33 amIf you are a great product person looking for a great product job, or vice versa, check out our job board. Thousands of employers across all areas of product, from management to design, from digital to physical, are looking to fill positions from our community. Each week we highlight some of the recently posted openings. Check out this week's newest, below… Business Analyst @ Namely (New York, NY)Keywords: HR, Product, Requirements, UAT, User storieshttp://theproductjobs.com/page_view_posting.php?job_id=1115&lf=twf Product Manager @ Namely (New York, NY)Keywords:…
Key to Successful Product Management29 Jun 2015 | 10:45 amMore segments from our conversation with Ladislav Bartos — and shedding some light onto just exactly what makes Ladislav truly The Best Product Person of 2014. What makes The Best Product Person person of 2014 tick? Advice…. > What has made you a really effective product manager? Knowing that it's not you who creates a good product, but your team and you. Having a good team is the key to success. Watch the video for more on the key to success in product management… More to Come Over the next few weeks I will share more of my conversation with other great participants…
Looking for a job in Product Management? 5 New Openings27 Jun 2015 | 7:09 amIf you are a great product person looking for a great product job, or vice versa, check out our job board. Thousands of employers across all areas of product, from management to design, from digital to physical, are looking to fill positions from our community. Each week we highlight some of the recently posted openings. Check out this week's newest, below… Head of Product @ Jung Lee NY (New York)Keywords: Design, e-commerce, Strategy, UXhttp://theproductjobs.com/page_view_posting.php?job_id=1087&lf=twf Product Manager @ Smartling (New York)Keywords: SAAS, software,…
New Product Management Opportunity20 Jun 2015 | 4:08 amIf you are a great product person looking for a great product job, or vice versa, check out our job board. Thousands of employers across all areas of product, from management to design, from digital to physical, are looking to fill positions from our community. Each week we highlight some of the recently posted openings. Check out this week's newest, below… Product Manager, Product Platforms @ SNL Financial (New York, NY)Keywords: Go-to-market strategies, Mobile Platforms, Product Development, UXD, Web…
Behavioral Economics in Product Management16 Jun 2015 | 9:58 amIn our a recent live stream from one of our mentors of The Product Mentor, Jeff Otto, lead a conversation around "Behavioral Economics". We are always looking for more product mentors from all around the world. Signup to be a Mentor Today! View the live stream… About The Product Mentor The Product Mentor is a program designed to pair Product Mentors and Mentees from around the World, across all industries, from start-up to enterprise, guided by the fundamental goals… Better Decisions. Better Products. Better Product People. Each Session of the program runs for 6…
Ben Casnocha
Attending Alcoholics Anonymous as a Guest1 Jul 2015 | 11:06 pmI recently attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for the first time. I'm not an alcoholic myself, but a friend of mine who is let me sit in as a guest. It was a fascinating experience. The meeting was held in a church basement in a room dedicated to AA. A large AA banner hung on the wall next to a list of the famous 12 steps that guide the program's philosophy. As people filed into the room, I was immediately struck by the diversity of participants. There were people who looked legitimately homeless alongside people dressed in nice button downs who could have fit right in at any law…
Book Short: From Beirut to Jerusalem30 Jun 2015 | 12:01 amI finally got around to the book many have recommended over the years: Tom Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem. This is the book that put Tom Friedman on the map. At the time of publication, 1989, he wasn't super well known. This book, which won the National Book Award, really raised his profile and justifiably so. It's wonderfully written. He integrates extensive on the ground reporting over years of living in the region with historical vignettes and research. For those who primarily know Friedman today as a D.C.-based commentator/columnist, From Beirut to Jerusalem is a…
Is Tyler Cowen the New Charlie Rose?18 Jun 2015 | 1:05 pmTyler's begun a new interview series at GMU and his conversations with the first two guests, Peter Thiel and Jeffrey Sachs, are amazing. Available as transcripts, videos, or podcast episodes. In each conversation, you feel like you're in the presence of two first rate thinkers in honest exchange with each other about what's happening in the world. There are lots of insights to take away from each, but the meta lesson for me — especially in the Sachs dialogue — is the level of expertise one develops after years of thinking about the same question. Sachs has been…
Me on Network Intelligence, Lifelong Learning, and Beginner's Mind23 May 2015 | 5:55 pmI did an on-site video interview with The Cube after my keynote speech last week in Orlando. It's 20 minutes long and we open with the Start-up of You and then cover topics like network intelligence, optimism vs. pessimism, and cultivating the beginner's mind. Check it out.
Millennials in the Workplace9 May 2015 | 2:34 pmLast week, I was quoted in an article in the Wall Street Journal about companies that seek to retain millennials: Some managers think companies should stop trying so hard. They cite "The Alliance," a book co-written by LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman that proposes a different model for the employer-employee relationship—one based on mutual expectations and the possibility of the employee leaving. At LinkedIn, managers often segment an employee's career into "tours of duty" that last a couple of years. The employee and manager agree on specific goals to be met during that…
John Greathouse
Oh Yeah, That Powerful Computer In My Pocket Is Also A Phone22 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Facebook recently joined Google and Twitter by offering a click-to-call functionality in its ads, giving consumers an option to call businesses directly, versus emailing them or completing an online form - effectively making the plain old phone one of the most powerful on/offline marketing tools of the coming decade. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! 140 Years Old And Still Kicking Why are the world's biggest Internet companies investing in a technology created…
Entrepreneurs Who Relish Being Wrong Usually Win15 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. During my 15-years as a startup executive, I relished being proven wrong. Knowing that I was had made a mistake empowered me to make the correct decision. Being wrong is much preferred to erroneously thinking you are right and relentlessly executing a losing strategy. Effective entrepreneurs reject dogmatism and embrace doubt. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Human Nature Sucks How can two otherwise intelligent and well-meaning people watch the same political debate and…
Attention Startup Accelerators: Your Job Is Not Over After Demo Day9 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared in Forbes With top-ranked accelerators Lauchpad LA closing its doors and Y Combinator rebranding itself as a seed fund, it seems fair to ask the question, "Are Accelerators Dead?" Good news: a quick review of TechCrunch's March 2015 List of Top 20 U.S. Accelerators, which includes two LA-based accelerators in the Top Ten (Mucker Lab and Amplify LA), proves that the overall health of the Accelerator landscape is sound. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! The TechCrunch team was…
Your Startup Team Should Have Unlimited Vacation1 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared in Forbes It sounds crazy to offer unlimited vacation time to your startup employees. Something to the left of socialism. Yet that is exactly what Richard Branson announced this past Fall. According to Branson, "We should focus on what people get done, not on how many hours or days worked. Just as we don't have a nine-to-five policy, we don't need a vacation policy." If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! They Wouldn't Do That At RCA It's one thing when a wild-eyed billionaire…
This Remote Working Experiment Failed And Succeeded – At The Same Time26 May 2015 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Self-aware startups often learn more from their failures than from their success. Timehop, the photo album for the digital age, is no exception. Created by Jonathan Wegener and his Co-Founder Benny Wong, the company has over 16M+ users. To put this in proper perspective, more than twice as many people access Timehop each day than read the New York Times. And Then The CEO Said, "Go Home" Timehop recently executed a radical experiment. With winter raging outside, it closed its NYC office for two weeks and made all of its employees…
Young Upstarts
[Infographic] Online Shopping Habits – Women vs Men2 Jul 2015 | 7:30 pmIf men are from Mars and women are from Venus, how do Martians and Venutians differ when it comes to shopping online? As you can imagine, somewhat differently. Men and women have rather differing needs when it comes to shopping online, whether it is about pricing and promotions, the use of mobile devices, or the kinds of goods and services they purchase. For example, women prefer their online shopping experience to be rather comprehensive, while men like it straightforward and simple. And while men mostly shop for themselves and buy only when the need is immediate, women also buy for others…
Cyber Thieves Take A Bite Out Of Summer2 Jul 2015 | 8:45 amby Andrew Bagrin, founder and Chief Executive Officer of My Digital Shield (MDS) Cyber crime is getting the Hollywood treatment again with last week's debut of "Mr. Robot," a new TV series that follows a cyber security hacktivist who shut down DDOS attacks by day and hacks criminals in his free time, all in the name of doing good. It's an interesting twist in the criminal case of the week format that's sure to raise some eyebrows. While Hollywood neatly wraps up cyber attacks and breaches within an hour, real-life victims aren't so lucky. Just ask the new faces on our…
[Review] Inbound Marketing1 Jul 2015 | 7:30 pmDo you know what Inbound Marketing is? Keen to use inbound marketing to improve your marketing ROI? Pioneered by co-founders of HubSpot Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, inbound marketing is a leading Business-to-Business (B2B) digital marketing strategy. The fact that HubSpot is a NASDAQ listed marketing automation company worth $1.24 billion in market capitalisation is a testimony to inbound marketing's strengths. Written by Halligan and Shah, "Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs" covers the fundamentals of inbound marketing. Spanning the…
Get A Mentor To Become As Smart As You Think You Are30 Jun 2015 | 8:30 pmby Jeff Carter, managing director and founder of Grand Coast Capital Group Early in my career, I found myself bouncing from job to job, unhappy with where I was headed and unable to figure out what was wrong. I decided to seek advice from a highly successful guy I greatly admired: my dad. After determining what you're passionate about, he said, the key to success is to get a mentor — and not just any mentor. Find someone in the line of work that you want to pursue who's not only successful but also willing to mentor you and take a vested interest in your career. Then, go work for him…
4 Pitfalls To Avoid In Pursuit Of Startup Success30 Jun 2015 | 8:00 pmby Mark Halstead, partner at RedFlagAlert There is a lot that can happen beyond your control as an entrepreneur but here are four common pitfalls that it's important to avoid if you're aiming to take your business from inception to sustainability and on to real success: 1. Failing to prepare. There is a lot to be said for seizing a moment and learning quickly from your mistakes when it comes to starting up a new business. But it can also be crucial for entrepreneurs to commit time and effort into preparation and to being as ready as possible for what's in store before launching. At…
ArabCrunch... Arab Tech Arab Startups
Bold Knot The Stylish & Tiny Phone Battery And Charging Cable From Palestine Gets 5 Times Funding Goal on Indiegogo4 Jul 2015 | 8:24 pmFounded by female Palestinian entrepreneur Lama Mansour and male Palestinian entrepreneur Ismat Tuffaha, Bold Knot gives 3 hours extra battery, with 2x times faster charging usb cable available for iPhone and Androi and with a style. BOLD Knot will give you that emergency boost of charge when you need it the most. It is going to keep you connected all the time. BOLD Knot is a USB charging cable that charges your phone 2x faster than other cables. The knot will charge itself after the phone gets fully charged. BOLD Knot is fashionably designed and tiny so you do not have to…
Update: Dubai Based Shipping App Fetchr Raises $11 mln the Largest Series A Investment of US Based Venture Funds in the Arab World9 Jun 2015 | 1:07 pmUpdate: Idriss Al Rifai co founder and CEO if Fetchr was working with the french military according to his linkedin profile "Advised the French Minister of Defense for 2 years on France's strategic involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Cote d'Ivoire" the french occupation of central Africa resulted in the extension of Muslims there after many massacre. he also was Special Forces reserve officer (captain). which explains the amount of funding he got from the Americans. The following is from the company's press release Fetchr announced the launch of its app…
Facebook Blocks Logins & Signups from TOR Browser Putting Hundreds of Thousands of Political Activist at Risk30 May 2015 | 10:12 amFacebook has blocked log-ins and signups via the encrypted and anonymous browser TOR. This will lead hundreds of thousands of political activists around the world to login via their own IP address, unlike when they log-in via TOR at a different concealed Ips, That does not trace them. This means that their real identities might be revealed to tyrant regimes in countries such as Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, USA and elsewhere, since Facebook's SSL connection can be broken easily by technology obtained by these regimes from American and British companies. This means facebook is now…
UAE Unveils Details of First Arab and Muslim Mars Mission7 May 2015 | 7:55 amYesterday top government officials unveiled plans for UAE and the Muslim world first Mars mission called "hope" or Amal in Arabic. The mission aims to provide global picture of the Martian atmosphere through an unmanned probe to be launched in July 2020 to reach Mars in 2021, according The Gulf News. "Our science mission is to produce the first ever truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere. This is the first holistic study of the Martian climate and how the layers of atmosphere fit together," Omran Sharaf, Emirates Mars Mission Project Manager, said in the…
8 Arab Crowd Funding Platforms You Should Know4 May 2015 | 9:52 amYou must heard the term crowd funding, it exploded in the recent years in US with sites such as Kick Starter and Indiegogo. Crowd funding comes in many forms, the most popular is offering a donation for a cause or a product and there is collecting investments from the crowed for exchange of equity. Here is a list of 8 crowed funding platforms in the Arab world, if you plan to use any of them we advice you to do more du-diligence to make sure they are inline with Sharia and do not have affiliation with governments and suspicious NGOs : 1- Zoomaal Zoomaal is a crowed funding platform for the…
Startup Meme
The Infinix Hot Note – Hands On7 Jun 2015 | 2:00 pmSo it's been over a week since the unboxing of the Infinix Hot Note X551 and so far, the experience has been solid. I will be honest for a moment here, when I first received the Hot Note, I wasn't too optimistic about what the phone's performance will be. The experience has been contrary to my first thought; the Infinix Hot Note is a pretty solid device, both in terms of appearance and in terms of performance. Let's not waste time here and get to write about its key winning points. Features' Snapshot: Here are a few quick points on Infinix Hot Note's specifications: 1.4 Ghz …
Unboxing: The Infinix Hot Note X55129 May 2015 | 6:31 amThe Infinix Hot Note, finally received and doing what any blogger would do; Unbox and see what's inside! http://startupmeme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Unboxing-Infinix-Hot-Note.mp4 Tags: hot note, infinix, infinix pakistan, mobile, pakistan, technology
Facebook Relaxes Rules For On-Page Competitions: Big News For Brands And Business28 Aug 2013 | 10:00 amSaves the hassle associated to creating custom tabs on pages to run competition, especially those that required users to only comment or like to participate. We are talking about quick turn around time, leveraging key events on the go and removing the need to spend time exploring what new app to use. Thank you Facebook for being a bit lenient with the introduction of the change in policy. Facebook rolled out an update on the Page terms and conditions to enable businesses and brands to readily conduct quick promotions. There are however some restrictions associated to using native Facebook…
Update: Mobilink Reveals Its New Identity, Launches A Responsive Website14 Jun 2013 | 3:09 pmMobilink, Pakistan's leading telecom provider has today revealed its new identity. Mobilink initiated its operations in Pakistan in 1994 and had recently come under the umbrella of Vimpelcom, when the Russian telecom giant acquired Orascom in 2011. Mobilink at present enjoys the leader position among the 5 telecom operators in Pakistan with over 36 Million subscribers. The process had been underway for quite some time and only recently did Mobilink initiate revealing hints about this new identity starting June 12th. This started with the Link that was showcased on all major newspapers…
Click.to: Your Copy and Paste Shortcut App For The Desktop22 Aug 2012 | 12:28 amI am sure most of the folks reading this blog post, have problems when it comes to "copy and paste". Especially when it's copying a quote from your favorite blogger or entrepreneur to Twitter or Facebook. Click.to is one of those applications that simplifies the same. While I can go about writing lines and lines describing what it does, Click.to app is simply your "shortcut" to copy and paste. Now some of you might just think of this to be a pretty pointless app to share, but to prove you remotely wrong, one must try. The sheer simplicity it offers, saves time…
StartupCFO : Mark MacLeod
The traits of a great Startup Advisor30 Jun 2015 | 8:58 amThe two things I love to do most are advise founders & their teams plus close complex financial transactions. I love those things so much that I created SurePath Capital Partners so that I could do them all day long! It's been just over two months now since I launched SurePath and it's going better than I ever imagined. As I've settled into this new role, I've been thinking about what it means to be a great Startup advisor. Here are my thoughts. It's very common for startups to add advisors. Those advisors come in all shapes and sizes. Most advise on the…
The one metric that matters23 Jun 2015 | 9:53 amToday's startups are more data-driven than ever. We can measure and optimize so many aspects of our businesses. That's a good thing. But, sometimes, we can get lost in all that data. And if you're lost as a founder or exec team member, imagine how lost the rest of the team must be! If you're an individual contributor at a growing company capturing lots of data, how do you know what metrics matter? And how do you know whether the results you have for those metrics are good or bad? Some companies bubble up a dashboard of key metrics that then get shared with the…
The only 2 ways to scale SMB SaaS17 Jun 2015 | 6:49 amMany startups launch focusing on the small business (SMB market). Given how large this market is, it can be a compelling target. There are 30M small businesses in the US alone. In addition, SMBs don't have big purchasing departments and corresponding long sales cycles. If you reach the owner and solve a need that she has, you're in! I love the SMB market. Many of my previous startups have addressed on it. Most notably FreshBooks, which has built a very large customer base here. However, I have seen over the years that most startups that launch with an SMB focus eventually go up…
Managing Investor Pedigree15 Jun 2015 | 8:40 amIt's a known fact that not all venture firms are created equal. Cambridge Associates, an advisor to the Limited Partners that invest in venture capital firms, says that only about 20 firms – or 3% of all firms – generate 95% of the industry's returns. Those 20 firms remain pretty consistent over time. Sequoia, NEA, Accel, etc. have figured out the secret recipe for generating consistent premium returns. That recipe centres around getting into the big outliers; The unicorns that make or break fund returns. There's a funny thing happening in today's venture…
How much churn is too much?28 May 2015 | 6:38 amI have often said that churn (the rate at which customers cancel their subscriptions or otherwise stop buying from you) is the most important metric for a recurring revenue business. Why? The longer a customer stays, the more they are worth. The more they are worth, the more you can pay to acquire them. The more you can pay to acquire your customers, the faster you can grow. The faster you grow, the more capital you can raise to further accelerate everything. It's a virtuous cycle. The question I often get then is how much churn is too much? If you sell to small business (i.e. your…
No Growth Plan Is Ever Going To Sound Reasonable29 Jun 2015 | 8:30 pmNo growth plan is going to sound reasonable. Let's say that you've got an eye on growing your revenue at a significant rate. Maybe you're hoping to double it, or maybe even triple it. Maybe you're considering adding a zero or hitting a specific round number that seems desirable to you. You think, "This is the year that I'm finally going to hit [insert big number]." That's exciting stuff. (Well, at least in theory. It's generally exciting until you start thinking about what you would need to DO to make it happen. And how much of it…
Is Your Objective Narrow Enough?28 Jun 2015 | 9:23 pmRecently, I found myself in a Denny's. Sometimes there's not much to do in a Denny's other than stare at a bottle of ketchup, and so stare at a bottle of ketchup I did. This particular bottle of ketchup was a little bit special. It was cobranded – Heinz and Trivial Pursuit – and on the back was an invitation to scan a QR code to "start the fun". The fun refers, I assume, to a version of Trivial Pursuit that you can play with your family while you wait for your food. This kind of thing is always really funny to me. My idea of a pleasant meal is one…
5 Netflix Must Haves For Entrepreneurs25 Jun 2015 | 6:47 pmAt some point, everybody's got to take a break. For your breaking pleasure, here's a list of five great films for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-to-be. No matter what's going on in your business, one of these is sure to hit the spot. Mr. Holland's Opus Musician and composer Glenn Holland takes a teaching job to support his growing family, but he always means to get back to his music. Life gets in the way, the years turn into decades, and it seems like our hero never gets his dream. Or does he? Richard Dreyfuss' Mr. Holland is one of his very best performances.
Is It Possible I'm Wrong?24 Jun 2015 | 7:35 pmI have been wrong about a lot of things. I thought YouTube was a fad. I was certain the iPad would be the undoing of Apple. (Don't even get me started on the Kindle.) And those are just the generic things, the ones that didn't cost me any money. What about the things that did cost me money? A random sampling: 1. Things don't sell in the summer. For the longest time, I would not let anyone here even suggest running a major promotion between June and August. I had it in my head that nobody was around, or nobody was paying attention. In my imagined world, an entire quarter of…
Do You Hate Your Business Sometimes?23 Jun 2015 | 9:53 pmOnce upon a time, I worked at a cardboard factory. It was my favorite job ever. I got to build boxes all day, nobody bugged me, and I was home by three. It was the most laid-back company I'd ever even heard of. Phoebe on Friends had a harder job than I did. I loved it. Sometimes it kind of sucked, though. Sometimes, when I had to get up at 5 in the morning after staying up most of the night fighting with my (still teenaged) husband, and then having to switch buses in the rain while it was still dark out? Not fabulous. After a while I was made a supervisor of sorts, and I was transferred…
Business of Software USA
15 Traits of the Most Brilliant Conference Speakers1 Jul 2015 | 2:56 amWhat separates brilliant conference speakers from the also rans, the meh, the downright painful? Whether you are speaking at Business or Software Conference or a small group of colleagues, here are some thoughts on what the very best speakers do to be so great. It was prompted by a question… "Hi Mark: Myself and our COO attended BoS 2014, and we are sending 3 people this year. We are doing our own user conference in October. If we could get our speakers to anywhere near BoS levels (of quality), I would be ecstatic. Do you have any published guidelines/tips for your speakers that…
Business of Software Conference Europe Slides 201530 Jun 2015 | 2:47 amLast week we took over Cambridge, UK for the second BoS Europe Conference Europe. As ever, the speakers produced a great show for those in attendance, delivering thought provoking presentations with software businesses in mind. The slides from most of the presentations are here – with thanks to the speakers for permission to share the slides with the wider BoS Community. Bill Janeway Warburg Pincus Productive Bubbles Business of Software Conference Europe from Business of Software Conferences. The BLN. The Wrong Customer Elizabeth Ayer Business of Software Conference from Business of…
Best Talk I've Ever Seen? A Comfortable Silence Again.28 Jun 2015 | 2:46 amInevitably, I get asked a lot post-conference: "What was the best talk you heard this week?" Last week as we gathered in Cambridge, England for the 2nd Business of Software Conference Europe. Inspired by talks that will change the way we work together as a team and meeting some wonderful people. Post conference, as we gathered for a drink and a spot of punting along the river, Stephen Hawking swooped by. A remarkable week. To answer the question. This is the best talk I've seen this week. Possibly ever. Inspiring, emotional, eloquent, thoughtful, brilliant, tackling some…
"You should meditate for 20 minutes a day, unless you're too busy – then you should meditate for an hour"17 Jun 2015 | 4:36 amWe're all guilty. The world is moving too fast and we all have to deal with customers, employees, family, friends, investors, events, unexpected problems, Unicorns, smart phones, 24x7x365 availability. Do you honestly feel you're in control of your life? If you do and can share the secret, I want to hear from you – please. Step back for one minute. Think about what you have done in the last week. How much of the stuff you did was really necessary? What made you, your team, your family, your friends, your customers, happier, healthier or wiser? It's easy to lose…
Business of Software Speaker Previews10 Jun 2015 | 8:45 amLast week we had the absolute pleasure of catching up with an well known BoS Community member, and meeting some new faces too. We held three hangouts with Jaideep Prabhu, Jenni Jepsen, and Des Traynor ahead of their talks at BoS Europe in two weeks time. Each were very different, but what they did have in common was exciting things of what is to come. Technical problems halted play on the Des Traynor hangout broadcast, but we did live tweet it. All can be seen on our Twitter page here. As for Jenni Jepsen and Jaideep, we have the benefit of their videos. Both are short, but they provide a…
Dr Jeff Cornwall
The Ultimate Business Model Pivot1 Jul 2015 | 7:31 amThe Entrepreneurial Mind : Mark Scrivner – Snapshot Interactive. This company offers a great example of the importance of adjusting and pivoting your business model when the market tells you what they really want. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post The Ultimate Business Model Pivot appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
The Importance of Linking Social Enterprise to Mission29 Jun 2015 | 9:30 amThe Entrepreneurial Mind : Bettie Kirkland – Project Return is a non-profit that helps released felons integrate into the workforce. To support this program, they have launched a social enterprise, PROemployment, that is a temporary employment agency that gives clients valuable work experience and helps provide revenue support for the mission of the non-profit. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post The Importance of Linking Social Enterprise to Mission appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
Bootstrapper Alters Plans to Grow12 Jun 2015 | 7:45 amThe Entrepreneurial Mind : Dan Stephenson – Dan's Gourmet Mac And Cheese TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post Bootstrapper Alters Plans to Grow appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
A Disruptive Business Model in Legal Market11 Jun 2015 | 7:40 amThe Entrepreneurial Mind : Roe Frazer – Cicayda In this episode of The Entrepreneurial Mind, Roe Frazer discusses his unique company. A software start-up led by founders who have done it before, which seeks to disrupt the entire e-discovery market! Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Entrepreneurial-Mind-Dr-Jeff-Cornwall/129827683723995?sk=videos Twitter page: https://twitter.com/theentremind TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post A Disruptive Business Model in Legal Market appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
Moving Company Finds Business Model that Works10 Jun 2015 | 7:39 amThe Entrepreneurial Mind : Jacob Greer – 6th Man Movers TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post Moving Company Finds Business Model that Works appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
The Hustle is Real
How to get to the top 4 on Product Hunt with a B2B product22 Jun 2015 | 5:48 amWhat would you do to get on the front page of Product Hunt? What value would it even bring to your company? My team at Bunny Inc. just went through a rigorous 6 months of building and launching our latest product: ArticleBunny. As part of our launch efforts, I decided to make Product Hunt a big initiative. It paid off: in a span of 2 days, we drove over 5,000 highly targeted site visitors and over 100 projects posted. This post is about how we did it. What you will learn in this post: this post is about ideation to launch. We conceptualized the idea of ArticleBunny in the Winter of 2014…
Premature scaling killed us2 Jun 2015 | 6:00 am$1,000,000 in the bank. Shorty what you drank. We were funded, had a working product, clients, and revenue. On the surface, it seemed like we were growing fast and moving toward the right trajectory. Within 2 years, we had grown tremendously, but that growth ultimately killed us. Keep it scrappy I'm currently reading #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso. In it, Sophia has a great story about how her team bought really expensive chairs without her knowledge. Though she was making millions of dollars, she still made the office assistant sell all of the chairs on eBay to make the money back and…
Retention is more important than acquisition25 May 2015 | 6:00 amThere are a few experiences that I cherish in life that other people take for granted. For example, I absolutely love going to my dentist. There is no better feeling than beautifully polished clean teeth. Another example is getting an oil change. Most people go for the cheapest oil-changing option and get a mundane experience, but me, I pay extra for the Oil Can Henry's experience. For a decade I've been going to Oil Can Henry's for an oil change because they go above and beyond to make the experience wonderful. I've recommended many friends and family to Oil Can…
How I knew she was the one20 May 2015 | 8:59 amI met Kim on Thursday, April 12, 2007. It was the very first event of Bruin Consulting, the kickoff event that would determine if my first entrepreneurial endeavor would prove to be a success. I had my business suit on, a hand-me-down from my dad that was 2 sizes too big for me, and was nervously preparing for my welcome presentation. To my surprise, hundreds of students showed up. And then I saw her. She was wearing a business casual suit and glasses. She had this vibrant hair that stood out among all others. And her face, her heart-shaped face sealed the deal for me. I'll never forget…
How to create powerful recruitment videos27 Apr 2015 | 7:00 amI joined Bunny Inc. when we were less than 12 full time team members. We now have over 60. Our biggest challenge thus far is recruiting world-class talent, both here in San Francisco and in Bogotá, Colombia. When I took the reigns of the company recruitment effort, my goal was to build a scalable, repeatable recruitment process that helps us recruit top talent for rotational (and the occasional transformational) tours of duty. We've started several initiatives ranging from Mentorship Partnerships with Google, to Hackathons with the top tech companies in Bogotá. All of these…
Growthink blogs
The Spirit of America4 Jul 2015 | 2:00 amOn this great day when we celebrate America, its freedoms and way of life, please enjoy (and as you are moved share with the hashtag #SpiritofAmerica) this list of thirty of why this is the greatest country in the history of the world:#30. Gettysburg. Guadalcanal. Bunker Hill. Heroes lived here.#29. Contract Rights. Judges. Juries of One's Peers. Redress for grievances - practiced here.#28. Yosemite. The Grand Canyon. Yellowstone. Natural Wonders - in abundance here.#27. The Interstates. State Highways. County Parkways. The Open Road - Great to be on it here.#26. Uber. AirBnB. Lending Club.
Want to Sell Your Company for a High Price? Do these Six Things24 Jun 2015 | 11:02 amThe saddest lament of entrepreneurs and owners of private companies seeking to sell and exit their companies is that they want their businesses to be valued on their future potential, and not its CURRENT profitability. Given that the typical, offered purchase multiples for smaller businesses – as in those with less than $5 million in EBITDA – can be as low as 1 or 2 times last year's tax return profits, this is understandable.In fact, we often see purchase offers based on multiples of MONTHLY earnings – not exactly the "happily ever after" exit dreamed of when these businesses…
Turning Good Strategy into GREAT Execution17 Jun 2015 | 1:19 pmLast week, I wrote about the connection between vision, strategy, and action in a business, and how all three are made possible through and with Tough Love.And essential to effective Tough Love is Balance. Great organizations find the balance between: a) Making the right changes at the right time and b) Having the discipline to "keep on keeping on" and just doing more of what is working.Note well that b) is particularly hard to maintain when the tasks and activities that ARE working become repetitive and lack in excitement and drama. So how do executives find this balance - between…
Vision to Strategy to Action (All with and through Tough Love)10 Jun 2015 | 1:12 pmEvery business needs a vision - a clear definition of what its leadership seeks the business to become. And every business needs a strategy - a roadmap of how the business will reach its vision. Once the vision and strategy are clear (and yes, this is hard), the next step is action planning – the day-by-day mapping of how all of this good but sometimes theoretical "stuff" will actually get done. This, involves determining which projects will be completed (and as importantly, which ones will NOT be done), by whom and when, and how many resources - work hours, money, and assets - will be…
Why One for Three is So Much Better than Zero for Zero3 Jun 2015 | 9:14 am"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston ChurchillAt the very heart of entrepreneurship, small business, and investing sit risks, roadblocks, challenges, and delays. The statistics are only debated to their degree but not their overall thrust - a small percentage of businesses ever become meaningfully profitable and a smaller percentage still are ever sold for a meaningful price.In other words, the vast majority of businesses - by objective, financial measures - do not achieve their desired and sought after objectives.. Even worse,…
crowdSPRING Blog
Twitter Link Roundup #276 – Patriotic Resources for Small Business, Startups, and Design!3 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amHappy 4th of July! We love the patriotism, the food, the sun, and the gathering with friends and family. We also like the fireworks. What better to celebrate this roundup then fireworks fails? Well, actually nothing is better. Have a look at the knuckleheads and the insanity they wrought with Darwin-was-right idiocy. So, Happy Birthday, America, because once again, it's time for our weekly Roundup! Pyrotechnics are fun, but not as much fun as this week's set of links and articles that we shared with you over the past week on our crowdSPRING Twitter account (as well as my…
Fresh from the SPRING: Alexander_Dsign1 Jul 2015 | 6:07 amWhen perusing our galleries here on crowdSPRING, we see some amazing work submitted in the projects. Today, we noticed this gem submitted in this logo project. Let us start the slow clap for Alexander_Dsign. Check out more great work on Alexander_Dsign's profile page. Nicely done, Alexander_Dsign, nicely done! Related posts: Fresh from the SPRING: uniquemind Fresh from the SPRING: Bekk Fresh from the SPRING: GoldBug
A Victory for Artists Everywhere – Thank You Taylor Swift!29 Jun 2015 | 5:05 amThank You Taylor Swift! Wow. Words I never once imagined being typed by my own fingers. But, credit where credit is due, Miss Swift went up against Goliath, carefully aimed and swung her sling and, Pow! The monster was vanquished! If you don't know what I am talking about here, a little background: about a year ago, Apple acquired Beats Music, the music streaming service and manufacturer of a popular line of fashion-forward headphones. Apple's move was widely regarded as a play to compete with Spotify, Pandora and the other web-based music streaming services, collectively viewed…
Twitter Link Roundup #275 – Fascinating Stuff for Small Business, Startups, and Design!26 Jun 2015 | 8:06 amWe love dreams. We love childhood memories. We love stop motion animation. Vera Van Wolferen's How to Catch a Bird pulls it all together in a wonderfully creative and evocative way. Now wake up! Once again, it's time for our weekly Roundup! Take a little trip through this week's set of links and articles that we shared with you over the past week on our crowdSPRING Twitter account (as well as my own Twitter account) is keyboard perfection! We just love sharing articles about fonts, logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership,…
Fresh from the SPRING: oldpencil24 Jun 2015 | 7:03 amWhen perusing our galleries here on crowdSPRING, we see some amazing work submitted in the projects. Today, we noticed this gem submitted in this logo project. Let us start the slow clap for oldpencil. Check out more great work on oldpencil's profile page. Nicely done, oldpencil, nicely done! Related posts: from the SPRING: airborne Fresh from the SPRING: martinroy Fresh from the SPRING: ShahabasPoozhithara
Usman Sheikh
The Week in Review #25: The Difference Between Culture & Values27 Jun 2015 | 7:55 pmSaying something and doing something are two very different things. Take Enron for example. The company had a 62 page manual on their code of ethics. They had aspiring values such as integrity, respect and excellence. Yet, everything they did within the company was completely the opposite. Defining values for your business is just part of the equation. The true test is how those values are manifested in the day to day operations of the company. Employees will make decisions based on the culture before identifying with the organizations core values. There in lies the over arching difference…
Book Review: Beyond Measure22 Jun 2015 | 7:17 pmWhy it's time to forget the pecking order at work. The premise of this Ted Talk was intriguing. The speaker mentioned several studies I wanted to learn more about. I promptly bought her book and enjoyed reading it. The book revolves around research on teams and working together. The future of work is going to be heavily reliant on collaboration. With a large majority of individuals working as contractors, we are going to have to leverage on each other's skill sets to achieve large goals. This change reduces our dependencies on superstars and increases the need for people with the…
The Week in Review #24: Forgetting Super Chickens at Work21 Jun 2015 | 2:36 amAs entrepreneurs, a large majority of us aspire to be superstars. It starts when we enter school and the teacher gives out stars to the best students. The cycle repeats itself endlessly as we move up the ladder. In our quest to reach the top, collateral damage is a necessary evil. We delude ourselves into thinking that this is the only way to reach the success we desire. However nothing could be further from the truth. These isolated examples of success cloak the larger picture. Research has shown, superstar status achieved at all cost is transient in nature. It is only when we focus on…
The Week in Review #23: In the Future, Employees Won't Exist14 Jun 2015 | 1:32 amThe future of work excites me. Technology is rapidly breaking down barriers and changing perspectives. Millions of people wake up every morning and decide what they will work on today. Platforms like Upwork and Uber have freed them from the traditional concept of being an employee. They decide when to work, how much they would like to work and most importantly whom they would like to work with. While this is reality for only a select few people today, this is what the future is going to look like. This will require a fundamental shift in how companies attract, recruit and retain the people…
The Week in Review #22: Let me not die while I am still alive7 Jun 2015 | 9:04 pmIn a past newsletter I wrote about the passing of David Goldberg. Earlier this week his wife Sheryl Sandberg wrote a very moving piece about her husband. The line which stood out the most was the headline of this post. Dealing with the loss of a close family member is always very difficult. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose your spouse. Throughout the entire piece you can see someone who is struggling intensely, yet doing her best to keep it together. Far too often we get caught up in the details of our lives and lose sight of the bigger picture. I know there have been…
State Won't Let Stores Open on Nov. 225 Jul 2015 | 11:28 amState Won't Let Stores Open on Nov. 22WMTW Most people flock to stores on Thanksgiving for last-minute items or pre-Black Friday steals -- but one state's law doesn't allow that.Where big box stores will be closed In Case You Missed ItSchool Bus Driver's Terrifying Close CallShocking Thing Opens Up in Man's LawnOfficial 'Disgusted' by What Happened to Car
General's Emails More Than 'Flirtatious'5 Jul 2015 | 11:28 amGeneral's Emails More Than 'Flirtatious'APGen. John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan, exchanged countless emails with a woman at the heart of the Petraeus scandal.Source reveals explicit messagesMore NewsPlane Crashes Into Mississippi HomeWashington Post Editor Steps DownHusband Finds Teacher in Act With Boy
Reason This Ad Is Making Waves5 Jul 2015 | 11:28 amReason This Ad Is Making Waves Marks & SpencerIt looks like any other holiday clothing ad for kids, but something about this one is different -- and it's not an accident.How a Facebook post started it allMore StoriesPreterm Birth Rate Drops to New LowPossible Risk Factor for Autism Found?Stranger I Wish I'd Stopped to Talk With
Soap Star Says Goodbye After 25 Years5 Jul 2015 | 11:28 amSoap Star Says Goodbye After 25 YearsCBSSusan Flannery left 'The Bold and the Beautiful' after two and a half decades -- and she's not the only star with a very long TV tenure.Actress who spent 41 years on her showMore to See'X Factor' Singer Says Sexuality Was a RiskActress Opened Up About Bipolar DisorderStreisand's Son Sings for Gay-Friendly Film
Take a Look at Where JFK Was Born5 Jul 2015 | 11:28 amTake a Look at Where JFK Was BornNational Park ServiceYou'll find the late president's very first belongings inside this New England home -- which is being opened to the public for the first time.Famous items the living room is 'filled with'More to SeeStar Has Rose Named After HerCommon Heating Mistake Could Cost YouThe Best Pillow for Your Sleep Style
Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive
Why Bad Mouthing Competitors Is Bad For Business And How To Handle It Better30 Jun 2015 | 12:13 pmThe post Why Bad Mouthing Competitors Is Bad For Business And How To Handle It Better appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this In the early days, your company hasn't earned the attention, so there was no "bullseye" on your back. There was no real sellable product, so there was no competition. But then the product is seeing the daylight of the market. People are noticing you, and you are starting to notice competitors you never knew existed. And the…
Reflections on Raising Money and Fetishes of Those Watching14 Jan 2015 | 12:51 pmThe post Reflections on Raising Money and Fetishes of Those Watching appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this For those of us in startups, opening up Twitter means seeing at least 1 or 2 funding announcements every couple hours. And the congratulations and retweets roll in, if you are any good, journalists and bloggers need a piece of you too. But the fanfare and congratulations fizzle out, and you are standing there with all that glitter and confetti on you,…
Case For Not Taking Small Investments and Why Early Employees Are Unsung Heroes of Startups26 Jan 2014 | 6:05 pmThe post Case For Not Taking Small Investments and Why Early Employees Are Unsung Heroes of Startups appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this It does not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me that I am not a stranger to getting into occasional passionate discussion. This weekend I made a statement which caused such discussion. Unfortunately, Twitter is the worst place to have a discussion. Arguments in 140 character format make people extremely susceptible…
Male Perspective on Lack of Women in Startups and What Women Can Do About It28 Aug 2013 | 9:31 amThe post Male Perspective on Lack of Women in Startups and What Women Can Do About It appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this This article has been brewing in me for a while. I credit some of the biggest wins in my career to the most diverse and smart people around me. Best decisions are made after hearing a broad range of perspectives. You can't do that in an echo-chamber of people who are exactly same as you and think like you. As you have seen me…
On Being a New Father and the Struggles, Biases, Lessons Learned While Building a Business19 Aug 2013 | 10:00 amThe post On Being a New Father and the Struggles, Biases, Lessons Learned While Building a Business appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this For the past decade and a half, I have read countless articles on how it is impossible to build a successful company and be a good parent at the same time. I call bullshit! Yes, I know, I now owe money to the swear jar, but I'm happy to pay. Here is the TL;DR for those of you with short attention spans – being a…
Nordic Innovation House Nurtures Challenger To Apple's Garage Band3 Jul 2015 | 11:23 amOne of the great things about reporting on tech in the Bay Area is that the world comes to you. People of all nationalities have shaped the history of Silicon Valley, and they're still coming. Today I'm catching up with some news from our Scandinavian contingent. Soundtrap, a startup from Stockholm, Sweden, announced the launch of a collaborative online music recording studio this week from its outpost in Palo Alto, CA. With $1 million in seed funding, Soundtrap emerged from beta to invite the public to try creating their own hits on their laptops or mobile devices—and maybe roping…
Seattle Roundup: State Budget, Unikrn, Skykick, & Korner3 Jul 2015 | 7:59 amHeading into Independence Day weekend, Washington state still has a functioning government. The budget deal reached this week had implications for life sciences, the tech industry—including a tax increase specifically targeting Microsoft—cleantech, education, and much more. There were also a spate of smaller funding deals for Korner, Unikrn (not yet valued at "tres commas," as far as we know), and Skykick, as well as a new fund raised by Keiretsu Forum affiliate Keiretsu Capital. Read on for details: —The Life Sciences Discovery Fund and the state research and…
Dispatch from the Deep: Diving in a Developmental Submersible2 Jul 2015 | 2:54 pmView the Slideshow ABOARD CYCLOPS 1, ELLIOTT BAY—I catch a last, harbor seal's glimpse of the Seattle Aquarium and downtown skyline beyond through the dome-shaped hatch of the submersible. The pilot turns on the life support systems and opens a valve. Air releases from the ballast tank with a gasp. "OK, everybody, we're going to go under," says Stockton Rush at the controls of Cyclops 1, a prototype for what he hopes will set a new standard for comfort and versatility in manned undersea exploration. The light of a high-noon summer sun penetrates through the first…
Weyn Seeks to Develop Mobile Games Targeting Women, People of Color2 Jul 2015 | 12:39 pmIda Byrd-Hill first came to Xconomy's attention in 2011 for her efforts to introduce Detroit kids to the "wild, wild world of intellectual property" through a board game called Fluke: The Wealth Building Game of Accidential Inventions. Now, Byrd-Hill is taking the same approach—teaching people about wealth through gaming—and putting a digital spin on it. Byrd-Hill has formed a new Detroit-based venture called Weyn (the Somalian word for "great," pronounced we-in), which seeks to develop gaming apps that target people of color and immerse them in the world of intellectual…
FDA Approves Vertex's Two-Drug Combo For Cystic Fibrosis2 Jul 2015 | 10:39 am[Updated 7/2/15, 2:55 p.m. See below.] The long-expected approval of Vertex Pharmaceuticals' new combination drug for cystic fibrosis is finally here. The FDA approved the therapy regimen in a letter it sent to the Boston-based company Thursday. The drug's approval was all but certain, and paves the way for potential billions of dollars in future sales. Vertex plans to sell it under the brand name Orkambi. The drug could also finally point the three-decade-old company towards profitability, and validate the wisdom of its pivot from hepatitis C—a field in which it briefly dominated,…
Speaker, Trainer, Author & Human Change Expert
75 Books To Read & Model23 Jun 2015 | 3:17 pmMake Yourself Unforgettable: The Dale Carnegie Class-act System Make Yourself Unforgettable Be a Recruiting Superstar: The Fast Track to Network Marketing Millions The Wisdom of Failure: How to Learn the Tough Leadership Lessons Without Paying the Price The Start-up of … Continue reading →
I hate CANCER4 Sep 2014 | 5:16 pmPrecisely 6 weeks ago my mother was taken into emergency with immense pain in her chest. Subsequent tests confirmed she has lung cancer and that too stage 4. on August 27, 2014 I hosted my mother on my radio show … Continue reading →
LifeStyle Business Explored18 Jun 2014 | 1:40 amThis is the recording from the radio show this evening. If you are an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur, I sincerely suggest you listen to this. Whoever told you that business is all about making money is wrong. Business is … Continue reading →
This is going to be BIG...
What Scales?2 Jul 2015 | 4:25 amI've got a great deal for you...It requires you to set up the operation from scratch in every city--and it probably only works in cities.There is a ton of regulatory risk.Right now the market is pretty much only high net worth individuals.Oh... You only invest in scalable businesses? Sorry, I didn't realize. I'll keep that in mind for next time.Congrats, you passed on Uber.And you know what--if "scalability" was an important criteria for you, and you wanted businesses where all you had to do was write a bit of code and people started paying you software margins all along the way,…
Doing some good with the people who want your time24 Jun 2015 | 12:28 pmIn the last two days, I've had three different conversations with people who were asking me what I do with the people who want to grab coffee when the mutual benefit isn't immediately mutual. Don't get me wrong--these are people who are all extremely generous with their time--and that's probably why more people reach out to them. You have a useful meeting with someone and then they tell someone else it was useful, and so on, and so on...Unfortunately, you only have so many hours in the day--well, the working day, anyway. You do, however, do other things--things that not…
Do you know what you do and who else knows?15 Jun 2015 | 4:18 amI was chatting with a friend about going to work for startup companies, and told her that career development really came down to two simple things:1. Do you know what you do?Do you offer a clear deliverable, best suited for a particular segment of customers or clients, that aligns with their near term goals?In other words, do you "do marketing" or do you "help seed and Series A backed companies test and optimize their marketing content, deploy it across multiple channels, and analyze the customer acquisition analytics to create a plan to scale future marketing budgets?"In the latter…
Six Reasons Not to Invest in a Venture Capital Fund10 Jun 2015 | 12:07 pmI recently met up with an investor who I'm not totally sure is a fit for my second fund, so it was important to me that I was upfront about all the reasons why he shouldn't come in. The last thing you want as either a founder or even a VC is to have an investor get stuck with you when you're not on the same page about expectations.So here's all the reasons I told him he shouldn't be in:1) Fund investing is boring. Let's be clear. You trust me with your money and I get to do the fun part--working with founders. For most funds, you get a quarterly statement that isn't…
A Month with No Funding Announcements1 Jun 2015 | 4:30 amEvery other day, some startup is raising some ludicrous amount of money at some outlandish valuation. It feels like the mother of all pissing contests and tech journalists seem all too willing to play along.Is it really going to make or break your career if you're the first to Uber's Series H round, the one between the $60 billion valuation and the $90 billion valuation.I'll bet they're all chomping at the bit to be the first to announce the $100 billion valuation, because, you know, PSYCHOLOGICALLY SATISFYING ROUND NUMBERS! Could you imagine what public market news would look like…
Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak
Jessica Nazarali: How To Start Coaching Online And Make $257,000 In Your First Year Of Business30 Jun 2015 | 10:51 am[ Download MP3 | Transcript | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ] Jessica Nazarali dabbled in entrepreneurship in her late teens, buying brand name items from second hand clothing stores and selling them for a profit on eBay. Blogging is what kick-started Jessica's online career, which led her down... The post Jessica Nazarali: How To Start Coaching Online And Make $257,000 In Your First Year Of Business appeared first on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.
Mariana Fataccioli: How This Health Food Blogger Generated $100,000 In Revenue And 100,000 Instagram Followers In Her First Year Of Business22 Jun 2015 | 12:33 pm[ Download MP3 | Transcript | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ] Mariana Fataccioli is a food, health and wellness blogger who has the impressive claim to fame for having amassed a following of 100,000 people in 6 months on Instagram. She has also pulled off the considerable feat... The post Mariana Fataccioli: How This Health Food Blogger Generated $100,000 In Revenue And 100,000 Instagram Followers In Her First Year Of Business appeared first on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.
Grow Your Email List With The New Email Slider Plugin For WordPress17 Jun 2015 | 12:43 pmNumber Of Backing Spots Available: 100 SOLD OUT – Thanks for your support! Update: We sold out of the 100 backer spots in under 24 hours again, but you can still purchase the Smart Slider plugin below and you will get Social Slider functions immediately, and the Email Slider type... The post Grow Your Email List With The New Email Slider Plugin For WordPress appeared first on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.
Kate McKibbin: How This Aussie Fashionista Successfully Built Two Six-Figure Blogs9 Jun 2015 | 3:22 pm[ Download MP3 | Transcript | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ] Kate McKibbin is a blogger from Australia and runs two six-figure blogs, which means she makes over $100,000 a year from each. Her website Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily is a fashion blog and she also runs Secret... The post Kate McKibbin: How This Aussie Fashionista Successfully Built Two Six-Figure Blogs appeared first on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.
Lauren Shuttleworth: How This Stationery Entrepreneur Educates Girls, Helps The Environment & Makes A Profit At The Same Time20 May 2015 | 4:52 pm[ Download MP3 | Transcript | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ] Like many entrepreneurs I've always had a strong urge to help other people, not just directly helping customers with my business, but in a broader social sense too. Donating to charities is great, but I've never felt... The post Lauren Shuttleworth: How This Stationery Entrepreneur Educates Girls, Helps The Environment & Makes A Profit At The Same Time appeared first on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.
Men with Pens
How to tell clients you'll increase your writing rates30 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amClick here to read the full article →Another rocking post from Men With Pens! How to tell clients you'll increase your writing rates first appeared on Men With Pens Copyright 2006... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
How to take a break from writer's block23 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amClick here to read the full article →Another rocking post from Men With Pens! How to take a break from writer's block first appeared on Men With Pens Copyright 2006 — 2015,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Boost Your Brand Credibility with Personality Traits16 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amClick here to read the full article →Another rocking post from Men With Pens! Boost Your Brand Credibility with Personality Traits first appeared on Men With Pens Copyright 2006 —... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
How to Love Writing Again9 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amClick here to read the full article →Another rocking post from Men With Pens! How to Love Writing Again first appeared on Men With Pens Copyright 2006 — 2015, All Rights Reserved. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
The definitive guide on how to choose your business name2 Jun 2015 | 7:00 amClick here to read the full article →Another rocking post from Men With Pens! The definitive guide on how to choose your business name first appeared on Men With Pens Copyright 2006... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Happy Birthday HubSpot! 9 Lessons From Our First 9 Years9 Jun 2015 | 1:48 pm9 years ago today, on June 9th 2006, HubSpot was officially started. I remember the day, because it was also the day I graduated. (I had promised myself I'd enjoy my 2 years in grad school without too much distraction, so deliberately picked graduation day as the official start-date for HubSpot.) So far, we've had a pretty good run. HubSpot is now public [NYSE:HUBS] and still growing fast. More importantly (at least to me), I'm still having a great time. Rather than bring out the party hats and cake, I thought I'd reflect a bit on some of the hard-won lessons we've learned…
How Emotion Helped Grow Our Startup to 2.8M Users in 20 Months1 Jun 2015 | 10:30 amThis is a guest post by Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva. We are launching Canva For Work that will help you and your team create original stunning visuals faster than ever. Register your interest to win free accounts. I want to start with a question. A question which I think plagues a lot of startups. Should you listen to your users or not? Most people would answer with a simple yes or no. On one side of the argument are people who believe you should test everything. They say you should trial Google AdWords and see if people click on your ad. If they don't, you might not…
Why Your Startup Should Ignore Your Onboarding Experience (For Now)27 Apr 2015 | 12:59 pmThis following article is a guest post by Jackson Noel. Jackson is the Co-Founder ofAppcues, a SaaS product that allows you to create in-product experiences without changing any code. You can follow him on twitter:@jacksonjonson Since I joined a startup that focuses on user onboarding, I've had half a dozen conversations just like this one: Startup Friend: "Dude I need to talk to you about our user onboarding." Me: "Okay, what's up?" Startup Friend: "We've changed it 3 times now. Can't figure out how to get users to engage." Me: "Gotcha. Well what are you doing to…
We Like Humans, But We LOVE Code (Machine Learning Case Study)16 Apr 2015 | 1:16 pmThe following is a guest post by Jonah Lopin (@jonahlopin), founder at Crayon. Jonah is a HubSpot alumnus, and I'm an angel investor in the company. Here at Crayon, we love humans. In fact, all our moms and many of our best friends are humans! But when it comes to solving problems, we prefer code. Humans are awesome at certain things, like closing enterprise sales deals, delivering rousing speeches, and comforting small children. For these tasks and lots of others, humans are far superior to code. But in a business context, humans have some serious drawbacks: 1.
An Insider's Look At HubSpot Sidekick's Growth Approach18 Mar 2015 | 1:27 pmThe Sidekickgrowth team is a small, data driven and aggressive group within HubSpot that works on new, emerging products with massive audiences and a freemium business model (similar to Dropbox and Evernote). We are constantly pushing ourselves to learn new growth strategies, tactics, and techniques. I have personally become more data driven and model driven after joining the team, and wanted to walk through an example of one decision that became much easier with the use of our generic problem solving framework. I am a big believer in the idea that complicated problems look simple when…
Startup Meme
The Infinix Hot Note – Hands On7 Jun 2015 | 2:00 pmSo it's been over a week since the unboxing of the Infinix Hot Note X551 and so far, the experience has been solid. I will be honest for a moment here, when I first received the Hot Note, I wasn't too optimistic about what the phone's performance will be. The experience has been contrary to my first thought; the Infinix Hot Note is a pretty solid device, both in terms of appearance and in terms of performance. Let's not waste time here and get to write about its key winning points. Features' Snapshot: Here are a few quick points on Infinix Hot Note's specifications: 1.4 Ghz …
Unboxing: The Infinix Hot Note X55129 May 2015 | 6:31 amThe Infinix Hot Note, finally received and doing what any blogger would do; Unbox and see what's inside! http://startupmeme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Unboxing-Infinix-Hot-Note.mp4 Tags: hot note, infinix, infinix pakistan, mobile, pakistan, technology
Facebook Relaxes Rules For On-Page Competitions: Big News For Brands And Business28 Aug 2013 | 10:00 amSaves the hassle associated to creating custom tabs on pages to run competition, especially those that required users to only comment or like to participate. We are talking about quick turn around time, leveraging key events on the go and removing the need to spend time exploring what new app to use. Thank you Facebook for being a bit lenient with the introduction of the change in policy. Facebook rolled out an update on the Page terms and conditions to enable businesses and brands to readily conduct quick promotions. There are however some restrictions associated to using native Facebook…
Update: Mobilink Reveals Its New Identity, Launches A Responsive Website14 Jun 2013 | 3:09 pmMobilink, Pakistan's leading telecom provider has today revealed its new identity. Mobilink initiated its operations in Pakistan in 1994 and had recently come under the umbrella of Vimpelcom, when the Russian telecom giant acquired Orascom in 2011. Mobilink at present enjoys the leader position among the 5 telecom operators in Pakistan with over 36 Million subscribers. The process had been underway for quite some time and only recently did Mobilink initiate revealing hints about this new identity starting June 12th. This started with the Link that was showcased on all major newspapers…
Click.to: Your Copy and Paste Shortcut App For The Desktop22 Aug 2012 | 12:28 amI am sure most of the folks reading this blog post, have problems when it comes to "copy and paste". Especially when it's copying a quote from your favorite blogger or entrepreneur to Twitter or Facebook. Click.to is one of those applications that simplifies the same. While I can go about writing lines and lines describing what it does, Click.to app is simply your "shortcut" to copy and paste. Now some of you might just think of this to be a pretty pointless app to share, but to prove you remotely wrong, one must try. The sheer simplicity it offers, saves time…
Marketing Zen
4 Ways that BuzzSumo Improves Your Digital Marketing Efforts1 Jul 2015 | 11:08 amAs digital marketers, we are constantly trying to keep up with all the things technology is making available to us. Thanks to many different applications and software, we're able to increase our marketing efforts when strategizing for a client. One tool we're really loving here at Marketing Zen is BuzzSumo. Whether your focus is social media, content, search engine optimization, or outreach, there is a ton of data and metrics you can get from the site to incorporate into your marketing strategies. Today we're going to show you 4 of the ways that BuzzSumo can make your marketing team…
7 Conferences You Should Add to Your Calendar Before the End of 201526 Jun 2015 | 11:18 amAs marketers, we are always thinking about our day-to-day and how we can be more efficient. Do more, be more, generate more leads, increase ROI for our clients and ourselves. And to do that, we need to look at the big picture. A great way to look at our roles and think about how we're contributing to the bigger picture is to attend conferences and events where we're able to network with others in our industry. Not only does it give us a great look at the competition, but it allows us to learn from those who influence us, and to get a better feeling about the direction our industries...The…
6 Industries That Can Skyrocket Conversions Through Pinterest Advertising25 Jun 2015 | 9:57 amIt's hard to believe that Pinterest is already 5 years young. Yes, young. The highly visual social media platform has made many exciting announcements for businesses over the past few months and has released some impressive numbers as a friendly reminder of how the platform continues to gain popularity year over year. Among these announcements are a few exciting advertising initiatives like promoted pins and buyable pins. As the platform gets closer to rolling out the promoted pins feature to all business accounts, I thought I'd single out 6 industries in particular that could (and…
Using Contests and Sweepstakes to Increase Social Media Engagement: 8 Ways to Prepare an Awesome Campaign19 Jun 2015 | 12:24 pmWorking in Digital PR and Marketing, we're constantly looking for ways to engage our audience and connect with our customers. We do this by combining great content with the efforts of our social media and search teams. But it's a good idea to mix it up sometimes—and most audiences like to mix it up, too. Launching a contest or sweepstakes event via a social media channel of your choosing is a fantastic way to engage customers and obtain valuable information to use in your marketing strategies moving forward. But, as most things go, launching a contest or sweepstakes is easier said than…
How to Brainstorm Content: 6 Tips to Catalyze Ideas8 Jun 2015 | 10:45 amAre you a content writer? If you are, then, we're offering you a high-five, up top! Why? Because writing content is hard work. Beyond that, if you are writing for the same client consistently, you're going to need to be able to come up with unique content, whether it's on landing pages, blogs, email newsletters, or anything else. But if you're a content writer and a content marketer, you're also going to have to make sure that your content can be easily found. What does that mean? Having a great strategy for search engine optimization (SEO). But even with a great strategy, it's…
Blogtrepreneur - For Busy Entrepreneurs
Best Gym Bags for the Entrepreneur 20155 Jul 2015 | 2:42 amWhen you're in business for yourself, it's important to have the best equipment possible for use. If your equipment happens to include gym bags, there are several factors to consider when choosing the best ones for you. It must be durable, dependable, stylish, and must hold all of your equipment! So if you're on your way to the mall as we speak, check out these brands. The Under Armour UA Undeniable Storm MD Duffle This is a 100% polyester imported gym bag with UA Storm gear DWR finish which repels water without giving up its ability to breathe. It has an adjustable padded…
How To Get Real Traffic To Your Website3 Jul 2015 | 10:30 amThe biggest problem for most businesses is: How to get more targeted traffic to their website. Without traffic, a website will not generate any revenue. A few years ago I was in the same boat. Even after I created great content, no one was reading it. I didn't give up and managed to drive millions of visitors to my website and for my clients. Let's learn the most effective tactics that will help you do the same. First, define your target market. This is your first important step. You do not need to appeal to everyone except your target audience, who provides your biggest Return On…
Video Collaboration Tool for Business Team Discussion1 Jul 2015 | 6:05 pmCollaboration has always been an important part of business, whether that collaboration is occurring between coworkers or with business partners thousands of miles away. Until recently, no form of conferencing, such as phone or email, could match the deep understanding to be gained by meeting face-to-face. All methods of remote conferencing, such as phone and email, were too impersonal. After all, over 50 percent of communication is non-verbal, and all that valuable communicative content was being lost when attempting a conference with people via remote technologies. In the last few years,…
How To Survive A Startup1 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amFor a certain breed of individual, there's always been something quite alluring about the thought of being stranded on a desert island. The idea of being totally responsible for every choice we make and the part each tiny decision plays towards our ultimate success or failure is for some, the perfect challenge. We are of course talking about ambitious entrepreneurs. The modern day Robinson Crusoe's where the equivalent of surviving on coconuts and growing a big beard is the thrill, excitement and freedom found from launching a startup. It's not always easy, it certainly has its fair…
Best Whitening Toothpaste for a Busy Lifestyle1 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amWhite teeth are everywhere in modern society. Without them, you stand the risk of losing job opportunities, perhaps even your professional reputation because we live in a day and age where looks really are everything. But, going to the dentist every three months to have your teeth whitened isn't something that most entrepreneurs have time for. The good news is that you don't have to rely on dentists in order to maintain white, healthy teeth – it's fully achievable using the best whitening toothpastes during your daily brushing routine. How Do Whitening Toothpastes Work?
The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss » Blog
Whitney Cummings on Turning Pain Into Creativity26 Jun 2015 | 9:56 pm"In order for art to imitate life, you have to have a life." – Whitney Cummings "I promise: if you just tell the truth and get your heart broken as a comedian, you will have a house." – Whitney Cummings This episode how to turn pain and struggle into amazing creative projects. Whitney Cummings (@whitneycummings) is a Los Angeles-based comedian, actor, writer and producer. She is executive producer and, along with Michael Patrick King, co-creator of the Emmy nominated CBS comedy 2 Broke Girls, which was recently picked up for a fifth season. Whitney also…
The Maverick of Brain Optimization22 Jun 2015 | 12:41 am"My lab is interested in pursuing how we can enhance cognition to improve quality of life." – Adam Gazzaley Dr. Adam Gazzaley (@adamgazz) obtained an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, then postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at UC Berkeley. He is now the director of the Gazzaley Lab at UC San Francisco, a cognitive neuroscience laboratory. His recent studies go far beyond mere description — he and his lab are exploring neuroplasticity and how we can optimize cognitive abilities, even in healthy adults. So,…
Sam Kass on Reinventing Yourself and Baptism by Fire18 Jun 2015 | 11:29 amSam Kass, right, in official White House gear. (Photo: Bob Nichols, USDA) "Yankees, we've won!" – Austrian sous-chef to unprepared Americans hustling at a Michelin 3-star restaurant "75% of success is staying calm. The rest you figure out." – Sam Kass Sam Kass almost became a pro baseball player. Instead, he pivoted a history major from U. Chicago into becoming the private chef for the Obamas in the White House. He then broke into national nutrition policy and was named #11 on Fast Company magazine's 2011 list of "100 Most Creative People"…
An Unusual $100,000 Birthday Present (Plus: Free Round-Trip Anywhere in the World)16 Jun 2015 | 5:23 pmTurning 38-years young… and still not acting my age. (Photo: Sir Garrett Camp) 38! I'll turn a glorious 38 soon. It's going to be a great natal year–I can already feel it. Perhaps it will be good luck for you, too. In this post, I'm giving away a round-trip ticket anywhere in the world. But back to that strange birthday gift… Much to the chagrin of my momma-san, I've become difficult to buy presents for. Some friends even think I'm impossible to find presents for. Not so. I love handwritten letters, homemade brownies, and–most of…
The Rags to Riches Philosopher: Bryan Johnson's Path to $800 Million12 Jun 2015 | 8:18 pmBryan Johnson is an entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder of OS Fund and Braintree, the latter of which was bought by eBay in 2013 for $800 million in cash. Bryan launched OS Fund in 2014 with $100 million of his personal capital to support inventors and scientists who aim to benefit humanity by rewriting the operating systems of life. In other words: he fuels real-world mad scientists. His investments include endeavors to cure age-related diseases and radically extend healthy human life to 100+ (Human Longevity), replicate the human visual cortex using artificial intelligence…
Caroline Middlebrook (v3)
SEO Case Study #4 – A Number 1 Ranking On My New Site24 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amAt the end of the last post in the series I had registered a brand new domain, added a single page of content to it (a high quality page), added a handful of links and within a week it was ranking #3 for the brand name of the site. That was on the 15th May. Here's where I am with that now: (click for clearer image) As you can see, it started at #3 but dropped to 5 and then spent several weeks dancing around between 5 & 6 and then a couple of weeks ago it bounced back up to 3 and then got another boost to the coveted number #1 spot and has stayed there for a few days. Good stuff. Now…
SEO Case Study #3 – February – May Catch Up!15 May 2015 | 4:18 amI knew when I restarted blogging again a few months ago that I might be haphazard and go months without posting so apologies for that! I actually had 3 draft posts for this series all written up which I didn't get around to posting but now things have changed so I need to post an update! What I have been doing for the last few months In the last post I described everything I had done to evaluate the niche and the specific keywords I would be going after. Nothing has changed there. What I did next was quite a lot of real work on the site and the link building. I'll give you a…
Thoughts About Syndwire & Social Signals for SEO13 Mar 2015 | 6:34 amI've been playing around with some SEO recently and most of it has been around creating a PBN – private blog network as these provide high quality links that you control. Most of what I have learned has come from Alex Becker over at Source Wave. The rise of social signals In recent months Alex has started to shift towards using social signals for SEO and what he says makes total sense. His theory is that even if you have a bunch of high quality PBN links pointing at your site, if your money site and indeed the PBN sites don't have any social signals whatsoever, that must…
SEO Case Study #2 – Niche / Keyword Evaluation2 Feb 2015 | 2:42 amI am working in a niche that I never thought I would enter because I thought it was just too competitive. However, I actually saw my particular keyword featured on a training course! I wont say which one as that could be a giveaway :-) Basically, I watched the training course where they were showing examples of good keywords to go for. And one of them looked really good so I did my own research on it and really liked it. Now the huge downside is that this was a training course by a fairly high profile person in the industry and I estimated that at least 1,000 people had seen it – so…
SEO Case Study #1 – Introduction29 Dec 2014 | 3:08 amFor the last few months I have been tinkering around with SEO a bit, making lots of mistakes and also making some notes. I know the 'case study' style of posts that I used to write a few years ago were always popular so I thought I may as well post here now. Though I won't be revealing any keywords or domains as that just compromises the results. So, first a little background… I actually find it quite ironic that I have spent five years developing a software tool used in the SEO industry, but have actually done virtually no SEO in that time! Things changed so much…
TylerCruz.com: An Internet Entrepreneur's Journey
Income Property Possession is 1 Week Away!3 Jul 2015 | 10:22 amA lot has happened in terms of progress on my first income property since my last real estate update from 10 days ago. I few days ago I drove to the property (it's only a 12-minute drive away) to meet with the inspector and my realtor for the inspection walk-through. The inspector turned out to be the same guy who did the inspection on the duplex for me (which as you may remember was a complete and utter disaster), so the first thing I asked him was "So? How does it compare?". Fortunately, his response was something along the lines of "It's night and day…".
My Process for Optimizing Landing Pages27 Jun 2015 | 4:35 pmI've been so wrapped up with learning and jumping into real estate investing lately that I've totally neglected affiliate marketing for quite a while. All my major health issues this year certainly haven't helped either. In fact, my last post even pertaining to affiliate marketing was 6-months ago! And so, I thought it was long overdue for another post on the wonderful and cruel world of affiliate marketing. One of the things I absolutely used to hate was creating landing pages/sites for my campaigns. It took a lot of time, could be very stressful (cross-browser…
A Trip to the Emergency Room and Another Property on Contract23 Jun 2015 | 4:46 pmIn my post from a few days ago, I wrote about how I was 98% done to completion on a duplex I had on contract but ultimately had to walk away after a really bad inspection report. In that same post I mentioned that I had already placed an offer on another property. Well, fast forward 3 days and that property is now under contract! It is now pending subject removal again – I've already taken care of a few of them including insurance – the major one to wait for is once again the inspection which will take place early next week. As I wrote in my other post though, I do not expect any…
Why I Had To Walk Away and Make An Offer on a Different Property20 Jun 2015 | 5:38 pmIt's crazy… 48 hours ago, I was only hours away from removing the final subjects on the duplex contract I had. However, the inspection ended up being absolutely horrible! In fact, I had to wait a while for the inspector to finish creating his report as there were so many issues with the property. He ended up inspecting both sides (and drafting the report) over around a 6-hour period, then proceeded to spend 2 hours going over everything with me (and my realtor). The report itself was 89-pages long – granted this was a duplex so naturally it would be longer than that of a typical…
Some Setbacks on My First Income Property18 Jun 2015 | 10:04 amIn my blog post from last Friday, I wrote about how I got my first income property under contract, pending subject removals tomorrow (June 19th, 2015). I was very excited, pretty similar to the feeling you have when you're buying a new home for yourself. All you want is for time to speed up and everything to be done so that you can have the keys in hand. Unfortunately, there have been a number of setbacks over the past 6 days that have changed my disposition towards the whole thing. I'll start with the worst issues first. 5-Year Amortization Reduction When I had originally ran my…
Inventor Spot - Inventions, Innovations, and Interesting Ideas for the Inventor in All of Us
3-D Printed Blood Vessels: A New Dimension in Transplant Procedures5 Jul 2015 | 12:48 amRead on to learn more about the latest advances in 3-D printing and artifcial blood vessels, which are essential to maintaining the health of human organs.
Fish-Shaped Mobile Battery Sparks Devices, Smiles & Appetites3 Jul 2015 | 11:45 amThere's something fishy about the 6000mAh SOSOGE! TAIYAKIKUN, a mobile battery that puts portable power in the palm of your hand. Modeled after a taiyaki (a delicious traditional Japanese pastry) with glowing golden eyes, the SOSOGE! TAIYAKIKUN is a high-efficiency lithium ion battery that charges all sorts of mobile devices while sparking your appetite in the process.
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Tsū World3 Jul 2015 | 11:05 amWhat does March Madness and the Tsu social network have in common? First introduced in 1984, the former has become one of the most popular annual sporting events in the United States. Created by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Division 1 Basketball, it's an elimination tournament played each March in the United States. The latter is a new social network platform developed by Sebastian Sobczak and launched in October, 2014.
Is GinzVelo The Future For Sustainable Transportation?2 Jul 2015 | 4:10 pmAn inventor from Woodbridge, Virginia, says his invention is going to greatly change how we travel around cities and suburbs. Peter Ginzburg is the brainchild of GinzVelo, which is a human electric hybrid. Question is will it be a hit on the streets? And, will the average commuter actually be able to afford one?
Award Winning WorryWoo Monsters Teach Kids To Embrace Their Emotions2 Jul 2015 | 11:43 amBefore Disney and Pixar released Inside Out, a movie about 11-year-old Riley and her personified emotions, artist Andi Green was drawing "the monsters in her head" to help her express complicated feelings. By turning her emotions into lovable characters, she was not only able to embrace them, but was able to talk about them and share them with others. There began the journey from sketches of monsters to the award winning WorryWoo Monsters plush toys and book series.
Bond Street18 Jun 2015 | 5:10 amI am delighted to announce today that Spark Capital has led a Series A investment in Bond Street. Bond Street's co-founder & CEO, David Haber, previously worked with us on the investment team at Spark, so this reunion is especially sweet.It is no secret that we've been focused on financial services investments for some time now at Spark. We've made a number of investments in the space, both early and expansion stage, and will continue to make more. We've invested in infrastructure software businesses like Plaid and Orchard, as well as consumer brands like Wealthfront and Affirm.
(via 12 Things To Search For At The Brand New Whitney Museum)...2 May 2015 | 8:45 am(via 12 Things To Search For At The Brand New Whitney Museum) Mary Heilmann, Chairs
"One might say that his subtlety was wasted on the young Yeshiva students he was mostly surrounded..."24 Apr 2015 | 8:15 am"One might say that his subtlety was wasted on the young Yeshiva students he was mostly surrounded by. Filled with passion and impatience, a thirst for metaphysical certainty, they would look to him for clear and definitive answers. But they would never come; his endless contextualizations and qualifications were perhaps designed to frustrate his students, to show them the meaning of complexity, of nuance, of rigor and systematic thinking. The students of course would continue to ask, and they would in turn keep drinking from the cooling waters of this deep and capacious mind, learning,…
"I want Howard Stern for as long as Howard Stern wants to work. I'm only willing to pay so..."11 Mar 2015 | 12:20 pm"I want Howard Stern for as long as Howard Stern wants to work. I'm only willing to pay so much. I know what that number is. But even if I was in an al-Qaeda death camp, no one is going to know what that number is but me." - SiriusXM and Howard Stern in a contract 'dance' - Mar. 11, 2015
"The proliferation of social media means that the extreme experimentation that was once the exclusive..."11 Mar 2015 | 11:58 am"The proliferation of social media means that the extreme experimentation that was once the exclusive provenance of big-name starchitects is now the defining architectural movement of our age. There is no crisis in architecture. The sense of crisis is just a byproduct of the punctured echo chamber. It is architecture's giant sucking sound. If you listen closely, you will realize that it is being generated by a group of critics and opinion makers who are struggling with a new paradigm where the public calls the shots. This is a world without a dominant style, which confuses the old guard.
The Next Women - Business Magazine
STARTUP AWARDS WINNERS: VASTARI AND PRINTR3 Jul 2015 | 2:00 amTHENEXTWOMEN STARTUP AWARDS, 2015 The prize winning pitches for the International Pitch Competition 2015 at The Next Women Innovation Summit have been named. Vastari - the jury prize winner - is a unique online platform from England for private art collectors and museums to aid the organisation and hiring of exhibitions.read more
TheNextWomen Innovation Summit is coming up next week18 Jun 2015 | 5:51 amNext week sees the annual TheNextWomen Innovation Summit: an event aimed at promoting female entrepreneurship and the creation of an ecosystem of innovative women. The keynote speaker is none other than Neelie Kroes. The good news is that it is almost fully booked. read more
Startup Diaries: Student becomes 3d Printing Pioneer5 Jun 2015 | 4:02 amIn the Startup Diaries series, Cecile van der Waal of Printr tells her story;Although I just started as an entrepreneur, it already feels like a lifetime. One day of working, feels like an entire week and yet I can't believe how fast the weeks fly by. This sounds exhausting, but it gives me a lot of energy.read more
Europe and the Success of Female Entrepreneurs18 May 2015 | 9:23 amEurope, what is your plan as to the success of female entrepreneurs?In order to increase the economic power of developing countries, many entrepreneurial and education programmes are initiated in of developing countries that focus on women. read more
Maximizing the Impact of Videoconferencing24 Mar 2015 | 11:06 amVideo conferencing is a rising trend with everyone from the rarified heights of the Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and shiny new startups. However, using video conferencing to its maximum potential and impact has some tips and tricks – and a lot of them are old school rules about communication and how to run a meeting.read more
The Wright Place TV Show
PR and the Super bowl XLV3 Jul 2015 | 8:01 amThe Super bowl is so well known, it doesn't need publicity right? Wrong! The Super bowl continues to grab publicity along with its advertising for the event. The Super bowl is one of Americas most watched events. There is lots of advertising for it. Then there is a lot of publicity. There is publicity around […] The post PR and the Super bowl XLV appeared first on The Wright Place TV Show.
Top 5 Most Effective Business Leadership Development Methods2 Jul 2015 | 7:37 pmThe post Top 5 Most Effective Business Leadership Development Methods appeared first on The Wright Place TV Show.
7 Necessary Abilities of an Electrician Melbourne24 Jun 2015 | 1:17 pmA homeowner may not be able to handle every major or minor duty in their homes due to their tight schedules or lack of skill power. These calls for the homeowner consider hiring several skilled personnel to handle various duties. For instance the homeowner is expected to look for a plumber to handle the craft […] The post 7 Necessary Abilities of an Electrician Melbourne appeared first on The Wright Place TV Show.
Top Reasons to Buy Jewelry Online24 Jun 2015 | 1:08 pmToday, purchasing online has become common place and you can get most things you like, for example, are you on the market for something special? Maybe for your mother, dad or perhaps for a respected coworker who has provided a long time of loyal service? Possibly someone you know is enjoying a wedding or anniversary? […] The post Top Reasons to Buy Jewelry Online appeared first on The Wright Place TV Show.
Interview with SRN from Atlanta!22 Jun 2015 | 11:01 amThe post Interview with SRN from Atlanta! appeared first on The Wright Place TV Show.
Steve Blank
Episode 5 on Sirius XM Channel 111: Pete Newell, John Kuhn, Matt Weingart, Takashi Tsutsmi and Masato Iino2 Jul 2015 | 6:00 amMy guests this past week on Bay Area Ventures on Wharton Business Radio on Sirius XM Channel 111 were: Pete Newell, managing partner of BMNT Partners John Kuhn, who works at BMNT Partners Matt Weingart, program development manager in the Strategic Development Office at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Takashi Tsutsumi and Masato Iino, founders of Learning Entrepreneur's Lab in Japan The focus of our first segment is how Silicon Valley and the U.S. military can work together – for access to advanced technology and to learn how to move with…
Lean Innovation Management – Making Corporate Innovation Work26 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amI've been working with large companies and the U.S. government to help them innovate faster– not just kind of fast, but 10x the number of initiatives in 1/5 the time. A 50x speedup kind of fast. Here's how. —– Lean Innovation Management In the last five years "Lean Startup" methodologies have enabled entrepreneurs to efficiently build a startup by searching for product/market fit rather than blindly trying to execute. Companies or Government agencies pursuing innovation can Buy, Build, Partner or use Open Innovation. But trying to find a unified theory of innovation…
Organizational Debt is like Technical debt – but worse19 May 2015 | 9:00 amStartups focus on speed since they are burning cash every day as they search for product/market fit. But over time code/hardware written/built to validate hypotheses and find early customers can become unwieldy, difficult to maintain and incapable of scaling. These shortcuts add up and become what is called technical debt. And the size of the problem increases with the success of the company. You fix technical debt by refactoring, going into the existing code and "cleaning it up" by restructuring it. This work adds no features visible to a user but makes the code stable and…
Episode 3 on SiriusXM Channel 111: Kathryn Gould, Mar Hershenson, Sophie Lebrecht13 May 2015 | 6:00 amMy guests this week on Bay Area Ventures on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM Channel 111 were: Kathryn Gould co-founder of Foundation Capital Mar Hershenson co-founder of the VC firm Pejman Mar Ventures Sophie Lebrecht co-founder and CEO of Neon Labs All three of my guests started their careers as scientists or engineers and ended up starting companies or venture capital firms. Kathryn Gould is the co-founder of the VC firm, Foundation Capital and the owner of Battle Mountain Vineyard. As one of the first women VC's in Silicon Valley she founded Foundation in 1995, and went on to be…
Doubling Down On a Good Thing: The National Science Foundation's I-Corps Lite12 May 2015 | 6:00 amI've known Edmund Pendleton from the University of Maryland as the Director of the D.C. National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Node (a collaboration among the University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, George Washington, and Johns Hopkins). But it wasn't until seeing him lead the first I-Corps class at the National Institutes of Health that I realized Edmund could teach my class better than I can. After seeing the results of 500+ teams through the I-Corps, the NSF now offers all teams who've received government funding to start a company an introduction to building a Lean Startup…
First Class Fashionista
My weekend shopping haul2 Jul 2015 | 4:43 pmI don't know about you guys but I accidentally took pleasure in engaging my indulgences and took myself on a little shopping spree this past weekend. That said, I figured I should share just a few of my "shopping haul" findings! With July setting in and fall on my mind – I know, it's hard to believe I'm thinking about fall when summer only just began, but fashion-wise, fall is my favorite season and with prices that were this good, I had to act fast. You would too, trust me. "Summer Sales" have only just begun and every fashionista needs to be…
MeMoi Leggings Product Review1 Jul 2015 | 9:58 amRecently we recieved a complimentary pair of MeMoi leggings here at First Class Fashionista. I personally love leggings. Even before they were as popular as they are now- especially the prints. There's something the artist in me loves about adding print to the shape of a person's legs. I know, I'm weird. But that's fine now, because leggings are the new jeans. Although I have- and will likely again- profess that leggings are not a substitute for pants, in most cases I am overruled. However, the MeMoi leggings would be a perfect example of how to utilize leggings in…
Things to Do on Vacation in Denver29 Jun 2015 | 7:50 pmIt's no secret. Denver is definitely not a cowtown. Denver is experiencing rapid growth and tourism is booming. The attraction is Denver's chic urban sophistication and endless outdoor adventures. If this is your next vacation destination, here's a list of things to do to experience our Mile High City style. Check out Things to Do on Vacation in Denver by FCFashionista at Mode This is a Mode.com sponsored story – where stories inform and inspire. Related PostsFCF Blogger and Hairstylist Marissa Lundeen Competes in Shear Styles 2 Hair Show Join COUTUREcolorado at Style…
Trend Spot: San Diego Style29 Jun 2015 | 12:24 pmDuring my 2015 summer vacation to the wonderful city of San Diego, I couldn't help but to look around and see the fashion trends. My sister and I took the bus almost the whole time in San Diego, so that gave me a great place to people watch and discover street-style. The first and far most popular trend I saw on the streets of San Diego were plastic see-through bags, backpacks and totes. This is a very old style that seemed to have disappeared in the late 90s and began to slowly make a comeback in the Fall of 2013. The reason so many people stopped sporting this trend is it gave others the…
Wanderlust Apsen Snowmass Festival July 2-5th26 Jun 2015 | 12:29 pmWANDERLUST ASPEN SNOWMASS announcement Kim Small, Publicity Director Wanderlust, producers of the largest yoga lifestyle events in the world, returns to spectacular Aspen/Snowmass, July 2-5. The four-day festival allows attendees to choose their own adventure from a variety of activities including yoga, live music, meditation, explorative hikes, kayaking, running treks, fine dining and more. The 2015 season will feature an unparalleled lineup of some of the world's most sought after yoga teachers, musicians, meditation instructors and performing artists. Attendees can practice various…
Begin the Begin
5 questions for New Story after a month in Y Combinator29 Jun 2015 | 4:02 amI can't tell you how excited I was when Brett Hagler, CEO and co-founder of New Story (funding life-changing houses for homeless families), told me that they were accepted into Y Combinator (YC). YC is THE premier startup accelerator program in the world, and very few startups make the cut to get into the program. Side note: I donated my last birthday to New Story. I hope you'll consider doing the same! I told Brett that after the first month of the program, I wanted to interview him for my blog. He graciously accepted, so I kept it to five questions since I know they are working…
Now I'm also posting on Medium…what's the deal with that?19 Jun 2015 | 12:25 pmI've now written several posts on Medium, a different kind of blogging platform. For example, earlier this week I posted, What startups can learn from a college tennis player: Focus on results, not the appearance of results. To answer a few questions I've been asked about this: Are you still going to be posting on THIS blog? Absolutely, this blog will always be my primary platform. My plan for the foreseeable future is to post once a week on this blog and once a week on Medium. Why Medium? Medium does a few things that I like. First, its beautiful. I love the way they make it…
The Martian. Man am I pumped about this movie!15 Jun 2015 | 3:32 amI loved the book, The Martian. And the preview for the upcoming movie looks amazing: And this video interview with the author is fantastic: Big shoutout to @simianlogic for suggesting I read this book!
5 Reasons I'm excited about Switchyards11 Jun 2015 | 7:29 amTavani hanging out in front of his new Switchyards building Switchyards, Michael Tavani's latest project, just announced its first batch of startups to join the effort. The Switchyards mantra: Where consumer and design-focused companies grow in Atlanta. Has a nice ring :) I was given a tour of the building (pre-construction) recently and I'm really impressed with the vision that Michael has for the place. In fact, I can't wait to plunk down my money to be a social member when that's possible. Here are 5 reasons I'm really excited about Switchyards: 1. Atlanta…
No more books until I clear out my Pocket list (saved articles)8 Jun 2015 | 6:08 amAnyone who uses "read later" tools like Pocket (which I use) or Instapaper or Readlater knows what I'm talking about. You never get to the list! It just keeps piling up with things you think you want to read but its next to impossible to find time to knock the list down. I have a goal of reading at least a book a month this year, and so far its going great. I've read six books so far in 2015 which puts me ahead of my goal, and the most recent one I finished, The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One, is a three-part series. And I REALLY want to read…
TheFunded Founder Institute News
Peerby Wins "Most Radical Innovation of 2015", Zipmark Partners with Winestyr, and other Grad News3 Jul 2015 | 4:05 pmSince launching in 2009, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 1,310 new technology companies across 85 cities, 40 countries, and six continents. These companies have gone on to do great things, and create over 10,000+ new jobs. Over the past week, Peerby Wins "Most Radical Innovation of 2015", Zipmark Partners with Winestyr, and other Grad News Below is a roundup of recent Founder Institute Graduates in the news: Peerby wins the "most radical innovations" of 2015 award, as well as the Jury Prize in a competition organized by newspaper De Standaard and the…
A Reality Check: What Being an Entrepreneur is Really Like2 Jul 2015 | 3:15 pmFounder Insight gives you feedback from the startup trenches. In this post from his blog, Berlin Founder Institute mentor, Ramzi Rizk, highlights the challenges startups face. Regardless of what ecosystem a founder calls home, he can be certain that others in every part of the globe will experience his triumphs and tribulations at some point or another. Below, It Takes a Village has been republished with permission: Being a startup founder is not the glamorous occupation outsiders make it to be. For wide-eyed first-time founders, reality sets in very quickly. Regardless of how you get…
The Importance of Timing the Market for a Startup1 Jul 2015 | 1:25 pmGabe Zichermann is the leading expert on gamification – using the power of games to engage customers and build strong loyal communities. He has written four books on the subject of Gamification, his most recent book being Gamification by Design 2. Zichermann is the founder of Gamification.co the leading publication for the industry, as well as the co-founder and CEO of Dopamine, Inc. a creative agency that provides consulting services to businesses looking to employ gamification. Zichermann is also the Co-Director of the New York City Founder Institute. As…
Learn How to Build Your Local Startup Ecosystem with the Founder Institute30 Jun 2015 | 10:30 amDo you want to be a leader in your local startup ecosystem? The Founder Institute (the world's largest entrepreneur training and startup launch program) is on a mission to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and is looking for local startup leaders to launch new chapters around the world. Founder Institute Directors play an essential role in their local economy, share in the value of the companies they help create, and are included in FI's global network of entrepreneurial leaders. If you want to see what some of our current Directors are up to, see some recent director news below: Sergio…
Change The World One Gift Card at a Time29 Jun 2015 | 4:15 pmChoosing to become an entrepreneur is usually fueled by the desire to be different. For many, the drive comes from the desire to create a meaningful life. Some want to create a life that differs from the norm, while some want to build a company that completely changes the norm. One such startup currently working to make a difference globally is Changefindr. A Los Angeles Founder Institute Graduate, Changefindr is a web application that provides a platform for individuals to donate to various charities using balances remaining on gift cards or prepaid cards. Though gift cards are a…
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
On the value of Judgement8 Jun 2015 | 9:30 amWe're told not to judge, lest we be judged. But we are judged, by our customers choosing between us and a competitor, by our employees choosing whether to entwine their careers with our fate, and by our peers, allies, and passive-aggressive antagonists on social media. We're instructed to respect others, especially other cultures. And it's true that new perspectives yield new insight, and that we're generally plagued with a bias against the unfamiliar, especially when it's convenient for our egos to deny that a new idea is superior to our own. But battling our emotional distain of…
Scaling by "delegation" isn't good enough24 Feb 2015 | 9:00 amFounding a company is a selfish act. It will consume every waking moment for the next 1-10 years. It's an act of defiance and irreverence towards competitors and the status quo. That matches well with the life of a 20-something — fueled by the energy of youth, too young to be jaded, with no financial or social dependents. Not all selfish acts are bad ones! Young founders may fancy themselves wizards of coding, design, and salesmanship, because they're individually excellent; I did! But it should be obvious that those skills don't imply they can build a team of 75…
Fermi estimation for startup business models13 Jan 2015 | 9:45 amEarly in a company's life, you don't know anything. Often your best estimate of any metric or market behavior or business model component is at best accurate within a power of ten, for example "expected conversion rate between 0.5% and 5%" or "cost to acquire a customer between $50 and $500″ or "average monthly revenue per customer between $20 and $200." Estimating with these extremely wide ranges can be surprisingly useful. In physics it's called "Fermi Estimation." It's useful because it's easy to get to a…
New Year's Questions (neé Resolutions)27 Dec 2014 | 9:25 amDo New Year's resolutions work? Studies say "no." Maybe asking good questions of yourself is a better way to lift your eyes to the horizon of possibilities for 2015. What good questions have you not taken the time to ask? For boot-strappers: How could you double your take-home profits without additional hires? (Hint: it's usually increasing price, not cutting costs.) Since money is precious, it's wise to save but unwise to save so much that it hurts the business, so what's the single most impactful thing you could spend non-trivial money on? For example,…
The wrongness of relativism16 Dec 2014 | 9:30 amInstagram had 13 employees when they sold for a billion dollars. Was there any startup founder who didn't feel depressed when that happened? Yes, depressed. All those years of toil and sacrifice, the pain of scaling a complex organization and a complex product, scratching and clawing for revenue growth month after month, and you'll never have that sort of exit, and 26-year-old Kevin Systrom did it in only 2 years, with 13 buddies, with $0 in revenue, never having had to worry about gross margins or hiring at scale or making sales calls or running out of money. "It's…
Sramana Mitra
Bootstrapping with Angel Money: Josh Levy, CEO of BeenVerified (Part 4)5 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amSramana Mitra: I'm interested in more granular information. Josh Levy: I think TV is a great example. In 2007 to 2010, television was cheap. The market and the economy were down. It was a great time... ___
Catching Up On Readings: Tech Eating Jobs?5 Jul 2015 | 8:06 amAs all industries embrace technology, this TechCrunch article looks at the various scenarios for potential implications on jobs and employment. For this week's posts, click on the paragraph... ___
Bootstrapping Using Services: Manish Sood, CEO of Reltio (Part 7)5 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amSramana Mitra: Why did you raise money? What was the thinking behind raising money? Manish Sood: The thinking behind raising money was that we had validated the opportunity and had substantial... ___
Building Significant Revenue with Inbound Marketing from Israel: Pepperi CEO Ofer Yourvexel (Part 7)5 Jul 2015 | 5:00 amSramana Mitra: You have a lot of customers. You said you have customers in 50 countries. Does that mean that you also have customers in accounts that could become much larger because you already had... ___
Bootstrapping with Angel Money: Josh Levy, CEO of BeenVerified (Part 3)4 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amSramana Mitra: What are the use cases? What are the drivers to want to subscribe to something like this? In my life, for instance, if I need to check somebody out, I go to LinkedIn and look at their... ___
Carol Roth » Business Unplugged
Gone Fishing – Happy Fourth of July 20152 Jul 2015 | 4:00 amIn celebration of the Independence Day holiday weekend here in the United States, we will be taking today off. Please remember to unplug, connect with friends and family, and recharge your battery. This is incredibly important for small business owners. Have a wonderful holiday and be safe. We will be back on Tuesday, July 7.
The Most Important Must-Do for Managing Multiple Projects1 Jul 2015 | 4:00 amAs a solopreneur and professional services provider, you've got two options when you have multiple clients to satisfy, and multiple projects to tackle. Focus on just one project at a time, finishing one before starting on the next. Work on multiple projects simultaneously. I've discovered A is often not practical or possible. If clients need [...]
How to Write Effective Job Descriptions on Your Website30 Jun 2015 | 4:00 amIt's hard enough to attract high-quality job applicants — but what do you do when you drive applicants away by posting shoddy job descriptions on your website? Here are a few tips to make your job descriptions generate interest from the people you most want to hire: First and foremost, write job descriptions in an [...]
Providing Benefits May Have Big Benefits for Your Company25 Jun 2015 | 4:00 amThis post brought to you by MetLife Small Business. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Carol Roth – Carolroth.com. Administrative burden or sound business strategy? This is an issue that small business owners will need to weigh when they consider whether providing comprehensive benefits makes sense for their company. Small businesses need [...]
Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small Businesses24 Jun 2015 | 4:00 amWith every passing week comes a story about some technological snafu at big companies—and even in the government. But small businesses are very vulnerable to cybersecurity issues, both because they lack the resources of big enterprises, and because their lack of resources means that an attack can be even more devastating. Here are some best [...]
Lessons Learned
Intuit Labs Takeover26 Jun 2015 | 1:07 pmThis week, the Lean Startup took over the blog on Intuit Labs with original stories centered around experimentation as a method for investigating all parts of a business or product idea. The week's posts included case studies, tips, Q&As, startup stories, and more.We started on Monday with a conversation between me and Intuit's own Ben Blank. Ben and I talk about spotting next-generation leaders, how there are no tricks or tools for innovators, and giving corporate innovation teams permission to experiment. We also posted Lean Startup 101, in case you're looking for a refresher or…
Speak at The Lean Startup Conference 201517 Jun 2015 | 7:06 amWhat follows is a guest post by Kirsten Cluthe, the new Editorial Director of The Lean Startup Conference. Kirsten is leading our program development and speaker selection -- curating a four day, multi-tracked, 2000-person event. With a career that's spanned from the music industry to General Electric to the Olympics, Kirsten brings deep event programming experience to the Lean Startup teamAs the editorial director for this year's conference, I look forward to bringing the latest thinking on Lean Startup practices to the global community. Over the last few weeks, I've had the chance to…
The Lean Startup Conference 201522 Apr 2015 | 6:32 amA massive rain storm blew through San Francisco in the middle of last year's Lean Startup Conference. We woke up to a city-wide power outage, and Day Two of the conference had stopped before it started. No lights, no wifi, and no A/V.What could have been a disaster evolved into a valuable, unplanned MVP: attendees embraced the three hours of darkness, while we organized unconference sessions and Q&A discussions, and gathered people in windowed rooms for impromptu meetings. These community-led experiences were so much fun -- and became a source of such serendipitous, fruitful connections…
Getting feedback from customers when security is an issue13 Apr 2015 | 8:00 amThis is the second of several early excerpts I'll be sharing from The Leader's Guide, a 4-color, 250-page, hardcover and digital book which will be offered exclusively through Kickstarter--according to my agreement with my publisher, Crown, the book can never be sold in stores. As usual, I'm leaving out important details like company names in order to respect their privacy while the book is still in early draft form. The campaign ends on Wednesday, April 15--learn more about it here. In its early days, REDACTED faced a challenge that will be familiar to many entrepreneurs: They…
Excerpt from the Introduction to The Leader's Guide9 Apr 2015 | 5:00 pmThis is the first of several early excerpts I'll be sharing from The Leader's Guide, a 4-color, 250-page, hardcover and digital book which will be offered exclusively through Kickstarter--according to my agreement with my publisher, Crown, the book can never be sold in stores. As usual, I'm leaving out important details like company names in order to respect their privacy while the book is still in early draft form. The campaign ends on Wednesday, April 15--learn more about it here.MVP's help you discover "what really matters"The technology research and development team of REDACTED…
The Entreprenette Gazette
Build a Perfect List of Stores30 Jun 2015 | 5:48 amBack in the mid-1990's, when I was working in the movie industry, Hollywood was rocked to its foundations by the infamous Heidi Fleiss scandal If you don't remember her, Ms. Fleiss was the famed "Hollywood Madame", who had an even more famous little black book, where kept the names of some of Hollywood's elites… along with all of their naughty little deeds When she was finally arrested, the prosecutors tried everything they could to pry the names out of that book…. but to no avail. Ms. Fleiss would not reveal any of them. And that brings me to…
The 5 Biggest Mistakes in Business2 Feb 2015 | 9:00 pmRunning a product line is like conducting a symphony. You have to be able to coordinate a lot of different pieces and make them all fit together smoothly. When you get it right, your business sounds like sweet music. But get it wrong and the results are a noisy mess… In that spirit, I want to share with you the 5 biggest mistakes I made when starting my first handbag company… along with some simple ways to avoid them. My Start When I first started out with my handbag company I was in the dark about pretty much everything, and it seemed that I was the only one who…
The Simple Formula That Will Get You More Sales8 Jan 2015 | 4:00 amIt's been said that in life, timing is everything. And nowhere is this truer than in the product business. And when it comes to this business, here's another truth: you may have the greatest product in the world, but if you try to sell it at the wrong time, you'll struggle to make money. Fortunately, there's a very easy way find out when you should be selling… and when you shouldn't. Follow the seasonal trade shows. Throughout the year, hungry buyers flock to these trade shows, looking for the next best thing to add to their seasonal inventories. In this…
August Checklist5 Aug 2014 | 5:00 amI know it can be hard to keep up. Believe me, I know. But I can tell you from experience, that being organized and having a checklist is one way to start tackling the hard stuff. What I like about a list, is that when I get a brain freeze and don't know what I should do that day, I can get some ideas from my task list and see what I can wrap my thoughts around and actually get something done, rather than sit there wondering……. yes sometimes sitting there is the best thing on the menu, but I bet you'll feel more full if you take charge and get ahead. Download my August…
How to Find Popular Celebrities Every Day of the Week29 Jul 2014 | 5:00 amGet ready to learn a few more of my ninja tricks to get your products to celebs all year long so you can continue to turn yourself into a celebrity designer One of the fastest ways to get your product seen is to find the most popular celebrities each month. What is the #1 fastest way to see who the most popular celebrities are? Magazines! Magazines tend to find their "favorites" and then stalk them. Keeping track of who is popular is a fairly easy task. No matter where you live, here are a few ways you can find the hotties and get them your products. The…
Eating Paleo, Confidence and Building a Huge Blog with Juli Bauer of PaleOMG29 Jun 2015 | 9:02 amWould you like to eat healthier but don't know where to start? Wouldn't it be nice if you felt comfortable in your own skin? What if you knew what foods tasted great and made you look, perform, and feel better? And then, what if all these foods could give you the confidence to build a blog that millions of people have read? This is exactly why I interviewed New York Times Best Selling Author Juli Bauer of PaleOMG.com. Juli breaks down why the processed foods we are eating with all the additives and chemicals, usually turn to sugar in our bodies and what delicious foods we can…
4 Ways Building a Company Taught Me More Than College Could26 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amI'm not ashamed to say that I didn't attend college. Culturally, being Indian, it's quite strange to hear that. I was very close to attending, and had my opportunity at Gravity4 not come along (pre-launch), I would be sitting in a classroom probably learning about how a Roman empire conquered a piece of land that doesn't affect my life. Telling Indian parents that I was planning to drop out of school and not attend college wasn't something I was looking forward to, but that is a whole other story that can be shared later. Last July I made the decision that I was not going to attend…
How to Create Habits Like a Millionaire and Live Your Perfect Day22 Jun 2015 | 8:25 amDo you wish you could wakeup and have your perfect day everyday? Ever wonder what the habits of the most successful people on the planet are like? This is exactly what Jaime Tardy wondered when she started the Eventual Millionaire Podcast. Since then she has interviewed over 150 millionaires and become an expert on building systems in your business to free up two of our most finite resources, money and time. Listen in as Jaime and I dive into exactly what she has learned from these millionaires and how we can put it into use in our everyday lives. Listen Now. Quoteables "Your time is…
The Art of StorytELLING19 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amIn 2009, Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker decided to put a price on storytelling. The pair would buy "junk" worth little to nothing and then re-sell it for 300 times its original value. All the proceeds were donated to charity. Why did they do this? Simply put, making a killer profit wasn't their point. I believe the point was to reveal the value of StorytELLING in the process of selling. They didn't do this just once; they did it time and time again. There are even examples where the markup they achieved went well beyond 300% of the initial purchase price. In one case, Josh and Rob…
Making Travel and Changing the World a Priority with Carrie Rich17 Jun 2015 | 8:32 amDo you have a personal leadership development plan? Would you like to change the world but aren't sure where to start? Today, I talk to my friend Carrie Rich, CEO of the Global Good Fund about making travel a priority and how individuals can change the world. Carrie is an incredible woman who shares some amazing stories from across the globe with me. Imagine going to Africa while you were pregnant and being blessed by Maasai Warriors. How about getting Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus to be a mentor? Carrie shares all this and more with me in this week's episode of the…
Co-Working, Mastermind Group Tips & Excellent Headlines from The Onion (FS117)3 Jul 2015 | 5:00 amOn this week's episode we explore a handful of current events, sharing some news of our own along the way. Co-working experiences evaluated Barrett's Elon Musk (+ Peter Thiel) obsession Ideas for telling others' stories (instead of your own) A quick lil' mastermind trick. That's a few of the goodies we dive into in this episode. Enjoy! It's better to listen on the go! Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe: (how to) iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, RSS, Download A current events episode from entrepreneurs who know their stuff!Tweet This…
One Entrepreneur's Story: Joseph Michael / Learn Scrivener Fast30 Jun 2015 | 5:45 am"It started as a whim in a coffee shop," explains Joseph Michael, creator of Learn Scrivener Fast, an online course that teaches students how to use the popular writing program Scrivener. "I had been trying to get a pizza delivery job, but got rejected over and over. I just wanted to make some extra dough on the side." The pun may have been intentional, but there was nothing funny about Joseph's financial situation back then. Scrivener is a popular writing tool for authors. It focuses on structure and editing tools for long-form text. Bestselling novelist Michael Marshall Smith…
How to Run an Affiliate Program (Without Being a Douchebag, FS116)26 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amStarting an affiliate program could be a great way to increase revenue if you already have a product for sale. But it's not easy and there's a lot of ways it can go horribly wrong. Not to mention the fact that this industry is notoriously sleazy. In this episode we share how to manage your own affiliate program, helping you think through things we've had both good and bad experiences with, including: Open vs closed affiliate programs How affiliate programs go wrong Corbett's Clickbank story Barrett's incredible rant about how his heroes let him down through…
5 Questions to Define Your Target Audience23 Jun 2015 | 5:00 am1. Should I start by thinking about a product to sell, or an audience to sell it to? Best answer I've heard to this question: Yes. I hear this question from people with an idea all the time. You will need both a product to sell and an audience to sell it to, of course, to have a sustainable business. I can find you successful examples of people who did it both ways. For example, Jason Glaspey built PaleoPlan.com, a simple paleo menu plan, without an audience. Then he sold that through other people's audiences and slowly but surely built his own audience all the while. On the other…
How to Manage a Side Project With a Full Time Job (FS115)19 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amWe love side projects. Most of our successful projects started out as side projects during full time employment. But finding the balance between a side project and a day job often feels impossible. Then you try to throw in a little time for yourself outside of the jobs and side projects and the whole thing topples over. So, if so many businesses are started out as side projects, how can we balance both staying employed for as long as necessary and finding enough time to build our side project? That's what we get into in the show today, complete with several examples of very successful…
'Shark Tank' investor Robert Herjavec explains the 4 most common mistakes people make in a pitch5 Jul 2015 | 11:05 amOver six seasons each of "Shark Tank" and its Canadian predecessor, "Dragon's Den," Robert Herjavec has seen thousands of pitches. Each "Shark Tank" segment lasts about 10 minutes, but the footage is edited from typically an hour-long presentation by an entrepreneur or team of them trying to sell a piece of their company for capital that will allow them to grow. The show may be entertaining, but it involves real money and requires the same pitching fundamentals that an entrepreneur would need before any other elite investor. After seeing so many hours of pitches, Herjavec has recognized…
Your incredibly hard job could have a surprising benefit for your health5 Jul 2015 | 9:57 amDays spent crunching numbers or reviewing manuscripts could drive you crazy — but could also protect you from cognitive decline later in life. That's according to new research, which suggests jobs that involve certain kinds of challenging mental tasks can boost memory and thinking years down the road. The study, led by Francisca Then, Ph.D., at the University of Leipzig in Germany, involved about 1,000 participants over age 75. Every 1.5 years for eight years, the researchers tested the participants' memory and cognitive ability. They also asked participants about their professional…
5 books that inspired billionaire CEO Elizabeth Holmes5 Jul 2015 | 8:57 amTheranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was named No. 1 on Business Insider's Silicon Valley 100 list this year due to her remarkable rise to success. Since dropping out of Stanford at age 19 to found her health technology company in 2003, Holmes has raised $400 million in venture capital and become a billionaire in the process. Theranos is founded on the idea that a single drop of blood can provide enough information for a complete, inexpensive blood test. It already has a deal with Walgreens and in early July reached a major achievement when the FDA approved Theranos' herpes test. In an…
This founder sold her first startup for $110 million — here's why she's not following the same playbook for her second5 Jul 2015 | 7:16 amMariam Naficy built her first startup fast. It was first to market, first to grab the biggest share. It raised money fast and then sold fast. When she was 28, she and her cofounder Varsha Rao sold their online makeup company Eve for $110 million to Idealab. But Naficy is largely ignoring the Eve playbook as she builds her new startup: Minted, a crowdsourced designer stationary and arts marketplace. "At Eve, I hired a whole corporate management team in six months. We raised 26 million almost immediately in the first year," Naficy said. "That was appropriate at the time, but it's not right…
These 7 simple 'power poses' can transform your day and change your life5 Jul 2015 | 7:00 amTough day? A lot of how we're feeling is manifested in the way we sit, breathe, and position our bodies. When we're anxious, our heart rate and blood pressure climb and our breathing gets fast and shallow. In response, our "fight-or-flight" response kicks in, turning temporary stress into a cycle of negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. But you don't have to ditch the office and go for a run to transform your day. All it takes is a little movement, at least according to Happify, a website and app that uses games and tasks based on positive psychology to make you happier. Most…
Business Planning
Execution Trumps Strategy18 Jun 2015 | 11:20 amThe results are in. Execution trumps strategy. Your business plan may have great strategies, but it will be a great failure if executed poorly. So just hire the right people, right? Turns out the answer is not what you think. At least according to a a recent Harvard Business Review Article. Here are their five myths about effective execution: Myth 1: Execution Equals Alignment The typical approach to execution is to translate strategies into specific objectives, assign them to employees, use tools such as management by objectives and balanced scorecards to measure results, then…
Is Balance Possible?18 Nov 2014 | 1:39 pmNow here's a frank perspective: Balance doesn't work. So don't even try. Accept the fact that the only way to really make something happen is to go "full out" at it, with everything you have. Such is the claim by Chuck Blakeman in his recent article in Inc. magazine. He writes: "Momentum doesn't come from balance, but from giving it your all up front. An airplane burns up to 50% of its fuel just getting to cruise altitude. Most businesses do too." And: "Live out your highest priorities — everything else should play 2nd fiddle…
B Corp As A Competitive Edge?22 Sep 2014 | 11:40 amLast week, I attended a celebration for B corps in Colorado. These are for-profit companies certified by a nonprofit called B Lab for achieving social and environmental goals along with business ones. What I noticed differently from other discussions among B Corps in the past, was a stronger focus not only on this vibrant community of like-minded business people — there are now more than 1000 B corps in the US, including Patagonia, Etsy, and Seventh Generation, and dozens in Colorado, including New Belgium Brewing, GoLite, and Teatulia. I also noticed folks talking about the B corp…
Women Entrepreneurs Bring Unique Strengths2 Jul 2014 | 1:39 pmThe corporate "glass ceiling" prevents many women from advancing above a certain level in Corporate America. For example, men hold the top position in 98% of Fortune 500 companies. So increasing numbers of ambitious female entrepreneurs have opted to increase their influence and impact by running their own company. And in so doing, they bring unique strengths that deliver new vitality to their companies and to the world. One of those strengths is deep emotional commitment to their communities. A recent report entitled Forget the Glass Ceiling: Build Your Business Without One,…
Business Plans vs. Strategic Plans1 May 2014 | 10:04 amThere is often a great deal of confusion about the difference between business plans and strategic plans. And, frankly, they are similar in many ways, and since each plan has to be tailored to the organization it is prepared for, one can easily blur into the other. In both cases, you begin with internal and external research (often called a "scan") to get clarity on the best direction for the organization and where its best opportunities are to obtain the funds it needs to succeed. What sets a business plan apart is its singular focus on market and operational feasibility. In…
Boston Business News - Local Boston News | Boston Business Journal
Worcester Academy purchases remaining St. Vincent Hospital property2 Jul 2015 | 10:42 amWorcester Academy has paid $3 million for former St. Vincent Hospital property on Providence Street in Worcester, paving the way for a new performing arts center. The transaction closed June 30 and is the third such purchase Worcester Academy has made from St. Vincent, which sold its former home to developer Liberty Properties and moved further downtown in 2000. In 2007, Worcester Academy purchased six acres from Liberty Cos. In 2010, the school purchased another three acres from the same developer.…
Despite AG report, mental health and addiction advocate says problems can be overcome2 Jul 2015 | 9:29 amAttorney General Maura Healey's report on the disconnect of mental health services within insurers and providers is no surprise to Vic DiGravio. President and CEO for the Association for Behavioral Healthcare, a lobbying group that represents 86 behavioral health care organizations, DiGravio says that finding a way for providers to treat mental health conditions as if they were medical conditions is his biggest priority. "As we work towards the 'Triple Aim' (better quality, increased access, controlled…
Vertex wins big with approval of new cystic fibrosis drug2 Jul 2015 | 9:09 amThe Food and Drug Administration has approved a potential blockbuster drug by Boston-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VRTX) to treat cystic fibrosis that is expected to make the company profitable within three years. The drug, called Orkambi, is a combination of the company's existing drug, Kalydeco, with a new drug which makes it usable by about four times as many patients with the disease. The drug is expected to generate $5 billion in revenue by 2018. A letter from the FDA confirmed the…
Will New Hampshire's new ban on drivers holding mobile phones make the state safer? The data's not clear.2 Jul 2015 | 8:30 amWith New Hampshire joining the ranks of a dozen-plus states that ban driver use of hand-held mobile phones, it seemed a good time to ask a simple question: Do the bans really make us safer? Common sense would dictate so. Talking while driving isn't very smart. Who hasn't had the experience of seeming some knucklehead commit a traffic atrocity while yapping away on a phone firmly planted to his or her ear? The reality, however, is a little more complicated. A review of National Highway Traffic…
Suffolk University sheds buildings, redirects proceeds for campus upgrades2 Jul 2015 | 8:29 amSuffolk University has sold two of its Boston-campus properties for $43.5 million to an affiliate of Center Court Properties of New York. The deal closed July 1 and came roughly five months after Suffolk first tapped JLL's capital markets team in Boston to list the properties. The sale included the Gleason L. & Hiram J. Archer building at 20 Derne St. and the Frank J. Donahue Building at 41 Temple St. Based at 156 West 56 St. in New York, Center Court Properties is run by David Ridini, Dave Raftery…
James Clear
The Power of Placebo: This Is What Happens When You Believe You're Taking Steroids2 Jul 2015 | 9:57 pmFifteen athletes were scattered around the room. Everyone was looking at Gideon Ariel. "We're going to give you steroids," he lied. It was 1972 and Ariel was conducting a study on athletic performance with his research partner William Saville. On this particular day, the two men were offering the athletes an interesting proposition. Ariel explained that the study would last for 11 weeks. The athletes would lift weights for the first 7 weeks and those who made the most improvement during that period would be rewarded with Dianabol, an anabolic steroid, for the final 4 weeks of training.
Two Harvard Professors Reveal One Reason Our Brains Love to Procrastinate29 Jun 2015 | 11:38 pmSometime around 2006, two Harvard professors began to study why we procrastinate. Why do we avoid doing the things we know we should do, even when it's clear that they are good for us? To answer this question, the two professors — Todd Rogers and Max Bazerman — conducted a study where participants were asked whether they would agree to enroll in a savings plan that automatically placed two percent of their paycheck in a savings account. Nearly every participant agreed that saving money was a good idea, but their behavior said otherwise: One version of the question asked participants to…
How to Stop Procrastinating and Boost Your Willpower by Using "Temptation Bundling"25 Jun 2015 | 3:06 pmLike many people, Katy Milkman knew she should be exercising more. But each day she left her job as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania feeling exhausted and drained. By the time she made it home, all she wanted to do was curl up on the couch and read a book or turn on her favorite TV show. On this particular day, she wanted to read The Hunger Games. That's when she had an idea. What if she created a rule for herself? What if she was only allowed to read The Hunger Games when she went to the gym? Temptation Bundling "I struggle at the end of a long day to get myself to the…
Lessons From a Vexillonaire: Creativity, Simplicity, and the Carefully Constrained Life22 Jun 2015 | 1:41 pmThe flag of Chicago is widely regarded as one of the best city flags in the United States, perhaps in the world. It is certainly one of the most popular. You'll find the flag of Chicago printed on t-shirts and mugs, tattooed on local musicians, and flying along streets, over rivers, and above doors throughout the city. The flag has three white bars and two blue stripes. The white areas represent the three main sides of the city: North, West, and South. The blue stripes stand for the north and south branches of the Chicago River flowing into Lake Michigan. In the center of the flag, there…
Fast Growth is Overrated18 Jun 2015 | 11:12 pmWe live in a world obsessed with what we do. What did you earn from your job last year? What place did your team finish in the standings? What trophy did you win? What award did you get? What measure of social status did you receive? In moderation, this focus on what is fine. I like getting results just as much as the next person. I like performing well. I like being on top of my game. Achievement can be a good thing. However, our obsessive focus on what we're winning can also blind us from understanding how, precisely, people become winners. If you focus too much on the finish line,…
Account Based Marketing In The 21st Century3 Jul 2015 | 4:58 amThe old business model that prevailed during the past century has been replaced, suddenly and with great finality, by the massive explosion
Female Founders: 21 Amazing Apps (And Tools) Created By Women3 Jul 2015 | 4:09 amWomen are not well represented in technical or founder roles in new startups. If you work in the startup world, this is no
A New (And Exciting) Online Tool That Will Help Raise the Game of Your Sales Team3 Jul 2015 | 2:45 amFollowing on from its success in France, Tilkee is about to bring an exciting new sales tool across the Atlantic to the
Trying To Fund A New Business? Here Are Some Less Conventional Means1 Jul 2015 | 10:30 amGetting funding and investment for a new business isn't as simple today as it was ten or twenty years ago. Banks and
Is The Word "Entrepreneur" Finally Going Home?1 Jul 2015 | 5:48 amFrom 2016 Paris will become home to the world's largest digital business hub. Located in the Halle Freyssinet building in the heart
Startup Blog
Startup Blog Insights with Taffy Williams - How to Make Ideas Into a Viable Business1 Jul 2015 | 12:01 pmReference Article: 3 Factors turn a great idea into a valuable businessTaffy Williamsis the author of: Think Agile: How Smart Entrepreneurs Adapt in Order toSucceedHe writes for the Startup Blog and Examiner Charlotte, NC- small business and is also found on LinkedIn, Twitter @twilli2861 ColonialTDC , photo website, Google+, Facebook, and StartupGroup.
6 Steps help generate great leaders18 Jun 2015 | 6:34 amLeaders must be creative and agile in their thinking in order to create the leaders of tomorrow. It is easy to stand back and give orders and assume all knowledge resides with top management of the business. Working in this manner fails to utilize the skills and knowledge of the workforce, diminishes their critical thinking skills, and stifles their creativity. Failure to encourage and demand more agile and critical thinking from the team results in management having to figure out everything all alone.Good leaders develop the skills of their teams and those leaders learn…
5 Patterns agile leaders must monitor12 May 2015 | 7:06 amGuess we should have checked before coming! Small businesses are the back bone to our nation's economy. But old-school business models are no longer cutting it when small businesses face unexpected changes. These changes could be large scale, affecting their industry or even the nation. They can also be local and specific to their individual business. Savvy business owners are often aware of the changes that can affect their business directly and plan for events such as vendor loss, product shortages and staff leaving. But changes in regulations, economic conditions and…
Agile entrepreneurs know anything is possible27 Apr 2015 | 11:19 amYES YOU CAN! It is easy to develop a negative attitude or receive advice from negative people. This is especially true when tackling difficult situations. In my first turnaround, I was repeatedly told to walk away from the company because of major failings in the financial market place. The company was a text book case of a boiler-room style investment bank overselling the company's stock in an IPO. Adding to the complexity, the company's technology was not advanced enough to keep sophisticated investors excited. The over promotion caused the stock to move…
2 Considerations for agile succession planning22 Apr 2015 | 6:16 amYou may recall the character Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movie: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The comedy character was fashioned to resemble Mike Myers character, "Dr. Evil". While the movie as made for entertainment, the concept of having a Mini-Me is something many entrepreneurs and Boards of more established companies often neglect to consider before it is too late. Succession planning is a critical part of building to maintaining a successful business. Replacement of a key management figure may include a search firm seeking a new hire. The fees…
Get Xperts – Search Advertising and Excel Experts26 Jun 2015 | 6:29 amOn demand help from excel and search advertising experts. Target Audience: Small and medium businesses Website URL: www.GetXperts.com No. of Feedback Providers Requested: 5 Note to Feedback Providers: Please note that businesses are looking for in-depth feedback that gives them thorough, insightful and actionable input. A 'superficial' submission that does not add value, is not thorough (i.e. written in a hurry, with poor grammar, punctuation etc.) and does not offer any concrete, constructive feedback is not helpful and will be rejected. Feedback sought: 1) Look around the home…
Travelindicator – For Travel Ideas and Trip Inspiration21 Jun 2015 | 2:17 pmTravelindicator is an interactive data-driven travel guide that helps you find travel ideas and holiday destinations. Target Audience: People aged 15-65 who enjoy traveling Website URL: https://www.TravelIndicator.com No. of Feedback Providers Requested: 3 Feedback sought: 1) Is the purpose of the website clear upon seeing the home page for the first time? 2) Are the destination pages informative and is there any information you think we should look at adding to them? 3) Is the searching and filtering of travel destinations straightforward and does it give you the type of results that you…
BookSteam – Easy to use Appointment Scheduler12 May 2015 | 12:53 pmBookSteam is an all in one cloud based appointment scheduling software. Target Audience: Small and Large Businesses Website URL: http://www.BookSteam.com No. of Feedback Providers Requested: 3 Note to Feedback Providers: Please note that businesses are looking for in-depth feedback that gives them thorough, insightful and actionable input. A 'superficial' submission that does not add value, is not thorough (i.e. written in a hurry, with poor grammar, punctuation etc.) and does not offer any concrete, constructive feedback is not helpful and will be rejected. Feedback sought: 1)…
goingto.do – for all things to .do3 Apr 2015 | 2:30 pmgoingto.do is the best and easiest way to find something to do Target Audience: Everyone Website URL: www.goingto.do No. of Feedback Providers Requested: 3 Note to Feedback Providers: Please note that businesses are looking for in-depth feedback that gives them thorough, insightful and actionable input. A 'superficial' submission that does not add value, is not thorough (i.e. written in a hurry, with poor grammar, punctuation etc.) and does not offer any concrete, constructive feedback is not helpful and will be rejected. Feedback sought: 1) Look around the home page – what…
GANTTplanner – Turn Your Google Calendar Into A Gantt Chart20 Mar 2015 | 8:57 amGANTTplanner provides a better scheduling and planning view for your Google calendar. Target Audience: Agencies, Project Business. In general people in need of a better scheduling view for Google calendar Website URL: https://www.GANTTplanner.com No. of Feedback Providers Requested: 5 Note to Feedback Providers: Please note that businesses are looking for in-depth feedback that gives them thorough, insightful and actionable input. A 'superficial' submission that does not add value, is not thorough (i.e. written in a hurry, with poor grammar, punctuation etc.) and does not offer…
The Metropreneur Columbus
JobsOhio Unveils New Website to Further Drive Job Growth in the State3 Jul 2015 | 5:00 amJobsOhio, a non-profit economic development organization that helps businesses relocate, expand and prosper in Ohio, has unveiled a revamped website that will further drive the organization's goals. A strategic reorganization will help job creators easily access the information they need to make expansion decisions. "Job creators and consultants need to quickly and easily access all the information […]
Can Your Business Weather the Storm?2 Jul 2015 | 5:00 amThe dog days of summer are upon us, and it's no secret that the weather in Central Ohio has been less than ideal. Rain and severe storms have wreaked havoc throughout Ohio, causing damage to small businesses across the state. However, there are ways your business can be ready for these disasters in order to […]
Designing Local Helping Cities Develop Unique Identities1 Jul 2015 | 5:00 amLocal is a word heard often in reference to buying local or supporting local, but a new team of city planners is focused on designing local. The goal serves as the namesake for the business that launched in May 2014. Co-Founders Kyle Ezell, Amanda Golden and Josh Lapp are helping communities figure out what makes […]
Skip the Dishes Expands to First U.S. Market in Columbus30 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amFrom Canada to Columbus, the city's reputation as a testing ground – and its vibrant food scene – brought food delivery platform Skip the Dishes down from up north and into its first U.S. market. "Our strategy has been to go to market where there's great food," says Co-Founder Andrew Chau. He'd heard about Columbus' […]
Columbus Moves Up the Ranks in the Startup World29 Jun 2015 | 5:00 amIt's generally good news for startups in Columbus. While that may be the sentiment of the boots on the ground, two recent survey rankings highlight the positive climate. Last year, Thumbtack.com gave Columbus an impressive 'A+' in training & networking programs and 'As' and 'Bs' across the rest of the ranking board, earning the city […]
Visionwiz » Business and Technology blog, venture funding and Start ups
Equidam Will Help You To Know Exact Value Of Your Startup Company2 Jul 2015 | 11:52 pmEquidam: Equidam is a new startup that aims to help entrepreneurs understand, manage and disclose the value of their business. You can use Equidam to store files and gather all information about valuation in one place. How It Works: All you need to do is just click on register button and start collaborating with people who can help you to create a data for your company valuation. You can register as many collaborators as you want to the same Equidam profile. You and your colleagues can now go to the platform and start adding the first company. Choose to either fill in the information…
Find Perfect Date In Your Location Through Wenteroductions2 Jul 2015 | 1:29 amWenteroductions: Wentroductions is a new startup that aims to find you perfect date in your location by exploring facebook check ins or by matching other check in history through swarm. The only people who will see your information are other Wentroductions users who have meet your filter criteria and have at least 1 common checkin with you. How It Works: All you need to do is just connect your Swarm or Facebook account and set the criteria for who you'd like to meet. Wentroductions introduces you to other users who meet your criteria and have checked in to the same places as you on…
Find Where You Parked Your Car Through Simply-Park30 Jun 2015 | 11:21 pmSimply-Park: Simply-Park is a new startup (based on internet of things technology) that aims to find you where exactly you parked your car in crowded places. Simply-Park automatically detects that where you have parked your car. The App registers when and where you have parked and starts up the parking reminder. How It Works: All you need to do is just switch on Bluetooth on your smartphone and pair it with Simply-Park token. Install the App and it will connect to the token automatically. Simply-Park App reminds you after 25 minutes by default, respecting most popular parking limits.
Find Perfect Trip With Minimal Effort Via Stride25 Jun 2015 | 12:17 amMany great trip organizers and tour operators exist around the world, but how do you compare them and choose with confidence? Don't know? I would suggest you to try Stride. What Is Stride? Stride is a new startup that aims to help active travelers to find perfect trip with minimal effort. How It Works: Stride is creating the most comprehensive selection of active travel packages, curated destination guides, trusted reviews and travel expert advisors out there, so you don't have to plan every detail or scour the web yourself. By using it you can search thousands of pre-planned…
Buy & Sell Items From Local People Through Trove23 Jun 2015 | 10:57 pmTrove: Trove is a new startup that aims to help you buy and sell items from people near you. How It Works: When buying items in Trove, search for an item you like, and make an offer to the seller, which includes the price you're willing to pay and a time you'll pick the item up if the seller has provided his/her availability. At that time, if you've made an offer with your debit or credit card, we'll authorize your card for the price of the item. Don't worry! Funds are not released to the seller until you examine the item in person and confirm you'd like to buy it. If the…
Happywork TV Episode 40: Lay People Off Using Some Human Guidelines30 Jun 2015 | 5:25 amIn Episode 40 of Happywork TV, I talk about the next commitment in my book "Happywork." The commitment is a LONG one. Watch the video to see what you think. Short version: treat people with dignity when you have to fire them or lay them off. Try to imagine it's your own special little […] The post Happywork TV Episode 40: Lay People Off Using Some Human Guidelines appeared first on ChrisReimer.com.
Happywork TV Episode 39: Single-Tasking To Find a New Job23 Jun 2015 | 12:12 pmIn Episode 39 of Happywork TV, I explain where the hell I've been for the past four months! Sneak preview: 1. I prepared to launch a book 2. I was told I was losing my job 3. My book Happywork debuted to great reviews 4. I did quite a few fun speeches related to […] The post Happywork TV Episode 39: Single-Tasking To Find a New Job appeared first on ChrisReimer.com.
Thinking About Death2 Jun 2015 | 11:31 amI recently tweeted out an article from The Atlantic titled "What Good Is Thinking About Death?" Mark Reardon, my radio buddy from KMOX 1120 here in St Louis, saw the article and had me in the studio to discuss, of all things, DEATH. Not always the best subject, but the stoics may have been on […] The post Thinking About Death appeared first on ChrisReimer.com.
Eliminate the Online Distractions in Your Life12 May 2015 | 2:35 pmSomeone or something online bothering you? Eliminate it. Slice it out of your life with no remorse. Take a walk, breathe fresh air, and return to doing YOUR work. We all have a shortage of time – never enough time to get it all done. Ignore meaningless external stimuli, as there is clearly no shortage […] The post Eliminate the Online Distractions in Your Life appeared first on ChrisReimer.com.
Chris Reimer is Available For Hire4 Mar 2015 | 10:05 amI don't mean to darken your day, but I have some important news to share. Starting very soon, I'll no longer be employed by Kaldi's Coffee. Sad face emoji. I had been hired to be Marketing Director of both Kaldi's Coffee and a sister company, Honolulu Coffee (they have common ownership). Since my hire, needs […] The post Chris Reimer is Available For Hire appeared first on ChrisReimer.com.
How to Become an Entrepreneur With The Right Mindset1 Jul 2015 | 9:32 amIn a previous post, we looked at the skills that entrepreneurs have – and it is certainly true that our most successful entrepreneurs today have those skills. However, having the skills is only part of the story. The real key to success lies in your ability to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset – or the mental attitude that it takes to be an entrepreneur. Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical. - Howard SchultzClick To Tweet You may have already heard the term 'entrepreneurial mindset' – but what is it? And, more importantly,…
How to Start Your Own Small Business After College24 Jun 2015 | 8:26 amWith continued uncertainty in the job market and an economy still in recovery, starting a business straight out of college is an option that graduates are increasingly considering. In fact, around 60% of recent graduates say they would like to start their own business. However, with college debt at an all time high and graduates concerned about lack of experience and networks, the start-up rate for this group is much lower at 23%, according to research by the Kauffman Foundation. There is no such thing as a career for life anymore. 60% of graduates are unable to find work in their field and…
135 Inspirational Business Quotes For Motivation17 Jun 2015 | 7:50 amEntrepreneurship is tough. It's a craft that continuously teach you new things along your journey. There are highs, there are lows. No matter where you are as an entrepreneur, you need to learn from others. We all need inspiration and ideas from others that helps kick us into a higher gear. Here are 155 inspiring business quotes that will motivate you as an entrepreneur. 1. Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it." – William Durant 2. "You must expect great things of yourself before you can do…
21 Characteristics of an Entrepreneur (And How to Master Them)11 Jun 2015 | 1:04 pmAs an entrepreneur, you will need to master a number of skills to achieve success. From the ability to notice new business opportunities; to being happy when taking risks; from being a natural promoter to being particularly adept at cultivating networks than others. In fact, the range of skills that successful entrepreneurs demonstrate has led to some debate about whether or not entrepreneurs are born or made. Research carried out by Scott Shane of Case Western Research University in Ohio, for example, shows that the genetic tendency towards entrepreneurship is between 30 – 40% innate,…
How to Convert More Website Visitors Into Customers When Starting Your Business10 Jun 2015 | 9:48 amSometimes the secret to improving website traffic is not in the complicated search engine optimization tasks. Sounds ridiculous, right? We're going to look at the fundamental strategies that can boost your traffic statistics when you implement them. Many people don't monitor the performance of their websites to find out what is working and what is not working. Some people may have an inkling of what is happening on their site, maybe from the information they get from a particular tool. A number of people don't know how to take this information and convert it into actionable steps…
Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online
10.5 Social Media Tips to Build Your Social Media Following in 2015 and Onwards!4 Jul 2015 | 2:49 pmWhat were the four sites that your spent more than 5 minutes on, in the last 1 hour? One of the sites out of these 4 will most likely be a social media site – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or, maybe even Ello! Attention span of an average internet user is decreasing and so is his […] The post 10.5 Social Media Tips to Build Your Social Media Following in 2015 and Onwards! appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
DKSP EP08: How to Find Content Ideas for Your Next Killer Blog Post?28 Jun 2015 | 1:05 pmWelcome to Episode 8 of the DKSpeaks Podcast. Blogs thrive on fresh content and it is this fresh content that lies at the core of Blogging. One of the biggest reasons why blogs fail, after traffic problems of course, is the drought for fresh content. People start of blogging only to realize that after about […] The post DKSP EP08: How to Find Content Ideas for Your Next Killer Blog Post? appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
How to Build a Custom Landing Page for Your Blog Using Thrive Content Builder23 Jun 2015 | 11:49 amWhat is the one thing similar in the following blogs – SmartPassiveIncome, Copyblogger, OkDork and Neilpatel? If you are still struggling to find out, then let me answer the question for you. When you visit each of these blogs, you don't land onto their blogs directly. I mean, you don't see a list of articles […] The post How to Build a Custom Landing Page for Your Blog Using Thrive Content Builder appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
10 Absolutely Essential Tools You Need For Effective Twitter Marketing19 Jun 2015 | 2:46 pmHow Many Retweets did you get for your latest Blog Post? None! I am not surprised. Because I was no different until about 6 months back. I had almost 10K followers on Twitter which I had built about 3 years back. I did not turn to Twitter for the last 3 years primarily because of […] The post 10 Absolutely Essential Tools You Need For Effective Twitter Marketing appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
DKSP EP07: 8 Important Things To Do After You Have Published a Blog Post14 Jun 2015 | 2:55 pmWelcome to episode 7 of the DKSpeaks podcast. Some of you had sent me some feedback on my earlier episodes and had asked me to make this podcast a weekly affair. I just wanted let you all know that I am working on it and we might soon get in to a weekly frequency for […] The post DKSP EP07: 8 Important Things To Do After You Have Published a Blog Post appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
Start Up Donut blog feed
Location, Location, Location – it's not all about London!29 Jun 2015 | 1:28 amWhen it comes to establishing your start-up, choosing the right location is one of the hardest decisions you'll have to make. Many enthusiastic business owners feel drawn to London because that's where all the action is, right? Wrong. Well not all of it anyway! There are many fantastic locations around the country that could be just the place to get your start-up off the ground – here's why… Local talent is better Believe it or not, not all of the nation's talent has flocked to London. Among other things, the UK is home to many fantastic universities based all around the country,…
Four ways to make your small business look bigger25 Jun 2015 | 2:49 amWhether you currently run your business from your home or even your local coffee shop, all businesses must start somewhere. Giving the impression that your business is larger than it actually is could help you reach more customers and compete with the big players in your market. These four tips could help you to do just that... 1 Get online Some 90% of the UK's population are active online, yet, surprisingly, 45% of SMEs in the UK still do not have a website. When a potential customer hears about your business the first thing they will do is search online, so it is important to have an online…
Bootstrapping vs crowdfunding infographic22 Jun 2015 | 1:59 am
How to fund your business growth ambitions17 Jun 2015 | 6:40 amWhether you become a sole trader (ie are self-employed) or set up a partnership or limited company, starting your own business is relatively simple, quick and inexpensive, which partly explains why so many people continue to do it. Last year, a record-breaking 581,173 new businesses were registered at Companies House. Per capita, more new businesses are started in the UK than in the USA. However, the survival rate for new businesses remains low. About half of all new UK businesses fail within three years and 90% are gone within 10 years. And only 4% of start-ups achieve a million-pound…
Inspirational quotes every business person should read15 Jun 2015 | 2:00 amFrom http://stratxcorporate.com/industry-insights/-/30-inspirational-quotes-every-business-person-needs-to-read_32/
SKMurphy, Inc.
Have a Happy 4th of July in 20154 Jul 2015 | 7:43 amI for one love fireworks and look forward to them every year. I love watching them exploding overhead after a picnic in the park. Happy 4th of July. History of fireworks on the 4th of July Forrest Wickman is his article "The Rockets' Red, White, and Blue Glare" explains that fireworks were used in Philadelphia independence celebration on July 4, 1777. The Pennsylvania Evening Post wrote that in Philadelphia, "The evening was closed with the ring of bells, and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons,…
Client News: Bring on the Leads2 Jul 2015 | 7:56 amPress Release Leads to Local Coverage International Contact, Inc., a leader in media translation and localization, announced the appointment of Ron Fredericks to the role of chief technology officer in a recent press release. It was picked up by San Francisco Business Journal and resulted in print coverage in their "People on the Move" section. While International Contact is a global company with large multi-national clients, they believe that the local touch is important to maintain their outstanding personalized services. Why do a press release? Press releases are a good way to…
Client Growth Spurs New Office and Key Hires1 Jul 2015 | 8:22 amDuring the last couple of years while most companies were down or flat, Voler Systems has been steadily growing, some years they have even doubled year over year revenue. As a result they have recently expanded into new offices and made some new hires for key personnel including VP of Engineering and Director of Business Development. Since 2009, SKMurphy, Inc. has been Voler Systems' content development partner. Hands-on activities we have done for them: newsletter & blog articles website content and development finding speaking engagement talk development, rehearsals and dry-runs…
Quotes For Entrepreneurs–June 201530 Jun 2015 | 7:26 amYou can follow @skmurphy to get these quotes for entrepreneurs hot off the mojo wire or wait until they are collected in a blog post at the end of each month. Enter your E-mail address if you would like have new blog posts sent to you. Quotes For Entrepreneurs–-June 2015 "Perhaps Hell is nothing more than an enormous conference of those who, with little or nothing to say, take an eternity to say it." Dudley C. Stone It's a great quote but the source is probably wrong. The only Dudley C. Stone I can find was an Oakland schoolteacher: (from Oakland Wiki for Dudley C. Stone)…
Quotes From Whispers Under Ground, Broken Homes, and Foxglove Summer26 Jun 2015 | 7:33 amSome quotes from "Whispers Under Ground", "Broken Homes", and "Foxglove Summer." They are the third, fourth, and fifth novels in Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" series of novels about Peter Grant, a London Police Constable and apprentice magician. I bought these three on the strength of his first book I had the feeling that Aaronovitch succumbed to "Game of Thrones" disease–not greyscale but "literary elephantiasis"–where he is afraid to bring anything to a conclusion because his series has become so…
How to Become an Entrepreneur With The Right Mindset1 Jul 2015 | 9:32 amIn a previous post, we looked at the skills that entrepreneurs have – and it is certainly true that our most successful entrepreneurs today have those skills. However, having the skills is only part of the story. The real key to success lies in your ability to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset – or the mental attitude that it takes to be an entrepreneur. Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical. - Howard SchultzClick To Tweet You may have already heard the term 'entrepreneurial mindset' – but what is it? And, more importantly,…
How to Start Your Own Small Business After College24 Jun 2015 | 8:26 amWith continued uncertainty in the job market and an economy still in recovery, starting a business straight out of college is an option that graduates are increasingly considering. In fact, around 60% of recent graduates say they would like to start their own business. However, with college debt at an all time high and graduates concerned about lack of experience and networks, the start-up rate for this group is much lower at 23%, according to research by the Kauffman Foundation. There is no such thing as a career for life anymore. 60% of graduates are unable to find work in their field and…
135 Inspirational Business Quotes For Motivation17 Jun 2015 | 7:50 amEntrepreneurship is tough. It's a craft that continuously teach you new things along your journey. There are highs, there are lows. No matter where you are as an entrepreneur, you need to learn from others. We all need inspiration and ideas from others that helps kick us into a higher gear. Here are 155 inspiring business quotes that will motivate you as an entrepreneur. 1. Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it." – William Durant 2. "You must expect great things of yourself before you can do…
21 Characteristics of an Entrepreneur (And How to Master Them)11 Jun 2015 | 1:04 pmAs an entrepreneur, you will need to master a number of skills to achieve success. From the ability to notice new business opportunities; to being happy when taking risks; from being a natural promoter to being particularly adept at cultivating networks than others. In fact, the range of skills that successful entrepreneurs demonstrate has led to some debate about whether or not entrepreneurs are born or made. Research carried out by Scott Shane of Case Western Research University in Ohio, for example, shows that the genetic tendency towards entrepreneurship is between 30 – 40% innate,…
How to Convert More Website Visitors Into Customers When Starting Your Business10 Jun 2015 | 9:48 amSometimes the secret to improving website traffic is not in the complicated search engine optimization tasks. Sounds ridiculous, right? We're going to look at the fundamental strategies that can boost your traffic statistics when you implement them. Many people don't monitor the performance of their websites to find out what is working and what is not working. Some people may have an inkling of what is happening on their site, maybe from the information they get from a particular tool. A number of people don't know how to take this information and convert it into actionable steps…
Technical.ly Baltimore
STEAM camp is chugging along for West Baltimore kids2 Jul 2015 | 9:49 amAs a result of her morning's work on Tuesday, Naashar Brown has a fan to keep cool. As a toy-hacking session wrapped up at the Baltimore Robotics Center in West Baltimore, the 9-year-old from Sandtown-Winchester showed us how she assembled a motor, speaker housing and copper parts to make a working fan. "This right here is from a bike," she said, pointing to the casing around the battery. As part of a five-week STEAM camp, Brown and others will have more chances to code, make art and get some robot time. The camp has room for about 20 students, all of whom are from…
DEA agent pleads guilty to stealing bitcoin while investigating Silk Road2 Jul 2015 | 9:39 amThe former Baltimore-based DEA agent accused of stealing bitcoin while investigating Silk Road pleaded guilty to the charges against him on Thursday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Carl Force was accused of stealing more than $700,000 worth of bitcoin while going undercover in 2013 to investigate Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who went by the alias Dread Pirate Roberts. Under the name "Nob," Force sold Ulbricht items he claimed were fake driver's licenses and inside government information. He then kept the bitcoin for himself. He then created another name,…
Fastspot is growing2 Jul 2015 | 5:29 amFastspot's offices could soon make the banks of the Jones Falls a stop on Baltimore's tech events circuit. The web design firm is set to expand its offices in Mill No. 1, a renovated former cotton mill that spans both sides of the Jones Falls between Hampden and Woodberry, said Fastspot President Tracey Halvorsen. Fastspot has been in its current space on the third floor of the Picker Building for about a year, and the company has already grown. Now, renovations are nearing completion on the floor below that will double Fastspot's space. "We're essentially…
This pill bottle is a fortress1 Jul 2015 | 8:08 amJohns Hopkins engineering students took a hammer to a pill bottle recently, but it wasn't just stress relief during finals week. The quartet of mechanical engineering students broke out the hardware to test the prototype of a new kind of tamper-resistant pill bottle. It's designed to make sure prescription drugs only get to the people they're meant to treat. The 9-inch-tall bottle requires a fingerprint scan to access, and also dispenses the pills one at a time. It has enough room for about 60 tablets of OxyContin, which is about a month's worth of the painkiller. A…
Tenable Security wants to hire hundreds of new workers [Startup Roundup]1 Jul 2015 | 7:36 amWHO'S GETTING FUNDED Tenable Security picked up a pair of loans to fund expansion in the coming years. The Columbia-based cybersecurity company received a $1 million loan from Maryland's Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund, and a $100,000 workforce training grant from the Howard County Economic Development Authority. The company plans to hire "hundreds" of new full-time employees over the next five years, according to a news release. SalesWarp raised $3.2 million, according to an SEC filing. The ETC-based ecommerce company formerly known as 6th Street…
Video: Startup Weekend Focuses on Female Entrepreneurs3 Jul 2015 | 3:18 amIn this video, Julie Sandler from Madrona Venture Group introduces Startup Weekend's Women's Edition in Seattle. The entrepreneurial talent we see from women in Seattle is inspiring, and we are excited about creating an event that will showcase it. A big goal for the event is also to provide the opportunity for the aspiring women entrepreneurs in our community to (1) get inspired by an idea/product/team… perhaps even enough to explore starting their own venture, or (2) become more connected with other brilliant entrepreneurially-minded individuals in Seattle and thus more…
Video: Common Mistakes Startups Make Transitioning to the Cloud29 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmIn this video, a Cloud Computing panel discusses common mistakes companies make when transitioning to the Cloud and some current limitations to making a full transition. Key areas of consideration include: You have to design for failure and have multiple backup plans ready in case of an outage. The costs go beyond the monthly subscription fee. You need to provision for Internet connection, bandwidth requirements and network needs. Not all applications are ready for the Cloud. For instance, at Software Advice we have difficultly running our telephony in the Cloud due to high call volumes and…
Slidecast: MongoDB Overview25 Jun 2015 | 7:58 amIn this slidecast, Nosh Petigara from 10Gen presents and overview of MongoDB. MongoDB is an open source, document-oriented database designed with both scalability and developer agility in mind. Instead of storing your data in tables and rows as you would with a relational database, in MongoDB you store JSON-like documents with dynamic schemas. The goal of MongoDB is to bridge the gap between key-value stores (which are fast and scalable) and relational databases (which have rich functionality). Download the MP3 * Subscribe on iTunes * If Dropbox is blocked, download from this Google page.
Uptime Energy Drinks – Can They Replace Your Daily Coffee?23 Jun 2015 | 2:13 pmUptime Energy Drinks Entrepreneurs work all kinds of crazy hours, and keeping productive can be a struggle. And while we normally drink a lot of coffee to keep up here at inside-Startups, we recently got the opportunity to try new energy drink products from Uptime. The timing for our delivery of Uptime could not have been better. I have been suffering from red dry patches on my skin for while, and I discovered that it was too much acid my diet. Coffee is very acidic, and I needed to find a coffee replacement. Replacing Coffee with Uptime We started one morning with the Sugar Free version. It…
Slidecast: Bina – Accelerating Data-Driven Healthcare22 Jun 2015 | 9:24 amIn this slidecast, Narges Bani Asadi from a new Startup called Bina presents: Bina – Accelerating Data-Driven Healthcare. In 2008, a renowned team of researchers at Stanford and UC Berkeley came together to solve a critical problem for cancer researchers who were severely constrained by their existing computing capabilities for large-scale data analysis. Through this work they created a new approach to the integrated co-development of statistical algorithms, software and hardware for high performance data analysis. The result was a dramatic improvement in the accuracy, computational…
Alastair Banks, Devon based Entrepreneur, Social Media and Online Marketing Consultant, Lover of West Ham and Poker
Generational Management21 Jun 2015 | 8:24 amIf you're managing more than a few people, there's a good chance they might cross generations and guess what, those guys have different needs. I believe strongly that its not up to them to change, its up to you as a leader to adapt and understand those needs so you can get the best from all of them. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you…generational management. This week I attended a great talk at Exeter University's Business Leaders Forum. Guest speaker was none other than successful investor and Dragon's Den's Deborah Meaden. Her topic of choice was 'How business might look in…
How to increase staff motivation – help with their dreams12 May 2015 | 3:07 amWant to increase staff motivation and loyalty? Then encourage them to pursue their dreams! Everyone has a dream. Whether it's to earn millions, retire early, travel the world, own your own business, become a professional golfer, or have a family…. everyone has a dream. A number of years ago I read up about Google and the fact they give their staff 20% of their time to work on their own projects/ideas. A few of the Google products you know and love have come from this very mantra. Then a couple of years on I read about a company called MRY. They wholeheartedly encourage their…
Why 'I'm really busy' is a terrible phrase.20 Feb 2015 | 4:49 amGo on admit it, you've said it yourself haven't you? I have. I say it a lot. So much so in fact that I'm outing myself in an attempt to curb my use of this horrible phrase. Maybe you'll join me? I recently read this except from someone on twitter: "Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with £86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every penny, of course? Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning,…
Why the young are our future17 Feb 2015 | 6:16 amThe first high jump event was recorded in the early 19th century. From then until 1964 athletes had all used something called the scissors technique. Essentially they approached the bar and jumped with one leg going over from the side first, followed by the second, all the time remaining bolt upright. Then in 1964 something remarkable happened. Dick Frosbury went against the norm and performed a completely different technique, jumping and 'flopping' over the bar backwards. He shocked (and perhaps you could argue, 'changed') the world. Later this technique would be known as the…
Do you actually want my business?31 Jan 2015 | 10:05 amThis is in danger of turning into a rant I'm afraid. Sorry about that. Recently I was in the market for a new car. I'd had my current wheels for about 6 years and although I loved them, they were getting a little old and my priorities had changed. Now it's about showing my commitment to our growing family (currently a dog and a little one on the way). Anyway, onto my rant. I don't know if my expectations are too high but does it sometimes feel like people don't want your business or purposely make it difficult to do business with them. I work pretty hard in my life. I'm in the…
Anthill Online » Venture Capital
A new impact investment fund is raising $100 million for socially and environmentally conscious Australian businesses30 Jun 2015 | 12:56 amThe future is looking very bright for Australian entrepreneurs that are doing good for society or the environment with a recently announced The post A new impact investment fund is raising $100 million for socially and environmentally conscious Australian businesses appeared first on Anthill Online.
Need investment? Tank Stream Ventures has closed its first $20 million fund and is now hunting for hot new Australian start-ups to invest in30 Jun 2015 | 12:55 amTech-focused venture capital fund Tank Stream Ventures recently announced the first close of their $20 million fund and that they now have The post Need investment? Tank Stream Ventures has closed its first $20 million fund and is now hunting for hot new Australian start-ups to invest in appeared first on Anthill Online.
Australian social media network Nabo has secured additional funding from its initial launch investors30 Jun 2015 | 12:54 amAustralia's first hyper-local social media network, Nabo, recently successfully completed an additional round of funding from investors Seven West Media and Reinventure, The post Australian social media network Nabo has secured additional funding from its initial launch investors appeared first on Anthill Online.
Health tech start-up GKC raises $14.8 million with $1.5 million of it secured via OurCrowd15 Jun 2015 | 11:15 pmEquity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has raised AUD$1.5 million for private Australian mobile health tech company Global Kinetics Corporation (GKC), as part of The post Health tech start-up GKC raises $14.8 million with $1.5 million of it secured via OurCrowd appeared first on Anthill Online.
First it was tech talent, now Wellington is wooing Aussie start-ups across the Tasman9 Jun 2015 | 7:06 pmA new campaign targeting Australian start-ups, as the next stage in its efforts to put Wellington on the map for Aussie businesses The post First it was tech talent, now Wellington is wooing Aussie start-ups across the Tasman appeared first on Anthill Online.
Boston Tech Events Look-Ahead: July 6 - 111 Jul 2015 | 7:26 amRelease Date: Thu, 07/02/2015 - 07:00 Author: Josh Boyle - Director of Community & Marketing, VentureFizz Thumbnail: Home Page Image: Teaser: What's going on in Boston the first full week of July?? Find out in our weekly events preview! We all know how awesome the Boston tech ecosystem is, but does everyone take full advantage of it? It's hard to balance getting out in the community and meeting new folks with hitting those deadlines and milestones. It's probably even more difficult to keep track of everything going on around us. That's what…
The Venture Firm Now Known As Accomplice [Infographic]30 Jun 2015 | 7:23 pmRelease Date: Wed, 07/01/2015 - 06:15 Author: Josh Boyle - Director of Community & Marketing, VentureFizz Thumbnail: Home Page Image: Teaser: Infographic breaking down the details and magnitude of the FKA "Name A VC" contest results. By now, you're most certainly aware that the "Name a VC" contest which started earlier this spring by the former technology arm of Atlas Venture has come to a conclusion. When Atlas Venture split its life sciences and tech teams, the tech side, made up of partners, Jeff Fagnan, Jon Karlen, Chris Lynch, & Ryan…
Three Ways the Suburbs are Meeting the Needs of Growing Technology Companies30 Jun 2015 | 5:10 pmRelease Date: Wed, 07/01/2015 - 20:15 Author: Andrew Gallinaro - Senior Vice President and Director of Asset Management, National Development Thumbnail: Home Page Image: Teaser: Boston's Innovation District and neighboring Kendall Square are traditionally thought of as hubs for technology companies and startups, and for good reason. Boston's Innovation District and neighboring Kendall Square are traditionally thought of as hubs for technology companies and startups, and for good reason. These locations offer access to the city and amenities that are…
Talent on the Move! July 2, 201530 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amRelease Date: Thu, 07/02/2015 - 09:00 Author: Jack Mulvaney - Account Manager, VentureFizz Thumbnail: Home Page Image: Teaser: Your weekly roll up of who is coming and going within the Boston tech scene! Talent on the Move - July 2, 2015Your weekly roll up of who is coming and going within the Boston tech scene!Looking to announce a recent hire? Or, have a tip? Email us here.Rosanna Y. de la Cruz, Director of Talent at ezCater. Previously, Talent Development Lead at Dissero. Link CLICK HERE to congratulate Rosanna…
From Big Company Executive to Entrepreneur: Little Ms. Crate Founder Reid Craig Discusses Taking the Leap of Faith29 Jun 2015 | 6:55 pmRelease Date: Tue, 06/30/2015 - 08:00 Author: Sarah Urbonas, Marketing Manager at IDEA Thumbnail: Home Page Image: Teaser: Reid Craig has an impressive background that boasts years of experience in engineering, leadership, and executive roles at top technology companies. Reid Craig has an impressive background that boasts years of experience in engineering, leadership, and executive roles at top technology companies. Most recently, he climbed the corporate ladder at Attivio, a Newton-based enterprise software company, from Senior Software Engineer to the Vice…
Treildliacht : Life Sciences Start-Up29 Jun 2015 | 11:58 amBob Debbas We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Pádraig Mullally", New Product Development at the Newcastle – UK based start-up "Treidliacht" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? Treidliacht Ltd is a life sciences start-up based in Northern Ireland. Currently, Treidliacht Ltd are in the processing of launching its pioneer product Calfstick®. CalfStick® is a dehorning paste for calves and goats currently available with in the United Kingdom. 2. When has your startup…
EQNS : Advanced Education In The Sciences24 Jun 2015 | 11:44 pmBob Debbas We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Ilya Uts", CEO & Founder of the New York – USA based start-up "EQNS" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? EQNS is a NYC based company that strives to advance education in the sciences by providing the academic community with the ability to quickly navigate through a large expanse of equations to easily find the correct equation, at the proper level. 2. When has your startup been founded? And what stage is your startup…
ParkParrot : Automated System Showing Available Parkings18 Jun 2015 | 12:00 amBob Debbas We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Chandler Burke", Founder of the Chattanooga – USA based start-up "ParkParrot" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? ParkParrot is a completely automated system that shows users where available parking is located. It doesn't require any user input and saves users time, money and headache by being simple guided to open parking. 2. When has your startup been founded? And what stage is your startup currently at? The…
CUBICUS SMART TOYS : Child's Daily Activities17 Jun 2015 | 11:47 amBob Debbas We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Gema Parreño Piqueras", CEO of the Madrid – Spain based start-up "CUBICUS SMART TOYS SL" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? CUBICUS is a brand for young children based on five texturized cubes that represent a child´s daily activities for kids from 2 to 5 years old. Hygiene , nutrition , learning , playing and sleeping take shape in these amazing characters. The main focus of the project is on having fun while…
Hubchi : Online Marketplace For Booking and Entertainment15 Jun 2015 | 12:56 amBob Debbas We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Prasanthy Gurugubelli", Founder at the Hyderabad – India based start-up "Hubchi" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? Hubchi is an online marketplace to find and book cool things to do in every city, across art, adventure, outdoor, food, entertainment and travel categories. 2. When has your startup been founded? And what stage is your startup currently at? Hubchi was founded in 2014. Hubchi is live in 4 countries with 80+…
Planio Blog
Hacks, Tricks And Tips for Project Management With Bruce Harpham30 Jun 2015 | 7:59 amI sat down with Bruce Harpham from ProjectManagementHacks.com for a chat about project management, meetings, checklists and even Oktoberfest.In the interview, you'll hear about:why you should write an agenda for each meeting you run;using checklists to avoid common problems and issues;creating an atmosphere of trust within a team;making the move from an analyst/developer role into a project manager role; andhow to decide whether it's time to earn a certification and how to choose the right one for you.You can listen to the interview here or read an edited version of it below: Thomas:…
How you can go from "cattle herder" to "orchestra conductor" on your next project using ethical persuasion techniques22 Jun 2015 | 8:33 amIt's tough managing projects. You get input from the CEO, sales, marketing, support and customers, while trying to come up with a realistic plan about how to make the project happen.Your role feels more like a cattle herder when you're trying to coax people to attend meetings and to report their status on projects.And then one designer decides that such details such as tracking time, following a process or deadlines are helpful suggestions.An IT specialist suddenly decides that THEY should be the project manager, and in fact all this project management is just getting in the way of doing…
Meet the Team: Growth Hacker Thomas Carney11 Jun 2015 | 2:03 amI'm happy to welcome Thomas as Planio's newest team member. His responsibilities will be writing content, diving into metrics and looking for ways to help Planio achieve world domination (of course).Let's have a chat with Thomas so that we can learn more…Jan: Greetings Thomas! First I want to say welcome to the team, it's a pleasure to have you on-board. :)Thomas: Thanks, Jan. Everyone has been very welcoming, and I'm really excited to start at Planio.And, as far as I'm concerned, Berlin is the greatest city on earth, so I'm really happy that Planio is based here.Jan:…
Checklists for getting things done with Planio19 May 2015 | 9:31 amYou know those situations: There's an open issue in Planio which hasn't been completed yet and there are still a few things missing. You're making note of each item in the issue history but over time it becomes hard to keep track.Of course you could create subtasks but really all the items are just very simple todos. Creating separate issues for each of them would be too much.Enter Checklists. Planio now allows you to add handy checklists to issues. Simply add one or more items and Planio will keep track as you cross them off the list.Have sets of todos that occur…
Business Chat made in Germany!28 Apr 2015 | 8:52 amIt's done. It's ready. And we think it's awesome. Planio's new Team Chat App is finally ready and is now rolling out as a new Pro Feature to all Planio clients.A picture is worth a thousand words. So here it is:Beautiful, isn't it?Planio's new Team Chat will make your team work even more streamlined and productive. On the Web or using your favourite IRC client - Team Chat comes loaded with great features such as unlimited chat history, powerful search, smart links to Planio and external content and much more.But let's not talk about it too much. Why not give it a try right…
Startup Champ
5 Signs that entrepreneurship is not your cup of tea2 Jul 2015 | 10:40 amDo you want to become an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurship is like that drug which is wanted by everyone but only few have what it really takes to get it. If you're thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, STOP! Before you dive into water, you must check the temperature. Before you actually become an entrepreneur, you must know if it is right for you. While you would have read many articles that try to inspire you, I want to present the real picture in front of you. Here are 5 signs that entrepreneurship is not your cup of tea. You look upon others for ideas: If that brilliant startup idea has…
Why ParcelMonkey.com Is A Must-Have for eCommerce Businesses?30 Jun 2015 | 9:50 pmWHAT IS PARCELMONKEY.COM? ParcelMonkey.com is a premier discount parcel delivery service that ships from the U.S. to over 255 worldwide destinations. Originally founded in the U.K., British customers found great savings when shipping packages, both domestically and internationally. Now available in the U.S., you can use its simple and low cost service to ship to your customers, while increasing your bottom line. WHY IS IT A MUST-HAVE? source: growthbusiness.co.uk With any business, driving the bottom line through profitable revenue and controlling costs are the most important goals. The…
How You Can Promote Your Startup with Branded Office Supplies28 Jun 2015 | 7:50 amAccording to Gallup, 400,000 new businesses are being born annually in the United States, while 470,000 per year are dying. At first glance, these findings seem alarming. However… Keep calm and don't panic! On the positive side, you can achieve that dream of being your own boss by carrying out a low-cost startup idea. Creating a startup from scratch involves hard work, determination, a realistic business plan and well-thought-out marketing campaigns. Effective advertising efforts for startups should combine diverse tactics that allow you to reach your audience in different ways. For…
4 Things those are critical for your startup's success23 Jun 2015 | 8:11 amThis is a very unusual yet important post that I want to share today. Startups are booming like never before but they get doomed at an even higher rate. There must be some important reason behind it. There are few things that are really critical for your startup's success. Some unavoidable things that are seldom paid attention. Well, those who consider those things important definitely turn into million dollar companies and those who ignore just run out of business after a while or learn the importance of them at a very high cost. To make sure you don't ignore those things, I have listed…
How LinkedIn Can help you make more sales?20 Jun 2015 | 12:03 pmLinkedIn is the professional Facebook. After discussing about how Facebook can help you make more sales, we felt the need of discussing how to leverage the power of LinkedIn to reach out to quality people, target your potential customers and create a network that would eventually convert into sales. LinkedIn is a lot like Facebook except for the fact it is there to create professional connection instead of friends. So, instead of adding someone as friend, you request a connection. How to make more sales through LinkedIn? The secret here is to make quality connections and promote your brand…
Joseph Johnson – Founder and CEO of Total Comfort Medical2 Jul 2015 | 1:11 pmVisualize what you want. Without a strong vision, there are too many obstacles that will eventually make you quit. Joseph Edwin Johnson is a 23-year-old entrepreneur working out of the Chicagoland area. He graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in entrepreneurship and launched his startup business, Total Comfort Medical while he was still in college. Total Comfort Medical specializes in creating comfort products in the healthcare field for both medical professionals and patients. In addition to his startup, Joseph is the owner and operator of an ilovekickboxing franchise in…
Anthony Clervi – VP of Growth at UNA Purchasing Solutions1 Jul 2015 | 1:06 pmBe a voracious reader. Look for mentors who can help guide you. Anthony Clervi is the vice president of growth at UNA Purchasing Solutions. He's a driven entrepreneur with a passion for people and relationship-building opportunities. With extensive experience in sales, marketing, and business consulting, Anthony provides consistent leadership and strategic direction for company success. Anthony earned his degree in business administration with a focus in economics and finance from McKendree University. In his time at McKendree, Anthony played varsity baseball for four years and continues…
James King – Founder and CEO of PowaBand30 Jun 2015 | 10:42 amI think it was James Joyce that said: "Mistakes are the portals of discovery." You make a whole load of mistakes, learn loads, and get ready to make a whole load of new ones. James King is the founder and CEO of PowaBand. Previously a UX Designer, Digital Strategist and Planner, he has project managed global projects for Speedo and Proctor & Gamble, advised and guided startups and corporations on Gamification, consulted on evolving mobile paths-to-purchase for GlaxoSmithKline, and led the strategic proposition for creative agencies and a motion-tracking internet television…
Sean Dudayev- Co-Founder of InsureChance30 Jun 2015 | 10:05 amThe digital consumer wants to be educated. If you can provide them with knowledge, you can earn their trust and their business. This cost us nothing more than sweat equity. Sean Dudayev is the Co-Founder of InsureChance Inc. An online life insurance agency on a mission to bring simplicity to buying life insurance by combining technology with outstanding service to help consumers understand, afford, and attain the right life insurance coverage to protect their financial responsibilities. Where did the idea for InsureChance come from? I joined my brother in selling insurance when I graduated…
Baldwin Cunningham – Co-founder and CEO of Partnered29 Jun 2015 | 6:51 amWhen I think of something, I do it. That's the only way to: 1) know if it's something people value and 2) get direct feedback. Outside of that, an idea is just an idea. Everyone has them, it's the people that execute them that end up changing the game. Baldwin Cunningham is the co-founder and CEO of Partnered. His passion is connecting people who haven't yet met, but who could explode each other's capacities to build and achieve great things. As CEO of Partnered, he is driven by a belief that brands can build deeper, more authentic relationships with their customers and animated by…
Building an IOT Platform: The Device Discovery Service24 Jun 2015 | 5:59 amThis is the second of a series of blog posts about the main building blocks of an IOT platform. As mentioned before, the capabilities of an IOT platform can be classified in two main groups: centralized and decentralized. At a high level, the following figure illustrates some of the fundamental features of an IOT platform: In this blog post we will cover one of the fundamental capabilities of a centralized IOT topology: the device discovery service. What Is It? The device discovery service abstracts the dynamic registration and de-registration of smart devices in an IOT topology. This…
Building an IOT Platform: Centralized vs. Decentralized Models17 Jun 2015 | 5:16 amLast week I delivered a session at QCon New York about the emerging trends and techniques powering the next generation IOT platform as a service (PaaS). The session explored the current IOT platform market as well as some of the architectures and technologies that will be foundational to the adoption of IOT in industrial enterprise settings. Based on the great feedback received during the session, I am planning to write a series of blog posts about some of the most important ideas from my presentation. Let's start with one of the key points of my presentation: centralized and decentralized…
Why a Tech Bubble Might Not Be as Bad as It Seems?9 Jun 2015 | 5:31 amThere are a lot of debates within the public market and technology circles of whether we are in another tech bubble. In the past, I've been written extensively about several arguments that explain why I don't believe we are currently experiencing a bubble in the tech sector. While certain aspects of the private technology market like pre-IPO valuations are certainly "bubble-ish", the public markets seem to be trading tech stocks at very reasonable valuations and you can even argue some of the market leaders like Apple or Google are trading below its real market value. If any other…
EMC Acquisition of VirtuStream Closes the Door to a VMWare Spin-Off28 May 2015 | 4:37 amTwo days ago, storage giant EMC announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire VirtuStream for $1.2B. VirtuStream is not the most well-known platform in the cloud market but one that has developed a considerable penetration in the enterprise space. This move follows the recent acquisition of CloudScalingrepresenting another step in EMC's strategy to develop a robust cloud portfolio. While the acquisition brings very clear benefits to the EMC cloud stack from the capabilities standpoint, it has raised some interesting questions about the future of EMC's crown jewel: VMWare. In…
4 Reasons Why Big Tech Companies Continue Splitting21 May 2015 | 4:51 amComputer Sciences, the giant IT consulting company founded in 1959, announced yesterday that it will be splitting into two different companies. Under the new structure, CSC Commercial will serve Fortune 1000 companies while CSC US Public Sector will focus on servicing government entities. Following HP, Symantec and eBay, CSC is the latest of a series of tech companies that have announced splits in the last year. Other legendary companies like EMC have been under constant pressure to spin off VMWare into a separate entity. This phenomenon is becoming a strong reality of large tech companies to…
Platform Thinking Blog
G20 Summit: Emerging Opportunities in Platform-enabled disruption10 Jun 2015 | 5:09 amThe last article posited that pipe-based business models will continue to exist with platform-based business models. This is an important issue that both, pro-disruption and anti-disruption camps, fail to appreciate entirely. As the world gets more connected, every industry will open up opportunities for platform disruption and digital transformation. As the popular saying goes, in the future (and even now), every industry is a tech industry. I was invited on a panel at the G20 World Summit's Global Cafe stage last year in Brisbane to discuss the impact of platform-based business models…
How platforms reconfigure industries: A pattern for upcoming platform opportunities20 May 2015 | 4:33 amWill everything become a platform? Is a platform even the right model in all cases? History shows that platform-based and pipe-based business models will probably co-exist. Business models based on linearity are still going to be very important, but there will be opportunities for platforms to create greater scale than the traditional approach. Over the last decade the media industry has been repeatedly reinvented. Traditionally, the media value chain has been extended across the following parts: Content Creation Editorial Distribution Consumption The media value chain is a classic pipe…
Interview: Opportunities in digital transformation and regulation in a platform world28 Apr 2015 | 5:14 am"I was recently interviewed by Ansgar Baums, Head of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations at HP Europe. The below is a reproduction of the interview, with takeaways especially relevant to new business models emerging in manufacturing and more industrial sectors." Ansgar: Sangeet – You are consulting companies worldwide on the questions how digital platforms transform business. On a very general level: Which companies typically do approach you? And what do they want to know? Sangeet: Two types of companies typically approach me. Startups that are building platforms…
APIs and Platforms: How interfaces and access enable the networked economy7 Apr 2015 | 6:33 amThis article was co-authored with Manfred Bortenschlager, API Market Development Director at 3scale Much has been written about the benefits of platforms as a basis for building successful and scalable businesses. Great examples about organizations that successfully deployed platforms include Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Google, eBay, Flickr, Airbnb, and Spotify. The word "platform" is often used in a variety of situations. In an earlier article The Platform Stack, i had elaborated on different platform configurations using the platform stack as a design framework. Platforms have…
10 startup business puzzles visualized through the platform stack17 Mar 2015 | 7:25 amIn an earlier essay and whitepaper, we used the platform stack to explain the workings of different platforms. Through the slides embedded below, I'd like to use the platform stack to illustrate competition and coexistence of platforms in different verticals. Through the story presented in these slides, we look at a few startup moves and try to understand how different platforms compete and coexist by focusing on different layers of the stack. Some of the moves that these slides explore include the following: How Airbnb beat Craigslist Why Mint.com and Quicken have fundamentally…
Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive
Why Bad Mouthing Competitors Is Bad For Business And How To Handle It Better30 Jun 2015 | 12:13 pmThe post Why Bad Mouthing Competitors Is Bad For Business And How To Handle It Better appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this In the early days, your company hasn't earned the attention, so there was no "bullseye" on your back. There was no real sellable product, so there was no competition. But then the product is seeing the daylight of the market. People are noticing you, and you are starting to notice competitors you never knew existed. And the…
Reflections on Raising Money and Fetishes of Those Watching14 Jan 2015 | 12:51 pmThe post Reflections on Raising Money and Fetishes of Those Watching appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this For those of us in startups, opening up Twitter means seeing at least 1 or 2 funding announcements every couple hours. And the congratulations and retweets roll in, if you are any good, journalists and bloggers need a piece of you too. But the fanfare and congratulations fizzle out, and you are standing there with all that glitter and confetti on you,…
Case For Not Taking Small Investments and Why Early Employees Are Unsung Heroes of Startups26 Jan 2014 | 6:05 pmThe post Case For Not Taking Small Investments and Why Early Employees Are Unsung Heroes of Startups appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this It does not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me that I am not a stranger to getting into occasional passionate discussion. This weekend I made a statement which caused such discussion. Unfortunately, Twitter is the worst place to have a discussion. Arguments in 140 character format make people extremely susceptible…
Male Perspective on Lack of Women in Startups and What Women Can Do About It28 Aug 2013 | 9:31 amThe post Male Perspective on Lack of Women in Startups and What Women Can Do About It appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this This article has been brewing in me for a while. I credit some of the biggest wins in my career to the most diverse and smart people around me. Best decisions are made after hearing a broad range of perspectives. You can't do that in an echo-chamber of people who are exactly same as you and think like you. As you have seen me…
On Being a New Father and the Struggles, Biases, Lessons Learned While Building a Business19 Aug 2013 | 10:00 amThe post On Being a New Father and the Struggles, Biases, Lessons Learned While Building a Business appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this For the past decade and a half, I have read countless articles on how it is impossible to build a successful company and be a good parent at the same time. I call bullshit! Yes, I know, I now owe money to the swear jar, but I'm happy to pay. Here is the TL;DR for those of you with short attention spans – being a…
How to Pitch Investors Without Looking Like a Clueless, Lazy Know-It-All2 Jul 2015 | 9:27 amFirst and foremost, we must understand what the investor wants from us. This brings me to the first mistake. Often entrepreneurs will spend hours practicing a pitch that does not tell the investor...
When Is The Right Time To Raise Funding?2 Jul 2015 | 8:27 amAlthough the right time to raise funding should be very early on from when you start your business, the time when you should look to seek funding needs to be very carefully thought about as there are...
Do Not Be The Best In the World At What You Do, Be The Only One In The World Who Does What You Do2 Jul 2015 | 6:27 amTalking about the Grateful Dead, rock promoter Billy Graham once said, "They're not the best at what they do, they're the only ones that do what they do." Whether you're a Deadhead or not, it...
Why Love and Humor Matter in Business2 Jul 2015 | 5:27 amWhen I was little (still am, just older), my idea of a businessperson was someone who was intelligent, stern, and busy and wore a suit and shiny shoes along with a contemplative look on their face...
This NYC Startup Just Raised $45M in Record Time1 Jul 2015 | 9:27 amIt seems like only a few months ago, we sat down with Namely to discuss their most recent funding round. Well it was and since March of this year, the software platform that is streamlining payroll,...
Writing Tips for Non-Writers29 Jun 2015 | 2:35 amHere at Onboardly, we're always talking about the power of stories and how vital content marketing and content crafting is as a means for getting attention for your startup. We understand the importance in getting the message out there in order to attract investors, secure trials for your product, keep your customers happy and cultivate a positive brand voice. Overall it can help make you a better entrepreneur and offers personal benefits that help ensure success. But what if you aren't a natural-born writer? For many, the written word can be daunting. Finding a topic to write about is…
7 Reasons Good PR Goes Bad25 Jun 2015 | 2:35 amI have a confession to make. Even the greatest, and I mean greatest, PR professionals don't always hit a home run. They don't always get it right and sometimes they miscalculate the outcome entirely. My name is Crystal, I'm a PR pro, and I've experienced the utter disappointment of a major PR fail on more than one occasion. Here's the thing about PR: it's pretty darn unpredictable. It relies on so many outside factors, other people, and above all, luck, that predicting its outcome and staying power is nearly impossible. While the professionals can secure a home run 9/10 times,…
Summer Beach Reads for Startups22 Jun 2015 | 2:25 amHere are two phrases you'll hardly find in the same sentence: 'startup founders' and 'time off.' It's true: when your business is your baby, it's tough to walk away. Rightly so. Your plate is no doubt full with the latest rounds of testing, launches, hiring, funding -- you name it. But as the dog days of summer fully set in, we can't encourage you more to step. away. from. the. screen. Then, head to a quiet place -- particularly with sun, sand, and waves (or perhaps that mountaintop sans wi-fi). Of course, like any good founder, you'll be wondering what you can do to get…
Startup Beat: June 2015 Edition20 Jun 2015 | 2:35 amWelcome to Onboardly's Startup Beat, a roundup of what's going on in the startup neighborhood. Each month, we put our ears to the ground so we can introduce you to new startups or developments, and why they matter. Discover something new and noteworthy yourself? Leave it in the comments below! Vendeve Elevator pitch: Vendeve is women helping women build better businesses... fast. Why Onboardly believes this startup matters: Women are leaving the workforce in droves in favour of a new career choice: online entrepreneurship. Starting an online business is easy. Scaling is hard and requires…
How the Apple Watch is Changing the Way We Create + Consume Content18 Jun 2015 | 7:15 amThe Apple Watch was announced in September, with everyone anxiously counting down the seconds until its arrival. Only Apple could achieve being named one of TIME's 25 Best Inventions of 2014 well before it was even announced. With its end-of-April release date, analysts estimated that a "mere" 2.5 million Watches would be sold per month in 2015. Watch sales isn't the only thing booming, though -- then there are the apps. Currently there are thousands of apps available for the Apple Watch -- and even more to come, for sure. Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research has estimated that…
The Grasshopper Blog
6 Online Courses that Can Make You a Better Small Business Owner2 Jul 2015 | 6:00 am"Learning never exhausts the mind." –Leonardo da Vinci Smart man, that da Vinci. Those who continually learn reap the benefits and never pause to think, "I wish I wouldn't have learned that." And for most small business owners, the learning process never ends. Whether it's through trial and error or deliberate self-education, their ability to continually learn and expand their minds is sometimes the defining factor between those who succeed and those who fail. So how can you keep learning? One of the easier ways is through self-paced online courses that fit in with your hectic…
6 Common PPC Errors and How to Fix Them1 Jul 2015 | 6:00 amMany small businesses are leveraging Pay-Per-Click (PPC) to gain leads and sales, but many are making mistakes. We talked to a number of PPC experts to find out which mistakes are most common, and how to remedy them. We'll be discussing this topic, and others about PPC in our fireside chat via Google Hangout on July 29. Don't forget to RSVP! 1. Lack of Maintenance People tend to set it and forget it when it comes to their PPC. They underestimate the value of testing their campaigns, because they assume what works once will always work. This isn't the case. Rachel Pennington,…
Retirement Planning for Small Business Owners25 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amBecause you wear so many hats as a small business owner, it's easy to let things like planning for retirement fall to the wayside. You're busy managing the day-to-day operations, following up with customers—doing so many things that require your attention right now. And retirement is a long way off anyway, so it can wait. Right? Wrong. According to many financial planners and CPAs, putting off your retirement planning can be a costly mistake. I asked around to see what their best advice was for entrepreneurs and small business owners who need insight into retirement planning. Their…
The Top Strategies: Using Twitter for Business23 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amYou've been to countless gatherings where you've passed out business cards hand over fist. You're commenting in LinkedIn groups and are always working to grow your connections there. But it feels like something's missing. Isn't there another way you can start building meaningful relationships that can help your business grow? If this is a question you've been wrestling with, it's time to look at using Twitter for business a little bit differently. You may already have an account and tweet from time to time, but maybe you aren't implementing a few important tactics that can…
Accounting for Small Business: Hard-Earned Wisdom From an Accountant16 Jun 2015 | 6:29 amAccounting is like flossing. We all know how important it is, but very few of us take those extra few minutes to get it done. Shane Gibson knows that all too well. He jumped ship from an old-school accounting firm and founded Skyward Accounting. As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Shane works with solopreneurs and startups, helping them streamline their accounting practices and grow their businesses. Shane gave me some great tips, tools, and do-not-ever-do-this examples that demystify accounting. Check them out! What time during the year should start-ups, solopreneurs and small businesses…
From Archives: Can EazyDiner survive in India's dog-eat-dog food market?3 Jul 2015 | 11:00 pmEazyDiner, a real-time table reservation startup recently co-founded by Indian food journalist Vir Sanghvi, has raised US$1 million in funding The EazyDiner team Editor's Note: Here's a story from our archives we feel is relevant even today and deserves your attention. The Indian food market is perhaps the biggest, yet the most fragmented industry globally. Not to mention, one of the most competitive too. The diversity in food culture and difference in tastes among citizens have made it an interesting market for entrepreneurs and VCs alike. Of late, the country has seen a number…
From Archives: Debunking myths in sheep land; meet the innovators of New Zealand3 Jul 2015 | 10:00 pmThe country majorly known for health and agri-tech has started taking a leap into the new phase of technology Editor's Note: Here's a story from our archives we feel is relevant even today and deserves your attention. It was a sober February morning with shy sunbeams and a refreshing breeze greeting me to the land of mysterious lakes, dramatic mountains, vast plains and glorious coastlines. Kia Ora! New Zealand, a country of open hearts and open minds. As I drove past the gorgeous city, I was narrated the incredible account of Kiwi ingenuity. "The tyranny of remoteness has always…
Chicks and geeks: 50 shades of relationships with new Zuckerbergs3 Jul 2015 | 9:00 pmHow do new-age sex symbols, the Zuckerbergs, build their relationships — with investors, fellow entrepreneurs and women? For several years in a row, most of the new Forbes-ranked billionaires have been coming from tech. Offline businesses are giving up their positions without a fight. Even Hollywood — Mecca for the rich and famous from around the globe — is losing its influence over the rest of the world. It's now Silicon Valley that is more and more often called 'the new Hollywood'. Ukrainian IT specialist Jan Koum, CEO of WhatsApp is worth more than the top 10…
500 Startups tops up US$5M into its SEA micro fund 500 Durians3 Jul 2015 | 4:42 amThe two-year-old micro fund has made over 40 investments in Asia, among the 140 total deals done in the region by 500 Startups to date 500 Startups has added US$5 million to its US$10 million micro fund 500 Durians — as first reported by TechCrunch. The news was confirmed by a U.S filing. This follows their hiring spree in Singapore two months ago, where the fund brought on angel investor Arnaud Bonzom as Director of Special Projects and lawyer-entrepreneur Vishal Harnal as Investment Manager. 500 Durians was launched in May 2013 for Southeast Asia and was joined by the…
How to choose a development team that works for your business3 Jul 2015 | 2:53 amWhen it comes to hiring developers, a lot depends on what you need to build and how long you have to build it Your development team — whether in-house, outsourced or a combination thereof — is often crucial to your product's success. But choosing how to build your team can be difficult. My company SmartLogic does outsourced application development, and through this work I've witnessed these various methods in action. Depending on the needs and stage of your product and company, each model has serious merit. In our 10-year history, we've seen companies try to use outsourced…
Tech in Asia
30 startups in Asia that caught our eye5 Jul 2015 | 3:08 amHere's our newest round-up of the featured startups on our site this week. If you have startup tips or story suggestions, feel free to email us. Enjoy this week's list! 1. Kakatu | Indonesia (Techlist Profile) First released in December 2014, Kakatu is an app for smartphones and tablets that lets parents limit access to apps and monitor their children's use of them. It also has features to inform and educate parents about the best ways to ensure a healthy parent-child-gadget relationship. 2. Fril | Japan (Techlist Profile) Fril is an 'Etsy'-like flea market app developed by Japan…
Xiaomi starts production in Brazil ahead of first phone launch outside Asia4 Jul 2015 | 12:55 amMore than 15 months after Xiaomi's Hugo Barra teased the Chinese company's Latin American ambitions, the gadget maker this week confirmed its first move into that region with the launch of a Brazilian homepage. The site indicates Xiaomi will sell its budget Redmi 2 smartphone and Mi Band fitness tracker in Brazil starting on July 7, with pre-registration for the first flash sale now open. Barra confirmed today in a tweet that Xiaomi now has a Brazil production line in partnership with Foxconn's plant in the country. Foxconn also assembles some Xiaomi devices in China.
TiA podcast: bad news for big CEOs, and Ola and Uber battle it out3 Jul 2015 | 6:05 pmIt's time for our weekly roundup of the top tech news in Asia, in audio format! Yes, it's the Tech in Asia podcast with hosts Charlie Custer and Anh-Minh Do (absent this week), so if you need to catch up on the week's top Asia tech news, look no further. This week: it's rough news for CEOs, with Housing's Rahul Yadav getting the worst news a CEO can hear, and Qihoo's Zhou Hongyi hearing news that made him angry enough to threaten fornication. Plus, another big example of Japan investing in Southeast Asia, and Uber and Ola both have some important news in…
Betapitch Seoul: these 5 South Korean startups are going to Germany3 Jul 2015 | 6:00 pmBetapitch landed in Seoul last week, the globe-trotting pitch contest's very first visit to Asia. Organized by Betahaus, a startup co-working space and accelerator with locations in Germany and Spain, the event featured 10 of the Korean capital's best startups. Apora Ventures, through its local incubator Accelerate Korea, partnered with the Korean government's Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) and the Korea Institute of Startups and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) to bring Betapitch to Seoul. It also served as Accelerate Korea's first demo day. The event's top…
India's Elanic is encouraging a used clothes marketplace with its latest funding3 Jul 2015 | 11:04 amElanic, a Bangalore-based marketplace for used clothes, has announced a new round of seed funding today. The round was led by Rebright Partners, a Singapore-based Japanese VC, TracxnLabs, and angel investor Aneesh Reddy, founder at Capillary Technologies. The funding amount remains undisclosed. Elanic, founded by Palkush Rai Chawla, Aditi Rohan, and Abhilash Narhari, is a C2C marketplace that helps the user sell or buy pre-owned clothes, bags, shoes and accessories. The startup claims to simplify and standardize transactions in India's less-than-developed used fashion marketplace.
Swedish Startup Space
Saturday Swedish Startup News – July 4 Edition3 Jul 2015 | 10:00 pmBusy week? No time to check Swedish Startup Space? No worries – we've wrapped up the week's most popular articles and latest jobs from #swedentech here for you! Most read this week Top Swedish Startup Jobs – July 1 Edition Locaprint AB, 46elks, Attach, Helion, Jobylon are just a few of the Swedish startups currently hiring. Check out the jobs here! Saturday Swedish Startup News – June 27 Edition Busy week? No time to check Swedish Startup Space? No worries – we've wrapped up the week's most popular articles and latest jobs from #swedentech here for you! Most read this…
Top Swedish Startup Jobs – July 1 Edition30 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmSweden is a brilliant place to work, especially at a startup and the community is buzzing! These awesome Swedish startups are currently looking for talent, so check out what's available and if you like what you see – apply! Locaprint AB are hiring a Account Manager 46elks are hiring a Growth Hacker / Content Expert Attach are hiring a Meteor Javascript Software Engineer Helion are hiring a Mystery shoppers needed around Stockholm, Malmo, Goteborg Jobylon are hiring a Sales Account Manager till växande startup i Stockholm For more jobs, check out our job site and Malmö Startups.
Saturday Swedish Startup News – June 27 Edition26 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmBusy week? No time to check Swedish Startup Space? No worries – we've wrapped up the week's most popular articles and latest jobs from #swedentech here for you! Most read this week Top Swedish Startup Jobs – June 24 Edition Locaprint AB, 46elks, Attach, Helion, Jobylon are just a few of the Swedish startups currently hiring. Check out the jobs here! Saturday Swedish Startup News – June 20 Edition Busy week? No time to check Swedish Startup Space? No worries – we've wrapped up the week's most popular articles and latest jobs from #swedentech here for you! Most read this…
Top Swedish Startup Jobs – June 24 Edition23 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmSweden is a brilliant place to work, especially at a startup and the community is buzzing! These awesome Swedish startups are currently looking for talent, so check out what's available and if you like what you see – apply! Locaprint AB are hiring a Account Manager 46elks are hiring a Growth Hacker / Content Expert Attach are hiring a Meteor Javascript Software Engineer Helion are hiring a Mystery shoppers needed around Stockholm, Malmo, Goteborg Jobylon are hiring a Sales Account Manager till växande startup i Stockholm For more jobs, check out our job site and Malmö Startups.
Saturday Swedish Startup News – June 20 Edition19 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmBusy week? No time to check Swedish Startup Space? No worries – we've wrapped up the week's most popular articles and latest jobs from #swedentech here for you! Most read this week Saturday Swedish Startup News – June 13 Edition Busy week? No time to check Swedish Startup Space? No worries – we've wrapped up the week's most popular articles and latest jobs from #swedentech here for you! Top Swedish Startup Jobs – June 17 Edition 46elks, Attach, Helion, Jobylon, Sparta are just a few of the Swedish startups currently hiring. Check out the jobs here! Wave power…
Barcelona Startup Jobs: Back-End (@getbynder)3 Jul 2015 | 4:30 amCompany: Bynder Area:Information Technology Location: Barcelona Job type: Engineer Position: Back-End Job description: Join us in our brand new Barcelona office! As part of the development team at Bynder you'll be working on a bunch of cool projects for a bunch of cool clients. Spotify, Puma, McCann and KLM are just a few of the companies you'll […] The post Barcelona Startup Jobs: Back-End (@getbynder) appeared first on Barcinno.
Barcelona Startup Jobs: Front-End (@getbynder)3 Jul 2015 | 2:27 amCompany: Bynder Area:Information Technology Location: Barcelona Job type: Engineer Position: Front-End Job description: Join us in our brand new Barcelona office! As a part of the development team at Bynder you'll be working on a bunch of cool projects for a bunch of cool clients. Spotify, Puma, McCann and KLM are just a few of the companies […] The post Barcelona Startup Jobs: Front-End (@getbynder) appeared first on Barcinno.
7 Homegrown Apps To Explore Barcelona Like A Local2 Jul 2015 | 3:32 amBarcelona is a leading SmartCity – what does that mean, you say? Find out here in this epic infographic Barcinno made. Not to mention, that Barcelona is home of the Mobile World Congress. Annnd most importantly, free wifi in helpful places like bus stops, parks and at the beach (see wifi hotspot map)! Yup you […] The post 7 Homegrown Apps To Explore Barcelona Like A Local appeared first on Barcinno.
How Barcelona Startup Genomcore Uses Big Data To Unleash The Power of Your DNA29 Jun 2015 | 6:02 amThe genomic analysis is presented as one of the most important evolutions in healthcare of the next century, but there are still a few skeptics that question this field. How can we interpret the information contained in our genome? How can healthcare professionals deal with the extensive volume of data that this process generates? How […] The post How Barcelona Startup Genomcore Uses Big Data To Unleash The Power of Your DNA appeared first on Barcinno.
Why Menorca Millennials Brought 20 Startups To A Tiny Island In The Mediterranean25 Jun 2015 | 8:31 amIt's not Ibiza, and it's definitely not Mallorca. The peaceful island of Menorca was host to some of the biggest names of the global tech ecosystem for the last 20 days to bring a unique style of mentoring to 20 of the most promising startups from around the world. The founders of Menorca Millennials, Ricard […] The post Why Menorca Millennials Brought 20 Startups To A Tiny Island In The Mediterranean appeared first on Barcinno.
Uncanny Owl
Case Study: English in 30 Minutes8 Jun 2015 | 10:16 amWe recently helped a client in the UK launch English in 30 Minutes, a new online learning program that helps students and young professionals improve their English skills. The site had been in development for a year before Uncanny Owl became involved, with work performed by both site owners and 2 other developers. When we took over, functionality was lacking and there were multiples issues with both design and operation. Uncanny Owl's mandate was to do whatever was needed to create a functional and engaging site that made it easy for people to learn English. Uncanny Owl did everything from…
Coming Soon: A Simple, Integrated WordPress LMS Platform16 Apr 2015 | 11:23 amAt Uncanny Owl, we love creating flexible and powerful learning-enabled websites for our clients. They love our solutions, and we're able to help businesses achieve important business goals while delivering engaging learner experiences. Custom LMS solutions can be a great fit for the right company, but in most cases the costs are too high—in dollars, in time, in complexity, in maintenance requirements and in training. Not every company can afford $5,000+ implementation costs or the 2-4 months it typically takes us to go from project initiation to going live. A lot of companies out there…
Setting up Zapier with LearnDash3 Apr 2015 | 1:35 pmLearnDash (the company) released a very exciting update on Wednesday that allows LearnDash (the plugin) to talk to over 300 third-party applications. This means that key LearnDash events, like course enrolments and completions, can now trigger actions in other applications, like adding a learner to a mailing list, sending an email, creating a help desk ticket and more. LearnDash uses Zapier to talk to other integrations, and it works really well—once you understand how to do it. We were a bit too excited by the Zapier release and installed it as soon as it was available, and before…
We're Hiring!27 Feb 2015 | 8:46 amUncanny Owl is looking for an experienced WordPress Developer to join our team on a full time or contract basis. We need help with all development stages of WordPress projects, including creating and customizing complex plugins, modifying and styling themes, and even some front-end design. Experience developing large membership sites and previous work with WordPress LMS tools (e.g. LearnDash and Sensei) would be a huge benefit. A Toronto-area candidate is preferred but your skill set is more important than your location. For more information and to apply, click here. No agencies or…
WordPress LMS Survey Results2 Feb 2015 | 6:01 amAs part of our work with WordPress LMS solutions, we tend to deal with the higher end of the market, which includes small and mid-sized businesses with the budget for robust learning platforms. Our focus means we unfortunately aren't as connected as we would like with the larger WordPress LMS market, so we decided to conduct a survey last week to see how other people use products like LearnDash, Sensei and WP Courseware. We had a fantastic response from the community and what we discovered surprised us. We reached out to approximately 150 people by email. These people had visited the…
Mexican Laborer Films Epic Response to Donald Trump's 'Mexican Rapists' Comments3 Jul 2015 | 3:30 pmBillionaire Donald Trump, a presidential hopeful who can't stop vomiting racist comments, recently pushed for the banishment of some of America's hardest workers — now one Mexican laborer is pushing back. In a campaign speech in June, Trump was all too clear in his thoughts on Mexican immigrants: "The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems [with them]. They're bringing…
Former Disney CEO: 'Unbelievably Beautiful Women Are Not Funny'3 Jul 2015 | 3:20 pmAccording to former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who served as CEO from 1984 and 2005, women who are both beautiful and funny are practically impossible to find: "From my position, the hardest artist to find is a beautiful, funny woman." Eisner made his comments at the Aspen Ideas Festival on Thursday in an on-stage conversation with actress Goldie Hawn. According to The Atlantic, Eisner made the comments in the context that it was Hawn's rare beauty and humor that made her successful in Hollywood. "By far. They usually — boy am I going to get in trouble, I know this goes online…
This Popular Music Festival Plans to Turn People's Pee into Beer3 Jul 2015 | 2:32 pmRoskilde, northern Europe's largest music festival, has a crazy idea for festival goers this year: "Don't waste your piss. Farmers can turn it into beer again." In its attempt to go green, a Zealand, Denmark initiative is hoping to gather 25,000 liters of urine this year from attendees before the festival ends on July 4. Roskilde has so far seen 100,000 plus festivalgoers, which is right around the perfect number needed to meet their desired "contributions". How does the festival hope to use the thousands of gallons of pee to create new, drinkable beer? The new campaign, which is…
Tons of Reddit Users Flock to Competing Platform in Midst of Reddit Chaos3 Jul 2015 | 1:42 pmWith all the hysteria taking place in the reddit world right now over the firing of Victoria Taylor, redditors who are seeking "reddit alternatives" have taken refuge in the much smaller reddit clone of the Switzerland-based online community Voat, causing the website's servers to crash in the process. While internet users are unlikely to get through to the homepage, redditors still can't help but poke fun at the developing situation. "Voat.co right now" Voat also released this statement via Twitter: "Voat is currently getting hit with a huge amount of traffic as a direct…
UFC Fighter Has 'As Much Sex as Possible' Before His Fights, Disses Mayweather Again3 Jul 2015 | 12:38 pmSome boxers stand by the wisdom that says no sex before an upcoming fight; UFC fighter Conor McGregor disagrees and says he has as much sex as possible. Last night, McGregor appeared on Conan to promote UFC 189 where he will be fighting Chad Mendes. After McGregor touched on his mindset for the upcoming bout, Conan questioned McGregor's position on having sex before a fight. McGregor laughed and said: "That is most certainly a superstition that I do not abide by. I definitely have as much sex as possible." The crowd applauded and shared a few laughs with the talk show host…
Yapsody Blog
HOW TO BE A BUZZY BEE?29 Jun 2015 | 3:45 amHOW TO BE A BUZZY BEE? If you think tweeting "Got an event comin up. So damn excited 2 c all of u thr! :D" is creating a buzz, let me burst that bubble and tell you that we're way past inventing the wheel, fire, and definitely social media marketing. The best way (that also happens to be the only one) to create a buzz about your upcoming event is not a cakewalk, definitely. But what good would we be doing if we didn't make a walk through the rocks look like a cakewalk? WRITE ONE TO THE RIGHT ONES Because promoting a Broadway drama at a rock concert is so totally working out – not!
Have THE Social Media Marketing Checklist Ready – Check!26 Jun 2015 | 2:18 amHave THE Social Media Marketing Checklist Ready – Check! For all event organizers, rookies or oldies, social media marketing is the one shot they HAVE to take. Come on, who doesn't put up their upcoming event on Facebook? It's the most obvious thing to do when you think of social media marketing. And that's exactly why it's a problem – it's too obvious, which means, everyone else is doing it. If you have to ace this marketing strategy for your event, you have to upturn every little pebble you spot, and the least we can do is show you where the pebbles are. Now, that's exactly…
HOW TO USE PINTEREST TO PIN SUCCESS TO YOUR EVENT BOARD25 Jun 2015 | 11:23 pmHOW TO USE PINTEREST TO PIN SUCCESS TO YOUR EVENT BOARD We've had enough of the regular Facebook and Twitter, and it's high time we realized there's a lot more to social media marketing than just blue and blue birds. While Instagram is giving its own edge to the hashtags, Pinterest has come out as a whole new concept on its own involving boards and pins, reminding you of high school. And we tell you exactly what it takes to be a famous cheerleader in this high school by using Pinterest the right way! PINTEREST, THESE ARE PRESENTERS. PRESENTERS, THIS IS PINTEREST! There, you're already…
Impeccable 24×7 Customer Support22 Jun 2015 | 3:34 amImpeccable 24×7 Customer Support While most of what we do is all about online ticketing and events, we offer something way more important with our utmost dedication and at no cost at all – our impeccable online customer support. Anything you find awry about our ways, you can always reach out to us via email or our online chat support. You must be thinking, "If email and chat support is what it's all about, why am I supposed to be reading this blog post at all?" Because, we aren't the only ones that offer email and chat support, but we have a lot of things about it that make us…
DRAGONPAY IS HERE, BEBOT!17 Jun 2015 | 10:32 pmDRAGONPAY IS HERE, BEBOT! Yapsody finally introduces the revolutionary Philippines based payment gateway – Dragonpay – that is all set to turn over new leaves that promise to blossom in the world of online payments. For all of you who've been living with the credit-hack-o-phobia (paranoia that makes you commit naïve acts of closing all adjoining tabs, clearing browsing data, disabling cookies, uninstalling and reinstalling your browser while making an online payment through your credit card), here finally is a secure payment gateway that guarantees you (a presenter) and you (a…
StartUp Beat
Lightning Pitch: PrimaHealth Credit – Offering smarter, simpler and more transparent financial products3 Jul 2015 | 5:12 pmCOMPANY: PrimaHealth Credit ELEVATOR PITCH PrimaHealth Credit is reinventing patient finance by offering smarter, simpler, and more transparent financial products that patients love and doctors... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Lightning Pitch: PageProof – Fully encrypted cloud proofing and approval system3 Jul 2015 | 3:31 pmCOMPANY: PageProof ELEVATOR PITCH The world's first fully encrypted cloud proofing and approval system. PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION PageProof is for anyone seeking feedback on their document,... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Arthena, an equity crowdfunding platform for fine art investment, raises over $1M in its Seed round3 Jul 2015 | 11:02 amArthena is democratizing the art world by making fine art investment accessible. Through our unique equity crowdfunding model for tangible assets, users can invest in open collections, each of which... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Lightning Pitch: Equidam – Online discovery of your company value2 Jul 2015 | 7:34 pmCOMPANY: Equidam ELEVATOR PITCH Online discovery of your company value. PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION The Equidam platform helps companies big and small measure, track and grow their business value.... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Lightning Pitch: TomatoShark – The Etsy of music licensing2 Jul 2015 | 4:56 pmCOMPANY: TomatoShark ELEVATOR PITCH The Etsy of music licensing. PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION TomatoShark offers free to create music licensing storefronts for all musicians, and an ever expanding... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Need 100 Startup Ideas? Check Your Living Room3 Jul 2015 | 6:00 amWe live in an awesome time, don't we? As little as 5 years ago, we barely had the tools, frameworks and platforms that we have today in order to build a startup to do almost anything. Do you know what the most interesting thing to me is about the on-demand, sharing economy? It's not because of the crazy valuations (even though they are crazy), it's because I personally feel that one aspect of those businesses touched a chord, deep inside humanity. The desire to help each other. Since we roamed the world in tribes of prehistoric man, we've always been and needed to be, social…
The Future Is Not a Scary, Cold, Emotionless Place2 Jul 2015 | 6:00 amWhat's the deal with all of the scary, dystopian futures that we are seeing in all of the popular culture? Why are people thinking that the future is going to be so horrible? Of course, if you look in some directions, you see the power of the state increasing, but in other cases, you see the power of the individual increasing via the use of technology. Is not just a balance, it's in our favor. As humans. Is there a chance of a world like the Hunger Games or Tomorrowland's failed cities actually happening? Is it really possible that we will see worlds where people are pitted against…
Success Requires Butt Kicking1 Jul 2015 | 6:00 amI used to watch reality programming but have since kicked the habit since we dropped cable and moved to pure on-demand TV watching (Netflix, etc.). One of our favorite shows used to be Restaurant Impossible – if you haven't caught it, you probably know the type – this famous chef (well, at least Food Network famous) would go around to failing restaurants and in 48 hours with a very small budget (I think it was $10,000) attempt to turn them around. He would go in, see what was going on, and typically do three things: Change the menu Renovate the physical space Yell at the owner After…
Startup Success: You Got To Get Lucky30 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amThere are plenty of motivational speakers out there who speak about being successful and purport to have the magic formula for success in their back pocket, all you need is to throw them a mere $97 (A $400 savings off of the regular price of $497) and they will show you exactly what you need to do in order to ensure your success. Success requires luck. There, I said it. If you want to have a successful startup, you must get lucky. Trouble is, success is not repeatable. You can't just use the exact same formula that someone else did and be successful. You can't just execute the same moves…
Need To Innovate? You Must "Go There"29 Jun 2015 | 6:00 amLet me know if you've experienced this, because I have. Remember the last time you were in a brainstorming session. Maybe you all sat down to address a specific challenge, like "We need to increase revenues" or "Competitor XYZ is eating our lunch and we have to react", or maybe you had something specific, like "We need to reduce costs in this office by at least 30%", or maybe you had no challenge at all – it was just a general brainstorming session to come up with new ideas. Typically, the room has whiteboards and markers, or flipcharts, or those cool giant post-it notes you…
Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders
Startup Career Advice for 7/1/151 Jul 2015 | 4:03 pmJeffrey Needles writes for Medium about why he left his dream job. The Sales Development Meetup in NYC is hosting 'A Day in the Life of a Successful SDR', and event on July 8. Want more startup job posts and career advice? Subscribe to my mailing list to receive startup career advice and job postings delivered to your Inbox. Email The post Startup Career Advice for 7/1/15 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
Ask these 3 questions before working for free at a startup30 Jun 2015 | 7:38 amTaking an unpaid job or internship at a startup can be a huge boost to your startup career. Still, it's not a decision to be made lightly. Putting aside the legal aspects of the discussion for a moment, there are three questions you need to ask yourself before taking an unpaid internship or job at a startup. What's the level of funding or revenue at the startup? If a startup has raised hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in funding or is bootstrapped with a similar level of revenue they should be able to pay you something for your efforts should they want to bring…
Giving away 10 job search and career advice books28 Jun 2015 | 8:28 amMy company HireNurture is giving 10 job search and career advice books away ($175 value) to a couple of lucky winners. Many of these are top selling or top rated books that I've read and personally recommend, including: Getting to Yes (tools to help you with salary and other negotiations) The Guide to Hiring and Being Hired (written by LinkedIn Influencer Lou Adler) You can click here to enter just by putting in your email address (and answering the captcha question that comes up). And after you enter you can share to get more chances to win. Good luck! The post Giving away 10 job…
Startup Career Advice for 6/24/1524 Jun 2015 | 5:01 pmLee Hower of AgileVC writes about "playing startup". David Jackson, founder and CEO of Seeking Alpha, offers guidance to product managers on his blog. Want more startup job posts and career advice? Subscribe to my mailing list to receive startup career advice and job postings delivered to your Inbox. Email The post Startup Career Advice for 6/24/15 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
Startup Jobs for 6/22/1522 Jun 2015 | 6:59 pmFlexport is hiring an Operations Associate in San Francisco. Jact Media is looking for a summer marketing intern in NYC. Want more startup job posts and career advice? Subscribe to my mailing list to receive startup career advice and job postings delivered to your Inbox. Email The post Startup Jobs for 6/22/15 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
SPRING selects its 1st cohort of adolesent girl supporting African Startups2 Jul 2015 | 6:40 amLate last week, the SPRING accelerator just announced its 2015 participants. SPRING, if you are not familiar, is one of the most unique accelerators in operation, for a number of different reasons. Firstly, the accelerator is 100% focused on "ventures whose products and services improve the lives of adolescent girls."1 The accelerator is also unique in that it has given itself a lifespan. The SPRING program will last a total of five years, and will include 3 different cohorts, across 7 African and Asian countries. For the first cohort, covered in more detail below, the companies must…
The Top 5 Technologies that Changed the Course of Social Evolution2 Jul 2015 | 4:13 amFrom graphite pencils to supercomputers, everything is technology. Not every technology has a noticeable impact on the course of human evolution. Based on one definition, technology is the "machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge." It's not just about computers. Though computers make the list, there are other technologies that have altered the course of social evolution. Here are my top five in no particular order: Horseless Carriages It's not just about cars. It is about everything with a motor that enabled both people and packages to move…
Employee Retention: 3 Tips for Keeping Your Top Employees Happy2 Jul 2015 | 3:45 amWhat's the biggest asset to your startup aside from your customers? Hopefully, your answer was your employees. Without your employees coming into work everyday to help you reach your business objectives, there'd be no products and/or services to provide to your customers in the first place. Your staff is the "lifeline" of your organization, and if you don't take every chance that you can to show them that, chances are your turnover rates will be high. Since you've been through the hiring process before, you know full well how challenging and time consuming it can be to put…
Smart Financial Tips for Startups2 Jul 2015 | 3:04 amYour first few years in business are critical. The company you create will succeed or fail based on your financial decisions. In addition to generating a profit, an owner needs to closely monitor their cash flows and how assets are used in the business. Types of cash flows Your ability to generate cash inflows is just as important as generating a profit. If you can't develop cash inflows, your business can't operate. Not all cash flows are the same. A healthy company should generate cash flow from operations. If you're a jean manufacturer, for example, you should generate the majority…
Microsoft exits display ad market and sells mapping assets to Uber1 Jul 2015 | 5:22 amOn Monday, two separate but equally major pieces of Microsoft news broke. Both components have major implications for the future of the software giant. Firstly, Microsoft sold several components of Bing's mapping unit to the ride-sharing/taxi startup Uber. Secondly, the Seattle company is reportedly shutting down its display ad network. Quite a day. The move to sell Uber components of Bing's mapping unit seems to be of much less consequence to the overall operation of Microsoft. It is important to note that this is just a sale of assets, a small amount of assets at that. Bing Maps…
Blog - iGoStartup
Every Successful Startup Begins with Customer Discovery. Including Hardware.2 Jul 2015 | 10:53 pm"Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."
10 Things About IRP You Should Know Before Going Open Source1 Jul 2015 | 1:50 amHave you squeezed in an intellectual property rights strategy somewhere on your agenda?
Statistics about Startups by Business Industry in Europe30 Jun 2015 | 1:00 amThere are many surprising and not so surprising statistics about start-up businesses in Europe. Before you dive into starting a business or launch anything new in an existing business, you may want to take a look at some of these.
What's hot in the Smart Care Industry26 Jun 2015 | 12:15 amWhenever you are in a situation in which help is needed the chances of getting the desired help depend on the existing barriers for reaching out to those around you. As technology improves and government policies integrate new developments, the barriers for seeking out for help are disappearing and cities are becoming connected hubs where citizens can connect with those around them much easier and cheaper than before.
Developing an App Business – Opportunities and Threats in a Brave New World22 Jun 2015 | 3:57 amDeveloping an applications business can be very lucrative these days. There are always new and innovative ideas that consumers will love but there are lots of aspects to bringing new applications to fruition. Take a look at some of the opportunities and threats of this type of business.
RapidResource Small Business Blog
Are Drones in Your SMB's Future?29 Jun 2015 | 4:50 amA little over a year ago, California's drought drove vintners to new lengths when it came to producing a fruitful harvest, resulting in delicious wines. The Washington Post reported that these growers turned to technology to survive one of the worst droughts in the history. Many growers used drones to water their sprawling vines so that they didn't dry out. If this scenario proves anything, aside from wine makers' dedication to their craft, it demonstrates just how ubiquitous drones have become. Are drones taking over? Will they take off and become as common as cash-back transactions or…
What Software Offers Big Benefits to Small Businesses?24 Jun 2015 | 5:10 amSoftware can make or break your small business. It can hinder your efforts or help you reach your goals. Which would you prefer? Don't make the mistake of investing in ineffective solutions. Shop from these top software choices that made the cut based on affordability and agility. When I Work Retailers and restaurants face the issue of scheduling. Unlike your typical 9-to-5s, these industries include wonky hours that tend to vary week-to-week. Voted by Ink magazine as one of the top small business softwares of 2015, When I Work is an easy-to-use interface that can streamline…
7 Ways to Use Google Photos in Your Store16 Jun 2015 | 4:49 amEngaging visual displays are great for attracting new people to your store, especially if vibrant and colorful images pertain to your brand. While you likely upload your favorite company pictures to Facebook or Instagram, keeping them all stored in one secure location can offer your brand numerous benefits. As always, Google has you covered. The company recently unveiled Google Photos, its own cloud-based photo storage solution that can keep all your photos and videos in one place. Aside from having a more convenient site for your company's images, your small business can use this new…
6 Important Questions to Ask Before You Get an Intern8 Jun 2015 | 5:30 amThey're hungry. They're numerous. They're close. And they're coming for you. No, we're not talking about White Walkers. We're talking interns, and their time has finally arrived. High school and college students dedicate their summers to finding real-world working experience, whether they're seeking out full-time positions or non-paid internships. The latter offers your company a great opportunity to both educate students about working in the professional realm and gain valuable insight from younger generations with regard to best business practices. But does your business really need an…
6 Creative Ways to Use Fitness Trackers in Your Store2 Jun 2015 | 6:16 amWearable technology continues to become more popular among consumers, with new devices popping up every couple of months. This year's hottest accessories are fitness trackers, whether in the form of Fitbits, Apple Watches or Jawbones. Fitness trackers allow people to know exactly how many steps they've taken during the day, and some even offer calorie counts or plans for improvement. These devices can act as much more than eye candy for customers who walk into your store. Learn about the ways your business can interact with both customers and employees who have fitness trackers. 1.
Pakistan Electric Power Company, Pepco, website is defaced by Pakistani Hackers3 Jul 2015 | 10:06 amPakistani hackers group, Pak Cyber Expert, has hacked Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) website a while ago. The hackers have read moreThe post Pakistan Electric Power Company, Pepco, website is defaced by Pakistani Hackers appeared first on TechJuice.
Government implements 14% Advance Tax on Internet Connections Across Pakistan3 Jul 2015 | 8:44 amIt feels like only yesterday that the government repealed the 19.5% Internet Tax on Punjab while still enforcing it in read moreThe post Government implements 14% Advance Tax on Internet Connections Across Pakistan appeared first on TechJuice.
Rohayl Varind, 19, wins World Summit Youth Award 2014; makes Pakistan proud3 Jul 2015 | 12:32 amRohayl Varind, a 19-year-old Pakistani, won World Summit Youth Award in the category of "Pursue Truth" among 1898 submissions, spanning read moreThe post Rohayl Varind, 19, wins World Summit Youth Award 2014; makes Pakistan proud appeared first on TechJuice.
Pakistani Hackers hacked Indian website out of moral responsibility2 Jul 2015 | 11:28 pmPakistani hackers group "Hacked Pak Cyber Attackers" defaced the website of Chhatisgarh National Institute of Technology (NIT) and replaced the read moreThe post Pakistani Hackers hacked Indian website out of moral responsibility appeared first on TechJuice.
This Ramadan EatOye will help you order Iftar for the poor2 Jul 2015 | 10:21 pmRamadan is one of the most awaited months of Islamic Calendar, in which, Muslims throughout the world seek forgiveness and read moreThe post This Ramadan EatOye will help you order Iftar for the poor appeared first on TechJuice.
The Startup Journal - Indian Startup Stories, Startup News, Startup Resources, Interviews
Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Good Manager?5 Jul 2015 | 3:18 am"Employees quit their manager; and not their company" read a stupendous employee confession on a very popular human resource magazine. Although manager is pretty much a cool term, it has so much to do with things running down the spine in-order to keep the business moving forward. In a way, managing people is like sex; those talking about it are probably the least doing it. This is one earnest attempt to really get deeper into the stuff and understand what it takes for somebody to become a manager and getting away with things done. "A Manager is the person responsible for planning and…
With 4 Lac People Reached In 3 Months This Startup Might Be The Answer To LinkedIn In India4 Jul 2015 | 10:19 pmThere was a time when no Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter existed, that was almost a decade back. But now the human race revolves around a stream of status updates, Tweets and wall feeds. We all have seen that the power and potential of Social Media which is exponentially growing in recent years. Fast forward to the future of Social Media, global social media usage will continue on its upward trajectory. A vision combined with innovation and technical expertise gave birth to YoungSkilledIndia, a Varanasi based startup to solve the billion dollar question that, how can we create Skilled India and…
JetSetClean – Disrupting The On-Demand Laundry Market In India4 Jul 2015 | 9:00 amLaundry is a time consuming and a cumbersome effort that takes up to 15-20 hours of a working professional every month. For the busy urban working professionals, time is of the utmost need and finding time between job life and play life, laundry is that one task that most people end up procrastinating over. Over 60% of working professionals report laundry as their least favorite chore. The traditional techniques include running around undependable neighborhood dhobis or self-serve Laundromats. Dry cleaning can be such a hassle too. Finding time to drop your clothes at the dry cleaners and…
BankBazaar.com Raises Rs. 375 Crore Led By Amazon3 Jul 2015 | 8:48 amBankBazaar, a leading financial market place, today raised Rs. 375 crores ($60 Million) in its Series C round of funding led by Amazon with participation from Fidelity Growth Partners and Mousse Partners. Existing investors Sequoia Capital and Walden International also participated in the Series C funding round. The funds will be primarily deployed towards technology integration, hiring and strengthening partner relationships and to creating a truly phenomenal end-to-end customer experience in order to grow in the online financial services category as a market leader. The company will also…
What Is The Right Time To Register Your Startup?1 Jul 2015 | 11:54 pmNew businesses raising funds shouldn't wait until they begin pitching investors to register themselves as a company. It could lead to delays and tax trouble, too. There is perhaps no conversation start-ups ignore more than they do ones on legal and compliance. This is not entirely without reason, given the slowness of government processes. Although the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is working hard to reduce the pains of starting and running a business, you can't wait for it to change before you start understanding how the law operates. After all, if you don't go to…
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What To Look For When Hiring Kitchen Staff For Your Restaurant2 Jul 2015 | 6:23 amGreat kitchen staff is hard to find, but at the same time it is hard to keep. Cooks can often find themselves in the situation of not being able to cope with what goes on in a kitchen. It's definitely not an ideal situation to change the cooks several times…
5 Easy Tips That Will Improve Your Catering Business2 Jul 2015 | 6:22 amThe catering business is extremely competitive. Before getting into it, you need to have a well defined plan of what you'd like your business to look like. Think about what you want to offer to your target audience. Caterers face many challenges every day, so it's definitely not an easy…
Catering Software Will Help Your Business2 Jul 2015 | 6:21 amWhen it comes to running a catering business, you need to be able to cater to all your patrons' needs. However, this can get pretty tricky and overwhelming in a short time. This is why you should invest in catering software. It will definitely make life easier for you and…
Which Type of Catering Services Work Best for You?2 Jul 2015 | 6:20 amIf you are thinking about starting a catering business, you need to know all there is to it. When you think of catering, do you only imagine fancy and festive events? Then you still have some research to do. Catering services come in many shapes and sizes and you need…
What Restaurant Managers Need To Know When Dealing With Angry Customers2 Jul 2015 | 6:19 amGood food, good music, and a pleasant atmosphere are important when it comes to a restaurant's reputation. But so is timely customer service. No matter how much you try, there will inevitably be a moment in your restaurant's existence where you will have customer complaints. This is a crucial moment.…
Outlier Magazine
Suzanne Paulinski Interview- Starting a Movement2 Jul 2015 | 10:47 pm"Don't worry about everybody else. Don't worry about how long it's taking you. Don't worry about if someone is coming up behind you. Stay in your lane." – Suzanne Paulinski About: Suzanne Paulinski- Founder of The Rockstar Advocate Overview: Suzanne has a passion for music that started at a young age. After traveling down the entrepreneurial road in the music scene, she saw the need for artists to have a "career coach," or someone who would be their advocate for success. Now, she is attempting to start a movement with her new-found…
JobPiper Interview – The Science of Hiring28 Jun 2015 | 10:46 pm"We help companies build legendary teams, and we help individuals build legendary careers." About: Derik Krauss, Ryan Harmon, & Adam Wilson – Founders of JobPiper Overview: JobPiper helps employers find the right employees for their company. During this interview, we learn about the founder's story along with the ups and downs of starting JobPiper. Highlights: What is JobPiper: JobPiper is a young company that helps other companies hire with science (hiring the right person for the right position). Employers sign up with Job Piper (a software platform) and they…
Ceci Johnson Interview – Building a Luxury Empire24 Jun 2015 | 10:27 pm"Punch fear in the face. Fear is the only thing that keeps people from trying. If you don't try, you'll never know." – Ceci Johnson About: Ceci Johnson- Founder of Ceci New York Ceci Johnson's story started with an invitation she created for a coworker's wedding combined with the realization that a truly customized graphic design experience in wedding invitations was not available at that time. Armed with a clear desire to create the best invitations in the world, she started her business out of a shared office space NYC. Ten years later, her love of paper,…
Sarah Kathleen Peck Interview – Finding Balance21 Jun 2015 | 10:52 pm"One minute is enough." Sarah Kathleen Peck About: Sarah Peck- Director of Communications at One Month, Founder and Writer of It Starts With Sarah Peck is the Director of Communications at One Month, an essayist, a speaker, and an open-water swimmer. One Month is an online school for accelerated education that teaches people business and coding skills in as little as 30 minutes a day. Based in Brooklyn, Sarah is an intuitive relationship builder, a philosopher, and a deep lover of mind-body integration. She is a 20-time NCAA All-American swimmer who escaped from Alcatraz nine…
Outlier Mastermind Invite18 Jun 2015 | 11:34 amOutlier is starting a virtual mastermind group mid July 2015 and I would love an opportunity to talk to you about it. Interested? What is a mastermind group? A mastermind group is designed to help you navigate through challenges using the collective intelligence of others. Four Reasons Every Entrepreneur Needs a Mastermind Group – Huffington Post Here are some quick facts about the Outlier Mastermind: The goal of our mastermind is to help each other grow our businesses and personal brands. We will meet weekly via Skype or Google Hangout for 1 hour and 15 minutes (time TBD). We're…
PakWired • Business, Startups and Tech
Introducing Facebook Lite for 2G Users on Android4 Jul 2015 | 11:47 pmFacebook got its way to reaching you no matter what android phone you're on and what type of data connection you've got. They've earned thumbs up as Facebook Lite is light as a feather and makes your way back to the Facebook wall. Facebook Lite is a light edition of Facebook Android app for 2G... The post Introducing Facebook Lite for 2G Users on Android appeared first on PakWired • Business, Startups and Tech.
Taxing Times: Govt. Imposes 14% Advanced Tax on Internet Across Pakistan4 Jul 2015 | 6:46 amInternet, the very life-blood of nearly every business, most of all Tech sector, is being levied 14% tax across Pakistan. According to reports, the government is imposing 14% tax on the total internet bill amount all across the country. The good news however, is that those users who file income tax returns, can claim this... The post Taxing Times: Govt. Imposes 14% Advanced Tax on Internet Across Pakistan appeared first on PakWired • Business, Startups and Tech.
Meet Mailman: Pakistan's Amin Shah Gilani Wins Coinbase Bithack v2 Hackathon3 Jul 2015 | 3:29 amPakistani startups and techies are going places and making their mark on the global tech scene. It is pretty evident from the increasing number of startups that are not only competing with the best in the world but are also leading the way in many cases. Coinbase, a Bitcoin payment processing company conducted its global... The post Meet Mailman: Pakistan's Amin Shah Gilani Wins Coinbase Bithack v2 Hackathon appeared first on PakWired • Business, Startups and Tech.
The Evolution of Pakistani Real Estate Marketing3 Jul 2015 | 2:14 amIf housing bubble's have taught us anything, its that real estate has a direct impact not only on home valuations, but also on a nation's mortgage markets, home builders, real estate, home supply retail outlets and foreign banks. According to The State Bank's Quarterly Housing Finance Review, Pakistan's "housing units' shortage can be estimated more than 9 million... The post The Evolution of Pakistani Real Estate Marketing appeared first on PakWired • Business, Startups and Tech.
Boon or Bane? Facebook's New Update will Track Your Actions to Show You Relevant Content2 Jul 2015 | 9:33 pmInternet activists and pro-privacy groups have always been screaming hoarse about the grey areas in privacy settings of social media networks. Facebook has lunched many a flame baits with each update to its app and website. The latest update from the Zuckerberg-led social network fuels the fire even further. Or does it? Facebook has always... The post Boon or Bane? Facebook's New Update will Track Your Actions to Show You Relevant Content appeared first on PakWired • Business, Startups and Tech.
1CLICK Blog
How Live Customer Support Reduces Shopping Cart Abandonment1 Jul 2015 | 11:56 pmOnline shopping has become a major part of our lives today. It's convenient, hassle-free and delivered right to your doorstep. This doesn't seem so bad at all! Yet, in the days before Co-browsing and other fantastic te … Continue reading →The post How Live Customer Support Reduces Shopping Cart Abandonment appeared first on 1CLICK Blog.
Co-browsing vs Screen Sharing29 Jun 2015 | 1:30 pmThe ability to project your screen onto other devices in different parts of the world is truly a remarkable technology. Co-browsing is a relatively new technology when compared to screen sharing. Tech-savvy people all around the w … Continue reading →The post Co-browsing vs Screen Sharing appeared first on 1CLICK Blog.
Free Co-browsing Software Available Online24 Jun 2015 | 7:58 amCo-browsing software is the up and coming, next big online craze. It is a software using which two people can access the same screen even though they may be miles apart. The same screen could be a web page, digital document or mo … Continue reading →The post Free Co-browsing Software Available Online appeared first on 1CLICK Blog.
Live Chat Software: The 3 Types You'll Find Online19 Jun 2015 | 8:39 amCustomer service plays a crucial role in expanding and improving a business. It involves solving a customer's problems to help him/her have a better shopping experience. In today's world, a lot of people all around the globe prefe … Continue reading →The post Live Chat Software: The 3 Types You'll Find Online appeared first on 1CLICK Blog.
6 Types of Customers that Engage in a Live Video Chat Support10 Jun 2015 | 4:09 amThe aim of any online business is to attract customers, provide a very positive experience for them and inspire loyalty. This ensures that a customer will keep coming back, as well as telling other people about your business. Howe … Continue reading →The post 6 Types of Customers that Engage in a Live Video Chat Support appeared first on 1CLICK Blog.
Smart Home System Oomi Raises Over $1.7M4 Jul 2015 | 9:08 pmWith Oomi, you can design the intelligent home of your dreams. Oomi learns how you live and what you do to keep your family safe and your home comfortable. It learns how you like to relax, and how you like to have fun. Then, it makes recommendations on what it can manage for you, so you can spend more time on the things that matter the most. Oomi raised over $1.7 Million during its Indiegogo campaign! Unlike other smart home hubs, Oomi Cube is not only packed with environmental sensors, a night vision IP camera, security detection and wireless control, but it is also the only to feature a…
The Camera for Virtual Reality Sphericam 23 Jul 2015 | 11:51 pmVirtual reality has been touted as the next big thing since Neo took the red pill. And while the likes of Oculus Rift and Samsung are outbidding each other to create the the best VR viewing platforms, there is a critical part of the puzzle still missing – how do you create stunning VR content in the first place? Sphericam 2 allows you to capture absolutely everything around you in high resolution without any blind spots. You can watch the resulting videos on a VR Headset like Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard. Six cameras work seamlessly together to capture the world…
Nikola Labs – Converts Radio Frequencies Into DC Power2 Jul 2015 | 9:22 pmNikola Labs technology efficiently converts RF signals like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LTE into DC power using its proprietary energy harvesting circuit. The result is usable energy that can provide power to mobile devices wirelessly. By recycling the wasted RF energy given off by your phone — Nikola Labs case significantly extends your phone's battery life between charges. Below Roland Tallos – co-inventor at Nikola Labs demonstrates the Nikola Phone Case: Below is the message from Nikola Labs team: "Wow! Nikola Labs has raised $53,738 in one week, 39% of our goal. We started the…
Mushroom VR – A Groundbreaking Virtual Reality Review and Approval Tool2 Jul 2015 | 2:50 amDeveloped by Los Angeles based Super 78, Mushroom VR is the first virtual reality collaborative media review and approval tool for the Oculus Rift. Mushroom VR and the Oculus Rift deliver collaborative multi-user media review experience, especially for immersive multimedia content. Below is our interview with Dina Benadon, CEO and Brent Young, President and Creative Director of Super 78: Q: How did the idea behind Mushroom VR come about? DB: At Super 78, we've been designing and developing media-based attractions for theme parks, museums, and all kinds of special venues for almost two…
Waterline Data Helps You Find, Understand And Govern Data In Hadoop1 Jul 2015 | 3:44 amWaterline Data was founded in 2013, and is backed by Menlo Ventures and Sigma West. The inspiration for the name "Waterline" came from the metaphor of the data lake where the data is hidden below the waterline. The mission of Waterline Data is to deliver a governed data lake to the business, and help data engineers and data scientists find the best suited and most trusted data without coding and manual exploration – in other words they should be able to "Hadoop above the waterline." Waterline Data was developed to leverage the power and scalability of Hadoop to…
Invest In Local Projects Via Neighbourly2 Jul 2015 | 6:32 pmAre you confident of the investments that your bank is making with your savings? Are you unhappy with the fact that your locality's requirements have been neglected for too long? Do you want to be an agent for the change in your local community? Interestingly, the answer to all these questions is the same, Neighbourly. A site that caters to investing in the local community, Neighbourly is an easy way for you to invest in local projects and help in growth of your local area. For over 200 years, cities have raised money publicly for local projects but this summer Neighbourly will be the first…
Hire The Boat Via Boatbound30 Jun 2015 | 6:31 pmSummer is here, the Sun is out and there is no reason for you to stay indoors. While others hit the road and head to the beach, you can go further and enjoy your time at the sea. Don't worry if you do not have a boat because Boatbound will help you find one, no matter where in the United States you are. Boatbound is an online rental place for boats where you can rent a boat and pay for its usage alone. No membership fee or any maintenance costs. Own the boat for the day and even hire a captain if you are going to host a party. Decide whether you want a sail boat for a date or a high speed…
Meet Knotable, The App For Teamwork29 Jun 2015 | 6:32 pmYou have a 10 o clock meeting with your client on Skype; you are co-ordinating with your freelancing team located all over the globe, and you – the team leader are on a camping trip to clear your head. With a well connected world that we are living in today, getting work done has gotten easier, and convenient, but getting everybody on the same page is still a task that you have to struggle with. But not anymore with Knotable, exchanging notes, having discussions and sharing views, jotting ideas etc. has become way easier than before. It is a great way for your whole team to function…
Meet Incluyeme, The Amazing Job Portal For Disabled People28 Jun 2015 | 6:33 pmWith employment, one does not only find a focus in life, but sometimes, also meaning. This is especially true when we are globally dealing with recession, lack of employment and overall depletion of resources. But this has not deterred this incredible company called Incluyeme. Incluyeme is a great organization that helps find employment for disabled people. Their network is spread all over Latin America, helping combat unemployment in this very tough economy. They are committed to helping develop talent and finding its right place in the world as well as helping people bridge the gap and…
Project Your Career With Landmoda25 Jun 2015 | 6:31 pmThe modelling industry can get quite competitive, and without the right kind of direction and marketing, you can get lost in the ocean of faces, not managing to make a mark. But thankfully, there are places that do offer some solace when it comes to handling a models career and one such place is Landmoda. Landmoda offers models, established or new to the industry, a platform where they can establish, market and create a brand identity, attracting contracts with top agencies all over the world. Landmoda offers tools that create a direct channel between those looking for new faces, and the…
Playme AR
Playmear.com in e27, Echelon Asia Summit Singapore 2015, June 23 – 2426 Jun 2015 | 3:30 amPlaymear.com was honoured to have been selected as Malaysia's MaGIC Top 15 Startups for Echelon Asia Summit Singapore 2015! We are delighted to have been selected and being able to showcase Playmear.com to the Singaporeans and the global audience there with MaGIC. E27's Echelon Asia Summit Singapore boast a wide array of audiences with more than 2500 spanning from across Asia with investors, business partners and startups from Japan, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and more! Some little meaning behind the word of MaGIC or "Malaysian Global…
Can Augmented Reality be used in Marketing Campaigns19 Jun 2015 | 9:48 pmSo you have heard of Augmented Reality also known as AR or even seen what Augmented Reality "AR" is. Well if you don't to many of those that still clueless what augmented reality is then you should read on. It's normal as statistics have shown that Augmented Reality apps is only about less than 100 million in total overall in global reach therefore it isn't weird that many still don't know what is augmented reality. Some that seen this will lament that it is a improved version of QR codes which is not the same thing. Its almost like comparing apples and…
Do-It-Yourself Souvenir Gift Printing Set12 Jun 2015 | 1:21 amHave you ever wondered how mugs and t-shirt have pictures that are hot-printed into them? DIYPrintingSuppy.com has been around for quite sometime and they are known for their do-it-yourself type of printing products and supplies. Imagine if you can have your own Souvenir Gift Printing Set and do it yourself for your friends and family! DIY Printing Set Gifts printing were previously thought be industrial made only, but now it is as simple as purchasing a set of printing set and supplies. You can also see the mug printing machine that is simple to implement into any rounded surface. The…
10 Cool Free Fonts Designers Use!10 Jun 2015 | 1:49 amIt goes without saying that when a designer designs, they design with a certain set of tools they are accustom to and familiar with, so these are some of the fonts we've discover to be just that set of tools! I also notice that the right font choice makes things easier and conveys different sets of feelings according to the images. Don't worry, we at Playmear have been using some of these free fonts for sometime and we'd like to share what we've been using to you guys! Websites, posters, brochures that have the right set of free fonts and typography generally speaks…
Playme Augmented Reality Creator Coming Soon!21 Apr 2015 | 1:06 amPlayme AR is just getting started, and we've receive overwhelming responses from you our eager early adopters and customers! We are very thankful and happy at the same time at the huge response! Playme Augmented Reality Creator 1.0 is coming to your finger tips soon and we'll be allowing our early users a free 2 AR Designs (Credits) to use our platform and test them out! Here's a sneak peak into what our Augmented Reality Creator can do for an average joe (or marketers) like us that wants to bring digital interactivity to their prints, advertising channel and much more!
Conversionaid: Create Software That Sells
080: How a British Couple are on Track to Build a Million Dollar SaaS Business1 Jul 2015 | 10:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Bridget Harris is the co-founder and CEO of YouCanBookMe, a SaaS product that helps you schedule meetings. The product was launched in 2011 and today serves tens of thousands of users and handles almost half a million bookings each month. Bridget started her career in the film and television industry. She then moved into politics where she ended being an advisor to the UK Deputy Prime Minister. And then in 2012 she took on the role of CEO at YouCanBookMe. The company is based in the UK and has been bootstrapped from day one. In this episode we talk about: How…
079: How to Use Influencer Marketing to Grow Your SaaS Business29 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Dave is the co-founder of Ninja Outreach, a SaaS prospecting & outreach tool which was created to streamline the process of connecting with influencers. Before founding Ninja Outreach, Dave ran a travel blog that did six figures a year. Today we're going to take everything that Dave's learned about influencer marketing and teach you how to apply it to your own business. You'll learn how you can find & work with influencers in your market and use those relationships to grow your brand and generate more leads and customers. In this…
078: How a Developer Created & Sold a $15,000 Training Course with no Sales Pitch24 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Douglas Calhoun is the co-founder of Hack Reactor, a San Francisco-based startup whose vision is to create the CS degree for the 21st century. Hack Reactor runs 12-week intensive coding bootcamps (which you can do in-person or online) designed to accelerate your software career. According to Hack Reactor, 99% of its graduates receive at least 1 full-time job offer within 3 months graduating and earn an average salary in the six figures. Success Quote "You can never keep up with someone who has a natural passion with what they're doing" Links,…
077: Part 2 – How a Guy in Canada Built 3 Multi-Million Dollar Businesses by Age 3022 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Andrew Wilkinson is the founder of MetaLab and Flow. Metalab is a design agency that Andrew founded when he was just 20 years old and has grown it into a business with over 60 employees. MetaLab is the design team behind Slack which is now valued at $2.8 billion. And Flow is a task management SaaS application for teams which is used by companies like Etsy, Tesla, Adobe, and TED. In this episode we talk about: How Andrew built 3 multi-million dollar businesses by the age of 30 How he works 5-6 hours a day and gets 8 hours sleep every night How Andrew went from…
076: Part 1 – How Andrew Wilkinson Bootstrapped a Multi-Million Dollar Design Agency17 Jun 2015 | 10:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Andrew Wilkinson is the founder of MetaLab and Flow. Metalab is a design agency that Andrew founded when he was just 20 years old and has grown it into a business with over 60 employees. MetaLab is the design team behind Slack which is now valued at $2.8 billion. And Flow is a task management SaaS application for teams which is used by companies like Etsy, Tesla, Adobe, and TED. In this episode we talk about: How Andrew turned Metalab into a multi-million dollar design agency How he met and partnered with Stewart Butterfield the founder of Slack How Andrew…
Blogging Crowd Ownership
Your customers hate your product & maybe you too15 Jun 2015 | 5:32 pmWe launched RocketClub's first campaign 'Earn Startup Shares trying Cool Products' to much excitement and a bit of embarrassment last Friday. According to Reid Hoffman, I suppose we did the right thing -we pushed for a launch even though we needed more time. It wasn't until our site was getting real usage and we were doing everything … Continue reading Your customers hate your product & maybe you too → The post Your customers hate your product & maybe you too appeared first on Blogging Crowd Ownership.
33 Tips to get Company Press Media Attention20 May 2015 | 5:50 pmPart 1. Press is Credibility Part 2. Press is Visibility Many startup company founders confuse the two statements above. As per getting press is concerned, the two statements actually exist in that order. Without credibility, your company/campaign will not get visibility. The reason why founders often confuse the two is because they're focused on the goal (the end-result), … Continue reading 33 Tips to get Company Press Media Attention → The post 33 Tips to get Company Press Media Attention appeared first on Blogging Crowd Ownership.
Successful Startups Do Crowd Ownership16 Apr 2015 | 5:18 pmWhat is Crowd Ownership Crowd ownership is real stake held by the community itself. This is usually in the form of a large partnership or distribution of company shares to the community. Crowd ownership works because long-term incentives are aligned. It powers further adoption as well as sustains the livelihood of the community. Crowd ownership refers to the … Continue reading Successful Startups Do Crowd Ownership → The post Successful Startups Do Crowd Ownership appeared first on Blogging Crowd Ownership.
Crowd Ownership is RocketClub2 Apr 2015 | 3:25 pmCrowd Ownership is the New Black Recently, I published an article on Medium titled "The Crowd Ownership Manifesto". In it I explained the genesis of the idea and reasoned why it will become part of the future. For those who are trying to figure out what this was about or the thesis behind this blog moving forward, it is a … Continue reading Crowd Ownership is RocketClub → The post Crowd Ownership is RocketClub appeared first on Blogging Crowd Ownership.
Best Interview Question to Ask Any Startup Candidate5 Mar 2015 | 3:21 pmThis is the interview question: "Tell me your life story in five minutes." Try it. You're on the spot now. You are interviewing for the biggest job of your life thus far, and you have just been asked that question. Spend the next five minutes answering it aloud. [Seriously, take a few minutes to do … Continue reading Best Interview Question to Ask Any Startup Candidate → The post Best Interview Question to Ask Any Startup Candidate appeared first on Blogging Crowd Ownership.
The 37 Best Websites To Learn Something New26 Jun 2015 | 2:33 pmForget overpriced schools, long days in a crowded classroom, and pitifully poor results. These websites and apps cover myriads of science, art, and technology topics. They will teach you practically anything, from making hummus to building apps in node.js, most of them for free. There is absolutely no excuse for you not to master a new skill, expand your knowledge, or eventually boost your career. You can learn interactively at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home. It's hard to imagine how much easier it can possibly be. Honestly, what are you waiting for? …
Morocco: On Startups, Ambitions, and Treacherous Google22 Jun 2015 | 3:29 pmI still vividly remember July 28th, 2014. It was a dusty summer afternoon in Marrakech. My co-founder and I were hiding from the scolding heat and resting on a traditional Moroccan sofa, and I tentatively clicked on Mailchimp's "send now" button to officially launch MAQTOOB via a newsletter to our beta testers. We deliberately moved to Morocco for a couple of months to bootstrap our way to successful inauguration of a new app discovery platform. And we were neither the first nor the last startup to use this breathtaking country as a comfortable and cheap base to build our product.
What makes you an entrepreneur?15 Jun 2015 | 11:08 amWhen desperate nights tend to lose to hopeful mornings. When the lesson of losing money is an investment, not a failure. When trading 11 months of drudgery for 1 month of fun is not an option. When stability is the shackles of progress. When facing stereotype means facing slow death. When rejection is the temporary toll and freedom is the sweet trophy. When a message from a happy customer means the world. When mockery triggers a boost of energy to push harder. When loneliness takes on brand new faces. When…
Social Media for Dummies: 5-Step Checklist2 Jun 2015 | 9:46 amStep 1 Know your audience Don't expect people to follow you without offering them something valuable first. It's vital to learn about the interests of your potential customers and identify the content they are looking for. Are they young professionals who follow the latest trends in business on Twitter? Are they teenagers who share images via Snapchat? Are they creative freelancers who look for inspiration on Pinterest? Try to go as deep as possible and make both a comprehensive list of topics you can cover, and a list of social networks you…
Ultimate Digital Nomad Guide to Lebanon27 May 2015 | 8:28 amThere was a time when nomads didn't belong to any country – they would be crossing borders, seeking pasture for livestock, or making a living on the go. Nowadays, there are still some nomads here and there – the ones that consumer society hasn't reached yet, despite the "missions" that are sent out regularly, offering free education, medical care and support of various NGOs to help them "get better" and ultimately push them into settling. Meanwhile, some of us retain that streak of moving from place to place, meeting, mingling, and learning about…
Root And Cwm Recovery For Infinix Hot Note5 Jul 2015 | 10:44 amInfinix Mobility's latest smartphone infinix hot note is finally added to our development line and in near future we will provide custom roms for it. But before it, today we will show you that how to root and install cwm recovery for infinix hot note. The guide below have two phases, in first phase we The post Root And Cwm Recovery For Infinix Hot Note appeared first on MGeeky.
How To Hack In-App Purchases Without Root4 Jul 2015 | 2:45 pmHow To Hack In-App Purchases Without Root ? well that's the question, people are asking to us on our social connects and emails. As the method of hacking in-app purchases available for rooted devices but not for non-rooted devices. So we think to prepare a step by step guide for it and found a full The post How To Hack In-App Purchases Without Root appeared first on MGeeky.
CyanogenMod 11 Rom For QMobile A900i, Primo H3 And Gionee Ctrl V53 Jul 2015 | 2:31 pmWe are back with CyanogenMod 11 Rom For QMobile A900i, Primo H3 And Gionee Ctrl V5. The development of this phone is still alive and we will keep providing the custom roms for QMobile A900i, primo h3 and gionee ctrl v5. Before we proceed, we want to clear one thing here that this is the original cm11 The post CyanogenMod 11 Rom For QMobile A900i, Primo H3 And Gionee Ctrl V5 appeared first on MGeeky.
Best Android SSH client – JuiceSSH3 Jul 2015 | 12:03 pmNo matter if you want to control your VPS or want to access any computer locally, SSH is the best way to do so. And it becomes more convenient if you can do the same from your Android device. Today we'll discuss about the best Android SSH Client available in Google Play Store. What is The post Best Android SSH client – JuiceSSH appeared first on MGeeky.
BiteSMS Alternative for iOS 8 Users1 Jul 2015 | 6:55 amBiteSMS which was the Cydia tweak with more than 7 Million downloads is no longer updated for iOS 8 users. This tweak was still in the top but for iOS 5, 6, and iOS 7 users. BiteSMS alternative is now available in Cydia for all iOS 8 users whether running on iOS 8.0 or whether The post BiteSMS Alternative for iOS 8 Users appeared first on MGeeky.
Ford To Invest More Than $100,000 In Student-led Community Projects In Africa30 Jun 2015 | 10:06 amFord Motor Company Fund is expanding the Ford College Community Challenge (C3) to Africa, offering universities in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa the innovative global program that empowers students to improve their communities through sustainability projects. Ford Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, will invest more than $100,000 to launch the C3 program in Africa. Under the program, student-led community projects will be chosen in those countries to address critical local needs and create a more sustainable place to live and work. "Education is a cornerstone of Ford…
Twitter is Also Hiring For Africa30 Jun 2015 | 1:33 amMicro-blogging platform Twitter,is seeeking the skill of an Associate Partnerships Manager for Twitter Africa to join its media team in London. The fact is ,you must be based in london or ready to relocate to london. You will be responsible for bringing scale and service to our most influential partners within multiple verticals. Tasks include: verifying accounts; joining meetings with high profile Twitter users to take notes and conduct follow up; providing the day-to-day back-end support that allows the media team to maximize its impact. Projects will vary from conducting research on…
Facebook Opens First African Office in South Africa30 Jun 2015 | 1:08 amSocial media Giant Facebook has opened its first office in Africa to further the company's commitment to help businesses connect with people and grow locally in South Africa's city of Johannesburg. Facebook's active user population in Africa has grown 20% to 120 million in June 2015 from 100 million in September 2014. More than 80% of these people access Facebook from their mobile phones.This means a lot in terms of business to facebook since Africa's mobile penetration rate is growing faster , it needs to position itself in order to tap it potentially through the use of its…
Ghana's Farmerline Wins $50,000 Investment Fund From Village Capital27 Jun 2015 | 5:26 amFarmerline and Ugandan startup Atikus have been named winners of the Village Capital's FinTech for Agriculture accelerator programme in East Africa receiving an investment fund of $50,000 each. In a post by Disrupt-Africa ,the programme ended with a venture forum earlier this week, with participants ranking each other based on six criteria. Ghanaian startup Farmerline, which is expanding to East Africa and provides agricultural information to farmers, and Rwanda's Atikus Insurance, which expands access to credit by increasing the capacity of MSME lenders via reimagined insurance and…
Andela Closes Series A Round Led By Spark Capital26 Jun 2015 | 2:11 amAndela,a startup that find Africa's best and brightest, train them to be world-class remote software developers, and connect them with companies around the world has announced the close of a Series A round of funding led by Spark capital based in the US . The series which also involved seed investors, including impact fund Omidyar Network and Learn Capital is fuel the company's expansion growth on the Continent. The startup is ushering in a self-funding model of education. Instead of charging tuition, they pay their students (called Andela Fellows) to learn, financing their…
Sunstone Communication - Blog
Function, Context, Time: A Short Sketch About Quality20 Jun 2015 | 1:46 pmQuality has been in my mind a lot this week. One way or another I have seen and heard some great stuff. And I was also frustrated and challenged by the bad things. At the end I felt I had a little bit of clarity. Real quality is three elements. Function, context and time. And it matters above all else.For example, I spoke at a conference on Enterprise Mobility Management on Thursday. I was pleasantly surprised by the clarity and quality of the early speakers. A few hours later I was listening to the car radio. A discussion about sustainable fashion. The show included the bald statement that…
Customer Centric SaaS: See The Whole Board11 Jun 2015 | 10:32 pmChess players in park, kiev 2. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia CommonsSelling services is a relationship not a process. SaaS companies are great at the data and the detail. It is time to step back and look at the whole board. I call this Customer Centric SaaS. At heart it means looking at lifetime value to the customer as well as measuring LTV for your company.John Hornell Quantify WorkshopWe had a great discussion this week in the awesome Fairfields Govan Co-working space run by Rookieoven. John Hornell from Quantify gave an excellent workshop on startup marketing and lead…
Customer Onboarding - Grow Ideas and Execute The Best6 Jun 2015 | 4:13 amThe Customer Onboarding Project is making good progress. Please join in to help some awesome SaaS companies grow. Lets continue leveraging the power of the community beyond the ideas. Each business needs to find the right specific execution plan. Join Sunstone to be part of that process. Our SaaS Group project on Customer Onboarding is going well. The numbers of participants, ideas and votes have all doubled in the past two weeks. I am enjoying seeing the engagement and the ideas. Check them out by following the link in the text and make your contribution. The more ideas and votes we get into…
Bespoke Tailoring Your Product/ Market Fit30 May 2015 | 12:05 amProduct/ Market Fit is a vital stage in the startup journey. But its is a tough concept to understand. I prefer to call it Customer/ Product Fit because it is about customer need. It is still hard to define. Think of it as being like the process of making a designer, bespoke suit. Lots of careful craftsmanship and testing to reach a product the customer falls in love with.An Essential Part of The SaaS Revenue ModelProduct/ Market Fit is a key concept for growing and developing any startup. You can't build the SaaS recurring revenue model without it. Investors and analysts see it as a key…
How You Can Help Improve SaaS Customer Onboarding19 May 2015 | 3:00 pmBuilding a SaaS business can feel like one long series of experiments. No-one can afford to just keep trying random ideas. My new project using Codigital provides a great engine for the startup community. We can collaborate to find the best ideas about customer onboarding. Everyone who participates in the project will benefit. Sometimes the SaaS recurring revenue model feels like a variation on an old cliche. Run enough A/B tests on enough scenarios and you will create a unicorn…in the end. Right now some start ups are raising enormous amounts of cash. You could be forgiven for…
From Corporate To Career Freedom
Edgar Social Media Tool Review19 Jun 2015 | 12:00 amI have a confession. I'm a lazy social media poster. You see, I understand how important social media is for growing a business. I know it's a great way to increase visibility of your brand. It's a great way to connect with potential customers. It's a great way to bring regular traffic to your website. […] Read more... The post Edgar Social Media Tool Review appeared first on From Corporate To Career Freedom.
7 Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Use22 May 2015 | 6:50 amMessy tables, non-stop ringing phones, sporadic schedules, team management troubles, email beeps, and what not; an entrepreneur often has stacks work of finish. It can be quite difficult to manage all your tasks once your business in kicking-in and has finally started making profits. You don't want to mess it up at this point of […] Read more... The post 7 Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Use appeared first on From Corporate To Career Freedom.
If You're Not Making Money on Instagram, You're Doing It Wrong16 May 2015 | 1:10 pmGuest post by Melissa Camilleri, Founder of Compliment, Inc. and the 21-Day Insta-course Note from Lauren: I've lined up an amazing deal for you to access Melissa's 21-day Insta-course – check at the details at the bottom of this post. As long as you haven't been living under a rock the past couple years, you'll know that Instagram […] Read more... The post If You're Not Making Money on Instagram, You're Doing It Wrong appeared first on From Corporate To Career Freedom.
The Cost Of Facebook Ads (And How They Grew My Business)17 Apr 2015 | 3:13 amI want to begin this post by revealing a shocking statistic I uncovered in my own marketing efforts these past few weeks, because the whole point of this post is to convince you of the benefit of advertising on Facebook, and these statistics strengthen my point far better than my meagre writing could. The Statistic […] Read more... The post The Cost Of Facebook Ads (And How They Grew My Business) appeared first on From Corporate To Career Freedom.
Leadpages.net Review10 Apr 2015 | 11:59 amI've been using Leadpages for about 6 months now, so I thought it was about time I did an honest Leadpages.net review of the product, because I know it's a tool that a lot of entrepreneurs consider for their business. So I hope this will help you make a decision. I'll take you through some […] Read more... The post Leadpages.net Review appeared first on From Corporate To Career Freedom.
Viola Notes
CEO Friday Fun-Facts: Andi Gutmans, CEO & Co-founder at Zend3 Jul 2015 | 6:25 amAndi Gutmans, CEO & Co-founder at Zend Age: 39 Lives in: Menlo Park, California Significant others: Married + 3 Company's main offices: Cupertino, California & Ramat-Gan, Israel Andi Gutmans, CEO & Co-founder at Zend What does your company do and why is it unique? We are the company behind PHP, the most popular Web development language. PHP runs over 50% of the Web and enjoys a huge developer base of millions of developers. What makes us unique is the broad impact the company has on Web development and developer reach while in parallel it works with the largest Enterprises…
CEO Friday Fun-Facts: Guy Bauman, CEO at Tonara26 Jun 2015 | 10:02 amGuy Bauman, CEO at Tonara Age: 46 Lives in: Tel Aviv Significant others: Married + 3 Company Headquarters: In the heart of the Arts District of Tel Aviv Guy Bauman, CEO at Tonara What does your company do and why is it unique? Tonara combines science and arts to transform the teaching, learning, practice and performance of music through a new digital experience. The Tonara app is the perfect companion for the performing musician and our Wolfie for Piano app transforms music education by turning it into a 21st century experience. What are you most proud of in your company? I'm most proud…
Why lead generation needs to be your primary content marketing goal (and how to ace it in 3 steps)25 Jun 2015 | 10:57 amThe following is a guest post by Jonathan Nimrodi, CEO and Head of Inbound Marketing at Cookie Jar. Content marketing serves many purposes, including brand awareness and thought leadership. But if you're a startup marketer, then your primary aim is growth, so if your content isn't generating serious traffic and leads right from the start, then you may not see truly meaningful results from the the hard work you put into creating quality, SEO-friendly content for a very, very long time. If you approach content marketing like a growth hacker, however, and apply some of the hacks I'm…
CEO Friday Fun-Facts: Shmulik Weller, Co-founder & CEO at SundaySky19 Jun 2015 | 4:34 amShmulik Weller, Co-founder & CEO at SundaySky Age: 43 Lives in: Tel Aviv Significant others: Married + 4 Company Headquarters: Our main offices are in New York and Tel Aviv and we also have presence in London and Tokyo. Shmulik Weller, Co-founder & CEO at SundaySky What does your company do and why is it unique? SundaySky invented a new type of media that we call SmartVideo. We all know that video is the most appealing media and the best storytelling tool, but SmartVideo takes it to the next level by turning video into a scalable, dynamic and most importantly – personalized…
10 Tips for building your company's brand ambassador program from scratch16 Jun 2015 | 1:04 amThe following is a guest post by Jonny Steel, VP Marketing at Payoneer. Over 90% of buyers, according to Nielsen, say they trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth and recommendations, above all other forms of advertising. In other words, you can yell and scream as much as you like, have a media buying budget in the millions, and even blow your entire budget on a Superbowl ad, but a reference from family, friends or professional network trumps the lot. Word-of-mouth happens organically when you have a great product that brings genuine value to your customers coupled with top-notch service.
How To Find Great Content to Share3 Jul 2015 | 1:28 pmIn this age of social media it is essential to have a presence or you won't exist. You need to attract followers who share your interests. And to get followers you have to contribute something of value that goes beyond you and your business. Social Media is a big party. Here's how to be a good guest: Don't Talk about Yourself and Your Business all the time if you only promote yourself and your business you will become a social pariah promote yourself and your business no more than 20% of the time you may think you are fascinating but after a while everybody becomes boring Develop the…
Why Every Startup Should Use Content Marketing24 Jun 2015 | 10:25 amMost cash strapped Startups have a non-existent marketing budget. But marketing is one area where sweat equity and creativity can get results. That's why you need to learn about content marketing. What is Content Marketing? Content Marketing is sharing relevant, valuable, and engaging content that you have created or curated so you can attract interest in your company and acquire customers. Why is Content Marketing Important? According to a 2015 Report by Ad Age and The Content Council called The Future of Content, Today's Consumer expects that Businesses will provide Content that is…
8 Ways to Make your Video Awesome17 Jun 2015 | 11:47 amWhen I was a kid, TV and movies were my window to the world beyond my boring suburb. This week profoundly changed everything! I took an online course in video editing and it blew my mind. Most of us realize the majority of video we consume is not reality. It is carefully staged, filmed and edited to create the illusion of reality. But if you understand the techniques used in video editing it is like having a backstage pass to a magic show. The view is very different when you're allowed to sit behind the curtain. Why am I Interested in Video Editing? In the coming months MediaVidi will…
How the Web will Look in the Future3 Jun 2015 | 12:04 pmIt's official, the web has radically changed. It's focus has gone from text to video. According to a recent report by Cisco Systems, in the next 5 years: Annual global internet traffic will grow by 1,000 times. Web traffic will be 80% video (it's already much more than half). To watch the quantity of new video added to the web each month will take the average viewer 5 million years. You Are Here Currently, the web is built around a text based architecture (HTML – Hyper Text Markup Language). Text is the glue that holds the web together and it's the container in which…
The Promising Future of Podcasts5 May 2015 | 11:24 amThe advent of Wi-Fi enabled cars marks a new technology disruption – one that will kill radio as we know it. But it opens a world of possibilities for On Demand Audio. What is On-Demand Audio? On Demand Audio lets you listen to what you want when you want. Streaming music and radio services exist in abundance. Here is a small sample: Pandora iHeart Radio iTunes Radio Rhapsody Spotify Google Play all Access Slacker Radio.com TuneIn Radio Last.fm Rdio Songza Stitcher iTunes Podcasts What is the potential of On-Demand Audio? The short answer…
Startup Slingshot » The Lab
Serial Entrepreneur Reveals What He Learned Launching 5 Companies & Creating Over $1.5B In Shareholder Value29 Jun 2015 | 11:00 pmRecently, I went looking for a serial entrepreneur to interview. My thought was simple, if a founder of just one venture can share so much value; imagine what a founder of multiple ventures would have to share. With this in mind, I sat down with Bob Fabbio. Bob is the definition of a serial entrepreneur. He has launched 5 companies including multiple category creating companies across several industries. During our discussion, we dig into each of his entrepreneurial endeavors to pull out actionable lessons you can take away and apply to building your business. Be sure to pay attention to his…
What Scott Abel Learned From Working With Steve Jobs, Building Two Monster Startups, & Launching One Failed Venture23 Jun 2015 | 1:00 amIf you've ever wondered what it was like to work for Steve Jobs or if you've ever wanted to start a successful company, you will want to hear what Scott Abel, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Spiceworks, has to say. His experience is unique, his stories are entertaining, and his knowledge nuggets are actionable. Enjoy! Have comments, questions, ideas, or feedback? I want to hear it. Tweet me at william_griggs. Topics Covered In This Episode From 1988 to 1997 you worked at Apple and NEXT with Steve Jobs, take us to that moment in time… What was that like? What 2-3 things…
What Alan Knitowski Learned Selling Three Companies & Angel Investing In Three Companies That Have Gone Public16 Jun 2015 | 1:00 amYou're not going to want to miss this interview with Alan Knitowski, Founder & CEO of Phunware. During the interview, we dig into Alan's incredible background including his stint as an Army Ranger, the founding of his first company, which he sold for $169M after just 22 months, and so much more. The stories Alan shares in this interview are inspiring and the knowledge he shares is priceless. Enjoy! Have comments, questions, ideas, or feedback? I want to hear it. Tweet me at william_griggs. Topics Covered In This Episode Background: Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?
A Startup Founder's Crash Course In Customer Support With Douglas Hanna of Help.com9 Jun 2015 | 1:00 amLike most founders, you are probably looking to secure more customers, so you scale revenue. While this should be a top priority, it's also important to think about how you are going to support your growing customer base before you face customer retention issues. With this in mind, I sought out the help of Douglas Hanna. Douglas is a member of INC Magazine's 30 Under 30, helped run customer support at HostGator, and sold his last company for millions. Currently, Douglas is the CEO of Help.com. I sat down with Douglas to help you think more holistically about your customer support strategy…
9 Startup Fundraising Knowledge Nuggets I Learned From Luke Schneider, CEO of Silvercar2 Jun 2015 | 1:00 amAs an entrepreneur looking to launch & grow a tech startup, you need to raise money to get off of the ground. If you don't get the funding you need, your company is toast and your vision will not see the light of day. To help you increase the likelihood of securing funding for your venture, I sat down with Luke Schneider, CEO of Silvercar (Austin, TX). During our conversation, Luke blew my mind. His approach to fundraising is unlike any I've uncovered in that it's both creative and highly strategic. Heck, he's definitely got the experience to back it up. All in all, Luke and his…
OK, Intrnt
Humanizing Help On The Internet – Volley30 Jun 2015 | 8:24 amWhen you realize that people use the words "Real World" to refer to the actual world while differentiating from the… The post Humanizing Help On The Internet – Volley appeared first on OK, Intrnt.
Get Heard In The Noise On The Internet – THUNDERCLAP6 Jun 2015 | 8:14 amThe most empowering thing with the internet is that now everyone has a voice. But what do you do to… The post Get Heard In The Noise On The Internet – THUNDERCLAP appeared first on OK, Intrnt.
Visit Places You Don't Find On Tourist Maps – Very Local Trip4 Jun 2015 | 4:49 amThe way people travel is changing. Nobody wants to be the tourist with a hat, a map in one hand,… The post Visit Places You Don't Find On Tourist Maps – Very Local Trip appeared first on OK, Intrnt.
TRADIIO: 'Invest' In Your Favorite Artists. Literally.31 May 2015 | 2:57 amAre you a music-lover? Do you like discovering new musicians? Do you support the emerging musicians that you love? We've… The post TRADIIO: 'Invest' In Your Favorite Artists. Literally. appeared first on OK, Intrnt.
The Lovechild Of Airbnb & Couchsurfing – Trampolinn26 May 2015 | 1:33 amToday on OK, Intrnt we speak to Hugo Allary, founder of Trampolinn – which is a lovechild of AirBnB and… The post The Lovechild Of Airbnb & Couchsurfing – Trampolinn appeared first on OK, Intrnt.
Free Limited Edition SnapMunk T-Shirts!4 Jul 2015 | 8:29 pmKeep up to date with the latest startup news, trends and ideas delivered directly to your inbox on a weekly basis. For a limited time only, sign up for our newsletter for a chance to win an exclusive limited edition SnapMunk T-Shirt! Weekly SnapMunk Scoops include topics related to leadership skills, development, innovation strategy, startup businesses, […] The post Free Limited Edition SnapMunk T-Shirts! appeared first on SnapMunk.
Worker Coops – The Pros & Cons3 Jul 2015 | 9:28 amIn our last installment, we took a brief look at worker cooperatives as an alternative to traditional business structures and how they might be better at aligning the interests of the company and its employees. This time, we'll dive a little deeper into the world of worker coops and examine their particular strengths and […] The post Worker Coops – The Pros & Cons appeared first on SnapMunk.
10 Ways To Make Your Office Awesome2 Jul 2015 | 10:00 amAs startup employees put in more and more time at the office, companies continue to come up with new and inventive ways to make that environment comfortable, convenient and fun. The key to creating a workspace that people want to work inside of is not an easy task. Here are 10 things employees love […] The post 10 Ways To Make Your Office Awesome appeared first on SnapMunk.
Should You Launch an Imperfect Product?1 Jul 2015 | 11:30 amAs a startup founder, do you make sure your product is perfect before releasing it to the public? Or do you release a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time product, and iterate as you develop traction? If you wait too long to release your baby into the wild, competitors might beat you to market. Do you take the chance […] The post Should You Launch an Imperfect Product? appeared first on SnapMunk.
Paying Employee Wages in Bitcoin1 Jul 2015 | 9:30 amCompanies around the world are paying employee wages in Bitcoin. Is this a fad or a creative way to manage payroll? Here we profile five companies proving that the use of Bitcoin for payment makes plenty of economic sense. That said, it is perhaps of little surprise that the companies at the forefront of adopting […] The post Paying Employee Wages in Bitcoin appeared first on SnapMunk.
14 Strategies to Use When Pitching your Startup to the Press5 Jul 2015 | 7:29 amBeing mentioned in the media is a big part of marketing, especially for a startup. However, you want to be presented in a positive way, one that will create the right image of your company. Plus, dozens of entrepreneurs are trying to pitch their startup, so you need an approach that will make you stand […] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
7 Strategies to Create Superfans for Your Brand5 Jul 2015 | 6:57 amWhile Superfans are not as common as regular fans and users, they are the most devoted and loyal followers that you can get. Take any music artist as an example: their superfans will buy every album, go to every possible show, make t-shirts and what not. They will love their idol and will go out […] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Mobile App Prototyping – 13 Solid Tools for Designing Your App3 Jul 2015 | 9:56 amDesigning a solid prototype is a big part of creating a good final product. You can go about it in many ways, from traditional pen and paper to stencils. However, as a designer, you should always try to better yourself, continually learn and discover new tools. Making a prototype is not as hard as one […] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
10 Easy Steps for Creating the Perfect Lead Magnet3 Jul 2015 | 9:40 amIn the world of online business, 95% of your website visitors won't buy anything on their first site visit. So how can you actually profit if people are hesitant to buy? The answer is: creating a great lead magnet. Lead magnets can be anything, from a free coupon, ebook, whitepaper, video to cheat sheets; it […] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
13 Amazing Tips for Pitching Your Startup to an Investor2 Jul 2015 | 10:24 amUnless you can finance your startup from your own pocket, you will need to look for an investor. There are newbies with business ideas emerging from every corner, and most of them don't know how to successfully articulate their idea to a potential investor. The angel investor you are trying to reach out to has […] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Lemon School of Entrepreneurship & Us!25 Jun 2015 | 12:10 amEverythtingStartup at Lemon School of Entrepreneurship Seminar! EverythingStartup was at LSE,Lemon School of Entrepreneurship on it's seminar day.A one of it's kind school to promote and groom entrepreneurs.This Nagpur based school started by Deepak Menaria had it's seminar from 21st – 24th June wherein a board of highly experienced entrepreneurs from all over the country guided candidates and even analyzed their potential and their passion for entrepreneurship. The aim of the seminar was to make people aware of upcoming schooling program for aspiring…
Medyog redefines the health care industry16 Jun 2015 | 2:03 amMedyog all set to revolutionize health care industry. A one of its kind startup dedicated to change how people look at health care services.They have a motive to bring transparency,convenience,spread awareness about preventable health care diseases and regular checkups. Over 5000 packages are available to choose from.Book appointments from home and get your samples and reports at your doorsteps.They have a motto to spread awareness that diseases are curable with appropriate measurements.Also that diagnosing life threatening diseases at early stage,ensure both financial and…
MyFirstCampus-A sigh of relief for engineers.15 Jun 2015 | 9:35 amMyFirstCampus:A platform for engineering graduates and freshers. As the name suggests,they have made available job opportunities to engineering students and graduates at ease.Now no more hustling for the job,roaming around campuses to give interviews. MyFirstCampus has brought up a platform,one of its kind to help students apply for and get jobs they truly deserve.Also you can appear for their tests and get certified so that companies all over the country can harness your knowledge and skills. Get hired and get jobs you really deserve.Due to such a huge crowd of…
Startup Meet Pune by Weekend Ventures.5 Jun 2015 | 11:59 amThe battle of the startups on June 13,2015!The Startup Meet. Photo by fabola Do not miss the opportunity to join the community and hustle to get your startup noticed.Battle along with many others to get venture capital and guidance from the leaders.Top entrepreneurs waiting to back ideas and startups who have the potential to bring the change.Get your startup pitched and get it running. what is weekend ventures? Weekend Ventures organizes hackathons and startup meets for developers and tech startups across India.The events generally take place in Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad,…
Check if you have the hidden entrepreneur in you?25 May 2015 | 5:48 pm"Every child is an artist.The problem is to remain one"._Pablo Picasso Photo by jonlclark How wonderful the above statement is!Thus,accordingly it's just the matter of what we choose as our identity.May be there's still an entrepreneur hidden inside you,let's check out the entrepreneurial traits. 1.Flexible at work Day,night,work counter,if any of these doesn't matter you and does not affect the output of your work and all that matters is getting it done then you are quite flexible at work.This ensures the key qualities of…
How Steve Jobs Started – Inspiring Life Story Of Apple's Founder5 Jul 2015 | 9:40 amIn this world, Apple have its own unique brand image and same as Steve Jobs. As people around the world wondered if innovation at Apple had stopped with Steve Jobs, we want to share with you The post How Steve Jobs Started – Inspiring Life Story Of Apple's Founder appeared first on Indianbizparty.
Windows 10's Wi-Fi sharing feature is really clever, but just got a bad rap3 Jul 2015 | 11:06 pmMicrosoft is rebutting claims that an upcoming Windows 10 feature could leak your Wi-Fi password to strangers. A new feature on Windows 10 called Wi-Fi Sense allows your Outlook, Skype and Facebook contacts to automatically The post Windows 10's Wi-Fi sharing feature is really clever, but just got a bad rap appeared first on Indianbizparty.
P2P Fashion Marketplace Elanic secures seed funding from Rebright Partners, Tracxn Labs and Aneesh Reddy3 Jul 2015 | 10:47 pmElanic, a women only P2P online marketplace for pre-owned goods, has raised seed funding from a round led by Rebright Partners, along with the participation of Tracxn Labs and an angel investor, Aneesh Reddy. The funding amount The post P2P Fashion Marketplace Elanic secures seed funding from Rebright Partners, Tracxn Labs and Aneesh Reddy appeared first on Indianbizparty.
Stitchwood, an online customized furniture store raises funding from Powai Lake Ventures3 Jul 2015 | 10:26 pmMumbai-based furniture portal Stitchwood has raised a second round of angel funding of INR 2.5 Cr led by angel investment club Powai Lake Ventures. Other investors in this round include Ajeet Khurana (former CEO of IIT The post Stitchwood, an online customized furniture store raises funding from Powai Lake Ventures appeared first on Indianbizparty.
Carpooling Is More Fun, Safe And Economical Through Ride Sharing Platform Tripda2 Jul 2015 | 10:24 pmTripda believe that a world in which people are connected is much more fun! More than that, everyone need to connect in order to meet new people and explore new places. So "German startup incubator Rocket Internet-backed The post Carpooling Is More Fun, Safe And Economical Through Ride Sharing Platform Tripda appeared first on Indianbizparty.