text:
Carly Fleischmann says what we're all thinking about the Magic Mike XXL actor in the charming Speechless with Carly episode.Author and autism activist Carly Fleischmann recently unveiled her new show, Speechless with Carly Fleischmann. Her first guest? Actor/dancer/drill-wielding superstar Channing Tatum.Read Full Story
Most Popular Stories
Watch Channing Tatum's Fantastic Interview With A Nonverbal Autism ActivistFast Company5 May 2016 | 10:27 am
Sci-fi sandbox game Planetoid Pioneers debuts on Steam Early AccessVentureBeat15 Apr 2016 | 9:00 amPlanetoid Pioneers is a sci-fi sandbox game where you visit little "planetoids" and explore the physics-based environments. It is debuting today on Steam Early Access on the PC. The game from independent developer Data Realms is sort of like Minecraft in space, and it is counting on users to help make the game into a viral success. It's shipping as an incomplete game. But that's because it is counting on players to contribute their own items to it. Instead of creating a modding community, Data Realms is fostering a contributor community. That means that, rather than…
David Ogilvy and the Advertising Art of CoolInc.com5 May 2016 | 1:11 pmNo matter what you're selling, you should do it with a wink and a smile.
Why Playing in the Dirt Matters in Building Your Business EmpireGaryVaynerchuk.com4 May 2016 | 9:32 amMost people suck at marketing. Why? Because they're too focused on the big picture and their end game (what I call the "clouds"). And I get it—the dream is what drives you. It's fun to be romantic about the clouds. The clouds are something I massively believe in. I love to think about the day I'll own the New York Jets. But, the problem arises when marketers forget about the other half of the equation: the dirt—the skills, the talent, and the grind that gets you there. You see this all the time with marketers who want to sell using the tactics that have traditionally worked for…
How to Deal With Your Rowdy CustomersEntrepreneur: Latest Articles5 May 2016 | 1:30 pmTurn the wild energy of partying patrons into a positive with these five easy steps
Fast Company
Watch Channing Tatum's Fantastic Interview With A Nonverbal Autism Activist5 May 2016 | 10:27 amCarly Fleischmann says what we're all thinking about the Magic Mike XXL actor in the charming Speechless with Carly episode.Author and autism activist Carly Fleischmann recently unveiled her new show, Speechless with Carly Fleischmann. Her first guest? Actor/dancer/drill-wielding superstar Channing Tatum.Read Full Story
Why Big Businesses Are Becoming More Progressive5 May 2016 | 5:51 amThe top financial firms are finally realizing why they should look beyond old white men.Corporate eyes are opening, or at least that's what they're saying.Read Full Story
Learning From Data Viz Pioneer Edward Tufte: 5 Lessons For Interface Designers5 May 2016 | 4:00 amAbove all else, show the data.Think about how much data you sift through on a daily basis. You might search Amazon for a new book, read the latest headlines on nytimes.com, browse Spotify for the best soundtracks, and check your wearable to see if you've logged enough steps—and that's only a tiny sliver of the data that floats around the world each day. The numbers can be mind-boggling.Read Full Story
How Whit Stillman's "Terrible Period" Made Him A Better Filmmaker5 May 2016 | 3:30 amThe Metropolitan writer-director talks to Co.Create about how struggling to get films made eventually led him to Jane Austen.With the films Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco, Whit Stillman immortalized the 1% percent milieu of coming-of-age WASPs in the era of Izod's and Drakkar Noir. In the process, the writer-director became a required cultural icon for aspiring sophisticates—or, U.H.B.s (urban haute bourgeoisie), as Whitman classified his subjects. His autobiographical films were quotable, quippy satires of a class that is typically treated with cartoonish condescension. Stillman chose to bestow on them traces of dignity, slyly defending their nostalgia for a simpler time when old...
Tips On Getting The Coveted Moms of Instagram To Love You, From A Brand That Did It5 May 2016 | 3:06 amSixty-eight percent of American moms use Instagram daily. Freshly Picked shares tips about how to get them to follow your brand.In 2012, Susan Petersen was at a conference listening to a business speaker drone on about how important it is for companies to be where their customers hang out. As the founder of Freshly Picked, a company that makes tiny leather moccasins for babies, her target demographic was new moms. "I thought, my customers spend all their time breastfeeding," she recalls. "Instagram is the only social platform that lends itself to a one-finger scroll, so I'm going to put all my eggs in the Instagram basket."Read Full Story
Sci-fi sandbox game Planetoid Pioneers debuts on Steam Early Access15 Apr 2016 | 9:00 amPlanetoid Pioneers is a sci-fi sandbox game where you visit little "planetoids" and explore the physics-based environments. It is debuting today on Steam Early Access on the PC. The game from independent developer Data Realms is sort of like Minecraft in space, and it is counting on users to help make the game into a viral success. It's shipping as an incomplete game. But that's because it is counting on players to contribute their own items to it. Instead of creating a modding community, Data Realms is fostering a contributor community. That means that, rather than tinker with it after it's done, Data Realms wants people to contribute items into the official game before it is done. Amazingly, the game has...
GamesBeat weekly roundup: Rockstar's new lawsuit, and Titanfall 2 announced15 Apr 2016 | 8:45 amWelcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, the PlayStation 4 outsells the Xbox One (again), someone puts Flappy Bird on an e-cigarette, and we review anticipated games like Dark Souls 3 and Bravely Second: End Layer. Happy reading, and have a great weekend! Pieces of flair and opinion

The DeanBeat: The narrative of the underdog in the gaming industry

Bravely Second: End Layer tips and tricks to grind out success

GamesBeat Summit will examine what investors seek from game startups

Watch Flappy Bird played on an e-cigarette

How to get in the Overwatch, Battleborn, Doom, and Gears of War 4 open betas

Naughty America tries to get VR porn just right

Twitch's Kathy Astromoff will share...

The DeanBeat: The narrative of the underdog in the gaming industry15 Apr 2016 | 8:00 amOur GamesBeat Summit 2016 event is approaching on May 3-4, and I am the head cheerleader and organizer of it. It's going to call out stories about the "underdogs" of gaming and the lessons that we can extract from them. It's only our second GamesBeat Summit event, and I'm looking forward to the talks, stories, and conversations that will come out of it. Above: Robbie Bach, former chief Xbox officer of Microsoft.Image Credit: Robbie Bach As I noted last week, GamesBeat itself is an underdog. We're a small publication, with an internal editorial staff of four. But we tell good stories, and we try to have a big and influential voice. We can identify with underdogs. And we are still here because you are still...
Microsoft rolls out preview of plugin-free Skype for Web support in Edge15 Apr 2016 | 7:35 amMicrosoft today launched a preview of plugin-free Skype calls in Microsoft Edge. The new functionality works anywhere you can use Skype in the browser: Skype for Web, Outlook.com, Office Online, and OneDrive. Both voice and video calls are supported, including one-to-one and group sessions. A Microsoft spokesperson says the preview is rolling out gradually and should be complete by the end of April. Skype for Web beta first arrived in November 2014, and it launched out of beta in June 2015. This preview is possible because Edge last year gained support for the Object Real-Time Communications (ORTC) API. Since at least October 2014, Microsoft has been planning to bring voice and video calling to its browser...
Squarespace now sells you domain names directly so you can sidestep GoDaddy15 Apr 2016 | 7:23 amWebsite builder Squarespace is adding an extra string to its bow today with the launch of Squarespace Domains, a service that helps users procure more than 200 top-level domain (TLD) names, priced from $20 to $70 a year. Founded in 2004, Squarespace has built a solid reputation in the creative realm, with a DIY platform for building and hosting websites, alongside a content-management system (CMS) for bloggers. And from today, anyone can search for their preferred domain across a multitude of TLDs, including .academy, .camera, .pizza, .plumbing, and more. Squarespace is also touting WHOIS Privacy as a free add-on for subscribers. This means that when you register a domain name, your personal details will...
David Ogilvy and the Advertising Art of Cool5 May 2016 | 1:11 pmNo matter what you're selling, you should do it with a wink and a smile.
The Surprising Secret to Staying Focused All Day5 May 2016 | 1:05 pmIt feels natural to begin a task all gung-ho, ready to take on whatever happens and prepared to give it our all, but then...
Public Speaking Pointer: Templates are useful5 May 2016 | 1:05 pmA series of short, insightful tips
15 Business Books Worth Reading This Summer5 May 2016 | 11:55 amWhat books to pack along with your sunscreen, beach towel, and sunglasses.
The Cities With the Best Work-Life Balance5 May 2016 | 11:35 amSurprisingly enough, the most efficient people are working less--and vacationing more.
Why Playing in the Dirt Matters in Building Your Business Empire4 May 2016 | 9:32 amMost people suck at marketing. Why? Because they're too focused on the big picture and their end game (what I call the "clouds"). And I get it—the dream is what drives you. It's fun to be romantic about the clouds. The clouds are something I massively believe in. I love to think about the day I'll own the New York Jets. But, the problem arises when marketers forget about the other half of the equation: the dirt—the skills, the talent, and the grind that gets you there. You see this all the time with marketers who want to sell using the tactics that have traditionally worked for them. They get too lazy and complacent and don't take the time to learn how a new app works or where the market is...
My Advice for First-Time Entrepreneurs3 May 2016 | 8:55 amI've said it time and time again: Entrepreneurship is hard and it's not for everyone. If, after taking a realistic personal inventory of who you are and what you want to be doing, it turns out that you are ready to take the next steps in starting a business, I want to discuss the advice I always give to first-time entrepreneurs. 1. Be Practical About Your Money The first and most important thing that I tell new entrepreneurs is the importance of practicality when it comes to to money. I'm blown away by all the "entrepreneurs" who start businesses and at launch, don't realize the importance of generating money and how to manage profits. Instead of focusing on the present financial needs and...
Empathy: One of the Keys to My Business Success2 May 2016 | 12:06 pmEmpathy. It's one of the biggest things to which I attribute my success. It's the reason I believe that I am one of the great salespeople out there. What a lot of people don't understand about empathy is that it's not just about being caring, but it's also the ability to understand people on a higher level. It has allowed me to easily create mutually beneficial relationships in both business and my personal life. Sometimes being empathetic can be confusing. You might ask yourself, "Am I being empathetic because I care or am I being empathetic because I know being understanding will give me leverage in the situation? The answer is both. Being good is always the best option. But I'm not gonna...
How to Choose Wine When You Know Nothing About Wine29 Apr 2016 | 6:58 amA very common question I get is how to choose a wine when there are so many options. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the seemingly unending varietals, vintages, and difficult to pronounce names. Over the years, I've attempted to demystify wine culture with Wine Library TV (I think I did a pretty good job) and I will now offer some tips on how to make the process a little easier for you. But first, let me state that there are two wine purchasing behaviors that crush my soul. The first is buying wine based on how pretty the label is. The second behavior that crushes my soul is buying wine just because the shelf talker (the little sign on the shelf that describes the wine) says "90 points" on it and...
Three Pieces of Advice to Build Confidence for Public Speaking28 Apr 2016 | 2:51 pmI do a lot of public speaking and there's no arguing that I'm pretty good at it. I hit the stage as a 30-something somewhere in 2006 and it was instantaneous: I loved the stage and the stage loved me back. It came naturally to me, so I play to that strength. It's why I come off as someone who is very comfortable on stage or in front of the camera. I just love it. I know a lot of you out there aren't always the biggest fans of public speaking. In fact, it's probably the number one fear for many people. Whether it's a keynote or a short presentation, it takes a lot of nerve to get up in front of an audience. I think the problem is that a lot of you are overthinking it. So, here are a few tips to...
Entrepreneur: Latest Articles
How to Deal With Your Rowdy Customers5 May 2016 | 1:30 pmTurn the wild energy of partying patrons into a positive with these five easy steps
The Coolest Tech From the Xponential Drone Convention5 May 2016 | 1:17 pmThe week-long gathering features drones and devices from all over the world.
5 Crazy Food Franchise Moments You'll Never Forget5 May 2016 | 1:17 pmSome things you just can't unsee, even when you want to.
It Turns Out, You Can Quantify Confidence5 May 2016 | 1:14 pmNew research looks at whether the human feeling of confidence can be broken down into objective mathematical calculation.
8 Ways to Create a Strong Internship Program for the Summer5 May 2016 | 1:00 pmInternships have the ability to impact young people for the rest of their lives.
Skoog 2.0 brings wireless connectivity to the multi-use educational musical instrument5 May 2016 | 2:36 pm�"The key was to create an instrument for all children," explains Skoog co-inventor Dr. Ben Schögler. "That includes kids with disabilities, whether physical or learning disabilities. It was made to be an inclusive instrument, because musical instruments are beautiful, they're fantastic, but they're difficult to play." Born out of Edinburg University in… Read More
Only humans, not computers, can learn or predict5 May 2016 | 1:00 pm�In late January, Nature magazine announced that a computer designed by Google's DeepMind defeated a human master in the ancient Chinese board game, "Go." This impressive achievement once again raised the expectations for a predicted future in which computers will have artificial intelligence. No matter which side of the debate one falls on, DeepMind's achievement… Read More
Sean Parker's Airtime acquires WebRTC video chat wizards vLine5 May 2016 | 12:57 pm�It takes some serious engineering magic to build low-latency group mobile video chat and simultaneous content viewing. That's why Sean Parker's recently relaunched video chat room app Airtime acquired vLine, which offered video chat infrastructure to SaaS companies. Founded in 2010, vLine was backed with $1.5 million from Kleiner Perkins and Harrison Metal. vLine's team will… Read More
SAP announces new partnership with Apple to expand iOS in the enterprise5 May 2016 | 12:33 pm�SAP announced a broad partnership with Apple today to bring iOS to SAP's enterprise customer base. The announcement comes almost two years after Apple made a similar deal with IBM. Steve Lucas, president for SAP's Digital Enterprise Platform says while it's natural to see similarities between the two deals — two large enterprise companies making a deal with Apple… Read More
Launcher lets you create iOS widgets that display or hide based on day, time or location5 May 2016 | 12:29 pm�You may remember Launcher as the once-banned iOS widget that Apple booted from the App Store after its approval, then months later allowed back in. The problem Apple had with the app, seemingly, is that its sole existence was to be a widget provider — the app by itself didn't offer any standalone functionality beyond widget configuration. Today, Launcher is out with its first… Read More
To Save Wisely for Retirement, Sometimes Less Choice Is Best5 May 2016 | 9:58 amWhen companies streamlined their retirement plans, employees took fewer risks, paid less in expenses and often increased the size of their return, Wharton research finds.
What Are the Best Countries for Women?5 May 2016 | 9:53 amWhich countries are thought of as the best for women? A new Best Countries report and interactive website captures the world's perceptions of different nations, with some unexpected findings.
What Your Financial Advisor Hasn't Been Telling You5 May 2016 | 9:47 amIt sounds obvious: Financial advisors must put their clients' interests ahead of their own. But that hasn't always been standard industry practice. Will pending new rules change the way business gets done?
Who Will Manage Prince's Legacy?5 May 2016 | 8:48 amThe singer's death and apparent lack of a will bring up thorny legal questions about who will manage his estate – including a likely treasure trove of unreleased music – going forward.
Mastering the Art of Communication: What Big Data Can Tell Us5 May 2016 | 5:57 amThere's plenty of anecdotal evidence about what makes a good communicator, but what can science reveal?
SmartBrief on Entrepreneurs
Fashion-marketplace Farfetch raises $110M Series F round5 May 2016 | 11:36 am�-More-�
How female founders are being marginalized5 May 2016 | 11:36 amA disappointing panel discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference illustrated some of the challenges female entrepre�-More-�
"Selfish" motives can get you through the growth phase5 May 2016 | 11:36 amBuilding a startup doesn't get easier after you prove your value proposition, writes Derek Lidow. �-More-�Michigan Ross: The Positive Leader. June 12-17 The Positive Leader: Deep Change and Organizational Transformation. Discover your leadership strengths, create value for your team and organization. Learn to develop high-impact relationships and a collaborative culture committed to results. Build an action plan for yourself and others.
The challenges of building an alcohol-delivery startup5 May 2016 | 11:36 amDrizly, which has built its business around making alcohol deliveries in less than an hour, is adding a next-day option to ex�-More-�
Failure is a lesson in what not to do5 May 2016 | 11:36 amLearning from failure requires an examination of the situation and what went wrong, writes Nathan Chan, CEO and publisher of �-More-�
How Rainforest turned a 'bad idea' into $16 million raised5 May 2016 | 3:57 amNow employs 58,000 testers around the worldRainforest started back in 2012, but its core product just wasn't attracting the attention needed to sustain a business. The service monitored company spending on Amazon Web Service (AWS). Generally speaking, it wasn't needed, at least not in the capacity CEO Fred Stevens-Smith would have liked. An entrepreneur is only as good as their ability to pivot. After sending out emails to CEOs, Rainforest beta testers, and friends asking what kind of services they'd be willing to pay $1,000 a month for, Rainforest found their new niche, Quality Assurance. Jump to 2016, and Rainforest has surpassed their original service price of $1,000 and now charges $10,000/month for...
PayPal exec Hill Ferguson is the new CEO of Doctor on Demand5 May 2016 | 3:57 amFounding CEO Adam Jackson stepped down, saying a new set of skills was needed going forwardEditor's Note: Our annual�Vator Splash Spring 2016�conference is around the corner on May 12, 2016 at the historic Scottish Rite Center in Oakland. Speakers include�Tom Griffiths�(CPO & Co-founder, FanDuel), Andy Dunn (Founder & CEO, Bonobos), Nirav Tolia (Founder & CEO, NextDoor), Mitch Kapor (Founder, Kapor Center for Social Impact); Founders of Handy, TubeMogul, VSCO, Vinted; Investors from Khosla Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, Kapor Capital, Greylock, DFJ, IDG, IVP and more. Join us!�REGISTER HERE. While many founding CEOs like to be the ones to take their company�across the finish line, and many of them are...
Lyft, GM to test self-driving electric cars by 20175 May 2016 | 2:40 amChevrolet Equinox is key to Express Drive rentals, but Chevy Bolt will power self-driving programEditor's Note: Our annual�Vator Splash Spring 2016�conference is around the corner on May 12, 2016 at the historic Scottish Rite Center in Oakland. Speakers include�Tom Griffiths�(CPO & Co-founder, FanDuel), Andy Dunn (Founder & CEO, Bonobos), Nirav Tolia (Founder & CEO, NextDoor), Mitch Kapor (Founder, Kapor Center for Social Impact); Founders of Handy, TubeMogul, VSCO, Vinted; Investors from Khosla Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, Kapor Capital, Greylock, DFJ, IDG, IVP and more. Join us!�REGISTER HERE. The window of time to be a Lyft driver is closing faster than you can imagine. Unless you're a...
The zero-waste economy: has it peaked?5 May 2016 | 12:57 amIf 2015 was peak "Uberization of everything," then we should see VC funding slowing down in 2016Next week at Splash Spring 2016, we have several sessions dedicated to what has been dubbed the sharing economy, the collaborative economy, and the on-demand economy, best exemplified by well-established companies like Uber and Airbnb as well as fast-growing startups like Handy and Vinted.If this emerging, world-changing market interests you, be sure to register before prices jump at the door! You'll get to see a long list of founders and venture capitalists onstage at the epic, historic Scottish Rite, and then join us for an awesome after-party right on Lake Merritt.But back to the Uberization of everything. In...
Periscope starts working on permanently saved broadcasts4 May 2016 | 10:00 amThis feature was already available on Facebook LiveEditor's Note: Our annual�Vator Splash Spring 2016�conference is around the corner on May 12, 2016 at the historic Scottish Rite Center in Oakland. Speakers include�Tom Griffiths�(CPO & Co-founder, FanDuel), Andy Dunn (Founder & CEO, Bonobos), Nirav Tolia (Founder & CEO, NextDoor), Mitch Kapor (Founder, Kapor Center for Social Impact); Founders of Handy, TubeMogul, VSCO, Vinted; Investors from Khosla Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, Kapor Capital, Greylock, DFJ, IDG, IVP and more. Join us!�REGISTER HERE. When two companies in the same space start stealing features from each other, that's a pretty good sign that things are starting to heat up. Case in...
Small Business Labs
Uber Didn't Create the Gig Economy; The Gig Economy Created Uber3 May 2016 | 1:00 amWe've been in a lot of meetings lately where people talk about the "Uberization of Work". These discussions tend to go the same way. The claim is made that Uber is creating the gig economy by hiring independent contractors instead of traditional employees. We don't agree. In fact, we believe the opposite - Uber exists because of the growing need for highly flexible part-time work to supplement incomes. In other words, Uber didn't invent the gig economy, they tapped into it.� Several recent articles and studies help explain this. The Atlantic's The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans�is written by one of the 47% percent of all Americans who couldn't come up with $400 to cover an emergency expense...
Do Gig Workers Like Their Jobs? It's All About Choice, Flexibility, and Control2 May 2016 | 1:00 amThere is much confusion around whether or not gig workers like their jobs. The reason is the answer depends on which�gig workers you ask.� We've done extensive research on this topic and whether or not someone likes gig work tends to boil down to the answers to two questions: 1. Did they choose gig work? People who choose gig work tend�to be highly satisfied with it and are likely to say they prefer gig work over having a traditional job. There are several reasons for this. First, people who choose gig work are more likely to have risk profiles that match gig work, meaning the ability to deal with gig work's lack of security and predictable income. They're also likely to have prepared for doing gig work and...
The 3 Technologies That Will Define Our Future - For Good or Bad28 Apr 2016 | 1:00 amInventor, entrepreneur and thinker�Ray Kurzweil is legend in Silicon Valley. While probably best know for inventing the first music synthesizer, the Kurzweil K250, his inventions and achievements are too numerous to list here.� Singularity University's Ray Kurzweil Predicts Three Technologies Will Define Our Future�covers some of his latest thinking (BTW, he is founder of Singularity University).� The three technologies are genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. Key quote from the article: In what ways are these technologies revolutionary? The genetics revolution will allow us to reprogram our own biology. The nanotechnology revolution will allow us to manipulate matter at the molecular and atomic...
Gig Economy Declining in Rural America26 Apr 2016 | 1:00 amThe Daily Yonder's (tagline: Keep it Rural) 'GIG ECONOMY': WHILE U.S. GAINS, RURAL SHOWS NET LOSS�covers an interesting study that shows rural areas of the country are seeing declines in gig economy employment. The is based on an examination of�non-employer data by U.S. county.� Non-employer is what the U.S. census calls solo businesses that don't employ traditional full or part-time (W2) employees. Their full description of a non-employer business is: A nonemployer business is one that has no paid employees, has annual business receipts of $1,000 or more ($1 or more in the Construction industry), and is subject to federal income taxes. As you can see from the study chart below, while urban areas have...
Uber, Lfyt and Ridesharing Spreading to Adjacent Industries25 Apr 2016 | 1:00 amIt's been clear for some time that Uber, Lyft and other ridesharing firms are taking share from traditional taxis.� But the ridesharing industry is not just stopping there. It's starting to have major impacts on adjacent industries.� For example, Skift's article��Skift Survey: More Evidence of Uber Becoming a Rental Car Replacement�covers data showing that more consumers are turning to ridesharing services instead of renting cars. Business travelers, the mainstay of the rental car industry, are also switching from rental cars to ridesharing. The chart below, from business expense tracking company Certify, shows that ridesharing has surpassed rental cars in terms of total trips taken by business travelers....
Master Class: Grow your audience using an Ambassador Program – with Sam Parr3 May 2016 | 8:08 am� Mixergy Premium members, you know that this is completely different from how I usually create courses for you. I'm sure you've noticed: I'm obsessed with the substance of what's on Mixergy, but I tend to neglect design. But I want to shake things up and experiment this year… So for this course, I hired a producer with award-winning video chops to up my game. And I went right to the source…to the course leader's office. Frankly, I wasn't sure what to expect from all of this. Maybe it'd be a total waste of time! But when I saw what the producer put together, I was amazed. It was better than I'd imagined, and I can't wait for you to see it, too. Here are the biggest differences you'll...
Master Class: Become the connection hub – with Yanik Silver12 Apr 2016 | 7:00 amHave you ever shown up to a networking event… (After psyching yourself up to even get there in the first place…) Only to hug the wall and nurse your drink all night? Or worse, have you ever booked tickets to a big conference… Spending lots of time and money to get there (not to mention eating terrible airport food)… Only to sit in the sessions alone, and come away with zero new connections? It sucks. And if you've been in that situation, then you probably already know that connections with other people can help your business grow… That it's less lonely when you have people in your "space" you can call for help… That one tweet from an influencer can skyrocket your sales… You know that connections are...
Master Class: Create a profitable online course – with Ankur Nagpal5 Apr 2016 | 9:18 amYou can create a profitable online course on just about any topic…even watercolor painting. "[One of my customers] was able to bring out the initial $1,000 on the side, eventually almost $8,000 a month, selling online courses doing what she loves most, which is watercolor painting," says Ankur Nagpal, founder of Teachable.com, a platform for publishing courses used by more than 10,000 instructors. And many businesses and SaaS companies are creating courses, too. Because in addition to the extra revenue, courses can make you an authority in your market and draw in more customers and software users for your products. However, with an Internet full of online courses, you can't just slap something...
Master Class: How to save on taxes – with Garrett Gunderson29 Mar 2016 | 7:00 amHave you ever wondered if you're overpaying on taxes? Chances are, you are… "I decided, 'Let's just do a survey; let's call everyone we're working with,'" says Garrett Gunderson, founder of Wealth Factory. "In the month, we got ahold of 117 of the people we were working with and 107 of them were overpaying on their taxes. These were people at were good entrepreneurs, they were good business owners. [It was] just this piece was missing for them before they got to know what we're going to teach today…" Garrett came to Mixergy to teach all of us about the missing pieces. To be clear, this is not a course about how to "get away" with anything, just paying the right amount owed. (Plus, you'll...
Master Class: 21 Days to a Big Idea – with Bryan Mattimore15 Mar 2016 | 7:00 am"Eureka!" you shout, as the world's best, most beautiful idea ever pops into your head. And then you're hugely successful, and you live happily ever after… The end. Except wait…what about the middle part? Because a Big Idea isn't enough. You still have to DO something with this idea. To bring it to fruition. To MAKE it hugely successful. "People say, 'Oh, you get that eureka moment and then you're done,'" says Bryan Mattimore, founder of Growth Engine and author of 21 Days to a Big Idea: Creating Breakthrough Business Concepts. "And of course, a lot of our work is about taking an idea and figuring out the details of how it's going to actually work in the marketplace." For instance,...
The Businessmakers Radio Show
Brandonomics from Savage - Lisa Gagnon29 Apr 2016 | 6:30 pmSo many committees, so many brands. Why? Robin Tooms asks Lisa Gagnon, vice president of marketing for the 2017 Houston Super Bowl Host Committee.
Women Mean Business - Jane Wurwand29 Apr 2016 | 6:30 pmShe boot-strapped her start-up, manufactured her own products and now trains and ships to more than 80 countries. Leisa Holland-Nelson interviews skin therapist Jane Wurwand, founder of U.K. skincare company Dermalogica.
Walter O'Brien - Scorpion and ConciergeUp29 Apr 2016 | 6:30 pmWalter O'Brien's hacker name was "Scorpion," and part of his life is now a TV program. He founded Scorpion Computer Services when he was 13 years old, eventually hiring a team of experts to work with clients globally and working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a "rent-a-brain" capacity. He has now founded ConciergeUp to handle non-engineering assignments and provide intelligence for—and solve—any task that can be handled with computer science or artificial intelligence.
PKF Texas: The Entrepreneur's Playbook® - Bethany Andell29 Apr 2016 | 6:30 pmKaren Love is back with Bethany Andell, president of Savage Brands and co-author of Get Your Head Out of Your Bottom Line and Build Your Brand on Purpose to discuss the timing of the book's release.
Ellen Latham - Orangetheory Fitness22 Apr 2016 | 6:30 pmEllen Latham has been motivating and training for 35 years. Even when she had a Pilates studio, she couldn't find a workout that included all the fitness components she wanted. So, eight years ago, she created her "Ultimate Workout," and now has written a book, "Push," about her science-based workout. Leisa Holland-Nelson get the specifics on this popular and growing workout.
Bplans BlogBplans Blog
How to Attract Clients to Your Photography Business5 May 2016 | 4:30 amIf you want to become a professional photographer and get paid to sell photos, it's time to strategize. Here are 10 of our favorite strategies to help you make more money. [Click the title above to read more and comment]
Master Your Business's Cash Flow Using Our Expert-Written eBook5 May 2016 | 4:00 amDownload our free eBook, and you'll learn cash flow basics, how to build a Cash Flow Statement for your business, and the best ways to manage your cash flow. [Click the title above to read more and comment]
How to Start Your Own Gym4 May 2016 | 4:30 amStarting a gym or fitness center is not easy, but it can be extremely rewarding if you're willing to put in the hard work. [Click the title above to read more and comment]
8 Tips on Formatting a Business Plan3 May 2016 | 4:30 amThe format of your business plan will help you achieve your goals, so it's important to think about the plan's structure as you build it. [Click the title above to read more and comment]
Essential Resources for Anyone Participating in National Small Business Week 20162 May 2016 | 4:00 amAt Bplans, we're happy to celebrate National Small Business Week by giving you access to the best resources and advice we have for small businesses. [Click the title above to read more and comment]
Startup Lawyer
Convertible Note Maturity Date Terms27 Apr 2016 | 2:08 pmConvertible notes are a very common startup financing method. Convertible notes contain a maturity date provision at which point the notes are to be repaid with interest. This is usually set at 18-24 months after the first convertible note investment. However, repayment of the notes upon the maturity date is usually not a great scenario for the … Continue reading → The post Convertible Note Maturity Date Terms appeared first on Startup Lawyer.
Dual Class Common Stock Structure for Founders10 Dec 2015 | 4:54 pmA startup founder's desire to hold equity better than plain-vanilla common stock isn't new. Several years ago, Series FF stock for founders was all the rage when it came to founder liquidity at subsequent financing rounds. We implemented Series FF for a handful of clients back then but we haven't done so recently. In the past couple years, we've been … Continue reading → The post Dual Class Common Stock Structure for Founders appeared first on Startup Lawyer.
How to Survive a Co-Founder Divorce while at an Accelerator8 Dec 2015 | 8:06 amAccelerators can certainly help a startup reach new levels. But when the relationship between the startup's co-founders is already on shaky ground upon entrance, the only thing the accelerator (by no fault of their own) accelerates is the co-founder divorce and possibly death of the startup. The Problem In a co-founder divorce situation, rather than … Continue reading → The post How to Survive a Co-Founder Divorce while at an Accelerator appeared first on Startup Lawyer.
DFW Startup Community SAFE Update 20153 Dec 2015 | 9:04 amAbout two years ago I wrote "Safe and Sound? A Primer on the New YC Docs" for LaunchDFW regarding the Y-Combinator SAFE docs and their application to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) startup community. My conclusion was that SAFE docs were likely too startup favorable to take off in the DFW startup Community as many investors … Continue reading → The post DFW Startup Community SAFE Update 2015 appeared first on Startup Lawyer.
Accelerator Pitch Days and the General Solicitation Conundrum7 Aug 2015 | 11:33 amIf you've been to accelerator pitch days, you've likely seen a presentation that either flat out mentions the specifics of a financing round in progress or the details of a proposed financing. In the last couple years, however, some accelerators have been concerned that their demo days constitute, for their portfolio companies, a general solicitation for … Continue reading → The post Accelerator Pitch Days and the General Solicitation Conundrum appeared first on Startup Lawyer.
Huge Email Data Breach Means Your Passwords Aren't Safe5 May 2016 | 1:00 pmEmails have been hacked and your passwords aren't safe. And while a data breach seems to happen every month or so, this one is for real. Seriously, this particular hack is going to take down all your accounts, and your important information is going to be in the hands of Russian mobsters by the end of the afternoon. Now that tensions have been relieved with a comedic tone, this data breach is actually pretty serious. As Reuters reported earlier this morning, it is one of the largest breaches since US banks and retailers dropped the online security ball two years ago. A hacker in Russia stole over 272 million email accounts. Google, Yahoo and Hotmail were among those hacked in addition to Mail.ru,...
Kramer Electronics Is Adapting Classrooms to our Mobile World5 May 2016 | 12:00 pmToday, it's anything but strange to see high school students with smartphone and laptops, which is a clear indication of just how big this technological boom really is. But what if all this technological capacity could be used to improve education? Kramer Electronics, a leading global pro A/V company, has recently released two case studies on what can be called "the classrooms of the future". Utilizing Kramer's wireless presentation and collaboration tools, some UK universities created interactive learning hubs to test these new methods of education. The results showed great promise, validating Kramer's technology as a key point for educational institutions to implement BYOD programs and to bring the...
How to Make Your First Facebook Live Stream Successful5 May 2016 | 11:45 amLook out, Periscope – Facebook Live is the newest competitor on the market for the go-to live-streaming app, and it's quickly growing in popularity. Even though it's a new platform, trends are already emerging on what makes a good live feed and keeps streamers growing in views and Internet fame. Whether you're looking to master the latest platform or just learn how to communicate with your friends and audience in a new way, here are a few key tips to follow before your first stream on Facebook Live. Mastering the Basics Facebook Live, like other live-streaming platforms, require knowledge of angles. Even though it's available on both Android and iPhone devices, streaming with an iPhone gives you the luxury...
These Are the 15 Best Companies for Women5 May 2016 | 11:01 amWith gender inequality a persistent problem within tech and business, companies are getting creative with finding solutions that appeal to everyone. Buy Up Index is the latest innovation that's tackling gender inequality head-on. Buy Up Index was created by Amy Willard-Cross, who put her knowledge and expertise to the test by bringing awareness to the many difficulties that American women face in business and economics. Through Willard-Cross's career, she's seen the influence women have on the economy (American women hold the majority of economic buying power), but far too many companies fail to tap into this market and ignore women's concerns and interests for products. This causes a massive disservice not...
iJustine's Justine Ezarik Chats About Combatting Bullying [ VIDEO ]5 May 2016 | 10:45 amJustine Ezarik is more than an entrepreneur – she's speaking out about the dangers of bullying and an unkind culture. Back at SXSW 2015, Justine sat down with the Tech.Co team to talk about the importance of content creation and the impact that technology had in her life growing up. Though she was excited to discuss the impact content creation and video platforms like YouTube have on her career, the interview took an interesting turn as she shifted the focus towards the impact that bullying and kindness have on our interactions with each other. Speaking specifically about the harm that cyberbullying causes, Justine says: "The unfortunate reality is that people can ever stop any of this negativity but I...
Forbes - Entrepreneurs
Alibaba Group FY2016 Revenue Jumps 33%, EBITDA Up 28%5 May 2016 | 12:29 pmToday, Alibaba Group announced their Q4 and fiscal year 2016 financial results ended March 31 2016. You could say the results show the Alibaba genie is creating more money magic.
E-Cigarette Manufacturers Say New Regulations Will Devastate The Industry5 May 2016 | 12:01 pmThe Food and Drug Administration issued long-anticipated rules this morning that extend federal regulatory authority to e-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced liquid into a vapor that has only traces of some of the 60-plus carcinogens found in cigarette smoke. The 499-page document will have a profound effect on the e-cigarette industry in the U.S., worth an estimated $3.7 billion last year. Until now e-cig companies have operated with no federal rules. The new regulations also ban e-cig sales to Americans under 18.
Luxembourg Is Prosecuting The Wrong People In The LuxLeaks Trial5 May 2016 | 11:37 amBecause of the LuxLeaks scandal, the world knows that Luxembourg granted secret tax rulings to about 340 multinational clients of global accounting firm PwC. The leaks caused Europe to revamp its entire tax ruling regime, increasing transparency accordingly.
Congress and Taxes: What's On Tap5 May 2016 | 10:39 amCongressional tax writing committees recently passed a host of small provisions -- what are they? And what is the outlook for tax law changes this year.
Why Your Loyalty Program Should Be Exclusive5 May 2016 | 10:17 amThe top 25% of restaurant consumers drive a whopping 66% of sales, according to a recent report by Thanx. Here's how some companies are capitalizing on this desirable segment, and how others are falling short.
Startup Professionals Musings
8 Secrets To Pushing Your Startup Ahead Of The Crowd4 May 2016 | 6:30 amIn my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kaufmann Foundation, the numbers are finally here to show it. The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Over 500,000 new businesses were created last year, or about one per minute of every day. Of course, that's both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Who would not want to joint the unicorns (recent startups...
7 Shortcuts That Can Kill A Startup Business2 May 2016 | 6:30 amStarting a new business is not an informal process, and should never be treated like a hobby between friends. Unfortunately, as a startup advisor and angel investor, I've seen too many ventures with great potential get destroyed or set back by legal and other shortcuts that should never have been allowed to happen. The path to true success does not allow for shortcuts. I'm not suggesting that any startup needs to demand perfection, but I do recommend that all learn and follow common business practices from the beginning. Mark Zuckerberg can tell you a horror story about how his early informal breakup with a co-founder ultimately cost him a settlement later worth four billion dollars. For many others,...
How Entrepreneurs Can Capitalize On Their Alma Mater1 May 2016 | 6:30 amMost aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. The lesson of finding help, connections, and even funding where other people may never look is one that makes all the difference in the entrepreneur lifestyle. As a startup advisor and investor, living in an area with several local universities, I'm continually surprised by how little many entrepreneurs know about the resources available from these institutions. Even if you are no longer a student, or not enrolled now, it can pay big dividends to get to know people there and explore the...
9 Entrepreneur Habits That Lead To Long-Term Success30 Apr 2016 | 6:30 amBeing an entrepreneur is a lifestyle that requires staying power, because starting a new business is a long-term process with many tough challenges. As an angel investor, I look diligently for signs that an aspiring startup founder has what it takes to thrive and prosper for the long haul ahead. Passion and vision are necessary, but not sufficient, to really change the world. Many of the best-known entrepreneurs who achieved long-term successes, including Howard Schultz (Starbucks) and Steve Jobs (Apple), shared a common set of attributes and habits, including the following:

 They never gave up, despite some major setbacks. In investor circles, it is often said that the number one cause of startup...

6 Leadership Behaviors Drive Continuous Innovation29 Apr 2016 | 6:30 amEvery entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. They know they need to act proactively, but still are often blindsided by a new competitor coming out of the blue with a future they never imagined. Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership. I just finished a new book, "The Three-Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation," by Vijay Govindarajan, one of the world's leading experts on strategy and innovation. He succinctly outlines the key behaviors that I believe every business leader must focus on, to drive innovation without waiting for the next competitive crisis:...
Presentation Zen
Bill Evans on the Creative Process & Self-Teaching2 May 2016 | 12:40 amMany years ago I spoke of Bill Evans and his great appreciation of simplicity, and his capacity for tremendous amplification through honest simplification. Recently I stumbled upon a rare, 45-minute interview from the 1960s which Bill Evans did along with his brother—also a wonderful pianist—Harry Evans. If you can find time to sit down and watch the entire interview, it may be the best thing you see all week. But to give you a feel of the message, let me place the videos here and highlight the key points along with my comments.Part 1 (on YouTube) Above in the first clip Evans speaks of people's tendency to approach a problem in its entirety in a vague, abstract way instead of just taking a small...
Presentation lessons from Steve Pinker's advice on writing18 Apr 2016 | 11:54 pmOne of the most interesting books I read last year was Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century. Pinker's book is a thoughtful, clear, and useful discussion on how we can make our writing simpler and clearer by avoiding muddy, confusing prose otherwise known as corporatese, legalese, academese, medicalese, bureaucratese, and officialese. Pinker explores what is called the Classic style of prose, a style of non-fiction writing which Francis-Noël Thomas and Mark Turner dedicate an entire book to explaining in Clear and Simple as the Truth: Writing Classic Prose. "The feature of classic style that makes it a natural model for anyone is its great...
Technology & humanity: The Luke Hand Organization7 Apr 2016 | 10:55 pmThe work of Hugh Herr and his bionic legs is such a remarkable story that it got me thinking about the possibilities. I immediately thought of the bionic hand Luke Skywalker received at the end of The Empire Strikes back (called a Mechno-arm I believe). Luke's hand was science fiction, but the technology that is being developed these days is approaching the level of that pictured in the world of science fiction. I've been researching issues related to generative design and 3D printing recently so I did a quick search to see if anyone was doing work in bionics directly inspired by the Luke Skywalker hand. This is how I found the Luke Hand project and a wonderful presentation by designer Shalom Ormsby at...
A most inspiring TED Talk: Dr. Hugh Herr24 Mar 2016 | 12:28 amRecently, while researching the issue of generative design, I came across a short presentation on bionics by Bionics designer and MIT Professor Dr. Hugh Herr. The 8-minute talk was part of a keynote for Autodesk University 2015 on topics related to augmented cognition, generative design, additive manufacturing, etc. The things that people are able to do now with advanced CAD and other digital tools is remarkable. But when Dr. Herr took the stage to show a genuine, real-world example of human-robot collaboration, I was blown away by what I saw. When his talk was finished, I thought this was just the kind of thing that should be featured on TED. Sure enough, Dr. Herr had already spoken on the subject at TED...
Perfectly imperfect & the art of making a connection10 Mar 2016 | 11:31 pmTo be human is to be imperfect. Yes, we expect absolute perfection and precision when it comes to things like airplanes, automobiles, or the engineering behind the bridge we drive across everyday. And people naturally assume that the products they purchase will perform to at least the standard advertised. But with aspects of life that require a degree of human expressiveness, absolute perfection is not only impossible to produce, it usually would not lead to better results even if it were. Consider a musical performance, a form of human expression that has much in common with interpersonal communication, including presentation and public speaking. Today computers can generate music that sounds virtually...
Great Demo!
[Warning: Shameless Self-Promotion Alert!] May 18-19 Great Demo! Public Workshop – Last Chance5 May 2016 | 10:14 amWe have just a few seats remaining available for our upcoming Great Demo! Public Workshop, scheduled for May 18-19 in Sunnyvale, CA (Silicon Valley).� Registration and additional information can be found here. Public Workshops are excellent opportunities for individuals, small groups or for teams that have new hires.� The May session will be a 1.75-Day Workshop, with the first day focusing largely on core Great Demo! material and the second ¾ day addressing more advanced topics and techniques.��
"Let Me Show You What's Going On 'Behind the Scenes'…" More Demo Ineptitude27 Apr 2016 | 3:44 pmHow many times have you heard someone say, in a demo, "Let me explain what is happening behind the scenes…"?� As an audience member, do you typically care about these details?� (Nope).� Do high-ranking managers typically want to see or learn these details?� Nope.And yet, the more technical the offering, and the more technical the presenter, the more often we hear these frightening words spoken.Contemplate the following two examples:You are considering purchasing a hybrid car.� What is the most important thing you care about, with respect to that car? �The answers are typically "gas mileage" or "the environment".� For those of you who have considered a hybrid, have you looked at the batteries?�...
Curious Thoughts On Coaching, Demos, Life, the Universe and Everything… But Mostly on Coaching20 Apr 2016 | 3:10 pmI recently completed an interview with the fine folks at Refract (http://enable.refract.tv/enable-blog/musings-from-a-software-demo-guru-an-interview-with-peter-cohan/) that explores a range of topics, then settles down and explores coaching for presales (and demos, in particular) – and a curious thought struck me:Very few presales managers have ever been taught how to coach…!� This is intriguing and gently frightening…� Think about it:� most front-line presales managers are promoted from their previous individual contributor positions into their new manager roles because they excel at presales.� In many cases, they are given their new roles without any training on how to manage.� In nearly all cases,...
Podcast: An Interview with Peter Cohan12 Apr 2016 | 3:36 pmScott Sambucci, who leads SalesQualia, drives a discussion with me on demos, life, the universe and everything (OK, mostly on demos).LISTEN NOW:�http://traffic.libsyn.com/salesqualia/Peter_Cohan.mp3Here's Scott's description of what we covered and more detailed notes:

Why you only have once chance at a product demo and how to do it right the first time.

There no such thing as standard demos and how to discover the "Critical Business Issues" of your target accounts in preparing your demos.

"The Curse of Knowledge" and how answering your prospect's questions before they ask can KILL your demo.

How to demo your software crisply…!

Notes:

How did Peter get into demo skills...

Go BE A Customer… Why?28 Mar 2016 | 11:55 amI am often surprised at how many participants in Great Demo! Workshops have never been a customer – or have never seen another vendor's demos.� This lack of experience – and perspective – makes it hard for these participants to understand what a "Bad" demo looks like (and hence, what "Good" or "Great" might look like).� For these "newbies", I have a strong recommendation:� go out and BE a customer.� For the seasoned veterans, see my "Additional Note" below…Here's the assignment:Find a software package you are earnestly interested in and become a prospect for that vendor.� Experience, first-hand, what if feels like to be a lead.� You'll likely get a call in response to...
silicontap.com - Silicon Valley High Tech News
Reflektive Gets $13M For Talent, Performance Management5 May 2016 | 6:18 amSan Francisco-based Reflektive, a developer of talent and performance management tools, says it has raised $13M in a Series A funding for its platform. The funding was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Andreessen Horowitz. The company says it has now raised $17M in funding.... (more) READ MORE>>
ON24 Sees $25M5 May 2016 | 6:12 amSan Francisco-based webinar and webcasting provider ON24 says it has raised $25M in a new funding, which came from Goldman Sachs' Private Capital Investing group.... (more) READ MORE>>
Pivotal Picks Up $253M From Ford, Microsoft5 May 2016 | 6:06 amSan Francisco-based Pivotal, which develops Agile development software, has raised a gigantic, $253M funding round, from Ford and Microsoft. According to Pivotal, the Series C funding also included all of its prior investors, including GE, EMC, and VMware.... (more) READ MORE>>
PowWow Mobile Finds $4.25M For Mobile Enterprise Apps4 May 2016 | 10:59 amSan Francisco-based PowWow Mobile, a developer of tools which helps enterprises take any web-based or Windows business application, and make it available to their employees via mobile apps, has raised $4.25M in a funding round, the company said this morning.... (more) READ MORE>>
ChargePoint Connects With $50M For EV Charging Network4 May 2016 | 10:52 amCampbell, California-based ChargePoint, which operates an electric vehicle charging network, said today that it has raised $50M in additional funding--bringing its total raised to more than $164M.... (more) READ MORE>>
Austin Startup
Networking Is Bullshit. And How To Network2 May 2016 | 1:36 pm"Networking" is one of the most useless terms in modern business vernacular. It's about as meaningless as "innovation."Continue reading on Austin Startups »
Austin's Proposition 1, Continued: Questions the Media SHOULD Be Asking1 May 2016 | 3:13 pmWe're less than a week away from Austin's final vote on Prop 1, and I remain stunned at the amount of animus it's generated, even among…Continue reading on Austin Startups »
How a Roadtrip Can Help My Startup Go from 1 million to 5 million users1 May 2016 | 1:36 pmIn thinking about taking Localeur from 1 million to 5 million users, I'm looking at the history of companies like Facebook, Twitter and…Continue reading on Austin Startups »
Texas-Squared Startup Newsletter #0371 May 2016 | 6:01 amTexas Startup & Tech News, Opinions & Events in the Lone Star State SUBSCRIBE View this email in your browserContinue reading on Austin Startups »
Who Drives the Startup Train?28 Apr 2016 | 2:54 pmMay 1, 2016: Wednesday night I was grateful to be invited to Andrews Kurth in downtown Austin to be a mentor for the McCombs MBA "Venture…Continue reading on Austin Startups »
Entrepreneurship Resources | ZDNet
Government must prepare Australia's economy for the future: Ian Chubb20 Apr 2016 | 12:08 amAustralia's former chief scientist Ian Chubb believes that in order to compete on a global economic scale, governments need to do more than just talk about what they want to achieve.
Federal government to spend AU$5.95m on joint research with China14 Apr 2016 | 11:55 pmThe Australian government has announced six research centres in partnership with China in a bid to strengthen innovation and science links between the two countries.
IP Australia sees 10 percent jump in Australian patent applications14 Apr 2016 | 7:32 pmThe Australian Intellectual Property Report 2016 by IP Australia has revealed businesses are increasingly protecting their inventions and brands, with patent applications growing by 10 percent in 2015.
It is time to stop using the word 'innovation': Telstra CTO13 Apr 2016 | 9:23 pmWhen it comes to actually innovating, Telstra CTO Vish Nandlall believes it is best not to use the buzzword and instead describe what is being achieved.
Beijing to spend $1.5b on 'Silicon Valley of China'11 Apr 2016 | 7:15 pmChina's booming Zhongguancun district is set to receive a $1.5 billion upgrade to help the 'Silicon Valley of China' become an innovation hotspot.
Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog
The Case for Extreme Personalization28 Apr 2016 | 12:58 amExtreme personalization, sometimes referred to as marketing to a customer segment of one, is the holy grail of the multi-channel world.Extreme personalization comes down to one simple reality: customers expect your company to know who they are — no matter what method or touchpoint they are using. Instore, online, through Facebook or on a phone, customers want to receive a consistent, high-quality experience from your brand.The challenge is that to get to extreme personalization, marketers must have what they need to reach out directly to a real individual, rather than a general marketing persona. Today, most commerce systems remain siloed. Point of sale systems in-store are not connected to online...
CMOs Reveal What They Really Think about Digital Projects15 Apr 2016 | 12:55 amThe Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is on the frontline of digital marketing and delivering digital experiences. Over the past decade, CMOs have gone from being a cost center, siloed within their own organization, to being a full-blown digital player, charged with P&L and caring for the entire customer lifecycle. CMOs have gone full digital, hiring marketing technologists, data analysts, and "growth hackers" in addition to the usual creative types.As customers increasingly turn to digital touchpoints to interact with brands, CMOs are focused on creating great digital experiences.Recently, the editors at Adobe's CMO.com blog sat down with CMOs at some of Europe's leading brands to get insights into how...
Adobe Summit Positions 2016 as the Year of the Digital Experience Wave10 Apr 2016 | 12:59 pmAdobe Summit has wrapped up in Las Vegas, and while George Clooney and Donny Osmond were great as keynote speakers, there was one theme discussed among the thousands of attendees above all others, a thought that you just couldn't shake: The digital "experience" is radically transforming business as we know it.Adobe says that the Experience Business represents a new era in commerce — or a wave as Adobe calls it — that's about creating an exceptional customer experience at every touchpoint. Brad Rencher, EVP of Adobe's Digital Marketing team, explained in his keynote how the past 50 years have seen three major waves of digital disruption — the back-office of the 1960s, the Front-office wave, and...
Enterprise Content Management: How Does AEM Stack Up?5 Apr 2016 | 12:58 amI was talking to a client the other day about why they choose Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) for their business. This particular company initially purchased AEM shortly after it was purchased by Adobe, back in 2010. He said that one of the reasons they'd chosen it, after comparing it to a number of other options, was because he trusted Adobe to continue to invest in the product and innovate with it.So, that begged the question — how does AEM stack up to its competition today?How Does AEM Stack Up? There are a number of resources available to help evaluate various content management systems (CMS) that were developed especially for enterprise companies (Adobe calls these platforms WEMs – Web Experience...
Digital Experiences Require a Visionary Approach16 Mar 2016 | 12:59 amWhen IT executives are planning investments in new platforms, it's common for them to turn to industry experts and analysts to provide context and explore perspectives. There's a lot of choice out there. That's why I'm very pleased that Gartner's latest flagship report on e-commerce, the Magic Quadrant, has positioned Elastic Path as Visionary.For those not initiated, the Gartner Magic Quadrant is the go-to resource for an objective perspective on technology and service markets. It's the Super Bowl of analyst reports on commerce. It provides a graphical competitive positioning of technology providers, in markets where growth is high and provider differentiation is distinct.I believe that what makes this new...
Planning, Startups, StoriesPlanning, Startups, Stories
Birds of a Feather Fail Together: the Business Case for Diversity4 May 2016 | 7:43 amDiversity is good for business. Equal opportunity is not only morally and ethically right, it's also a better way to run a business. Here are some reasons why, and points to consider. What's intuitively obvious It's pretty much accepted wisdom that when people come together in a common business, it's better for them to have different skills and experience that the same thing. You want somebody good at sales, somebody good at marketing, somebody who likes managing the money, somebody who can produce whatever it is you sell, right? That's aside from gender, ethnic, religious, age diversity. The idea is commonly accepted. Go from there to the obvious parallel with diversity of vision, background,...
Business Owners: The Lean Business Plan as Dashboard and GPS3 May 2016 | 11:25 amWhat if you own a business, you're not a startup, you don't have to generate a traditional business plan to show to a bank or an investor? Would you still want a business plan? Yes, emphatically, yes you do …

… but it's not a traditional business plan. It's a lean plan.

… and you don't really want a plan. You want planning. You want planning for your business like you want navigation for your journey, with destination, route, and real-time dashboard information to make changes easily, and optimize.

 The lean business plan: So the lean business plan is simple, just bullet points and lists and tables. It's easy to do. It doesn't include the summaries and descriptions of a traditional...
Business Plan Financials? Why Bother?2 May 2016 | 10:26 amAs I'm winding up my series of posts on standard business plan financials – this is the 20th since last month – I want to focus on why? Why bother to project your business plan financials ahead of time? Aren't they going to be wrong anyhow? Aren't they going to change? Some people will suggest that you don't both with this part of planning. And that's terrible advice. For your own business, whether you have to show anybody else a business plan, or not, simple financial projections, done right, are a powerful tool for managing your business better. They give you a way to lay out in an orderly manner how you expect your sales, cash, spending, and capital to go, based on the meaningful assumptions for...
Remarkable Real Research on How Life Goals Matter29 Apr 2016 | 9:46 amWhat? A 75-year-study on adult development? Psychiatrist Robert Waldinger absorbs the Harvard Study on Adult Development. Here he shares insights on how life goals affect happiness, and what ultimately is happiness. The study itself is remarkable. Waldinger credits luck and the persistence of several generations of researchers. About 60 of the original 600 men are still alive. Since 1938 they – a group of Harvard undergrads and another group of poor kids from Boston – answered questions, took exams, shared their lives with researchers on a regular basis. So what keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? Listen to this TED talk. Click this link for the original on the TED site. The post...
Business Plan Financials: Starting Costs27 Apr 2016 | 8:10 amIt's really important to have an idea of what you need before you start. Continuing with my series on standard business plan financials, startups need to project starting costs. Starting costs set up a starting balance, which is necessary to plan cash flow. And the starting costs are critical to determining whether a startup can bootstrap or needs outside funding. For existing companies that already have financial results, projections start with the expected ending balance of the previous period. But for startups, it's about starting costs. Starting costs are essentially the sum of two kinds of spending. You can estimate them both in two simple lists:

Startup expenses: These are expenses that happen...

Signal v. Noise — Medium
A Leap of Faith5 May 2016 | 1:34 pmEvery button in your app requires a little curiosity and a leap of faith. Here's how I discovered a new feature on my Twitter app just by…Continue reading on Signal v. Noise »
Everything Good Has Already Been Invented: How Michael Cera's Phone Can Teach Us To Compete5 May 2016 | 11:47 amWe want to create important, impressive, new things, but as we look around everything seems so crowded. So competitive.Continue reading on Signal v. Noise »
Who wants to live in The Real World?2 May 2016 | 8:37 amThe Real World must be a truly depressing place to live. It's apparently a realm where new ideas, unfamiliar approaches, and foreign…Continue reading on Signal v. Noise »
Mickey D's28 Apr 2016 | 9:39 amWhat startups and small business owners can learn from the giant's strugglesContinue reading on Signal v. Noise »
You play like you practice27 Apr 2016 | 5:13 pmBack in high school my track coach would often get on me about my sloppy block practice. He'd say "You aren't setting up in the blocks…Continue reading on Signal v. Noise »
Fast-growing Estonian EdTech DreamApply Targets Finland1 May 2016 | 10:00 pmGlobalization is pushing for employees with international vision and multicultural experiences, but both, the universities and the students, are struggling with this partly because of the old-fashioned paperwork in the recruitment process. Commercialized since 2011 in Latvia and Estonia, Dreamapply found its niche and has swept across the continent ever since.Dreamapply offers an admission system where both universities and prospective students can save time and benefit from the moment a student shows interest in her dream school to the point he or she steps into the campus. The platform claims...
HBH Investor Talks: Filip Petersson says it's about timely matchmaking29 Apr 2016 | 5:21 amBeing a part of a small research team Filip struggled with finding the right investors and was constantly looking for funding. When researcher turned into an entrepreneur, he had to learn fast on how to explain his technology in business terms. That's when he realized how important it is for an investor to understand the technology behind the business."There should be a good match with the right investor in the right time," says Filip.His thought back then was that his knowledge of science and experience in business would be a good combo should he start to invest himself. But it still took...
Tim Draper Is Coming To Finland29 Apr 2016 | 1:41 amTim is well known to help entrepreneurs drive their visions through funding, education, media, and government reform. He has founded thirty Draper venture funds, Draper University, Bizworld, and two statewide initiatives to improve governance and education. He is the creator of viral marketing - a marketing method for spreading a software application from customer to customer, instrumental to the successes of Hotmail and Skype among hundreds of others including Gmail and Yahoo! Mail. Draper's own investments have included Skype and Baidu. He has also invested heavily in bitcoin on the belief that it might one day be the preeminent store of value for investors To be able to listen to Tim and meet him in...
Rovio Launches Angry Birds Movie-Linked Action Game28 Apr 2016 | 10:58 pmRovio has struggled as the popularity of Angry Birds, the top paid mobile app of all time, has waned. It's sales have slipped and the company has cut jobs and swapped executives. The Hollywood movie represents its big comeback opportunity.Rovio tries to link the new game to the real world with BirdCodes located at its partners products and stores, and opening up parts of the game only to the fans watching the movie during the opening weekend - with the phones detecting an inaudible digital watermark that plays only behind the end credits and opening access based on this."With The Angry Birds...
From Gadget To A Partner: How Wearables Shape New Models of Living28 Apr 2016 | 4:52 amPhoto: Shutterstock We may unwittingly commit a sweet and gentle crime every day - eat anything in sight late at night (or at least those fried potatoes) while finishing a work deadline, skip breakfast trying to pay back that high-calorie food sin, give up the morning run trying to escape that awful rain, sit too much during the office hours without realising the damage of a sedentary way of working and so on and so on. The experts call such situations "lifestyle diseases", or the diseases when you have a choice to do a right and healthy thing but,...
All Posts – NextBillion
Finding a Sanitation Destiny: 'I Am Supposed to Design Toilets'5 May 2016 | 7:45 amAs the world works toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 – ensuring access to water and sanitation for all – NextBillion is conducting a series of Q&A interviews with organizations seeking solutions. Below, "design activist" Jasmine Burton discusses the social startup Wish for WASH that she founded to develop an inexpensive mobile toilet, the SafiChoo. � Kyle Poplin: How did you get interested in sanitation and hygiene in developing countries? Jasmine Burton: In 2011, as a freshman at Georgia Tech, I was inspired to do something about the global sanitation crisis at a women's leadership conference. I learned from a Georgia Tech alumna and one of my current mentors, Susan Davis of Improve...
Three 'Golden Rules' of Investing in Health-Focused BoP Models4 May 2016 | 5:00 amOver the past decade, investing in the BoP has taken root across the development sector. While there is great promise in treating the world's 4.5 billion poor as consumers rather than aid recipients, the reality is that this exuberance has been difficult to translate into viable business models, particularly within the health sector. This is in contrast to some other emerging areas of focus for impact investors – such as agriculture and energy – where there appear to be both bigger pipelines of investable businesses and greater returns. With this in mind, we were particularly happy to be a part of the first Financing and Innovation in Global Health Forum, which recently brought together stakeholders...
What STEM Skillsets, Mindsets Bring to Sustainable Development3 May 2016 | 2:15 amEditor's note: This is the second in a series of posts exploring careers in social innovation and global sustainable development for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals. Check out part one. � Many people still believe that all scientists, engineers and programmers work in science, engineering and tech. Do all scientists pipette solutions in a clean white lab while all engineers take measurements on a construction site and programmers write apps in a cubicle? While many STEM professionals do fit these traditional roles, many more use their analytical skills to solve problems in other fields. According to the National Science Board, fewer than half the undergraduate STEM majors...
NexThought Monday: How Mindset Shifts Improve Health Care2 May 2016 | 5:21 amImagine that you are Sarafina, an HIV-positive teenage mother, and your infant daughter has been diagnosed with moderate malnutrition every month for the past three months. The community health workers in your rural African village go through the steps required by government protocols each month. They provide health education, and even do a home visit. They say little when you return for the fourth month and find that your child continues to be malnourished. This time your daughter is diagnosed with severe malnutrition and she is referred to the hospital. You arrive at the hospital three days later, after you have gathered the funds needed for travel. When you arrive, the doctors tell you that "only time...
Roundup: Chicago's $100M Impact Test, World Bank Relevance Check – And Defending 'White Savior Barbie'29 Apr 2016 | 8:45 amSomething big happened in Chicago this week that mixes retail investors, impact investors, mission-based ventures and community development. Just how big? $100 million big. But implications for impact investing could travel well outside the city limits. I'm talking about Benefit Chicago, a new project announced on Monday by the Chicago Community Trust, MacArthur Foundation and Calvert Foundation to funnel $100 million in impact investments to nonprofits and social enterprises in the Windy City. The ideal ventures that could receive loans work in education and child care, healthy food access, affordable housing, energy conservation, and job creation and training, among other areas. The mechanics are...
Silicon Moon
John Cleese: Political Correctness Will Lead To 1984 Nightmare3 May 2016 | 9:44 am
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Trailer (Chris Pratt, Denzel Washington - 2016)21 Apr 2016 | 10:50 pmLoved the original movie with McQueen, Coburn, Bronson and others. Can't wait for this one.
Bernie Sanders Tax Rate of 13.5% is Amusing and Hypocritical16 Apr 2016 | 1:30 pmSanders had a tax rate of 13.5% and gave 4% to charity (other sources read too). I'm a sucker because I pay far over 40%. He's amusing and hypocritical.First, he didn't even pay his "fair share" that he so deeply criticizes America's corporations and "rich people" about. Second, if you're going to game the tax system like the corporates you criticize, at least give more than those crazies on the Right (Red states always give more than Blue states) on the backend to the poor you so deeply care about. 10% is a minimum number, Sanders, to shoot for to be generous not act generous.Clinton's tax rate was 35.7% and Trump gave 0% to charity, so again Sanders trails closely to Trump in those negative character...
London Area Dialect and Liverpool Dialect15 Apr 2016 | 11:19 am
Chris Matthews SHUTS DOWN Former Lt. Gov on Funding Bernie Sanders' Free College Plans14 Apr 2016 | 2:05 am
The Startup Pitch
Pitch for Tic Tac Toe RETRO Free5 May 2016 | 10:13 amCompany / App Name: Tic Tac Toe RETRO Free https://play.google.com/TicTacToeRetro What does it do? It's paper game Tic Tac Toe. i think you know what the game do. Why do we need it? Firstly because Google Play doesn't have Tic Tac Toe game that users can Play on paper! Secondly because interface of game is fully paper Who is it for? It's for users with Android. What makes it stand out from the crowd? I said, Google Play doesn't have Tic Tac Toe game with "paper" interface! What's next? Game will get updates and more fans. The post Pitch for Tic Tac Toe RETRO Free appeared first on The Startup Pitch.
Pitch for Tabor5 May 2016 | 4:10 amCompany / App Name: Tabor https://play.google.com/store/taborbasic What does it do? Tabor provides a fast, integrated, and familiar web experience than other web browsers. Tabor uses Google Chrome's latest feature custom tabs. With light weighted Tabor you can open web links inside using app with out leaving the app. Why do we need it? Normal Chrome or other browser uses huge memory, but Tabor uses Chrome's custom tabs, so it loads websites faster than chrome and also Tabor pre loads websites to load speedy. Who is it for? Everyone who has Android mobile or tablet. What makes it stand out from the crowd? ★ Google Chrome's custom tab used. ★ Multiple search engines- Google, Ask, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu,...
Pitch for Re-Solve4 May 2016 | 10:06 pmCompany / App Name: Re-Solve https://play.google.com/store/.resolve What does it do? One survey question: Guess how a group of 100 people would respond. Re-Solve is a fun game that is easy to pick up, hard to master & impossible to put down. It's a "GUESS WHAT OTHERS THINK" game. It's a brain bender. Why do we need it? The goal of Re-Solve is to find out all of the given answers to a specific question. Question: Something the human body has lots of. Answers: Bones-36%, Blood-19%, Hair-14% and so on. Who is it for? Trivia Lovers What makes it stand out from the crowd? It is a totally new concept. Such an application is not available in the entire play store. What's next? Examples of questions: Types of...
Pitch for Rapidfy4 May 2016 | 4:10 pmCompany / App Name: Rapidfy http://www.rapidfy.com Twitter – rapidfy.com What does it do? Rapidfy has made it easy for users to make requests or get business leads anytime, anywhere. We route customer Request to the Matching Businesses using mobile, while the Businesses will receive the Leads Notification to reply via chat Why do we need it? 1. TIME SAVING for customer with one request to multiple suppliers at one time, No more going through pages of websites and calling. 2. MORE GENUINE LEADs to Businesses, they can choose which customers to work with by reply a chat Who is it for? ONE SINGLE APP for End users who need help or urgent needs or for People who can provide help from businesses, part timers,...
Pitch for Orderhive4 May 2016 | 10:11 amCompany / App Name: Orderhive http://www.orderhive.com/ Twitter – orderhive What does it do? Orderhive is a feature-packed software for multichannel order and inventory management that enables online sellers to improve business efficiency and sales performance. Free trial of software is available. Why do we need it? To manage multichannel Order & Inventory Management. Shipping Management. Purchase Management. Multichannel Integration. With Orderhive, you can manage multiple channels from single Orderhive account. Who is it for? Small Business Online retailers Online sellers What makes it stand out from the crowd? India's first multichannel order & inventory management system What's next? Future...
Latest stories
Kiwi company redefines smartphone keyboards4 May 2016 | 8:25 pm"There was no keyboard app that was designed around the way people hold their phones. We were astounded no one else was doing this."
Google, disruption, game-changing ideas: Spark's Innovation Month keynotes announced4 May 2016 | 5:26 pmSpark Lab's Innovation Month will see innovative and successful characters arrive in NZ to share experiences and insights with local businesses.
Hands-on review: Thecus N2810 NAS Server4 May 2016 | 5:19 pmAffectionately known as the ultimate multimedia NAS server with 4k transcoding, this is the Multimedia NAS you have been looking for.
Spark and Huawei bring lightning fast network speeds to NZ4 May 2016 | 3:52 pm"The faster speeds of 4.5G will truly help unleash more New Zealanders' potential, meeting our customer's demands to do more and wait less."
New Facebook, Messenger and Instagram apps coming to Windows 103 May 2016 | 9:17 pmMicrosoft recently announced a fleet of apps designed specifically for Windows 10 from the social media heavyweights.
Campus Entrepreneurship
More Funding Going to Student Founders | @JFiance @TheHouseVC22 Apr 2016 | 9:07 pmNews from UC Berkeley and Georgetown University highlight what my research suggests: students are building some of the most innovative, impactful and valuable firms in the world and their experiences on campus matter (see Campus as Frontier) From Gtown in DC: Ted Leonsis, billionaire owner of the Washington Capitals and active venture investor, made a $1 million donation to the Georgetown Entrepreneurial Initiative earlier this month with the funds dedicated to seed funding for student ventures that are working to "address problems in the world." The fund will likely give out $100,000 per year according to the Washington Business Journal. Out West: University of Cal Berkeley has become the target of a...
Cupid's Cup 2016 | @UofMaryland @UnderArmour #KevinPlank11 Apr 2016 | 4:12 amIn completing my research on high growth ventures created by students the case of Kevin Plank (Under Armour) and the University of Maryland was part of my data collection and highlights many of the ideas uncovered. Cupid's Cup, the annual business competition sponsored by Plank and Under Armour, completed its final round Thursday April 7 on the campus of the University of Maryland. (At the time of this post you could watch the event here) As usual, the finals featured a passionate speech by Plank and an awesome, psyche up video by Under Armour. Plank's message about Under Armour and his vision for Baltimore are big (backed by investment on the Baltimore waterfront — see the plans for Port Covington). I...
Some @PeterThiel Content | Videos and Articles17 Mar 2016 | 6:42 amLike many, I've been fascinated by Peter Thiel for a few years, really hitting my radar with his Thiel Fellowship a few years back when he asked innovators to leave the campus and pursue their innovations (here are all the fellowship winners). I was fortunate enough to see him in Conversations with Tyler at George Mason University in 2015. His background, from founding PayPal (PYPL | NASDAQ) and funding Facebook (FB | NASDAQ) to his fellows and Zero to One (his book), its clear this guy is one of the most intelligent and insightful people out there (at least among those sharing their thoughts publicly) so it's no surprise that he has been so successful. Here is some Thiel content. I share the The...
Books for Innovators and Entrepreneurs | #Sprintbook #CleanDisruption10 Mar 2016 | 8:31 pmI started reading Tony Seba's Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation — I decided to read more books in 2016, now that the Phd on student entrepreneurs is done. A few weeks ago while in Tokyo I heard Tony speak and spent some time with him after his talk. While I've followed solar, Tesla, and the like from a distance, the deep dive with Tony and his book has converted me. With detailed statistics and crucial discussions of new disruptive business models, Tony presents a vivid potential picture of the near future. Speed and scale of change will rival anything we've seen in recent years. The ramifications of this change are massive — could keep you up for days on end thinking about the end of oil...
Forbes Billionaires and Student Entrepreneurs6 Mar 2016 | 4:09 pmEach year Forbes The World's Billionaire list is released and its as clear as a punch in the nose that student founders build some of the most important, impactful and wealth creating ventures in the world. Here are a few from the 2016 World's Billionaires list. Bill Gates (1), Mark Zuckerberg (6), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (12 & 13), Phil Knight (24), Michael Dell (35), Elizabeth Holmes (435), and Kevin Plank (527) are some of the student founders on the list. Facebook and Microsoft appear to have the ability to field basketball squads from members of the list. The basic Forbe's billionaire story provides an overview of the shrinking and churn of the list… number of billionaires is down as more...
TheFunded Founder Institute News
Startup Communities are led by Startup Leaders. See the Top FI Directors of 20154 May 2016 | 7:03 pmThe 2016 Founder Institute Director Awards recognizes those who are playing pivotal roles in their local startup ecosystems, helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch successful companies.� Our 400+ Directors are the backbone of the Founder Institute - providing the passion, dedication, and support that helped launch thousands of businesses since the Institute was founded in 2009. Directors have have dedicated their time and energy to facilitate each Founder Institute chapter and have inspired our Founders to build the next generation of meaningful and enduring technology companies. Interested in becoming a Director for FI? Click here to apply! Among these great individuals, there are some Directors that stand...
Meet The Startup Experts of FounderX3 May 2016 | 11:55 pmDuring the�Founder Institute's�first ever FounderX event, a private gathering of the FI Network in Silicon Valley will take place and bring together some of the biggest industry leaders from around the world. Individuals�from FI's global network, including startup CEOs, technology executives, and Directors will get together to�facilitate meaningful connections across our global network, which spans 110+ cities and 60+ countries FounderX celebrates the efforts of the members of our network, all of whom have used their talents to support local founders and foster entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world. Together, they have helped launch more than�2,100 Graduate companies, resulting in over 15,000 jobs...
Strengthen Your Local Startup Community with the Founder Institute's Help3 May 2016 | 9:55 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:

Sunil Sharma featured in the Financial Post:�BlancRide hopes its app will get carpooling to catch on in the Americas (Financial...

How One Entrepreneur Wants to Help Others Reduce Energy Consumption2 May 2016 | 5:35 pmMore than 10 years before building his own company, Dayal Nathan, a plastics engineer from CIPET, worked for a company in Chennai. While he was involved mainly in the manufacturing aspects of the company, he questioned the other aspects of the company. Looking into company's electricity bill, he saw the electricity bill was unnecessarily high. Nathan would go on to become a CEO of the company and eventually resolved the issue of unnecessary power use in the company and was able to decrease abnormally high power bills. This particular event would be the inspiration behind his own company, Energyly. "That was the birth of the idea. It was in my mind, although I didn't start it then," says Nathan. Prior to...
These Top FI Grads are Reshaping the Eastern European Startup Scene2 May 2016 | 4:28 pmThe Founder Institute, the world's premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program, has launch companies that have created thousands of jobs across our chapters in the Geographic Eastern Portion of Europe (countries whose majority is east of Germany).�Since its launch in 2009, FI has contributed greatly to the local startup ecosystem while providing mentorship from some of the top entrepreneurs in the technology industry. See which Eastern European cities are currently accepting applications to the Founder Institute. While all of the Founder Institute graduates from the Geographic Eastern Portion of Europe�are exceptional, there are a few who stand out. The graduates featured below have all...
Links for 2016-04-29 [del.icio.us]30 Apr 2016 | 12:00 am

Sponsored: 64% off Code Black Drone with HD Camera Our #1 Best-Selling Drone--Meet the Dark Night of the Sky!

Managing Up7 Apr 2016 | 12:00 am(The following post was written by one of Return Path's long-time senior managers, Chris Borgia, who runs one of our data science teams and has run other support organizations in the past, both at Return Path and at AOL. I don't usually run guest posts, but I loved the topic with Chris suggested it, and it's a topic that I'd only have a limited perspective on!) Managing Up in a Growing, Global Workplace For many years, I thought "managing up" was a cheap way of getting ahead. I thought someone who managed up was skilled at deceiving their boss into thinking they were more accomplished than they really were. I have since learned that managing up, or managing your boss, is not devious, but is actually a...
A New Path Forward22 Mar 2016 | 11:15 amA New Path Forward Welcome to the world, Path Forward, Inc.! I'm thrilled to announce the launch today of Path Forward, a new non-profit with a goal of empowering millions of women to rejoin the workforce after taking time out for childcare. We are launching today with a Crowdrise campaign. See more about that below. And we launched with a bang, too – the organization is featured in this really amazing story on Fortune. The concept started at Return Path two years ago, as I wrote about here and again here, when our CTO Andy Sautins came to me with a simple but powerful idea of creating a structured program of paid fellowships with training for women who want to reenter the workforce but find it...
Agile Everywhere2 Mar 2016 | 11:00 pmI've written a bunch on this blog and in Startup CEO, about Agile Development and the Lean Canvas and Lean Startups in general (see a really old post on Agile Development from 10 years ago when we first adopted it here, and one on Agile Marketing here). The basic premise of all of this is that there is an old way to build software products and businesses, and a new lighter way loosely based on Toyota's lean manufacturing principles. The old way is HEAVY — you spec out a product and build it and hope you got it right; you write a big business plan and start raising money and executing on it and hope your assumptions are correct. The new way is LIGHTER — you co-create product with customers and develop...
Ideas Matter Less Than Execution Which Matters Less Than Timing Which Matters Less Than Luck27 Jan 2016 | 11:00 pmWell, that's a mouthful. Let me break it down. Ideas Matter Less Than Execution Execution Matters Less Than Timing Timing Matters Less Than Luck There's a persistent myth about entrepreneurs as heroes – the people with the brilliant ideas and Eureka moments that bring companies to life and create success. I've never believed in that myth, or at least not in its universality, as I've always valued both ideation and execution in terms of business building. But as I was thinking about that construct more the other day, it occurred to me that there's actually a hierarchy of the two, and not just of the two, but of timing and luck as well. The best businesses — the runaway successes — probably have all...
From Teacher to CEO: Define Yourself5 May 2016 | 8:00 amI majored in International Studies and Spanish. I was a teacher with Teach for America. I did oppositional research for political candidates. I'm Latina, young, and have zero background in engineering. However: I am also a tech entrepreneur, a CEO and a founder. If you come from an untraditional background, you can be one too. Here's the wonderful thing about life: you get to redefine yourself if you want to. Some people do this based upon the crowd they're spending time with or what their family may try to dictate. Throughout my life, I've chosen to constantly redefine myself based on my aspirations. I remember in an interview, the reporter asked me if I always knew I was going to be a CEO. Without...
What To Do When You Are Depressed5 May 2016 | 8:00 amMay is Mental Health month. This is the first post in a series on depression and the startup community. Know that you are not alone. Depression lies. It tells us that we are the only person who has felt loss, who has felt failure, who has felt desperation, who has felt nothing. This simply is not true. There are litanies of other people who have felt this way. And progressively more and more people in the startup community are opening up to share their personal experiences every day. Brad Feld, Tim Ferris, Ben Huh, Jason Calacanis, Rand Fishkin, Andy Sparks, and many more have shared their experiences. Connect It is one thing to intellectually know that you are not alone. It is another to feel it in...
How to Negotiate B2B Pricing and Close a Deal Like a Pro4 May 2016 | 7:58 amThis is a short primer on how to conduct a successful price negotiation with your B2B client. Paradoxically, most of the work required to close a deal — is done BEFORE the negotiation itself. Two key factors to a successful outcome, that of closing a deal, are:

The right attitude (tips 1 to 3)

Be prepared: do your homework (tips 4 to 7)

 At the end of this post, you will find a visualized decision tree which will help you negotiate. The Right Attitude Sales and price negotiations require you to have a particular kind of attitude. Remember that negotiations almost never go as planned. Your client might ask you for a deep discount you weren't expecting. He or she may threaten to walk away unless you...
Diversity Resources for Startup Founders3 May 2016 | 8:00 amIn 2016, we committed to making diversity one of our key strategic priorities at Techstars. As a part of this ongoing effort, check out our new video where we talk about why addressing diversity early in your company growth matters and how diverse perspectives fuel innovation. Listen to our founders talk about how unconscious bias and pattern matching affected their fundraising efforts and how we can work together to change things. Here are a few tools and resources to help get the conversation started at your company:

www.ncwit.org – National Center for Women & IT

www.plum.io – predicitive hiring tool

www.roundpegg.com – Culture Assessment tool

www.textio.com – improve your job descriptions
 <li...

It's Not You, It's The Startup Life2 May 2016 | 1:19 pmThanks to our friend, Sarah Jane Coffey, over at Reboot.io, for this incredible piece on mental health & startups. We thought it was so important we wanted to share it with our audience. Originally posted on Medium. My startup story starts in Loveland, Colorado. I had shimmed my degree in electronic media into a project management position at a fast-growing, then fast-failing company. Founded by a dot com success story, the company sold educational resources to aspiring entrepreneurs. It was my first taste of the entrepreneurial adventure. I loved the fast pace, experimental nature and rollercoaster descents of fast success. My years there were also littered with dysfunction (a fair share my own), poor...
Jacoline Loewen
35 ReasonsToronto Tech is Booming30 Apr 2016 | 8:37 pm�Invitation to UBS Bank (Canada), Wealth Management, Technology InvitationWHY 35 REASONS?In a stunning year for Canadians in the technology industry, 2015 brought many success stories. �We thought we would add more spark to the tech industry this year by bringing together a room of�35 like-minded tech entrepreneurs and investors�as guests of�UBS Bank (Canada).�Sure enough, the energy flowed.OUR PARTNERS:�We were delighted to partner on the Technology Networking Evening withPwC�Technology�and�The Entrepreneurship Society, as well as�Blake, Cassels and Graydon.OUR GUEST SPEAKER:A special thank you to�Randall Howard, Verdexus portfolio investments,�who stepped in as guest speaker when�Drew Green, Indochino,...
Can you afford to sell your business?11 Apr 2016 | 7:33 pmhttp://www.moneymagnetbook.ca
7 Question Series: insights into investors and how they judge who gets their capital29 Jan 2016 | 11:39 am"Knowledge is Power," said Sir Francis Bacon, the scientist, writer, statesman. His observation rings true. Flakey App companies get millions of dollars of investment capital effortlessly, or so it seems. In comparison, meaningful companies with far greater value to add to the world – IT, health care, time-saving products, manufacturers - �get left cash-starved. �Why do some businesses get equity investors of the top calibre while other equally worthy companies starve from lack of investment capital? And how can an entrepreneur improve their odds of being chosen as a compelling investment by a high calibre investor? In this interview series you'll get some of these answers! Venture capitalists from...
The need for Canadians to have a globally diversified portfolio is increasing13 Nov 2015 | 4:19 amJacoline Loewen and team OttawaThe economy has been choppy, to say the least, and we asked our portfolio strategist to share the economic forecast for Canadian investors concerned about their portfolios.Our Economics Forecast Luncheon in Ottawa had healthy debate and discussion.My biggest take-away is that Europe has room for growth as they have had austerity and the governents are investing into their country infrastructure again.Also, America is a resilient economy. Their job growth is strong, although service jobs do not have the same wage potential.Thank you to Stephen Beckta, Beckta Restaurant, who hosted our private event.If you would like to receive more inforation, please contact Jacoline Loewen -...
Ottawa economic luncheon7 Nov 2015 | 5:14 pmThe four most expensive words in the English language are "this time it's different." �Yes, it has been a turbulent few months, Our portfolio strategist, Pierre Ouiemet, will be visiting Ottawa on the 12th and will be discussing the ten investment themes that UBS Bank (Canada) is pursuing and will explore why these themes are critical. He will also disuss the interest rates - are they going up? If so, when.We will be in Ottawa, Thurday 12th and hosting a private luncheon for select business owners to discuss why investing outside of Canada makes good financial sense. Do contact us if you wish to join. Jacoline Loewen, Director, UBS Bankhttp://www.moneymagnetbook.ca
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Surprising insight about high-school reunions4 May 2016 | 8:00 amA few months ago, I asked this question on Twitter. "Do you look better or worse than 5 years ago? Why/how so?" Can you guess what happened? ANSWER: Only the successful people wrote back. Out of 20+ responses, only ONE person admitted they looked worse than 5 years ago (and even they snuck in a qualifier: "But I've been working at it for a few months now and lost 10lbs.") Everybody else? Loud and proud. Just like high school reunions. Guess who shows up? The successful / good-looking people. You drive home thinking "WTF? Am I the only one who's not vacationing in Tahiti for a month?" Of course not. It only seems that way — because everybody else stayed home. This illusion of focusing on...
Look at this email from a cheap person2 May 2016 | 7:35 amGET READY!! It's not every day you get to see inside the mind of a cheapskate. I'm in the fortunate position of getting to interact with thousands of people every day. Mostly nice people, but also derelicts, degenerates, delinquents, and life coaches. Now step into my world. Watch this email from a guy who negotiated a $110,000 raise, but won't spend $1K on his own self-improvement. I replied to Nathan: "Great job! BTW, $110K. Pretty awesome. When are you going to join my premium material?" By the way, my question isn't really about the money. I don't mind if he joins my program, another program, or just buys a book. It's about investing in himself. He replies: What do you notice in his...
3 creative writing careers that actually pay29 Apr 2016 | 9:09 amI found a woman who writes research papers for people on Fiverr. For $5, she'll take your assignment, dig through mountains of research, compile her own notes, and write a quality, cited piece for you. For $5. Can you believe it? I cringe when I think about how much she earns for an hour of work. It's not even enough for a cup of Starbucks coffee. Intuitively, we know this writer should be charging more. Too bad she isn't. Compare that to my one of Zero to Launch graduates, Felicia: Felicia is a professional copywriter and online business owner. She has a thriving business where she can write a single email to her readers, hit send, and watch orders pour into her inbox. In fact, she...
How to be a successful copywriter: from a man who's written million dollar emails22 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amMost copywriting advice is bullshit. Copy gurus swear by blinking buttons, scarcity tricks, and bold, red headlines like this: � Ugh. Who wants to read this? And worst of all, they promise you the moon, the stars and every celestial object in-between. "JUST spend an hour writing a piping hot sales page, and you'll make enough money to retire and sip pina coladas on the beach into eternity." Not true. It's possible to create pages of amazing copy in an hour, but you have to be a master. And that takes years of hard work and dedicated practice. There are less than 100 copywriters with that kind of skill — in the world. Having said that you don't need to be a legendary copywriter to make it in this...
Writing prompts: 3 ways to crush writer's block and effortlessly create more content15 Apr 2016 | 10:14 amThere's nothing worse than staring at a blank page not knowing what to write. What happened to all those ideas you had in the shower this morning? Or that post you thought of at the gym? You've finally cleared your calendar, you open up your word processor…And stare at this for three hours: Every minute you waste waiting costs you subscribers, sales, and — worst of all — belief in yourself that you can write something at all. At the same time, your competitors are churning out great pieces, picking up thousands of subscribers, and even getting their work featured on big name sites, like Huffington Post and Business Insider. But it doesn't have to be that way. Over the past 11 years I've...
Start Up Blog
The single 'yes' startup25 Apr 2016 | 7:13 pmI was just talking to a startup about their project. They wanted to supply cafes with a new high tech food service. The idea was good and interesting and they we're thinking big – too big. In their mind the path to success was cutting a deal with a large chain who could roll out their innovation at scale. Big ambitions are great, but the problem with leveraging the scale of another organisation is this: We need too many people to say 'yes' before we can make progress. Here's a better idea, find a way to get to market where you need a maximum of 1 person to say yes. If we do this, we can get out of fantasy land and prove a real market proposition. I then suggested they find 1 cafe, with 1 owner, who can...
Becoming massive is about thinking really small24 Apr 2016 | 8:07 pmWhen starting something new it is useful to invent some boundaries. Inventing boundaries around tiny spaces to create testable markets give us a better chance to find out commercial truths. Boundaries create a commercial lab of sorts within which we can test, learn and validate. We need smaller boundaries than we originally imagine. I use these: Geography: What's the smallest possible geography we can serve? A single street, a single gym, a single office. We need to prove the problem is worth solving in a very defined area. Time: When do we solve it? What hour of the day or week does it get solved. We can cover the remaining hours in the day, or days in the week later. Customer: A group of people so small...
Is this the worst product innovation ever?24 Apr 2016 | 3:29 amIf the Quiksilver bedding wasn't enough, Quiksilver have done it again and introduced possibly the worst, most ill conceived product in surfing history. The Wetsuit Suit. Yes you read that right, a wetsuit designed in the shape of a business suit. I can only hope that this is some kinda hoax – and even if it is, it surely isn't worth the effort and ridicule? The first question that comes to mind is why? Did someone not get the memo that the water is a place we escape the corporate grind. The second question that comes to mind is why? It would simply never perform as well as a skin hugging wetsuit designed specifically for surfing, or a fitted Hugo Boss. The third question that comes to mind is why? It...
The rise of the machines, or not.23 Apr 2016 | 6:16 amTonight, I'm doing some work with the TV on in the back ground. The movie Terminator 3 – the rise of the machines is on. A classic in the series of films which promulgates a human war against our own AI's. I think it's a real classic. There is a great line in the film with John Conner when he's in the van with Kate Brewster explaining the impending apocalypse. It's just that, the life you know. All this stuff you take for granted…. it's not gonna last. This is true, for all of us, right now. It's true if AI becomes the threat many smart people say it is, and it is true if such a judgment day never happens. Nothing is going to last. The future is unknowable, and our participation in it will eventually...
A business model for every startup22 Apr 2016 | 5:13 amHere's a simple business model which should be built into every startup. Ways to make money using technology which is not available today. The possibilities of connection are changing so rapidly these days it is quite possible that the way we make money in a few years, is not even technically possible today. The startup may invent the technical possibility, or leverage an emerging possibility for the community they are building. Either way, the path is simple – startups need to ensure that their future revenue streams consider a future possibility, not just the reality of today. Follow me on SnapChat – search 'Sammartron' for more business insight. Click here if on mobile to add now.
Immersive dream adventures for hospitalized children14 Apr 2016 | 9:40 pmAdd / Remove Many of the children battling cancer at St Jude Children's Research Hospital have to stay there for months and are unable to go out and see the world. But a recent initiative, organized by Expedia and creative agency 180LA, has enabled some of them to experience the exciting travel adventures of their dreams via an immersive 360 degree, real-time installation. As part of St Jude Dream Adventures, Expedia employees have been dispatched to undertake various adventures requested by the kids at St Jude. The employees — many of whom have also been affected by serious illnesses — act as tour guides at places such as the Monkey Jungle in Florida and the Great Maya Reef in Mexico. The adventures...
In Japan, an artificial intelligence has been appointed creative director14 Apr 2016 | 9:35 pmAdd / Remove Advertising and media are often at the forefront of new technology, and we have already seen augmented reality platforms showing content in the real world and a virtual reality advertising network for brands. Now an artificial intelligence robot, AI-CD β, developed by Japanese advertising and marketing agency McCann Japan, is set to work on providing new creative direction for commercials. The AI will give input on projects, mining and analyzing creative databases of adverts to find the best commercials for products and messages. The AI-CD β can work through far more historical adverts and commercials than any human advertising creative, and can therefore aid its colleagues in the...
In Thailand, motorcycles are an unlikely mosquito repellent14 Apr 2016 | 9:30 pmAdd / Remove Mosquito-borne infections affect hundreds of thousands every year, from the outbreak of the Zica virus in Brazil to a surge in cases of Dengue fever in South East Asia. But now a device that can be fitted to the backs of mopeds could provide a new way to repel mosquitos from cities in Thailand. MotoRepellent is a device that fits onto the back of motorbikes, which fill the Thai capital of Bangkok. The cylinder is filled with natural mosquito repellents that are activated by the exhaust pipe of the bike, spreading the insect repellent several meters around the vehicle. With millions of motorbikes in the capital, the repellent device could crowdsource mass mosquito removal to reduce the impact...
App crowdsources fellow travelers for long journeys14 Apr 2016 | 9:00 pmAdd / Remove Traveling in towns and cities has been changed beyond recognition by services like Uber, enabling users to sort out a ride at the tap of a button. But now a US startup is looking to transform how users plan and book longer journeys. Skedaddle connects users who have the same travel plans, whether they are going to concerts, eager for a city break, or planning a trip to a big sporting event. Users can either browse existing routes or create one themselves — if they are the creator of the journey, they get to ride free. The trips have set departure times, and goes live once ten riders have been secured. The riders are charge 48 hours before the trip, and the prices will decrease as more...
What your future self can teach you14 Apr 2016 | 1:00 amAdd / Remove Visit Merrill Edge's Face Retirement website, and you'll be confronted by your future self. The site invites you to take a photo with your webcam and input your age. Then facts about retirement and savings flash on the screen—"46 percent of Americans have saved less than $10,000 for retirement" reads one—while the program digitally "ages" your photo, and you are soon staring at a slightly animated, nodding, blinking, more wrinkly version of yourself. Merrill Edge is betting that the statistics alone won't scare you into saving, but being confronted by an older version of yourself will. "That's not a stranger you're saving for," reads the site, "it's the future...
Financial Times - Entrepreneurship
Australian pulls bitcoin proof5 May 2016 | 8:56 amCraig Wright faced widespread scepticism over his claim he was Satoshi Nakamoto
Financial services braced for automation4 May 2016 | 9:30 pmSilicon Valley innovation set to replace antiquated practices, from loan applications to collecting customer data
'Continental Shift' by Bloom and Poplak4 May 2016 | 6:30 amSprawling insight and stories behind Africa and its state of flux
Lehman lives on with crop of entrepreneurs3 May 2016 | 10:01 pmThe bank's entrepreneurial culture survives through its former staff
Indonesia's high-end bar pioneer3 May 2016 | 7:37 amChristian Rijanto's Ismaya has led a boom in luxury venues as the country's middle class has grown
The Next Web
Facebook tests its first new reaction just for Mother's Day5 May 2016 | 12:40 pmTurns out that floral decorations on Messenger aren't all Facebook has in store for Mother's Day. The company is now testing a new reaction just for the holiday, and once again, it includes flowers. Facebook testing 'Thankful' (flower emoji) reaction? 'Yay' and 'Confused' are no more. Source: Facebook page source) pic.twitter.com/32MmoJWHtF — Sreedev Sharma (@sreedevsharma) May 5, 2016 First spotted by Twitter user Sreedev Sharma, a Facebook representative told us: To celebrate Mother's Day, we are testing the ability for people in a few markets to leave a flower reaction. And that doesn't include the US, apparently. Somewhat ironic, given… This story continues at The Next...
SkinTrack turns your skin into a touch interface for smartwatches5 May 2016 | 11:33 amSmartwatches are undeniably cool, but not without problems. One of the biggest annoyances when wearing the latest tech from the likes of Apple, Samsung and others is the small touch interface given to complete tasks that might require a little more space — like playing Angry Birds in the demo video below. A research team at the Future Interfaces Group, a Carnegie Mellon University research lab, today released a novel look at a possible solution to this problem by turning your skin into additional screen real estate. The system works by using a signal-emitting ring worn on the finger of your opposite… This story continues at The Next Web
Betty White speaks out about online security, tabloids and her sexual prowess5 May 2016 | 10:24 amWe're going to go out on a limb and assume you didn't know today was World Password Day. It's okay, we didn't either. Luckily, Betty White remembered. She even comes bearing gifts in the form of two short videos made in partnership with PasswordDay.org. In the videos, White waxes poetic about online security while tip-toeing around her life as a "man maven," thus showing the world she's still got it. The jokes are often reaching for a punchline that just isn't there — "practice safe sec [security]" (sex, get it? GET IT?) — but White is enjoyable as always and the message… This story continues at The Next Web
Millions of Microsoft users are going to miss out on a free Windows 10 upgrade5 May 2016 | 10:00 amMicrosoft announced today that the end of its Windows 10 upgrade offer is in sight, with the free option to be replaced with a $119 fee for a new copy of the OS. In a blog post, the company confirmed that the free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8.1 would end July 29. It also says that Windows 10 is now in use on more than 300 million devices around the world. However, current Netmarketshare figures show that the most popular desktop OS is Windows 7, with nearly 48 percent share and that nearly 10 percent of people still use Windows 8.1.… This story continues at The Next Web
Another $1m Kickstarter project has gone bust, and no, you're not getting any money back5 May 2016 | 8:10 amWhether it's Zano's high-profile bankruptcy (and subsequent post-mortem) or LightFreq's complete disappearance altogether, it seems like another big-money crowdfunder flop is just around the corner. The latest tech project to fall victim of a case of reality not being able to stand up to its ambition is the CST-01, which proudly boasted of being the thinnest watch in the world on its Kickstarter page. Over the course of the campaign, Central Standard Timing raised $1,026,292 to bring the prototype to mass production. Unfortunately, that was way back in 2013, and the last project update was a rather negative explanation of why it… This story continues at The Next Web
The Product Guy
To Walk in Another Product Manager's Shoes1 May 2016 | 8:01 amMore segments from our conversation with Adam Warburton� — and shedding some light onto just exactly what makes Adam truly The Best Product Person of 2015. The Best Product Person (TBPP) is the leading international award honoring excellence in Product Management. Established in 2010, TBPP is awarded annually in association with The Product Guy and The Product Group.� Nominate someone today! Take a moment and congratulate The Best Product Person of 2015: Adam Warburton. (tweet) In the now… > Whose shoes would you like to walk in for a day? Why? Is it too clichéd to say Tim Cook? Ok, in that case it'd have to be Marc Andresseen (of a16z). To have invested in and been at the start of Twitter, Skype,...
Latest Opportunities in Product Management30 Apr 2016 | 6:50 pmIf 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 @ Fox News Digital (New York City)Keywords: media, news, television, TVhttp://theproductjobs.com/page_view_posting.php?job_id=1202&lf=twf Product Manager @ Duo Security (Ann Arbor, MI)Keywords: Cloud, Endpoint, Mobile, SaaS, Securityhttp://theproductjobs.com/page_view_posting.php?job_id=1201&lf=twfFiled under: product jobs Tagged:...
Outstanding Awards in Product Management25 Apr 2016 | 6:45 amThis past weekend we just held the global Session 4 closing for The Product Mentor where everyone shared highlights of their experiences and what they learned.� All the mentors and mentees did a great job over the past 6 months.� Some exciting stats…

71% of all OKRs Completed (Mentee's Goals for the Session)

3 Mentees Promoted

>50% of Mentees had career progressing conversations with their C-Suites

 I would also like to take this moment to recognize those Mentors and Mentees that learned, engaged, and achieved above and beyond: Awarded to Mentors for going above and beyond in experience, attention and accomplishment. Nis FromeContent and Product, Alpha UXTalk(s): Rapid...
Product Management: Ongoing Inspiration23 Apr 2016 | 5:42 pmMore segments from our conversation with Adam Warburton� — and shedding some light onto just exactly what makes Adam truly The Best Product Person of 2015. The Best Product Person (TBPP) is the leading international award honoring excellence in Product Management. Established in 2010, TBPP is awarded annually in association with The Product Guy and The Product Group.� Nominate someone today! Take a moment and congratulate The Best Product Person of 2015: Adam Warburton. (tweet) Getting to here… > What inspires you in your day-to-day work? The same thing that made me want to become a product manager – knowing and seeing the positive difference you can make to customers' lives. Every day I'm humbled...
Spring into new Product Management Job Opportunities16 Apr 2016 | 9:33 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… Digital Products Brand Manager @ W. W. Norton (New York, NY)Keywords: digital, edtech, marketing, product marketing, saleshttp://theproductjobs.com/page_view_posting.php?job_id=1200&lf=twf Product Manager, Advertising Products @ MLB Advanced Media (New York City)Keywords: adtech, advertising, product,...
Ben Casnocha
What It Means to Lead a Global Life (For Me, Anyway)27 Apr 2016 | 7:21 pmOn my 18th birthday, I sent a message to a couple hundred people in my network who were older than me and asked them a single question: "What is the thing you most regret not doing when you were 18 years old?" The recipients were a diverse bunch: entrepreneurs, writers, grad students, engineers, bankers. One theme kept coming up in the replies: People regretted not traveling more when they were younger. For example, Dick Costolo, who later became CEO of Twitter, said: "I most regret not spending a year somewhere outside the US before going to college. I generally believe that spending a year abroad, anywhere abroad, offers you a much greater perspective on the world." Venture capitalist Brad Feld...
What We Actually Say in "The Alliance"16 Apr 2016 | 9:37 pmDan Lyons' op/ed in the New York Times last week misrepresented The Alliance in a big way. His op/ed was promoting his new book, which bashes HubSpot, a company he worked at for a couple years. In his book, there is a brief but even more distorted description of the tour of duty framework. Reid, Chris, and I wrote a response to correct the record, and we published it on Chris's LinkedIn page. Excerpt: The Alliance is an attempt to find a better way for companies and employees to relate to each other. Specifically, we suggest companies and employees build trust incrementally and choreograph increasing levels of mutual commitment by defining "Tours of Duty." A tour of duty, which might last anywhere...
Impressions of Japan, Spring 201614 Apr 2016 | 4:50 pmShibu Onsen, Japan Tokyo was the first Asian city I visited, back in 2006, and it left a strong, positive impression. Last week, 10 years later, I was able to refresh that impression by visiting Tokyo (and other parts of Japan) during the famous Cherry Blossom season. Such a fascinating place. At times, Tokyo makes New York City feel slow. The underground subway stations manage to whisk eye-popping numbers of passengers through its stalls, people everywhere, every crevice, utter chaos. The electric flashing lights on certain streets of Tokyo makes Times Square feel dull. From a sheer numbers perspective, Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world and you feel this scale frequently as you meander...
Book Review: Purity by Franzen10 Apr 2016 | 4:52 amJonathan Franzen's latest novel, Purity, is a page turner that locked me into a rich, multi-layered plot and had me staying up at night later than I should have so that I could keep turning the pages. With so many other forms of entertainment available today, purely plot-driven genre novels are a hard sell to me. I want psychological intimacy. I want complex characters. I want to get inside the head of someone balancing competing ambitions. I want to learn about someone whose love life is messed up, or family a wreck, or career falling apart, or someone who's terribly lonely. It's in the exploration of psychological hardship that a skillful novelist can write candidly about things a...
You Need to Have Secrets, and Have Them Known9 Apr 2016 | 4:18 am"There's the imperative to keep secrets, and the imperative to have them known. How do you know that you're a person, distinct from other people? By keeping certain things to yourself. You guard them inside you, because, if you don't, there's no distinction between inside and outside. Secrets are the way you know you even have an inside. A radical exhibitionist is a person who has forfeited his identity. But identity in a vacuum is also meaningless. Sooner or later, the inside of you needs a witness." Jonathan Franzen in Purity
John Greathouse
9 Success Principles From A 40-Year Veteran28 Apr 2016 | 12:30 pmA version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. After 28 years as a public-school teacher, Bob Wood reluctantly left the classroom and took the helm of his elementary school. During his 10-year tenure as Principal, his team was awarded the White House's National Blue Ribbon, a distinction granted to the top 0.3% of all elementary schools nationwide. Under Bob's leadership, his school was also named a Distinguished School by the California Department of Education, earning an unprecedented score of 10 out of 10. As noted in You're Never Too Old (Or Too Successful) For A Mentor, Bob is my mentor and friend. Thus, I was honored when he agreed to share his insights regarding the fundamentals of...
Avoid Hiring Victims – Look For These 5 Red Flags14 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. We've all met them. The world's out to get them. Every boss, coworker and subordinate is scheming to assure their demise. Setbacks are never their fault. They are a victim. Victims are bad enough in our personal lives, but they can be especially disastrous at a startup because a small company's culture can be disproportionately poisoned by a single bad hire. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Blame Game "I am not a victim of emotional conflicts. I am human." American Actress, Marilyn Monroe Some people are quite happy being unhappy. Marriage counselors advise young lovers to...
How Can You Tell If Someone Truly Believes In Your Startup?4 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared Forbes. When entrepreneurs describe their venture, they are often met with encouraging words, such as: "Great idea. I wish I had thought of that." This propensity for people to be polite when you discuss your startup can make it difficult to determine who really believes in your opportunity and who is just being nice. Fortunately, you can separate the polite from the committed by issuing the Blondin test. Each generation, a few magnetic personalities emerge and generate a mania of public interest. During the mid-19th Century it was Jean Francois Gravelot, who wisely abandoned his given name and dubbed himself The Great Blondin. He was a true rock star of...
Student-Founded Fantasy Pollster Is Hoping To Pick The Next President24 Mar 2016 | 5:10 pmA version of this article previously appeared Forbes. Fanstasy sports sites DraftKings' and FanDuel's popularity has spurred a new-breed of political betting sites. Unlike sites of the past that were deemed illegal, the current crop of election sites appear to well positioned to exploit the unprecedented focus Americans are applying to the 2016 election cycle. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Fantasy Pollster As discussed in Mini-ventures Build Entrepreneurial Muscle, I am an advocate of students starting side businesses while in college. I believe that the lessons learned, albeit on a small scale, have broad applicability to full-time...
Car Door Slam Or Spare Tire? Should Startups Build For Buyers Or Users?16 Mar 2016 | 5:00 amA version of this article previously appeared Forbes. Car companies spend a significant amount of money on superficial design features, including the timbre of the sound emitted when a car door is shut. Why? Because many consumers value design features over those which impact performance. Even less time is spent on developing the aspects of a car that become evident long after the purchase is completed. For instance, have you tried to use a car jack lately, let alone the toy-like spare tires included in many cars? These "hidden" features seldom cross a consumer's mind at the time of purchase and thus do not impact the buying decision. However, they clearly have a long term impact on the customer's...
Young Upstarts
Tips On Starting A Business Without Sabotaging Your Personal Finances5 May 2016 | 7:30 amby Tim Steffen, CPA/PFS, CFP®, CPWA®, Director of Financial Planning for Baird Among a growing number of Millennials, there is a real desire to become an entrepreneur, and a belief that starting a business can be a way to attain both independence and wealth. Yet too many people put their personal finances at risk to launch a business, but I believe it can be done without sabotaging your financial future. I'm a fan of the show 'Shark Tank' because I think it inspires many to think seriously about starting a business. Yet while "Shark Tank" makes it seem easy, successful entrepreneurs will tell you how hard it is. A business failure can become dicey when an entrepreneur takes on too much debt,...
How To Make Your Start-up Stand Out From The Crowd5 May 2016 | 12:00 amAre you a new business owner who wants to start reaching and impressing more customers? If so, it's important to spend time developing your brand. However, many businesses get branding wrong and pay for this mistake later. Below are some of the most important factors you need to consider when you're developing a branding strategy for your business: Research. Developing a comprehensive branding plan for a business takes time. The amount of research you carry out will determine how successful your branding will be. It's a good idea to look at similar organisations and how they brand their businesses. Other businesses branding will give you a better idea about the type of branding you should invest in....
Tips And Tricks For Millennials Aspiring To Be Their Own Boss4 May 2016 | 9:00 pmby Gyawu Mahama, Social Media and Marketing Manager at Hiscox Small Business Insurance National Small Business Week is not only the perfect time to reflect upon the major role that small business plays in our communities, but also marks an opportunity for aspiring small business owners to think about finally taking the proverbial leap and create a plan to turn their dreams into a reality. Millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the nation's largest living generation according to new population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. For this next generation of emerging entrepreneurs, the decision to become your own boss can be a risky one, but being courageous is the key ingredient to...
Keeping Your Startup Organized4 May 2016 | 8:30 pmOrganization can be quite easy when you first begin a startup. This is because things move at a slower pace, there are fewer employees, and you may not have many clients. It can be easy to overlook the need for a proper organizational structure in the beginning. It is important to have an appropriate arrangement from the very commencement of your startup business, however. This sets the tone for how the rest of the business will be run, a factor that institutions such as Corporate Business Solutions LLC consider imperative. When your employees have a framework to follow, it is easier for them to adapt to the novel situations that they will run into. Here are some ways that you can ensure that there is...
Protecting Your Portfolio4 May 2016 | 8:15 pmLet's be honest: investing your hard-earned money is not always easy. In fact, there are plenty of reasons why many people feel a complete loss when faced with the overwhelming process of managing their assets. Yet, as long as you do it the right way, you can end up being a wise investor, and one of the most important factors to take into account is your portfolio. Starting with a solid and manageable portfolio can help to set the pace so that the rest of your financial investments stay in check. Here are some of the basics in terms of establishing and handling your portfolio: Rate of Returns. Depending on the scenario, your portfolio's rate of return can be determined indirectly or directly. There are...
StartupCFO : Mark MacLeod
Exits in Canada: April 20162 May 2016 | 3:55 amAfter a strong March, April was a pretty tepid month for software exits in Canada. Highlights:

11 deals announced (15 last month)

2 deals had a disclosed value, the largest of those being $ 14M.

3 of the companies were in Toronto, 2 in Ottawa, the rest were distributed

2 of the 11 companies were VC-backed, the rest were either bootstrapped or had not raised any institutional funding

5 of the buyers were Canadian, 3 were from the US, the rest were distributed

5 of the buyers were public

Median time to exit: 15 years (11 years for last months' deals)

Shortest time to exit: 5 years (although there was one stealth company that may have been younger

Longest time to exit: 37 years!

All of the...

The long, windy road to a closed deal27 Apr 2016 | 11:48 amThe typical way that startups raise capital is to wait until they have 6 months of runway and then start a roadshow. They put a slide deck, model and pipeline together and hit the road. Sometimes, this approach is unavoidable. Especially early on when you have less time and runway to be strategic. The problem with this approach, however, is that you are more than likely to get lots of "no"s. The reason is that you're asking relative strangers to enter into a multi-year, illiquid, risky relationship with you. You have to raise now. You leave no time for potential investors to track your progress. So, they will probably just pass. The better way is to always be in a quasi-fundraising mode. What this...
Creative ways to scale SMB customer acquisition22 Apr 2016 | 4:08 amMany startups begin life selling to small business (SMB). SMB is a very appealing market. For one, it's big (30 million businesses in the US alone). Also, they make quick buying decisions. Sounds great! But… The challenge with SMB as a customer segment is that each customer is small. It might be easy to get your first few customers. But over time you become a victim of your own success. The bigger you get, the higher your customer acquisition costs go. Hubspot's CEO Brian Halligan illustrates this challenge beautifully in his recent post 'why aren't there more Intuits". Building the next Intuit… If you sell more to the 'M' (i.e. mid-sized businesses), then you can build a large inside sales...
Exits in Canada: March 201631 Mar 2016 | 3:55 pmMarch was the biggest month for software exits in Canada so far this year, with two significant deals announced. Highlights:

15 deals announced (14 last month, 8 in January)

4 deals had a disclosed value. The largest disclosed deals were Wind Mobile's sale to Shaw Communications ($1.2B), GGY's sale to Moody's ($115M) and Bitstrip's sale to Snapchat ($100M) – all amounts in USD

8 of the companies were in Toronto, 2 in Vancouver, the rest were distributed

4 of the 15 companies were VC-backed, 2 were private equity backed, the rest were either bootstrapped or had not raised any institutional funding

10 out of the 15 buyers were Canadian. One was from the UK, one from Europe. The rest were...

The Spotify debt deal: A cautionary tale30 Mar 2016 | 12:52 pmTechrunch reported yesterday that Spotify has raised a whopping $1B debt deal. This is on top of the $1.1B in equity that the company has raised to date. As I read about this deal I noted some terms that raise concerns and serve as an important lesson for the rest of us as we think about how to capitalize our companies: TPG and Dragoneer get to convert the debt to equity at a 20% discount of whatever share price Spotify sets for an eventual IPO. And if it doesn't IPO within the next year, that discount goes up 2.5% every extra six months. Spotify also has to pay 5% annual interest on the debt, and 1% more every six months up to a total of 10%. And finally, TPG and Dragoneer can sell their shares just 90...
Business of Software USA
Different areas of the brain respond to different words.3 May 2016 | 2:06 amWhat areas of the brain respond to different words? Amazing. This study maps brain activity amongst subjects listening to stories. The electrical activity in the brain is mapped and shows that different locations in the brain are stimulated by different words. Perhaps not surprisingly, some words that relate to, for example, colour, map to areas of the brain near the parts of the brain that process vision. Single words, can activate multiple regions. 'Top', for example, stimulates parts of the brain associated with – appearances, numbers and measurements, buildings and places. You can go to the interactive version of the map here. Get on the BoS Conference Mailing List Be first to see new videos, join...
Offering People Choices When They Have No Choices29 Apr 2016 | 8:52 amOffering people choices when they have no choices I was talking to the always entertaining and insightful Rory Sutherland today about his forthcoming talk at Business of Software Europe. He's talking about how we can use technology to hack the human consciousness and he came up with this brilliant insight about offering people choices even when there are no choices. He was talking about scheduled operations in the NHS, the UK's National Health Service, free at the point of delivery but not always the slickest when it comes to keeping 'customers' happy. (Though having taken one of our team members to A&E last week when she tripped over on the way to work, cut her head open, broke her wrist and elbow, I was...
High Performance Teams: Neuroscience and Agile | BoS Europe 2015 | Jenni Jepsen, goAgile28 Apr 2016 | 3:21 amJenni Jepsen, Partner, goAgile The key to building high performance teams is understanding how our brains work. What motivates us as individuals? Jenni explains how we can make it easier to harvest all the benefits of Agile working by understanding why neuroscience, how people's individual brains work, is key to creating and motivating a high performing team. Jenni's work focuses is on helping people deliver the right product faster whilst creating lasting changes. Slides, Video & Transcript below Slides from Jenni Jepsen's talk at BoS Europe here � Get on the BoS Conference Mailing List Be first to see new videos, join free speaker hangouts, stay up to date on BoS Conference programmes and a...
Four Laws Of Software Economics (Part 4) | Rich Mironov Guest Post25 Apr 2016 | 6:54 amWe've laid out three fundamental facts about commercial software: your development team will never be big enough; all of the profits are in the nth copy or nth subscriber; and the software bits we release are not the product. These led to three laws for software businesses (the Law of Ruthless Prioritization; the Law of Build Once, Sell Many; and the Law of Whole Product). One last market observation is that you can't outsource your strategy. Not to your customer base, not to your sales force, not to a strategy template, and not entirely to a prioritization algorithm. Product strategy is a prediction about how your future actions will move the market, and therefore needs a range of inputs and...
Four Laws Of Software Economics (Part 3) | Rich Mironov Guest Post22 Apr 2016 | 3:52 amAt BoS USA 2015 Rich Mironov delivered a classic talk on Software Economics that are so common that they are not just theory, they are the law. See the talk here. After delivering the talk, Rich captured his laws in a series of posts, delivered originally on his site, and reposted with permission on the Business of Software blog. Our two previous posts noted that your development team will never, ever be big enough to catch up with your dreams (pushing us to The Law of Ruthless Prioritization) and that all of the profits are in the nth copy (thus The Law of Build Once, Sell Many). Part three starts with the observation that the software bits we release are not the product. Rather, they are part of the...
Blogg – Gregg Fraley, Creativity & Innovation Consultant, Professional Speaker. Idea generation training and new product development
Nine Ways to Play at Work2 May 2016 | 9:53 amNine Ways to Play At Work (see list below) The idea that one should invoke a sense of play around challenges is not a new one. Tim Brown of IDEO did that great TED speech on play, and there have been several more TED play-centric talks (Stuart Brown, John Cohn, Sue Palmer) all variations on the theme. Sunni Brown's talk on Doodling is a personal favorite because she gets specific about how one can begin to be more creatively playful with problem solving. An emerging trend in business is using improvisation games as the basis for team building and problem solving. The work of Del Close, who shaped the serious play of long form Improv and Viola Spolin, who invented Improv as an art form — is really about...
10 Essential Elements of an Innovation Mandate26 Apr 2016 | 8:03 amGetting a Mandate to Innovate is Key Larger companies typically have an innovation process in place. They don't always work, but the majority of the Fortune 1000 has some kind of innovation process or system. There is an implied consent then, to innovate, at those organizations. There are people, budgets, expectations. At smaller companies, the Mis-Fortune 5000 as I sometimes jest, there is often not a process in place. In many of these still sizable firms innovation tends to be a reaction to an emergency, or a sporadic effort that takes a back seat to operations. They often default to incremental improvement of the product or service based on customer demands. A newly appointed Innovation VP or Director...
Innovation Facilitator Tool Kit19 Apr 2016 | 10:58 amI am sometimes asked what a Facilitator should have in their kit bag. Here's my answer — the Innovation Facilitator Tool Kit list. The items are below in bold. Many have links to where you can source the materials. I'm assuming the facilitator is a hands-on project leader who facilitates meetings, such as idea generation or strategy sessions. I did not take into consideration travel via plane or car. Obviously, some things are more portable than others. Consider this a master list which you can subset for your needs. Some of these items are not available off the shelf retail, so, put this kit together ahead of time so you can focus on design and executing your session plan as you near a meeting date. Let...
Five Magic Imagination Guidelines26 Mar 2016 | 9:38 amFive Magic Imagination Guidelines You hear it so often that it becomes one of those things that you really don't think about it. "Use your imagination" is the phrase or thought that I'm talking about. I believe that many of us actually fear our own imagination. That's tragic, don't be afraid. It occurs to me that most people have the desire, deep down, to use their imagination more — but have no idea how. Here's how.

First of all Access your imagination more often. Do it deliberately. If you ask your imagination for ideas or visions once a year it's a bit like that faucet in the back of the house you never use. When you turn it on, it's going to act surprised, it's going to sputter, make awful noises,...

Temporary Innovation Veep18 Mar 2016 | 11:56 amThe case for bringing in a temporary Innovation Veep.* "On Call Innovation Director/Mentor/Trainer"? What really changes innovation culture? Are you seeking a change in your innovation approach? Is your organization mired in a non-innovative swamp? First let me say what does NOT change innovation culture. It's not that these services that I'll mention below can't be helpful, they can. But on there own, they will not change innovation at your organization. There's one thing that will change culture and I talk about that at the bottom of this post. Don't skip ahead. * Let me acknowledge the ideas of author Michael Foster — we discussed these concepts about a Temp Veep over coffee in San Jose a few weeks ago...
Dr Jeff Cornwall
Ad Agency Finds Successful Niche Market4 May 2016 | 6:44 amArnie Malham talks about how his company, cj Advertising, found a niche offering a full-service ad agency in the personal injury space. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post Ad Agency Finds Successful Niche Market appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
How do I plan for taxes?4 May 2016 | 6:09 amTweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post How do I plan for taxes? appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
Firm Connects Customers with Their Very Own "Hackers"2 May 2016 | 7:44 amTyler Newkirk talks about how Gun.io offers a unique concierge service that matches customers with their very own Hackers. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post Firm Connects Customers with Their Very Own "Hackers" appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
Is open book management a good idea?27 Apr 2016 | 6:08 amTweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post Is open book management a good idea? appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
How should partners make big decisions and should they vote?20 Apr 2016 | 6:07 amTweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious The post How should partners make big decisions and should they vote? appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.
Growthink blogs
Great Advisory Boards: Harnessing Their Power4 May 2016 | 10:56 amOver the past few weeks, I have talked about the demonstrable, high ROI of strategic planning for companies of all types and sizes, along with suggested processes and tactics to complete that plan on time and under budget.�As important as the creation of the plan is its ongoing review and updating. Both in comparison to actual results and then the corresponding "Gap Analysis" to evaluate what went right and should be done more, and what went wrong and needs adjustment, discontinuation, etc.One of the best ways to recalibrate like this is through the establishment and regular meeting of a Board of Strategic Advisors.For smaller, entrepreneurial companies, a strategic advisory board can perform many of...
What the Research Shows about Strategic Plans27 Apr 2016 | 8:04 amThe research is conclusive:

A study completed by the University of Oregon showed that companies that prepare business plans are 20% more likely to grow their business, and twice as likely to secure investment capital than those that don't.

The M3 Planning Strategy Benchmark of 280 U.S. firms found that companies whose owners had a high commitment to strategic planning reported 12% greater sales growth and 11% better net income than those that did not.

Research by Solo-E.com showed that of 26,000 business failures, 67% had no written business plan.

Research conducted by Columbia University showed that formal strategic planning reduced the risk profile of a company (as measured by variability of...

Never Say This to a Child or Entrepreneur24 Apr 2016 | 1:44 amWhen my kids were younger, I recall one night when we were eating dinner. My kids were saying "I want this" and "I want that." And then I said something that I immediately realized I should never tell my kids, or any entrepreneur for that matter.What I said was this: "you know, money doesn't grow on trees."Now, you may not think saying this is so bad. So, let me explain.The reason why I said this was to show my kids the value of money. And that we have to work to make money to spend on the things we want.But here's the negative: saying this paints the wrong picture. It paints the picture that we can't always get what we want. Which is the exact opposite of the attitude I want my kids, and all entrepreneurs,...
Breaking the Shackles of a Business' Past20 Apr 2016 | 10:37 am� � � �The past is never dead.� It's not even past.�� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �-������� by William FaulknerA vexing challenge in attaining a business breakthrough of any type - sales, profitability, business model, company culture - is the inexorable "backward" pull of a business' historical results and accomplishments (or lack thereof).For sure, as effective executives, we know to focus on opportunities not problems and that past performance, good or bad, is neither indicative nor predictive of future results, yet......whether we like it or not we are reminded always of what has gone before, with the "unsaid" being that no matter how hard we try, the future of our...
How to Get More Sales Without Selling16 Apr 2016 | 11:46 pm"The point of marketing is to make selling superfluous." This is a great quote from management guru Peter Drucker. What it means is that if you do a great job in marketing, sales will be easy. Likewise, there are other things you can do to improve your sales without having to resort to aggressive sales tactics. This article details such strategies.1. Create a Stronger USPYour USP or unique selling proposition is what distinguishes your company from others.Here are some famous USPs:

The nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine. (Nyquil)

Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's free. (Dominos Pizza)

When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. (Federal...

crowdSPRING Blog
Entrepreneurs Who Complain Are Setting Themselves Up For Failure4 May 2016 | 10:33 amAn entrepreneur's day is busy, chaotic, and exhausting. On most days, you feel like all of the hours and effort you put into your business are worth it. But running a business – especially a startup – can often feel like riding a roller-coaster. There are days when you probably find yourself wondering whether you're crazy trying to build something new. During those low points, many people fall into the awful trap of complaining. Some people complain more than others. That's not unusual – it's human nature to complain. Read some posts on Twitter or Facebook and you'll find tons of people complaining about many things, including incredibly trivial things. We complain despite the warnings from...
Fresh from the SPRING: Aleksova3 May 2016 | 7:43 amWhen perusing our galleries here on crowdSPRING, we see some amazing work submitted in the projects. Today, we noticed this gem submitted in this package graphics project. Let us start the slow clap for Aleksova. Check out more great work on Aleksova's profile page. Nicely done, Aleksova, nicely done! Related posts:

Fresh from the SPRING: deip

Fresh from the SPRING: DavidStHubbins

Fresh from the SPRING: nautilus

The Most Important Skill Every Successful Leader Must Have28 Apr 2016 | 7:55 amMany young entrepreneurs and business owners think that innovation, marketing and financial know-how are the keys to the success of a business. Those are all important factors, but there is a single, more important factor. Entrepreneurs and business owners spend a majority of their time talking to people: explaining ideas, directing others, helping, listening, speaking, networking, and taking advice. However, even though everyone talks, not everyone is a good communicator. Plato famously said: "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something." When you look around at successful entrepreneurs and successful people generally, you typically discover that the...
Fresh from the SPRING: depmod26 Apr 2016 | 1:34 pmWhen 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 depmod. Check out more great work on depmod's profile page. Nicely done, depmod, nicely done! � Related posts:

Fresh from the SPRING: LOREWREN

Fresh from the SPRING: JALdesigns

Fresh from the SPRING: badaboom

Fight of Flight: The Science Of Business Success and Failure20 Apr 2016 | 7:00 amAccording to Walter Cannon, a renowned physiologist, humans have two pre-programmed responses to stress: fight or flight. Cannon's extensive research of people in stressful situations revealed two distinct patterns in how people chose to deal with stress. Some of the people he studied "fled" from stress, doing their best to avoid it in hopes of it going away, while others chose to "fight" the problem- seeking out and trying solutions in order to face and overcome stress. Much like the people that Cannon studied, entrepreneurs and small business owners face daily stress, probably even more so than the average working person. Melinda Emerson, a leading small business expert, emphasizes that people...
Chief Business Hacker blog – Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius – Boston Startup Executive
If I Had To Pick Top Thing I Look For In People I Hire19 Apr 2016 | 11:26 amThe post If I Had To Pick Top Thing I Look For In People I Hire appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this I think a lot about hiring the right people. It is almost to the level of obsession for me to understand how each colleague I hired has become the craftsmen they are. As technology, tools, and knowledge are becoming highly available, age isn't much of a factor anymore. Some of us are lucky to have parents, who exposed us, to what we ended up falling in love with as our craft while others stumbled into theirs later in life. I am the one who stumbled...
The Hardest Skill To Master – Empathy15 Apr 2016 | 9:54 amThe post The Hardest Skill To Master – Empathy appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this Any growing venture is hard. My last three years have been at an incredible pace with days blurring into weeks and months. It does not have to be a startup, it could be a lifestyle business, it could be a mid-size business. The faster the growth, the more extreme are the swings and tensions. It is way too easy to lose sight of what matters, end up with agenda, and kill your relationship. So how do we survive and thrive? It all starts with empathy. The more the...
Scalable SaaS Best Practices: The Legal Agreements Discipline4 Apr 2016 | 3:59 pmThe post Scalable SaaS Best Practices: The Legal Agreements Discipline appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this SaaS is a beautiful business model. Most modern companies owe their efficiency to cost savings that services provided under SaaS model bring to the table. But sometimes week or day does not pass without someone sending me back marked up MSA (master services agreement). And every time my answer is the same: "I am sorry, but all our customers are under same MSA, and we don't allow edits". Look, I would love to do business like my father did –...
3 Questions 90% of Sales Job Candidates Fail11 Jan 2016 | 12:01 pmThe post 3 Questions 90% of Sales Job Candidates Fail appeared first on Chief Business Hacker blog - Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius - Boston Startup Executive. Share on Facebook Retweet this Submit this to Stumble this I have started my career in sales as a talent agent. Selling to college market, which is more brutal than selling enterprise SaaS, gave me an immense appreciation for the job of being the sales rep. I also had the pleasure working with some founders early on, who had the same appreciation for art and science of the sale and invested in training/professional development. I have done Sandler, Challenger, etc. Jeff Hoffman's (SalesMBA) one is my favorite by...
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 fun part begins, because if there is no competition, there is no need for what your team has...
SPLT Competes at Google Demo Day, Gets Steve Case's Attention5 May 2016 | 12:33 pmSPLT, the Techstars Mobility alum now based in Detroit, has spent the past few months crisscrossing the globe to take part in startup competitions and other events as it continues to rapidly grow. This week, the enterprise ridesharing startup that connects employees within organizations to share their commute is out in Mountain View, CA, as one of 11 participants in Google's annual demo day event, where startups from around the country fly in to pitch investors and network with Silicon Valley power players. It's a significant honor to be picked to present at Google Demo Day—SPLT is the first Detroit-area startup to participate in the event—and one the company earned by beating other local startups at...
At Forward Health, Assessing Impact of Payment Changes Is Simple Math5 May 2016 | 12:23 pm[Corrected 5/5/16, 4:08 pm. See below] As a statistician trained in health economics, Michael Barbouche has over the years studied intricate payment models and other mathematical concepts. Still, when describing Forward Health Group—the Madison, WI-based company he co-founded and continues to lead—he goes back to basics. "We are a denominator-centric company," Barbouche says. "We build good denominators. That's why our data is better. We take a holistic, algebra-centric approach." Forward Health's Web-based software lets hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare industry groups pool patient data from various sources—labs, clinical documentation, and claims sent to insurers, to name a few—in order...
Humanyze Snags $4M to Push Wearable "Fitbit For Your Career"5 May 2016 | 7:30 amSmartphones and wearable devices enable people to monitor health metrics like heart rate and how many steps they take in a day, information that can help them take charge of their physical well-being. Humanyze is trying to accomplish something similar with devices and software that track work habits and, in theory, boost job performance and corporate well-being. "The platform really acts as a Fitbit for your career," Humanyze co-founder and CEO Ben Waber says. "You tell the system what you want to achieve, and we help you get there." And today, the Boston-based startup says it has picked up $4 million in venture funding to help deliver its "people analytics" technology to more big businesses and...
Pfizer Invests in Wave, Inks Metabolic-Focused Drug Development Deal5 May 2016 | 7:25 amWave Life Sciences, the RNA-drug maker that went from Series A funding to initial public offering in less than a year, has received an equity investment from Pfizer as part of a deal to collaborate with the pharma giant on treating metabolic diseases. Pfizer will pay Wave $40 million up front, and the deal is worth hundreds of millions in potential milestone payments. Wave (NASDAQ: WVE) develops RNA drugs it hopes will last longer in the body and be safer and more potent than related drugs made by other companies, as Xconomy's Ben Fidler wrote when the company raised $102 million in an IPO in November. Wave now plans to work with Pfizer's hepatic technology to develop five therapeutics, which Pfizer...
New AgTech Accelerator Takes Root in RTP with $11.5M Investment5 May 2016 | 7:06 amAgTech Accelerator, a new program intended to foster entrepreneurialism in agriculture, has launched in Research Triangle Park, NC, boosted by $11.5 million in support from heavyweights in the agriculture and investment communities, and partnerships with leading academic centers throughout the country. Alexandria Venture Investments, the investment arm of Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE), is the lead investor in the new accelerator. Other investors include Bayer, Syngenta Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, Harris & Harris Group (NASDAQ: TINY), Hatteras Venture Partners, Mountain Group Capital, and Pappas Capital. Leading the new accelerator is CEO John Dombrosky, a Syngenta...
Speaker, Trainer, Author & Human Change Expert
The Essence of True Leadership-GITPro World 201629 Apr 2016 | 12:04 pmI spoke at GITPRO WORLD 2016 on April 23, 2016. My presentation was on how to "Turn Yourself Into An Influential Leader" I started my talk by sharing some of my thoughts on leadership. It was a 60 minute power … Continue reading →
A Lesson From My Father..23 Jul 2015 | 1:56 pmOnce my father told me.. "Always judge a man at the end of his career, never in the middle and certainly not in the beginning. Anybody can have a great start but at the end its the finish that matters". … Continue reading →
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 →
This is going to be BIG...
How do you get a check from this firm? The Process page.1 May 2016 | 10:27 pmSome firms prefer to lead.Others never do.At some firms, principals can lead deals.�At others, only partners can.At some firms, everyone is called a partner. �Who can lead a deal then?¯\_(ツ)_/¯Sometimes, it depends on the size of the deal. �Above a certain amount, more partners need to get involved.Some funds aren't funds at all. �They're family offices. �Some "venture firms" don't have money and never did. �They might be brokers or advisors. �Others used to have money and spent it on deals already. �How the hell are you supposed to know as a founder how to get a check from this firm?I just added a "Process" page to the Brooklyn Bridge Ventures website and I would encourage all VC firms to do the same....
No Leading, No Guts, No Glory25 Apr 2016 | 4:26 amI spoke to a new seed fund investor the other day and they told me they don't lead.I told them that was bullshit and they should, because founders need decisive investors who can be helpful, not ones that sit on the sidelines and outsource their decisions to other investors.They told me their fund wasn't big enough.Bullshit.I led the $1.8mm seed investment in goTenna with $250k. �I led the $4mm Ample Hills round with $300k.There's no official definition of a lead other than someone who puts down a term sheet, helps gather the round, and who is most active with the company. �You don't have to be more than half the round.When you're small, like my fund, I call it the flypaper termsheet. �You've got all these...
Why #imwithher and voting for Hillary Clinton17 Apr 2016 | 9:27 amFirst off, I think that Hillary Clinton and John Kasich are pretty much the only reasonable candidates left in the race, but I agree with her on most of the basic dividing line issues--choice, LGBT Rights, gun control, etc--so it's not too hard for me.And yes, Bernie Sanders is an unreasonable candidate. �Change for change's sake is pretty dangerous.Words like "establishment" ring hollow to me. Why is the word "establishment" negative?Look at all we've established--all the freedoms we have, stability, economic prosperity (unless you've noticed a bread line somewhere that I haven't). Is it perfect? Certainly not! But "break up the big banks"? Why? How? �Not even Bernie knows what it means. �It wasn't Goldman...
Leave Your White Guy Behind11 Apr 2016 | 5:04 amOver the weekend, Rent the Runway held an event for its Project Entrepreneur initiative, which brought together over 100 female entrepreneurs looking to get education and advice on how to take their businesses to the next step.Unfortunately, one of the panelists, Skinny Girl vodka's Bethenny Frankel,�told an African American founder in the audience that if she wanted to raise funding, that she should go out and hire a white guy to be the face of her business. �I wasn't present at the event, but I heard about it and found this tweet that separately referenced the comment:To the brave black woman who asked what to do when ppl tell her to get a white man as the face of her org,Im so sorry for @Bethenny's...
Selling a Vision or Blowing Smoke?3 Apr 2016 | 4:16 pmThe other day, I sat in on a pitch practice with a company who, by all accounts, is the leader in its category. �They are doing things no other company like it has been able to do, on relatively little capital compared to their peers. �When they focus on sales, they crush it. �When they focus on making product improvements, they make great strides. �Consumer buzz in their market has been off the charts.However, their story wasn't all quite wrapped up in a neat little box with a bow. �Because they have such a small team, these things didn't all quite happen in order--they've happened one thing at a time. �Sales have been a bit lumpy, for example, because there's no real marketing person driving it. �There's...
Blogtrepreneur – For Busy Entrepreneurs
The Future of Search4 May 2016 | 2:31 pmThis is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bing Network. All opinions are 100% mine.Over the years, search has changed drastically. Companies have adjusted their algorithms to make it more humanized and user-friendly for their consumers. Not only is search valuable for the everyday audience, it has also became highly essential for businesses over time.Without becoming familiar with search advertising, entrepreneurs are missing out on a major opportunity to market their businesses and connect with patrons. Bing's level of innovation makes it an integral part of millions of tech users' lives, meaning it's also a major platform through which businesses can network and grow. For those outside...
Why You Need To Develop Your Personal Brand?4 May 2016 | 5:33 amEntrepreneurs are used to thinking outside the box when to create a new venture, but a great business concept needs to have a keen identity to show to the world. This identity icing on your start-up cake is your brand, and it's most of the reason why people will pay hundreds more for a celebrity brand piece of clothing than an almost identical, cheaper one. Enter, Kanye West.Right now, your brand is more pivotal than ever before, with the deluge of social media and online marketing playing a huge role. Your brand must have an unwavering voice which your buyers can recognize, and this voice is expected to be present, responsive, and engaging- consumers want to deal with a person, not a corporation. So, how...
How do you choose the best acoustic guitar for beginners?1 May 2016 | 6:52 pmIf you reached this page, you are either in the process of, or already decided to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. You might have found a good book to give you the basics, as well as a learning method and some songs you want to play… maybe even some free time in your schedule! But... you still haven't found the right guitar that suits your needs.It's not your fault! With so many brands and models available, it can be hard to pick up a beginner's acoustic guitar by yourself. Well, fret no more! (Pun intended) Here, I will help you decide a model that not only fulfills what you need, but also doesn't break the bank doing it!The Best Acoustic Guitars for Beginners Reviewed#1. Jasmine S35 Acoustic...
So you need to find the best guitar for kids…1 May 2016 | 6:52 pmSo, your kiddo has decided that they want to pick up playing the guitar? Well my friend, as a fellow parent of a little one myself, I can help you in this quest! Read on for reviews that will get you off on the right foot! So, what is the best guitar for kids who want to be the next Jimi Hendrix, Dave Matthews, or Taylor Swift? And what's the difference between acoustic and electric guitars? There's a great variety of guitars from brands, styles and colors out there to choose from. But where do you start? It's easy to get lost in the overwhelming information posted out on the wide internet... But don't fret young grasshopper, I'll help you find the best guitar for your kids—including the best kids...
A Buyer's Guide to The Best Guitar Strings1 May 2016 | 6:52 pmIf you're reading this article, it's probably because you're staring sadly at a broken string on your acoustic, electric, or bass guitar. OR, it's because I have shamelessly plugged you here from one of my other posts!! As you've already probably figured out, the strings on a guitar have a huge impact on the sound and play-ability of your instrument. If you're a new guitar player, you've already probably already figured out that there is a lot of variety when it comes to choices for string replacement.I've put this guide together for you, to help guide you toward the best acoustic guitar strings, the best electric guitar strings, and the best bass guitar strings. There are a lot of choices...
Blog – The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss
The Importance of Being Dirty: Lessons from Mike Rowe4 May 2016 | 8:31 amPhoto credit: Michael Segal "Just because you love something doesn't mean you can't suck at it." – Mike Rowe Mike Rowe (@mikeroweworks) is perhaps the best storyteller and pitchman I've ever had on the show. You might know Mike from his eight seasons of Dirty Jobs, but that's just a tiny piece of the story. His performing career began in 1984 when he faked his way into the Baltimore Opera to get his union card and meet girls, both of which he accomplished during a performance of Rigoletto. His transition to television occurred in 1990 when — to settle a bet — he auditioned for the QVC Shopping Channel and was promptly hired after talking about a pencil for nearly eight minutes. There, he...
Joshua Skenes — Playing with Fire30 Apr 2016 | 10:00 pmPhoto: The Chronicle "The answer is either yes or no. If it's 'no,' then I have to start over." – Joshua Skenes Joshua Skenes (IG: @jskenes) has become famous for his use of fire. As chef-owner of Saison in San Francisco (three Michelin stars), he has classical training and loves his high-end Japanese Nenohi knives, but nothing captures his imagination quite like the open flame. The back of his business card sports three words, stark on ivory stock: Play with fire. In this episode, we explore his obsessions: simplicity, food, and martial arts. We became friends during the collaboration of The 4-Hour Chef, and this was a long overdue catch-up. Enjoy! If you only have five minutes, listen to how he dealt...
On Zero-to-Hero Transformations27 Apr 2016 | 6:15 am� Photo: The Legendary Dan Gable, from my Instagram page In this episode, we don't have any special guests, unless you count the multiple personalities in my own head. We are not talking to Arnold Schwarzenegger, black-market chemists, Josh Waitzkin, Jamie Foxx or anyone else per our regular interviews. Today, I'll be responding to questions you upvoted on Reddit. This episode includes gems like:

My favorite books

Learning to take better notes

How I develop skills

Things that I'm excited about in the next 3-5 years

Plus much more…

 Only have a few minutes? Listen to my latest thoughts on cheat days and how to manage sugar cravings. Enjoy!

Listen to it on iTunes.

Stream by clicking here.

Download as...

My 10 Favorite Purchases in 10 Months25 Apr 2016 | 7:33 pmPhoto: From Tim's Instagram I love testing new gadgets and products. It's an obsession. For The 4-Hour Chef alone, I tested well over $100,000 worth of gear. OCD + Amazon Prime = expensive. Why on earth do I do it? Simple–I love sharing the 5-10 things out of 500-1,000 that really work. Strange fetish, perhaps, but I get off on it. Readers seem to enjoy it, too. In the first ever 5-Bullet Friday newsletter, I recommended my favorite all-purpose sandals, and more than 100,000 people clicked on the link within the first 48 hours (!). This type of click-through assault was nicknamed "the hug of death" by one Facebook fan. It crashes websites, wipes out inventory (e.g. Mizzen+Main, sardines at Whole...
The Habits of a Master — Paulo Coelho, Author of The Alchemist23 Apr 2016 | 8:42 pm"A successful writing day is the day that I suffer in the morning, and I have fun in the evening." -Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho (paulocoelho on Facebook) has long been one of my writing inspirations. His books, of near universal appeal, span from The Alchemist to the most recent Adultery and have been translated into more than 70 languages. Few people know that The Alchemist, which has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide, was originally published by a small Brazilian publisher to the tune of… 900 copies. They declined to reprint it. It wasn't until after his subsequent novel (Brida) that The Alchemist was revived and took off. I, for one, have always been impressed with consistent writers. Paulo,...
Caroline Middlebrook – SEO & Internet Marketing
A Difficult Month – Family Health Scare & Financial Reality Check1 May 2016 | 8:54 amI've only published a single post in April. Every month I like to do a review of all my goals and kind of re-think where I'm going in every aspect of my life to make sure I'm on track. April has been a difficult month for personal reasons which I don't like to really go into too much here as of course you're here reading because you want to know how my SEO project is going. However I feel I have to write something because I'm going to be making a drastic change in my business and taking an about turn, mainly because of events of this month, but it's also been building for a little while. Life Is Short I mentioned in the last SEO update that my mother went into hospital. It's been a few weeks since she came...
2016 SEO Case Study #7 – First Sales & Another Little Money Site18 Apr 2016 | 7:33 amI've had some personal issues over the last couple of weeks that have severely reduced the time I had available for work. I was conducting another sleep experiment in an attempt to reduce the amount of sleep I need but just as I was almost at the end of that, and on my final day, I had a call from my brother to say that my Mum was in hospital. She's back home now and doing okay but I basically dropped everything to go spend several days with her. She's 86 years old, so these times are precious. So as a result of that, I've not made the progress I had wanted to in the last few weeks but I've managed to bring in my first sales (yay!) and I also built out a very quick money site on a whim and I'm going to use...
2016 SEO Case Study #6 – New Money Site – Going Local30 Mar 2016 | 1:28 pmSpam Penalty Lifted In the last update I talked about having 2 expired domains which I had purchased for my PBN that turned out to have a manual spam penalty on them. The first of these has been lifted :-) All I did was restore the site from an old version on Wayback machine and then submit a reconsideration request to Google and waited. So this site is good to go now. I'm still waiting on the second one. I Need More Money Sites So far I have made no money with SEO. Not a single cent :-( Now the guys at OMG always say that if we want to be profitable with SEO quickly then the way to go is with client consulting. But I'd rather poke my eyes out than deal with clients; hence my choice to do affiliate...
2016 SEO Case Study #5 – 3 Money Sites & 21 PBN Sites23 Mar 2016 | 5:53 amPBN Growth Is Slow In the last update I had bought a PBN site which turned out to have a spam penalty. I restored the site and submitted a re-inclusion request to Google using a spare GWT account. I'm still waiting… And annoyingly, a second site that I bought now turns out to have a spam penalty *sigh*. This is one of the downsides of using expired domains for your PBN – you cannot do a penalty check during the research phase because the site is not indexed, so you have to buy it, build it and then hope for the best. I'm up to 21 sites now which is 4 more than my last update. I've actually got a ton more that I am ready to buy if I need them but so far I am still only using them for Money Site 1 so I don't...
How I Got Scammed Buying 'Unique' Content16 Mar 2016 | 12:11 amI have been the victim of a scam involving content which is sold as being "unique, original content guaranteed to pass Copyscape" that is actually complete garbage, provides no SEO benefit and can actually get you penalized in Google! Read on for the explanation of how this happened and how to avoid it yourself. Over the last couple of months I have experimented with buying articles on Fiverr and SEO clerks for use on my PBN sites. I should have known better; both gigs offered 20 articles for $10 which is just $0.5 per article. The articles were advertised as being unique and guaranteed to pass copyscape. So I just assumed they used some kind of spinning technique but as long as they read well and didn't...
Inventor Spot - Inventions, Innovations, and Interesting Ideas for the Inventor in All of Us
App For Monitoring Kids' Mobile Devices Lets You Read Deleted Texts29 Apr 2016 | 3:10 pmDo you know what your kids are up to when they're online or using their smart devices? Do you really know? An app for proactive parenting allows users to monitor their kids for risky or dangerous behavior without having to keep them under lock and key. It even shows you deleted texts and images they're posting. Find out what it's called and what social media platforms it covers.
New App 'Posh Peep' Allows Users To Weigh In On Fashion Choices28 Apr 2016 | 8:55 amNeed help getting dressed for that big date or job interview and not sure what to wear? No problem! A new app called Posh Peep gives you feedback from social media users turned fashion critics on the spot. Save yourself from embarrassing fashion faux pas and find out more about how it works and which social media platform is connected to it.
Sense Helps You Sleep Smarter27 Apr 2016 | 12:57 pmWe do not all sleep equally. If you find yourself waking up tired, even after a full night of sleep, then maybe it's time to figure out why. The Sense and accompanying Sleep Pill from Hello is your full solution to sleep monitoring. Simply set up the Sense in your bedroom and clip the Sleep Pill to your pillow to start full spectrum monitoring.
'Ethically Clothed' Offers Consumers Sustainable Fashion Choices27 Apr 2016 | 11:43 amWhere would you turn for eco-friendly fashions produced by ethical businesses that actually cared where their products were coming from, who made them and how they were produced? Britain's Ethically Clothed has the answer. Discover whose lines they carry, where you can get them and how PETA is connected.
Chef'n Sweet Spot Ice Cream Maker Creates Frosty Treats In Minutes26 Apr 2016 | 7:09 pmStore bought ice cream is typically loaded with all kinds of obscure ingredients that are surely not good for you. There is hope on the horizon though. Coming soon from Chef'n is the Sweet Spot ice cream maker that allows you to make your own fresh ice cream in minutes.
The Next Women - Business Magazine
25 inspirational women in tech & digital2 May 2016 | 2:09 amAs part of International Womens Day Opzij TheNextWomen have put together a list of women who play a particularly impressive and inspiring role in the digital and tech world. The future is digital, not only in the media but also in education, world travel and healthcare. This digital transformation is noticeable everywhere. These women express their mark on the future. Either as an entrepreneur, scientist, investor, manager or otherwise. 1. Ida Tin Ida Tin is the co-founder and chief executive of Clue, the period tracking and fertility application that was founded in 2012 in Berlin. After travelling the world on her motorcycle and writing a best seller about her travel, she is now focussing on her...
Founder of Jet Verzendt, Jettie van Mourik, talks about her most important startup lessons and the opportunities in the logistics IT sector2 May 2016 | 2:06 amSelected for this year's TheNextWomen100, Jettie van Mourik (1979) is the founder and director of Jet Verzendt, the logistics IT company whose daily business is working on her mission of making shipments easy. Since its foundation in 2013, Jet Verzendt has experienced a growth of 400% with a turnover of over four million. In 2015, the company received the FD Gazelle Award from the Financieel Dagblad newspaper for outstanding entrepreneurship. Besides her role at Jet Verzendt, Jettie is a chairman of the board of a medium-sized family firm and mother of five young children. ** Editorial note: meet Jettie at The Innovation Summit You don't have a logistics background. Where did you get the inspiration for...
Is entrepreneurship the key to sustainability?2 May 2016 | 2:05 amAdopting the bold slogan #plantabetterfuture, Moda Aesthetics takes on a symbolic initiative to encourage action in teamwork as a counter to the sustainability issues faced in the 21st century. In the days encapsulating the international day of the Earth, the young fashion apparel company plans to spread its message through a fruit trees gift away in the heart of Amsterdam. Anamica Mahabiersingh, CEO founder of Moda Aesthetics, reveals that this campaign is a direct response to the inspirational and heart-warming collectivism in the orientation towards sustainability she has observed in both the industrial and societal environments. Although proud of the achieved progress, she still sees a long road ahead...
Joëlle Frijters - Panel member at The Innovation Summit8 Mar 2016 | 12:44 amJoëlle Frijters is CEO and co-founder of Improve Digital, a company that offers real time advertising technology to publishers and digital media. Founded in 2008 in Amsterdam, Improve Digital has now office in 5 European countries and employs about 200 people. Joëlle has received many awards for her incredible innovative and entrepreneurial skills. Improve Digital has launched an impressive programmatic platform that allows publishers and marketers to better their consumers and target audience. Within the platform, they recently launched the "Hyper Local Targeting" that enables publishers and marketers target mobile users based on their location, which allows them deliver the right message at the...
Ida Tin - The digital future of female health8 Mar 2016 | 12:39 amIda Tin is the co-founder and chief executive of Clue, the period tracking and fertility application that was founded in 2012 in Berlin. After travelling the world on her motorcycle and writing a best seller about her travel, she is now focussing on her promising start-up. The app already counts more than 2 million active users across the world and this is only the beginning! Clue is note only a platform that helps you to know your body better and accompanies women in every stage of their lives; it is aiming to revolutionize research on women's health by making periods a non-taboo. Digital health is currently shaking the tech world and helps health professionnals make great improvement in the sector. Clue...
The Wright Place TV Show
GlassOuse: The World's First Assistive Mouse26 Apr 2016 | 2:31 pmEveryone once in a while you find you an invention that will truly help other people. This is one of them. We all take for granted how easy it is to use a computer when you are fully bodied. Now the handicapped person will have the ability to use a computer like everyone else. Here […]
On Fleek Event25 Apr 2016 | 2:18 pmSome friends on Facebook said, I thought we were done with FLEEK– I said I am not done yet! I will be sharing about the Big Screen Blueprint which is how to get your story or book on the big screen. I will also be introducing the new TV Channel I am developing which will […]
Secret Start to a Business10 Apr 2016 | 7:39 pmI don't know how much of a secret it will be after this, but I was contacted by a woman who wanted to surprise her husband with $5,000 to start his own business. Here is what Jessy James Anderson to say: I'm secretly starting this go fund me for my fiancé who's been trying to […]
Understanding Your Personal Strengths2 Apr 2016 | 6:17 amUnderstanding Your Personal Strengths Remember that working doesn't have to feel like work. That may seem like a contradicting statement to many people out there, but it's the truth! When you look back on your life, you want to make sure that you worked a job you didn't hate and learned a lot about it […]
The REAL WORK– getting rid of easy in your life29 Mar 2016 | 7:04 pmThis is tough love, not a fluff piece to help you be average. photo by:
Steve Blank
Entrepreneurs are Everywhere Show No. 30: Guido Kovalskys and Doris Korda5 May 2016 | 6:00 amThere was a time when having the information gave you the power. That's no longer the key. The problem isn't getting information or data; it's knowing what to do with it. Founders will always encounter naysayers, shut out the voices and listen to the customers instead. It gets you to a business faster. Two lessons from the guests on today's Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. The show follows the journeys of founders who share what it takes to build a startup – from restaurants to rocket scientists, to online gifts to online groceries and more. The program examines the DNA of entrepreneurs: what makes them tick, how they came up with their ideas; and explores the habits that make them...
Hacking for Defense @ Stanford – Week 52 May 2016 | 6:00 amWe just held our fifth week of the Hacking for Defense class. This week the teams passed the half way mark in the class. They've collectively talked to over 550 beneficiaries (users, program managers, stakeholders, etc.) Their focus for this week was to figure out how to get products rapidly deployed into their sponsors organization. Our advanced lecture explained how to get buy-in for your solution by creating an insurgency among your supporters and advocates. (This post is a continuation of the series. See all the H4D posts here (and also read Pete Newell's weekly class summaries here.) Because of the embedded presentations this post is best viewed on the website.) This is not a typical class If...
Entrepreneurs are Everywhere Show No. 29: Ajay Kshatriya and Steven Cohn28 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amEntrepreneurs see opportunity where others see obstacles and why hubris is an entrepreneur's worst enemy, were two topics of discussion on my SiriusXM radio show, Entrepreneurs are Everywhere. The show airs on SiriusXM Channel 111 (weekly Thursdays at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern). It follows the journeys of innovators sharing what it takes to build a startup – from restaurants to rocket scientists, to online gifts to online groceries and more. The program examines the DNA of entrepreneurs: what makes them tick, how they came up with their ideas; and explores the habits that make them successful, and the highs and lows that pushed them forward. Ajay Kshatriya Joining me in the Stanford University...
Hacking for Defense @ Stanford – Week 425 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amWe just held our fourth week of the Hacking for Defense class. This week the teams turned the corner on understanding beneficiaries and finding product/market fit. The 8 teams spoke to 115 beneficiaries (users, program managers, etc.); we sent each team a critique of their mission model canvas; we started streaming the class live to DOD/IC sponsors and other educators; our advanced lecture explained how to go from concept to deployment in the DOD/IC; and we watched as the students got closer to understanding the actual problems their customers have. (This post is a continuation of the series. See all the H4D posts here. Because of the embedded presentations this post is best viewed on the...
Hacking for Defense (H4D) @ Stanford – Week 319 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amWe just held our third week of the Hacking for Defense class. This week the 8 teams spoke to 108 beneficiaries (users, program mangers, etc.), we held a Customer Discovery workshop, we started streaming the class live to DOD/IC sponsors and other educators, our advanced lecture was on Product/Market fit for the DOD/IC and we watched as the students solved their customer discovery obstacles and started getting closer to their customers. (This post is a continuation of the series. See all the H4D posts here. Because of the embedded presentations this post is best viewed on the website.) —– Customer Discovery in the DOD/IC Workshop We normally hold a Customer Discovery workshop during the evening the first...
First Class Fashionista
Why I Can't Stop Eating3 May 2016 | 9:33 pmWhile I was researching and writing about a related topic for our continuing sponsor, Mode.com, I kept hitting up my snack cabinet. Today, I am okay but yesterday I couldn't stop eating. I ate mostly walnuts. Not too bad, right? I also had a plate of cheese and crackers. Processed foods is where I went wrong. By the end of the day, I was feeling really sluggish and I had a headache. So, in the process of discovering why so many of us are hungry all the time, I learned something very rudimentary. If you are thinking about food all day, you are likely going to eat more than you should. Are you looking for more real answers to why you never feel full and can't stop eating? Just click the arrow below to the...
Denver Designer Efrain Guerrero Presents ALIVE: A Forbidden LOVE Fashion Show28 Apr 2016 | 1:14 pmGet ready to awaken your senses for an unbelievable night of mesmerizing fashion designs as told in a story of fashion inspired by two lovers. Alive fashion show Who: Efrain Guerrero is a former FIDM student and Art Institute of Colorado Fashion Design graduate. Efrain is known for his sexy, but modern style in women's clothing. His designs are edgy, versatile and, may I mention, he loves prints and patterns. His design specialties includes cocktail party wear, special occasion, evening wear, bridesmaids gowns and red carpet style fashion designs. Denver Designer Efrain Guerrero supports FCF's Denver Paint the Runway charity show 2013, re-live it on Youtube here: Denver Paint the Runway. What: ALIVE: a...
How to Have Fun on Vacation like THIS Hot Celebrity Couple19 Apr 2016 | 3:13 pmWhen you were in school, you did spring break getaways. Got the visual? Now, let's fast forward. Yes, you still go on vacations in the spring but it doesn't involve any of those irresponsible drinking games or romping around in the pool. Things have changed for the good, right? We can actually remember our vacations… So we've mellowed out as responsible adults, but life's party is not over. We still want to have some fun and, maybe, a little romance too. For your vacation inspiration, click the viewer to see what fun things Taylor Swift and boyfriend DJ Calvin Harris did on their anniversary getaway this spring. It looks like the two lovebirds had a blast celebrating. Also, for additional travel ideas,...
All Top Trainers Don't Eat Healthy All the Time: What they're eating and posting to Instagram14 Apr 2016 | 12:16 pmGunnar Peterson's cheat meal may surprise you… If you've been following First Class Fashionista on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, you know I recently took on another gig as a BodyPump instructor. I am absolutely head over heels with inspiring people to fall in love with fitness as I have. I think it's one of the best things I've ever decided to do and, most mornings, I get it done before sunrise. The problem is because I am a trainer now my class, as well as family and friends, assume I eat healthy all the time. Yes, I work out and I look like I eat right. However, to the contrary, I reward myself with too many cheat meals. I love a good burger and fries and chips are my nemesis. So, one day I was...
Food Inspired Accessories by Netherland Designer Rommy Kuperus8 Apr 2016 | 1:08 pmHopefully you've had lunch or dinner already, because this next topic is going to make your tummy growl! Rommy Kuperus is the Netherland-based designer behind these mouth watering pieces. From bow-ties to purses, these pieces are perfect for prom, special events, everyday life and my favorite "your first day of kindergarten". She is a versatile designer and, if needed, collaborates with her customers to create the perfect piece they are looking for. Depending on your "taste" in accessories, Kuperus has something for everyone. She has a salad purse with a matching necklace and earrings. Men can enjoy cartoon-like bow-ties in the assortment from tacos, hot dogs, candies, fries, noodles, cheese,...
Begin the Begin
You'll never guess how I watched the White House Correspondence Dinner3 May 2016 | 5:11 amWell, "watched" should be in quotes, because I didn't really watch it. Consumed? What's the word for "watched the important parts"?� Not sure, but either way, here's how it happened. First, I saw this update on Snapchat Stories: �� White House Party. I clicked on that, and was able to watch a bunch of highlights. Which was cool because it was from a lot of people's phones, so some of it was behind the scenes and some of it was straight video of POTUS speaking. Then when I was on Twitter just after, I saw these Politico posts: � From those, I got the highlights and was all caught up. Crazy, right? That's how we watch "TV" now!� This is also exactly how I consume 95% of sports today. Highlights from the ESPN...
What giving blood in Sweden can teach us about great mobile experiences27 Apr 2016 | 2:32 am�� I give blood platelets 3-4 times a year. I started when one of my employees asked our team if anyone would be willing to help his wife by donating blood platelets. After I spent the 2+ hours in the chair, squeezing the ball while the platelets were pulled from my body, I was handed a sticker that said: You saved two lives today.� Boom. I was hooked.� Ever since then, when I get the call, I go. I don't want to. I think, "Do I really have time to drive to the hospital and sit there uncomfortably for hours?" And it IS uncomfortable. It's not like you can sleep. You have to hold a rubber ball and squeeze it every 15 seconds. For TWO hours. Ever try to use your phone with just one hand? Not easy.*� And...
How to build a great culture, from the troops (Part 3)25 Apr 2016 | 3:58 amRecap: I wrote a post entitled How to build a great culture, from the troops, (and Part 2)where I explain that I interviewed some past employees to find out what they thought made our culture great at Spunlogic and/or Engauge. I'm sharing their responses over a few posts in the hopes that you can learn from them the way I have: Response 5 For me it was really about having access to leadership and the ability to fully own the piece of the business I was responsible for.� I always felt like leadership had a vision for where we were going and what kind of company we wanted to be, which made it easier for me to make decision for my team and our clients.� I was also personally motivated by the overall ambition...
How to build a great culture, from the troops (Part 2)22 Apr 2016 | 3:29 amRecap: I wrote a post entitled,�How to build a great culture, from the troops, where I explain that I interviewed some past employees to find out what they thought made our culture great at Spunlogic and/or Engauge. I'm sharing their responses over a few posts in the hopes that you can learn from them the way I have: Response 3 I felt like I was contributing to something greater than myself. My efforts directly related to the growth and success of Spunlogic. So when Spunlogic had a victory as a team, I felt team pride. But this didn't have to be because of my actions…just that I was made to feel like I was an integral part of the team and thus I had an emotional connection. Feeling part of the team was a...
How to build a great culture, from the troops (Part 1)20 Apr 2016 | 3:31 amOne of my favorite things to hear is that my past companies (Spunlogic and Engauge) had great cultures*. It's not something you can really claim yourself. It's like saying, "I'm super funny." You really need someone else to tell you that kind of thing. I'm working hard to make Dragon Army a place that people say that about. I've done a better job of clearly defining and communicating our values (team first, think positively, have fun), which I did not do at either Spunlogic or Engauge. But I started to realize recently that maybe I don't know exactly what it was that made those two companies a place that people loved to work. So I went to the source. I asked several past Spunlogicians and Engaugers what it...
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
Invention is Drudgery12 Apr 2016 | 2:34 pmEdison spent 18 months on the drudgery of trial and error to produce the first workable light, which lasted only 13 hours before the carbon fiber filament would burn out. He then spent another 18 months on the drudgery of trial and error before discovering that a carbonized bamboo filament would last 100x longer, and finally a modern-like light-bulb was born. Isn't this true in all walks of life, not only engineering? Musicians spend almost all their time practicing in spaces sufficiently distant from other humans, landing gigs with a slurry of begging and assurance, transporting and setting up stages, and hardest of all, getting more than four people to show up. In the audience, we enjoy the show, blind...
Darwinian company growth doesn't always select the best companies23 Feb 2016 | 8:00 am"Survival of the fittest" is not the same thing as "survival of the best," though not apparent at first glance. "Fittest" means "most able to become a grandparent." Sound weird? You might think "fittest" means "most able to create offspring," but that's not true if the offspring themselves are unable to continue the process of reproduction. A horse mated with a donkey creates a mule which is sterile; the parents in this case cannot become grandparents, and thus is an evolutionary dead-end. The "grandparent" requirement is the only requirement, which means bad things can be "fit" just as well as good things. Viruses are amazingly fit — not only becoming grandparents, but...
Your non-linear problem of 90% utilization8 Dec 2015 | 8:15 am� Does it feel like everyone is working very hard, all the time, and yet not accomplishing as much as everyone would like? Maybe this is why. Suppose a web server is running at 50% of its full capacity. Browser traffic doesn't arrive in regular, smooth amounts; it comes in spurts and occasionally large spikes. Because the server is under-utilized, when a spike arrives there are spare resource to deal with the increase. If the spike is sufficiently large, performance will degrade, and if larger still, many of the requests will have to be rejected rather than answered; after all, there's some limit past which the server cannot do any additional work. Now suppose someone walks up and sees "50% utilization"...
How do I figure out who my next important hire should be?13 Oct 2015 | 8:30 amThis is the perennial question for startups who have started to taste success, and are ready to invest in themselves in the form of new helping hands. The question is: How do you decide what role is most important to hire for? Founders typically revert to whatever they're already expert in, and decide they need more of that. So, a technical founder decides she needs another developer, or a sales-oriented founder decides she needs another sales person. Let's highlight the underlying justification you'll use to rationalize this probably-erroneous decision, so we can see how to avoid the fallacy. Here's what you're thinking: "I'm doing X today, which means I'm not able to work on Y and Z, which are...
Refutation: An acquisition is always a failure29 Sep 2015 | 8:00 amOh how the media loves superlatives (but only because that's what we click on and share). Jake Lodwick wrote an article on PandoDaily entitled "An acquisition is always a failure." He explains: Either the founders failed to achieve their goal, or – far likelier – they failed to dream big enough. The proper ambition for a tech entrepreneur should be to join the ranks of the great tech companies, or, at least, to create a profitable, independent company beloved by employees, customers, and shareholders. On his startup's sale to a larger company, he then laments that the "youthful energy that created so much value was siphoned off." These are common sentiments, but they're the false wisdom of those...
Sramana Mitra
Roundtable Recap: May 5 – You Cannot Outsource Selling Early On5 May 2016 | 12:26 pmDuring this week's roundtable, our guest was Stewart Alsop of Alsop Louie Partners. Stewart has been a VC for 20 years, and before that, a journalist for another 20 years in the technology industry.... ___
Capital Efficient Entrepreneurship: Janet Kosloff, CEO of InCrowd (Part 7)5 May 2016 | 9:00 amJanet Kosloff: In the pharma industry, they tend to do these very long tracking surveys. They'll do them quarterly or maybe every other month. They're very expensive. Brands could spend many millions... ___
Building a Robust Business in Australia: Investorist CEO Jon Ellis (Part 7)5 May 2016 | 8:00 amSramana Mitra: In 2016, have you raised more money? Jon Ellis: We're about to. We're just raising now. We opened on Tuesday. We received a commitment from shareholders already for $3 million, and we... ___
305th Roundtable For Entrepreneurs Starting NOW, Live Tweeting By @1Mby1M5 May 2016 | 7:55 amToday's 305th FREE online 1M/1M roundtable for entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, May 5, at 8:00 a.m. PDT/11:00 a.m. EDT/8:30 p.m. India IST. Click here to join. � ___
305th Roundtable For Entrepreneurs Starting In 30 Minutes: Live Tweeting By @1Mby1M5 May 2016 | 7:31 amToday's 305th FREE online 1M/1M roundtable for entrepreneurs is starting in 30 minutes, on Thursday, May 5, at 8:00 a.m. PDT/11:00 a.m. EDT/8:30 p.m. India IST. Click here to join. All are... ___
Carol Roth » Business Unplugged
Best Ways to Leverage LinkedIn to Build Your Business4 May 2016 | 4:00 amMost business owners know that they could – and should – be using LinkedIn more effectively to build their businesses. But what exactly should they be doing? I think I use LinkedIn pretty effectively, but I wanted to reach out to an expert for the best tactics. Phil Gerbyshak trains sales people to get more leads, earn […]
Small Business Week 2016: Technology and the Stylist3 May 2016 | 4:00 amHappy National Small Business Week small business owners and would-be entrepreneurs! There are lots of great virtual and local events happening this week to share strategies and celebrate successes. You can follow along on Twitter with the hashtags #NSBW2016 and #DreamSmallBiz. Below is an interview that we thought might be of interest. It was originally […]
7 Things To Loathe, Hate And Despise About Social Media28 Apr 2016 | 4:00 amSocial media makes me sad. When I joined Twitter in 2006, it was a terrific experience. I hear people talk about Facebook the same way, back when that platform was the exclusive territory of college students. What happened? What went wrong? Marketers, rather than conversationalists, dominate. Earlier, social media was overwhelmingly a platform for serious […]
Small Irritations Add Up for Customers: Lessons from the TSA27 Apr 2016 | 4:00 am"You need to remove your computer and liquids from your suitcase." I stopped short at the X-ray machine in airport security. Wait a minute. I'd just come down the TSA Pre lane. I could keep this stuff in my bag. Positive it was a mistake, I told the TSA agent, "Oh, I have TSA Pre." […]
Use "the Buddy System" to Market Your Business26 Apr 2016 | 4:20 amYour business can offer the absolute best products or services on the planet, but if nobody knows that they exist, your business will fail in the same way that unfortunately, so many other small businesses do. Marketing is key for getting the word out, but it can be overly expensive for a small-business-sized budget. Not […]
Lessons Learned
Read This Excerpt From Steve Case (AOL)'s New Book25 Apr 2016 | 10:45 pmGuest post by Melissa Moore, co-founder of Lean Startup Co.The Lean Startup movement brings together the brightest minds in Silicon Valley to share the best advice for entrepreneurs, from entrepreneurs. AOL co-founder Steve Case, who just released his new book, The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future, is one of the big thinkers we're excited to team up with. Steve has a lot of insight into the ways innovative leaders can transform "real world" sectors (such as health, education, transportation, energy, and food), and their ability to change the way we all live and work.You can catch Steve in an interview with our own Eric Ries this Wednesday, April 27th at the Commonwealth Club in...
Lean Startup Week 2016: Call for Speakers20 Apr 2016 | 1:17 pmGuest post by Kirsten Cluthe, editorial director of Lean Startup Co.Speaking at Lean Startup Week offers renowned and emerging industry leaders the opportunity to share their stories with our global community. And by renowned and emerging, we mean you, person who deserves recognition from our community of 2,000 attendees for the awesome work you're doing! If you're interested in presenting at our flagship conference during Lean Startup Week Oct. 31 - Nov. 6 in San Francisco — alongside folks from Google, General Assembly, Hint Water, Sama Group, GE, Salesforce, and IBM, among others — we'd love to hear from you.Don't worry about having some kind of conference track record. Our speakers hail from...
Lean Startup Week: Seven Days of Focused Innovation Training14 Mar 2016 | 2:07 pmGuest post by Jennifer Maerz, Contributing Editor of Lean Startup Co.�We're excited to announce that we're doing something radically different with our flagship event this year. Gone is the Lean Startup Conference as you know it. Welcome instead Lean Startup Week, October 31 - November 6, 2016.And what is this Lean Startup Week? It is seven days of thought-provoking programming around the things you love — Lean Startup training, specific case studies, hands-on workshops, industry networking dinners, inspiring speakers, and speed mentoring sessions — plus brand new partner events. That's right. We're inviting the big names in entrepreneurship to help curate workshops and activities. For example,...
How Lean Startup Helped Serve Communities in Kenya4 Nov 2015 | 11:36 amGuest Post by Jennifer Maerz, Contributing Editor of Lean Startup Co., with Kirsten Cluthe as Contributor.Here's the thing about The Lean Startup methodology. It isn't just for use by one industry, or one staff size, or even in any one country. Our customer-first, rapid trials-rapid discovery ethos is adaptable to all varieties of mission driven, enterprise, and startup companies around the world. At The Lean Startup Conference on Nov. 16-19 in San Francisco, innovative thought leaders from around the globe will offer examples of the remarkable changes they're making across industries using our simple methodology. And yes, we're very excited for you to meet them all. As we lead up to the big day,...
The 2015 Lean Startup Conference is the Biggest Yet28 Oct 2015 | 5:55 amGuest post by Jennifer Maerz, Contributing Editor of Lean Startup Co.The Lean Startup Conference is a one-of-a-kind conference and community of 2,000 thought leaders who meet annually in San Francisco to discuss the ways everyone from big government agencies, multinational conglomerates, scrappy startups, religious organizations, and mission-driven initiatives puts continuous innovation into practice, empowering employees and fostering radical success along the way. It's a big deal that only gets bigger with every year.We aren't gathering together to simply talk at you, either. That would be so boring. Our interactive, multidisciplinary conference will spark new ideas, help you face your workplace...
What Really Matters When You Give A TED Talk25 Apr 2016 | 7:45 amIf you've ever dreamed of giving a TED/TEDx Talk, you've probably also dreamed of the potential fame that comes along with it. "People will bust down my door to interview me!" "I'll get tons of business opportunities!" "I'll be Youtube famous!" � Those things are certainly POSSIBLE, but let me feed you a truth sandwich and tell you that they aren't likely. And that's okay, because fame is not the point of a TED TALK. When I stepped off the stage May of 2014, I stepped off having accomplished a major life goal. I had just delivered a TED Talk (or TEDx if we want to split hairs); something I had wanted to accomplish before turning 30 (I had done it at 25). � It was this amazing feeling of...
3 Ways To Use Feedback Loops To Improve Your Performance18 Apr 2016 | 8:38 amIn the hustle of building a business, launching a side gig, or climbing the ranks at your company, it's easy to compare yourself to others. "I'm not making as much as them" "They have a thousand more followers than me" "I'm not nearly as qualified as that person" These mindsets lead to self-doubt, but a lot of self-doubt stems from a deeper-rooted competition. A competition with ourselves. Someone at a recent personal branding workshop I taught wrote me about this issue recently. � My biggest competitor is myself. I consistently feel like I could be doing better in all aspects of life. -Robby If you have a hustler's spirit, which I know you do because you're reading this, you feel like you're...
Under30CEO Acquired by Rich20Something Media Inc18 Apr 2016 | 8:28 am� What a 21st century boardroom really looks like… Hey Under30CEO, I am proud to announce that Under30CEO.com has been acquired by Daniel DiPiazza and Rich20Something Media, Inc. After nearly eight years and 30 Million pageviews later, my Co-Founder Jared O'Toole and I could not be more excited to continue to work fulltime on our travel company Under30Experiences and allow Under30CEO to grow to new levels under the leadership of a kick-ass team. Want to hear how we did it? Please join me for the following informational, actionable, yet ridiculous roast that details: ringing the closing bell at NASDAQ, getting invited to the United Nations, White House, the President of Iceland's house, and the time we...
How to Test Your Limits w/ Polar Explorer Eric Larsen14 Apr 2016 | 7:00 amHave you ever pushed yourself to your max? Do you know what performing at your peak is really like? This week I interviewed Eric Larsen (@ELexplore), a guy who has gone to the ends of Earth to find the answer to those questions. A Polar Explorer, Eric has undertaken some serious expeditions to our planet's most extreme locations and accomplished some truly unbelievable feats, including:

Eric successfully led his first expedition to the South Pole in 2008, covering nearly 600 miles in 41 days.

Eric is one of only a few Americans to have skied to both the North and South Poles.

On October 15th, 2010 Eric completed the Save the Poles expedition.

By completing a 750-mile ski traverse to the geographic...

How To Shake Boredom & Become The Smartest Person At Your Company11 Apr 2016 | 1:30 pmIf you're reading this right now, and it's during the work day, there's a preeeetttyy good chance it's because you're bored and searching for distractions. You know the boredom feeling well–You're mindlessly scrolling Facebook on your phone, and then you open a new browser tab and type in "Facebook" only to realize you're accessing Facebook in two places at the same time! It wasn't always like this, though. Your job used to be packed with new information, new conversations, and new energy. The thing is, it was all exciting because it was NEW. You were constantly learning new things you hadn't been expose to before. You took pages of notes, approached every conversation with curiosity, and then took notes...
3 Ways to Improve the Best Advice Ever3 May 2016 | 5:00 amI've got a little bone to pick with a piece of extremely common advice I hear from successful entrepreneurs. I hear this advice everywhere. Watch the video (or read more below): The advice goes a little something like this: You just gotta get out there and do it! Just do it. Get after it. Make it happen. This isn't going to happen to you, you gotta make it happen. Dive in, get your hands dirty. This advice is everywhere. Comedians, entrepreneurs, professional sports-people… So there's got to be some truth to it. But if I'm honest, this advice has never been that effective — it's never helped me get my hands dirty and dive into something I aspire to do. And I think we can fix that. Here are 3...
Business Advice & Wisdom for Young Family Entrepreneurs (FS160)29 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amRunning an indie business is more possible than ever —�even when you've got a young baby or a new marriage. But if you try to simply burn more candles at more ends (or pour more cups of coffee to get through the day) you'll find yourself and your family paying a price too high. On the show today, some wisdom and advice for entrepreneurs in young families. Steph's about to have a baby, Barrett's about to get married and Chase and Corbett have lived through enough of these experiences to have a valuable vantage point. Regardless of how far down the road of family or business you are, if you want to live well, you're going to love this episode. Enjoy! It's better to listen on the go!...
4 Things to Do When You Feel Like a Fraud26 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amPicture this: you've been working hard on your business when an amazing opportunity comes along. You've been asked to speak on a panel where your ideal customers will be eagerly listening in the audience. The adrenaline starts pumping as you process the good news, when suddenly… Panic sets in. As you read more details about the panel, you realize that the other participants are established business owners with much bigger audiences, more reach, more expertise, more everything. You want to be nothing but excited — this is the kind of moment you've worked so hard for! — and yet, there's a small nagging voice in the back of your head and a rapidly forming pit in your stomach. Why do they want me? I don't...
If I'm so Smart Why Aren't I Successful Yet? (FS159)22 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amWhen we compare ourselves to other people our work gets worse not better. And yet it's a totally human experience: "they have people buying, listening, reading, clicking their stuff, why don't I have that?" On the show today we share how to look at this issue from a vantage point that will lead you to better work and a more honest way to frame your own path. Enjoy! It's better to listen on the go! � �Subscribe�on�iTunes� Subscribe (how to) � iTunes � Overcast � Pocket Casts � Stitcher � Soundcloud � RSS � If I'm so Smart Why Aren't I Successful Yet? Tweet This Show...
How to Grow a Business Even if You Believe Advertisers are Satan's Little Helpers19 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amSomething really stuck with me after reading the amazing four-part blog post series at Wait But Why about Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX. In the first article in the series, Elon Musk: The World's Raddest Man, author Tim Urban notes "… he [Elon Musk] refuses to advertise for Tesla, something most startup car companies wouldn't think twice about — because he sees advertising as manipulative and dishonest." (emphasis mine) I dug deeper and couldn't find other evidence that Elon's dislike of advertising is what keeps Tesla from advertising. It's true that they do not currently advertise, but it sounds as though that's because Tesla is currently production-constrained. There's more demand...
Mike Rowe says going straight from high school to college is a 'horrible mistake'5 May 2016 | 2:31 pmPresident Barack Obama's daughter Malia recently announced that she'll be attending Harvard — but only after taking a "gap year" between high school graduation and freshman year. According to CNN's�Mike Rowe, she's got the right idea. As the host of the Travel Channel's "Dirty Jobs" and then CNN's "Somebody's Gotta Do It," Rowe has spent the past 13 years traveling the United States learning about the most difficult and strangest manual labor occupations. He's long been an advocate for removing elitist stigmas around blue-collar jobs. When he looks at the country today, he sees a culture that is unnecessarily burdening its young people with tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt for an education that...
Here's why writing things out by hand makes you smarter5 May 2016 | 2:10 pmTyping is fast. Handwriting is slow. Weirdly, that's precisely why handwriting is better suited to learning. Take it from research psychologists Pam A. Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of the University of California, Los Angeles, who did a fascinating study investigating just how terrible laptops are for note-taking in classrooms. Earlier studies have argued that laptops make for poor note-taking because of the litany of distractions available on the internet, but their experiments yielded a counterintuitive conclusion: Handwriting is better because it slows the learner down. By slowing down the process of taking notes, you accelerate learning. It works like this. If a...
A 4,000-person IBM team dedicated to decoding millennials found bosses should 'coach' young workers instead of managing them5 May 2016 | 1:10 pmWhen Samantha Klein talks about millennials at work, she likes to talk in terms of sports analogies. "When your coach talks to you on the Little League team, they're like, 'Here's how you're hitting right now. If we want to make the playoffs, here's where you need to be; this is where you need to focus your practicing," she told Business Insider. The�same principle should apply at the office — bosses should reinforce the team mentality and help young workers develop their professional skills. It's "less so managing as much as it is coaching," Klein said. Klein is a founding member of IBM's Millennial Corps, a task force made up of more than 4,000 IBM employees of all ages who are trying to create a better...
14 ways I trick myself into going to the gym5 May 2016 | 1:00 pmMy gym membership costs $90 a month. I know. Really — I know. Yes, I have tried to negotiate, and yes, I've looked into other gyms, but after joining my Manhattan chain on a corporate discount that was about $20 less than I currently pay, I couldn't bear to leave the gym when I went back to civilian status after changing jobs. I love the teachers! I know the schedule! The locations are so convenient! That's how they get you. Anyway, the price of my gym is what it is, and I paid for a year in advance just to get that rate. So I better make it worth my money. Every night that I "don't feel like going" means I'm wasting cash, and as someone who would be naturally well suited to those hover chairs from Wall-E,...
4 ways to look like you're already a millionaire, according to a 'Million Dollar Listing' star5 May 2016 | 12:46 pmFredrik Eklund wants everyone to become a millionaire. But since that's not going to happen, he'd at least like everyone to look like a millionaire. The colorful realtor�may be at the top of the New York real-estate game now, but Bravo's�"Million Dollar Listing New York" star remembers that it wasn't always like that. When he arrived to New York City in 2002, he didn't have one listing or any real-estate training. He described the journey from there to his success now in his book�"The Sell: The Secrets to Selling Anything to Anyone."� "Let's say, you're not making a lot of money yet, and you don't have any savings yet, and you want to look like you've already made it," Eklund told Business Insider. "I tried...
In the Books with 800-CEO-READ
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance5 May 2016 | 10:45 amGrit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, Scribner, 352 pages, $28.00, Hardcover, May 2015, ISBN 9781501111105 "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent." Those lines from A Bronx Tale have stuck with me since I first saw the movie as a teenager in the mid-nineties—perhaps because my father was sitting behind me emphatically echoing the words of Robert De Niro's character to his four boys, myself the youngest of them. Angela Duckworth grew up with a father who constantly told her that she was "no genius." But that obviously didn't stop Ms. Duckworth. She had something more important: grit. And two years ago, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, more popularly known as "the genius...
Business Books to Watch in May3 May 2016 | 9:00 amThe Art of Opportunity: How to Build Growth and Ventures Through Strategic Innovation and Visual Thinking by Marc Sniukas, Parker Lee, & Matt Morasky, Wiley Innovate your way toward growth using practical, research-backed frameworks. The Art of Opportunity�offers a path toward new growth, providing the perspective and methods you need to make innovation happen. Written by a team of experts with both academic and industry experience—and a client roster composed of some of the world's leading companies—this book provides you with the necessary tools to help you capture growth instead of chasing it. The visual frameworks and research-based methodology presented in�The Art of Opportunity merge business design...
April 2016 Business Book Bestsellers2 May 2016 | 10:53 amEach month we compile a list of our top selling books. These books are featured on our site, within our�Keen Thinker Newsletter, and syndicated through various publications. We hope the popularity of these titles offers guidance for those seeking an interesting and helpful new book. We report our business book bestsellers to The New York Times and Nielsen BookScan. Congratulations to these bestselling authors for April!� � 1. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike By Phil Knight Published by Scribner Book Company � � 2. Communication the Cleveland Clinic Way: How to Drive a Relationship-Centered Strategy for Exceptional Patient Experience By Adrienne Boissy Md, Md Adrienne Boissy, Md Timothy...
The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues29 Apr 2016 | 7:45 amAuthor of the business classic, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni has turned his attention back to the subject of teams in his new book, The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues. In the interview below, shared with us by his organization, The Table Group, he talks about some of the major themes in the book. For more on the book, including a host of free tools and resources (from which this interview was pulled), visit www.tablegroup.com/books/ideal-team-player. � Question: What are the three essential virtues of an ideal team player? Patrick Lencioni:� There are three required virtues that make someone an ideal team player. Those virtues are humble,...
Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work28 Apr 2016 | 10:45 amCallings: The Purpose and Passion of Work by Dave Isay, Penguin Press, 288 pages, $26.00, Hardcover, April 2016, ISBN 9781594205187 The moment I picked up Callings, I thought of Studs Terkel. I had the same reaction when I came across Po Bronson's What Should I Do with My Life? and The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alex De Botton. Both were books of interviews with working men and women about work and, it seemed to me, carried the torch of Terkel's book, Working. What I didn't know about Dave Isay's new StoryCorps book, but found just a few pages in, is that Callings has a very direct link to Terkel. StoryCorps (for those that don't know) is an oral history organization that is dedicated to the...
Understanding the Benefits of Mergers and Acquisitions5 May 2016 | 8:41 amWhen a company reaches to the peak of success or loss, and looks for revenue through other source, merger and acquisition takes place. Companies generally look for increase in the market share with already established company that changes the face of the organization. In other words, mergers may generate tax gains and reduces the cost
Precious Metals: Symbol of Prestige5 May 2016 | 8:28 amWe live in an era which has lot to do with the standard or status in the society. Today living a healthy life is common with the advanced technology and the methods has maintained your health standard. Some people are health conscious, and others are prestige conscious, which is fair deal. Wealthy person can express his/her
The Small Business Guide to Going Digital5 May 2016 | 8:13 amWhen you start a company, you have to make sure you know how to keep your business at a high level of profitability. To do this, you need to work on cutting your costs and increasing your efficiency. One of the best ways to do this is by switching your business to digital services rather
4 Key Considerations for Hiring the Right SEO Service Provider5 May 2016 | 7:54 amMost website bloggers and owners have considered hiring an SEO firm to provide different types of online marketing services for their website. This normally happens when websites experience a drastic drop in web traffic. Many new websites struggle to take their web traffic to the next level, and after a certain period they know it's
Getting to Know Reseller Hosting5 May 2016 | 4:27 amMost of the time, you are choosing from three main types of web hosting services: shared hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated server. These three main categories represent what hosting companies offer in their service lineups. There are other hosting services you can look into as well depending on your specific needs and requirements. Reseller hosting
Startup Blog
6 Groups need proper expectations21 Apr 2016 | 6:08 amLife is not always a bowl of cherries!Expectations can drive desire for a stronger engagement or, if used incorrectly, the results drive people away.� For example, you want to purchase a new car and believe you know the value of your old car.� Your research provided the estimated price for the new car. The simple math yields a cost difference and cash required to complete the new car purchase.� The sales representative shows you a figure quite a bit higher than you expected.� This causes you to become more concerned about the purchase and perhaps even sad.� Alternatively, you are elated and try to close the deal immediately if the sales representative comes out with a price half what you thought would be...
4 Ways to stay on top of your game7 Apr 2016 | 6:37 amWhere will you be if lightning strikes your business? "Agile Thinking" is a skill that can be developed and sharpened.� The skill can help one become better positioned to take advantage of significant events or even help create those significant events.� In Agile thinking helps entrepreneurs achieve success , a few actions are listed that help one become more agile in their thinking.� ��It is possible to improve one's odds of success by not being so rigid and learning to be more agile or flexible in their thoughts and actions.While watching the ACC playoffs, it was interesting to see teams play where one dominated the game until the last 5 minutes. On the other hand, close games ended up in surprise...
5 Fails entrepreneurs may never recover30 Mar 2016 | 10:37 am�What happens to us now that the business failed?Failurecan be a learning experience and recovery is common for many entrepreneurs.� Some of the most successful business people have failed and recovered before gaining their successes.� There are a few losses or failings entrepreneurs' may never recover and regret.� These are often more than the business failure which can often be rebuilt.It is often hard to reach a lifestyle balance when so much time and energy are required.� Travel may take you away for much of your business life.� You are spending excessive time trying to get the business off the ground and then then spend more time because the business needs constant care to grow.� There are a thousand...
Insights - 4 Ways To Help Your Business Standout29 Feb 2016 | 6:45 amReference:�� 4 Ways that help a business standout Taffy Williams is the author of:��Think Agile:��How Smart Entrepreneurs Adapt in Order to Succeed to via Amazon
4 Ways that help a business standout6 Jan 2016 | 11:22 amCan you pick out the more expensive bird? Attend any major business conference and chances are you will find competitors to your business.� Observing show rooms or speaking with other entrepreneurs helps one learn about how other businesses market their offerings.� The exhibit designs attract prospective clients or customers by their lighting, placement, artistry, free stuff, attractive sales people, and more.� The companies hosting each exhibit intentionally desire that their offerings standout to the crowds.� As an attendee, exhibits catch your eye and savvy entrepreneurs will also be looking for network contacts as well as any competition.� People wear name badges with a company affiliation and...
Snapdeal acquires ex-Amazon techie's predictive marketing technology firm TargetingMantra5 May 2016 | 6:30 amE-commerce giant Snapdeal on Thursday announced the acquisition of TargetingMantra, a boutique technology startup, the operates in the field of personalising shopping experience for e-commerce customers. Going forward TargetingMantra's team will further the on-going initiative to build the 'customer experience engine' at Snapdeal, to personalise the shopping experience for customers. Story so far Founded by Saurabh Nangia and Rahul Singh in March 2013, TargetingMantra expanded to provide more than 15 personalisation solutions by December 2013. The startup's founders come with rich experience in machine learning and e-commerce – having previously worked at Amazon. Currently operating...
Tata group develops safety watch for workers that provides real-time safety data5 May 2016 | 6:06 amThe Tata Group today said it has developed a watch exclusively for factory workers which can provide critical real-time safety data and announced that it is looking to sell wearable devices to tech-savvy consumers in the future. Source : Deccan Chronicle The conglomerate's Group Chief Technology Officer Gopichand Katragadda told reporters, displaying an image of the watch sporting a Tata logo said, This is the very first safety wearable in the world designed specially for a factory floor worker. He said the watch has been designed by multiple Tata Group companies. The basic idea came from Tata Steel whose workers will be using it soon, with user inputs from Tata Chemicals and Tata Motors whose shop-floors...
Living your dreams isn't far-fetched if you know how to go about it!5 May 2016 | 5:27 amThis article is sponsored by Lenovo Two young students develop winning ideas – one app helps students develop soft skills needed to get a job, the other gives traditional artisans an online platform to collaborate and sell their wares online. (L to R) Winners Shubham Upadhyay and Adarsh Srivastava Shubham Upadhyay's dreams for his future evolved a lot over the years. As a kindergarten student, he wanted to become a pilot. As a high school student, an engineer. In his pre-university days, the merchant navy seemed attractive. But after careful thought, hours of deliberation, talking to his fellow students and professors while doing his bachelor's, he finally reached a conclusion. Shubham decided to...
Everyone struggles on the entrepreneurship road5 May 2016 | 4:53 amIt is well known that of the many who want to be entrepreneurs, few take the plunge and fewer succeed. While the success stories of entrepreneurs are often chronicled, their hardships and struggles are rarely touched upon. With the media latching onto the entrepreneurship bandwagon and the rise of online content amplified by social channels, the successful entrepreneurs of today get their fair share of limelight. Founders of startups which have become unicorns are revered. The buzz around their success often leads to a persuasive perception that life has been easy for them. There is a belief that fundraising has been easy for them. This belief is also strengthened by the fact that many of them have created...
A quick look at top initiatives by Narendra Modi's government in April5 May 2016 | 4:51 amNarendra Damodardas Modi became 15th Prime Minister of India on May 26, 2014. Since then he left no stone unturned to upgrade the position of India in the world map of developed countries. Several welfare initiatives and schemes taken in the last two years speak out loud the success India experienced never before. Some of the flagship initiatives include Make in India, Digital India, Clean India, Skill India, 100 Smart Cities and Startup India Standup India. Alas! That does not seem enough as PM Narendra Modi has been questioned recently on the credibility of his educational qualification. A rare video of Narendra Modi revealed that he studied till class 10, whereas his election affidavits stated that he...
CouponMate: Browser Extension to Automate Finding the Best Coupon Code For Your Purchase Online25 Apr 2016 | 11:29 amCouponMate is a browser extension available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari that automates the process of finding the best coupon code for over 1,500 retailers online. Target Audience: Online Shoppers Website URL: https://www.couponmate.com No. of Feedback Providers Requested: 3 Feedback sought: 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see? Scroll up/down and share your thoughts. 2) Install the extension on your browser. Try the extension at Express.com. Add some items to your cart and click on the checkout. Click "Find Best Coupon" when prompted. Did it work as intended? Was it easy to use? 3) If this was not a test, would you be encouraged to download the extension?...
Zobreus – A Universally-Accepted, Mobile Vaccination Card11 Apr 2016 | 5:45 amWe're building a mobile vaccination card that allows any clinic to enter official shot information, quickly and painlessly. Records are synced in real-time to patients' mobile devices. Patients simply provide a unique ID and any medical facility, camp, school, etc. can instantly view and download the official record. Target Audience: Women between 18 and 55 who live in the United States. Have 1+ children. Use mobile phones/ipads. Understand technology. Like to travel. Website URL: https://www.zobreus.com/ App URL: POEM Record No. of Feedback Providers (Beta Testers) Requested: 20 Feedback sought: 1) Download and install the app on your iDevice:...
Colaxy – A marketplace for software developers. A place where talent collides11 Mar 2016 | 9:53 amColaxy is a marketplace aimed to connect geeks and enable them to buy and sell the source code of their innovative and creative work. Target Audience: Software Developers, Software Companies Website URL: https://www.colaxy.com About Colaxy: Colaxy is the only platform where Sellers have their own e-commerce shop to sell their digital innovation and research. On colaxy, it is about innovation, not just selling the source code. The smallest piece of code, that has its own creativity, can be sold on colaxy.com. For Buyers, colaxy.com is the only platform where they can buy the work for any platform that exists, and without worrying about the license of the purchase. Colaxy.com is not for just buying the...
MsgSafe – The Secure Way to Email11 Mar 2016 | 9:38 amAn easy-to-use platform for secure and encrypted email that protects your privacy, identity and location at all times. Target Audience: 18-60, everyday consumers to top executives or those that are privacy conscious Website URL: https://msgsafe.io No. of Feedback Providers (Beta Testers) Requested: 10 Feedback sought: 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of the service we offer? 2) Now locate the Signup button to sign up for a free account. Did you find it easily? 3) Now click the link to sign up. Then sign up using your name, your email (a working email because you will have to confirm your account), and create a unique password. 4) Confirm your account by clicking on the link...
MyEasyISO – Automate and Enhance your QMS – ISO 900129 Feb 2016 | 6:44 amISO 9001 Software for Simple, Easy, Quick, Time Saving, Collaborative, Cost Effective and Audit Ready QMS Target Audience: All ISO 9001 certified companies and any organization wanting to improve process performance and output quality Website URL: https://www.myeasyiso.com/ About MyEasyISO: MyEasyISO offers a comprehensive suite of ISO QHSE software to implement and manage ISO 9001, 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 22000 standards effectively. Our mission is to offer competitive, practical and user-friendly solutions that makes the ISO compliance value adding, fast and simple.
The Metropreneur Columbus
Dream Big, Start Small for National Small Business Week5 May 2016 | 5:00 amAccording to the Small Business Administration, small businesses create two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. and produce close to half of our nation's goods and services (non-farm private GDP) – so we know that successful small businesses enhance our nation's economy. In honor of National Small Business Week, May 1-7, 2016, […] The post Dream Big, Start Small for National Small Business Week appeared first on The Metropreneur Columbus.
Everyone is a Photographer with BYLINED4 May 2016 | 5:00 amA new app is activating a business' customer base and turning them into their photographers. BYLINED connects brands with authentic photographs of customers interacting with their products. A conversation between BYLINED Founder Dave Hunegnaw and Walker Evans of Columbus Underground (and The Metropreneur) about how the media outlet covered Comfest sparked the idea. Instead of […] The post Everyone is a Photographer with BYLINED appeared first on The Metropreneur Columbus.
Twinpreneurs Building Separate, Successful Businesses3 May 2016 | 5:00 am"No, that's my brother" is a phrase Zach and Alex Traxler find themselves saying often – often enough that it required a website and an explanation. That's what happens when you're identical twins with two separate, thriving businesses. Let's just clear this up right away: Zach is in the apparel business as the founder of […] The post Twinpreneurs Building Separate, Successful Businesses appeared first on The Metropreneur Columbus.
15 Local Businesses Selected for Accelerator Program2 May 2016 | 10:26 amThe Center for Social Enterprise Development (CSED) announced today the 15 local businesses that have been chosen to participate in the social enterprise accelerator program known as SEA Change. The program includes a 12-week online curriculum, with hands-on assistance from leaders and experts all throughout. "SEA Change is the second accelerator program presented by CSED, complementing the […] The post 15 Local Businesses Selected for Accelerator Program appeared first on The Metropreneur Columbus.
Columbus Crowdfunding Roundup – May 20162 May 2016 | 5:00 amColumbus finally had some crowdfunding wins in April. Theft-proof drawstring backpack Flack Sack has earned the attention of over 1,000 backers and Gunmetal dice are proving to be a hit as well. So what's in store for May? A new board game parlor is coming to Clintonville, two artisans look to expand the reach of their […] The post Columbus Crowdfunding Roundup – May 2016 appeared first on The Metropreneur Columbus.
Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online
DKSP EP:34 – 2 Simple and Easy Ways to Generate FREE Traffic to Your Blogs4 May 2016 | 11:28 amWhat is your single biggest worry about online assets – your blog, your websites and your money-sites? If your response was anything other than "Security", then you need to rethink. But if you answered in "Security", then let me tell you that you are in the same league as thousands of other website owners. But the worst […] The post DKSP EP:34 – 2 Simple and Easy Ways to Generate FREE Traffic to Your Blogs appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
Why Creating a Social Media Calendar can add Wings to Your Social Media Strategy?21 Feb 2016 | 4:31 amWhat's the next thing that you are planning to post on Twitter? Chances are that you have still not decided on what to post because you don't really have a calendar that you have planned for your social media posting strategy. Worry not! Because you are not alone. Until about an year back, I was […] The post Why Creating a Social Media Calendar can add Wings to Your Social Media Strategy? appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
5 Things to Avoid in the Morning in Order to Improve Productivity and Performance by 300%15 Feb 2016 | 11:31 amWhat is your productivity coefficient? That's a tricky question, I agree! There are a lot of times when at the end of the day, I look back at how the day went and feel upset at the fact that I couldn't accomplish anything worthwhile in the entire day. How many times has this happened to […] The post 5 Things to Avoid in the Morning in Order to Improve Productivity and Performance by 300% appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
Top 10 Internet Marketing Podcasts That You Need to Absolutely Listen To Plus 18 More..5 Feb 2016 | 1:10 pmWhich is the gadget that you spend the most time with? Funny question, eh? I am sure, your answer would have been – "My Mobile Phone". If it was not, then you are about 10 years behind. Mobile phones have taken over the digital world and everybody is adapting to this change. Smart Insights in […] The post Top 10 Internet Marketing Podcasts That You Need to Absolutely Listen To Plus 18 More.. appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
DKSP EP:33 – 7 Factors that Hugely Impact Your Optin Form Conversion Rates26 Jan 2016 | 12:52 pmWhat is your Optin Form Conversion rates? If you have been into any form of online business, I am sure you know the importance of capturing your visitor's email address. The single biggest reason for most internet marketers' failing is not capturing emails. Visitor memory is short and if you are pitching something to a […] The post DKSP EP:33 – 7 Factors that Hugely Impact Your Optin Form Conversion Rates appeared first on Internet Entrepreneurship skills | Learn How to Earn Money Online.
Start Up Donut blog feed
Getting systematic: the key to boosting productivity5 May 2016 | 6:53 amIf you're trying to get your business to break through to a whole new level of sales and productivity, then a critical component of that is setting up effective systems. But in order to create powerful systems that optimise your output, it's vital to understand the three basic layers of systems. The base layer: rules and policies What is your company committed to and how is it moving forwards? What are its values? What are the regulations in your business? What is the culture you want to build? What is the mission you have for this particular system? What determines value in this system? We have a document that we call the "Rules of the Game" that we use to define our purpose, our goals and our...
Is your meddling preventing your business from growing?28 Apr 2016 | 6:57 amWhatever the shop floor means to your business, when you started your company, you probably spent 90% of your time on it. As your business grows, the balance needs to shift; you should be spending more than 50% of your time on managing the company, not just working in it. Your sense of ownership will be huge, and that may be an excuse to keep doing things yourself - but you must stop. You have to learn to work on your business, not in it. To work on your organisation, you'll need to train yourself to spot a few things. Here's what to look out for:

How motivated are people?

Is there gossip and finger-pointing?

Do you see practices and behaviour that make you uncomfortable?

Do you despair of getting others...

Are you ready for auto-enrolment?25 Feb 2016 | 2:55 amThis year, thousands of SMEs will reach their staging date and begin the process of auto-enrolment. Although it is a topic that is now on most small business owners' radar, it seems that many businesses are still unprepared or unaware of the changes afoot. The Pensions Regulator has revealed that it issued 2,596 warning letters in Q4 2015 - roughly 28 warning letters a day - to those businesses who have failed to enrol their staff on a Government pension scheme. This is supported by our research, which shows that 40% of micro-businesses are not aware that auto-enrolment will cost anything to set up. But when told it could cost up to £8,900 to implement, 34% admitted they would consider offsetting the...
Five simple and effective tips for new entrepreneurs23 Feb 2016 | 1:25 amBecoming your own boss, being completely independent and having the freedom to make your own entrepreneurial mark on the world has huge appeal. But making the decision to start a small business and then evolve it comes with its own particular set of professional challenges. Here are five key tips for success in a competitive world. Define your why One of the most important questions you'll be asked as an entrepreneur is "why?". People will buy into your reason for starting your business; it's your story. As well as your product or services, define your reason for starting up from the offset - if your "why" is strong, so is your proposition. Network, network, network As well as creating new opportunities for...
How to supercharge your business cash flow15 Feb 2016 | 4:39 amA consistent influx of cash is key to running a successful business; but how do you maintain a regular cash flow? There are a few techniques and sure-fire ways of tackling cash flow; but it's important to remember that it comes down to your individual capabilities around money management and the methodologies you incorporate. The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to improve your cash flow and the more of these steps you take, the greater the benefit for your business. Customer invoicing

Invoice customers as soon as the work is complete. If you delay, it suggests that you're not tight on cash collection; as time passes, customers forget the value that you've given them and they are...

SKMurphy, Inc.
"Weinberg on Writing" Fieldstone Method Useful For Entrepreneurs4 May 2016 | 10:13 amGerald Weinberg wrote "Weinberg on Writing: the Fieldstone Method" to share many techniques he had perfected in writing more than 40 books and 400 technical articles. The method is very applicable to the exploration of a new market to find problem-solution fit and ultimately product-market fit. Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method "Never attempt to write what you don't care about." Gerald Weinberg in "Weinberg on Writing: the Fieldstone Method" This is Weinberg's first rule of writing and appropriately translated also applies to entrepreneurs: don't just do it for the money; pick a problem or customer set you care about and seek to solve it or improve their lives. What You Learned In School Doesn't...
Clients In The News: Elevate Acquires Legal OnRamp3 May 2016 | 7:09 amOne of our long time clients, Legal OnRamp, has been acquired by Elevate Services. A visionary company has been acquired by a market leader. I had met the CEO, Paul Lippe, when he was General Counsel at Synopsys and ran into him at a Churchill Club dinner in late 2005 as he was starting what became Legal OnRamp. Elevate Acquires Legal OnRamp Elevate Services, a global legal service provider to corporate legal departments and law firms, announced that it has acquired leading legal technology company OnRamp Systems Inc. Paul Lippe, founder and CEO of OnRamp, will join the Elevate advisory board to focus on strategic legal technology development and client relationships. All of OnRamp's engineering team in...
"Inner Game of Tennis" for Entrepreneurs2 May 2016 | 6:45 amTimothy Gallwey's "Inner Game of Tennis" came out in 1974 and sparked a revolution in coaching and how athletes should approach improving their performance. There are several lessons that entrepreneurs can use in improving their personal performance and coaching others. The Inner Game "Neither mastery nor satisfaction can be found in the playing of any game without giving some attention to the relatively neglected skills of the inner game. This is the game that takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt and self-condemnation. In short, it is played to overcome all habits of mind which inhibit excellence in...
Sunday Thoughts on Duty and Religion1 May 2016 | 7:59 amTwo long quotations, one from Henri Frederic Amiel in his Journal and the second from Benjamin Franklin's "Letter To Ezra Stiles, 09 March 1790," that explore duty and religion. A client recently lamented they had yet to find "the end of the rainbow, much less a pot of gold" and I was reminded of quote by Edwin Land, "the bottom line is in Heaven." These two quotes reinforce that perspective. Do Your Duty, Come What May What is to become of us when everything leaves us—health, joy, affections, the freshness of sensation, memory, capacity for work—when the sun seems to us to have lost its warmth, and life is stripped of all its charm? What is to become of us without hope? Must we either harden or forget?...
Quotes For Entrepreneurs April 201630 Apr 2016 | 6:59 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 April 2016 + + + "When I wonder what we'll do for dinner, I'm generally not worrying." George Murray (@bookninja) in "Glimpse: Selected Aphorisms of George Murray" It's a good test for a bootstrapper, if you can spare cycles to figure out where you would like to eat things are going OK. + + + "Reading a book these days is like an act of war against the attention-industrial complex." Tiago Forte (@fortelabs) + + + "When fast and slow time meet,...
Technical.ly Baltimore
Creative agency Planit names new digital director5 May 2016 | 8:35 amPlanit created a new position focused on overseeing digital creative efforts. Digital Creative Director Jess Brown will oversee a team of eight people working on UX/UI, motion design and digital art direction. The move reflects Planit's increasing use of data and tech in producing ads, branding and marketing materials for clients. As a whole, the ad industry has "moved to focus on our digital consumers in a big way," Brown said. "Jess's impressive background merges technology with creative, allowing her to bring a unique vision to our leadership team and to our clients," Planit creative strategist and cofounder Ed Callahan said in a statement. "She is equal parts creative leader, brand storyteller...
This old shipping container holds the future of farming5 May 2016 | 5:13 amTucked behind the stately former brewery building that houses Humanim in East Baltimore, a shipping container is a new frontier in locally sourced food. Inside, the entrepreneurs behind Urban Pastoral are growing microgreens like kale, butterhead and bibb lettuces to deliver to restaurants within the city. When the food incubator R. House opens in Remington later this year, the direct pathway will be on display at Stall 11. The microgreens will be featured in an all-vegetarian menu from chef Melanie Molinaro. Urban Pastoral is an owner of the eatery. "We want to redefine what farm to fork means in this urban environment," said Urban Pastoral's J.J. Reidy. That begins with the farmer, of course, so it's...
Rodney Foxworth selected for social enterprise fellowship4 May 2016 | 9:15 amA leader in the Baltimore social entrepreneurship space was selected for a North American fellowship focused on local economic impact. Rodney Foxworth, who founded Invested Impact and is a cofounder of Impact Hub Baltimore, is one of 29 members of the latest Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) cohort. The 18-month program offers leadership and capacity-building training, as well as exposure to the organization's wider network. "My goal is to work with business leaders, donors, and grantmakers to creatively leverage their resources to support entrepreneurs of color and grassroots economic development efforts," Foxworth told Technical.ly via email. "We've started that process with Ours...
Baltimore County exec pitches PayPal expansion following NC withdrawal4 May 2016 | 5:02 amPayPal's move to withdraw plans for a global operations center in North Carolina due to the state's anti-LGBT law created the question of where the 400 jobs will end up. Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz wants the company to build on its existing presence in Hunt Valley. In a letter to CEO Dan Schulman, Kamenetz urged PayPal to increase the 1,000 workers it already employs in the operations center in Hunt Valley and PayPal Credit headquarters in Timonium. We share @PayPal's principles of respect & inclusion. Together, our communities and businesses will continue to succeed. #NoHateInMyState — Kevin Kamenetz (@kevinkamenetz) May 3, 2016 From the letter: We have the financial, cyber, software...
Top vaccine researcher sets sights on Zika3 May 2016 | 9:34 amBaltimore was a major site in the effort to develop an Ebola vaccine. Two years later, a leading Johns Hopkins researcher is looking to apply a major discovery to the Zika virus. J. Thomas August, a JHU pharmacology and molecular sciences professor, formed Pharos Biologicals in December. The company received a license to develop DNA vaccine technology called the LAMP for influenza and flaviviruses from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "When this crisis hit, we felt we had the right tools to address it."David Wise, Pharos Biologicals The LAMP technology uses the body's existing biochemistry to immunize against a disease. The longterm development effort made news last fall when Immunomic Therapeutics...
Discovering Start Ups Electric
Electricians Need Formal Skills To Compete24 Apr 2016 | 10:26 amElectricians use a sort of checking out instruments to identify electrical problems. Additionally they set up, maintain and restore electrical power, lights and control programs. Internal electricians are responsible for enormous motors; apparatus and they manage methods in organizations and factories. Residential electricians set up wiring and troubleshoot electrical issues in properties. The majority of electricians work full-time, with some time spent working in the evenings and on weekends. It's fundamental to keep in mind as you learn methods to become an electrician that throughout inclement climate, work schedules can fluctuate at times. Scheduled upkeep tasks most commonly require electricians to...
Anthill Online » Venture Capital
How to confidently raise venture capital… with Jack Delosa [CHEAT SHEET]18 Apr 2016 | 7:32 pmNeed to raise capital for your new business venture? First, you need to understand how investors think! So, you wanto to acquire cappital? But, as you already know, investors have more options than ever before when choosing where to direct their money. In this Cheat Sheet, Jack Delosa tells how to confidently raise venture capital The post How to confidently raise venture capital… with Jack Delosa [CHEAT SHEET] appeared first on Anthill Online.
Australia's venture capital industry is seeing more fundraising and investment activity26 Nov 2015 | 6:38 amHigher levels of fundraising & investment activity usnderscored a positive year for the Aussie private equity (PE) & venture capital (VC) industry in FY2015 The post Australia's venture capital industry is seeing more fundraising and investment activity appeared first on Anthill Online.
Is your start-up looking to raise $500,000 to $2 million? This VC fund is looking to invest $50 million using a unique algorithm14 Sep 2015 | 8:44 amUnique data-driven VC fund Follow[the]Seed will offer $50 million in second-stage funding to Australian start-ups seeking to raise $500,000 to $2 million The post Is your start-up looking to raise $500,000 to $2 million? This VC fund is looking to invest $50 million using a unique algorithm appeared first on Anthill Online.
KFit raises US$3.25 million in Sequoia-led round to make going to the gym much easier all over the Asia Pacific5 Aug 2015 | 4:00 pmFitness platform KFit has raised US$3.25 million in its latest funding round. It is in 13 markets across Asia Pacific and is aiming to be in every major city in the region within the next 18 months. The post KFit raises US$3.25 million in Sequoia-led round to make going to the gym much easier all over the Asia Pacific appeared first on Anthill Online.
Fintech start-up Stockspot raises an additional $1.25 million to manage more Australians' money smarter online12 Jul 2015 | 9:40 amStockspot, Australia's first ever online, automated investment adviser and fund manager, has raised an additional $1.25 million to help it reach more Australians and enhance its product. The post Fintech start-up Stockspot raises an additional $1.25 million to manage more Australians' money smarter online appeared first on Anthill Online.
How to Decide Between Venture Capital or a Small Business Loan27 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amYoung Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. In what situations should I pursue either a small business loan or venture capital? � 1. You Need Help Through Rough Times I look at VC funding if I have solid plans for development and growth and I have projections available already that suggest that's a profitable option. Generally, I don't go for business loans unless the opposite is true. Business loans for me are about riding through the rough spots. For that...
15 Unusual Ways to Find an Investor20 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amYoung Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. Name one unusual way I might find an investor. 1. Your Former Boss Having known you professionally from a previous work experience, your former boss might be the best person to invest in your company in case he or she likes the idea. – Brian Pallas, Opportunity Network � 2. An Angel Group There are angel investing groups all throughout the United States that are actively seeking prospective new members. One...
11 Reasons Crowdfunding Campaigns Fail23 Mar 2016 | 6:00 amYoung Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. What's one reason why a crowdfunding campaign fails? 1. There's Not Enough Buzz When it comes to a crowdfunding campaign, you have to hustle to create the buzz around it, convincing others that people are really "hot" on your idea. Once investors start rolling in, the momentum can take over, although you still need to continually leverage social platforms, influencers and all types of channels to remind people of...
14 Pros and Cons of Having a More Involved Relationship With Your Investor23 Mar 2016 | 6:00 amYoung Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. What is one pro (or con) of having a more involved relationship with your investor where you actively seek or get advice? 1. You Get Brutal Honesty While this can be a pro or con, a person who knows you better will tend to be more brutally honest about how they see things. The advice will hit at a much more personal level for this reason. While it may not always be something you want to hear, it is most likely...
14 Experts Explain the Difference Between a Good Pitch Deck and a Great One16 Mar 2016 | 6:00 amYoung Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. What is one thing that distinguishes good pitch decks from great ones? � 1. The Right Amount of Information Including too much information in your initial pitch can be counterproductive. Leave some questions unanswered and avoid over-sharing. It also helps keep the meeting focus on you and not reading slides. – Kevin Henrikson, Outlook iOS & Android @ Microsoft � 2. The Presenter A good presenter can be more...
RigER : Service and Rental Operations Management Software4 May 2016 | 12:03 amBob Debbas �� We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Michael Maltsev", CEO at the Calgary – Canada based startup "RigER" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? RigER is an Oilfield Service and Rental Operations Management Software designed for small and medium size energy servicing and rental companies to manage full cycle of field operations from client's service request to final rental and service invoice. RigER is a powerful tool to boost oilfield rentals: schedule quickly, dispatch sooner, collect accurate information immediately in the field and invoice faster. 2. When has your startup been...
Tipsy : Alcohol Delivery App24 Apr 2016 | 11:57 pmBob Debbas �� We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Andrew Reid", CEO at the Los Angeles – USA based startup "Tipsy" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? Tipsy is an on demand alcohol delivery app. You can browse through our extensive menu of spirits, beer, and wine and have your order delivered to you in 20-40 minutes. 2. When has your startup been founded? And what stage is your startup currently at? We started working on the idea back in May 2014 and officially launched to the public January 15, 2015. We are currently bootstrapping the entire venture. 3. What is your startup's business model...
My Driving Pal : Security and Safety19 Apr 2016 | 7:34 amBob Debbas �� We had an interesting chat with Ms. "Shahram Rezaei", Founder Of the California – USA based startup "MyDrivingPal" Below is the interview we conducted with her: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? We develop advanced IoT (Internet of Things) products that are Hardware-App based and deliver location based services with the focus on security and safety. Our first product is a versatile smart asset monitoring and tracking solution for car, child, bike, drone, and in general any valuable moving asset. 2. When has your startup been founded? And what stage is your startup currently at? MDP was founded in 2014. We are in early...
Pampered Teacher : Sends Teachers a Subscription Box Filled with Hand-Selects 4-6 Teacher Gifts5 Apr 2016 | 9:16 amBob Debbas �� We had an interesting chat with Ms. "Cristin Frank", Owner Of the NY – USA based startup "Pampered Teacher" Below is the interview we conducted with her: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? Pampered Teacher sends teachers a subscription box filled with hand-selects 4-6 teacher gifts. Our start-up was created as a way for teachers to treat themselves or family members and student's parents to show appreciation for awesome teachers. 2. When has your startup been founded? And what stage is your startup currently at? We were founded in late November of 2014, just in time for the holiday season. We have reached the number one...
StartitAFRICA : Fundraising Platform Working by The Principle of Crowdfunding30 Mar 2016 | 12:23 amBob Debbas �� We had an interesting chat with Mr. "Okoho Etim", Co-Founder/CEO of the Lagos – Nigeria based startup "StartitAFRICA" Below is the interview we conducted with him: 1. What is it exactly that you do and what your start-up is all about? StartitAFRICA is basically a fundraising platform working by the principle of crowdfunding and strictly focused on funding raising for impact entrepreneurship as well as creative and innovative projects across all African countries. 2. When has your startup been founded? And what stage is your startup currently at? StartitAFRICA was founded in 2014. The beta version was released for test on Christmas day same year. Presently ...
Planio Blog
Kanban Boards: the Psychology of Cards28 Apr 2016 | 3:06 amYou see the whiteboard covered with tiny little cards arranged in columns below? You're looking at a Kanban board. And it might just change everything about how you work. Kanban originated in the 1950s when Toyota revolutionized how they manufactured cars using "Just-in-Time" manufacturing techniques. The idea spread to the software industry in the late 90s. And now Kanban boards are loved by people in software, marketing, design and operations as an approach to visualizing work-in-progress. The Elements of a Kanban BoardLet's break down a Kanban board. The board is your project or your team's work. A team will use one board to visualize all the work they have on. The columns on the...
There's a Productivity System for You. Choose Yours.13 Apr 2016 | 3:54 amIn my first job out of college, I read a book called "Getting Things Done". The book unleashed a massive wave of inspiration in me. I had visions of being a relentless executive, churning through new initiatives at a furious rate. So, I got religion on Getting Things Done. I purchased folders. I purchased labels. I was ready to go. And then I didn't. You see, it turned out that in my first job out of college, I really didn't have a whole lot to manage. My job was more about focused reading and writing than handling a firehose of emails, phone calls and texts. I received a handful of emails a day. The boss was a sun-tanned, relaxed German lawyer in his late sixties. The office was less Wall...
Redmine Plugins: The Top 9 Planio-Approved Plugins6 Apr 2016 | 6:41 amRedmine plugins build on core functionality of Redmine for special use cases or time saving additions.You'll find that plugins range from large functions such as managing customer support requests or resource allocation to very small features such as attaching screenshots to issues.You'll find a full list of plugins over at Redmine.org. It's a long list, and it can be difficult to find the best plugin for your situation. We have a list of Redmine plugins that we feel are ready for professional use. We hope it will help you find the plugin for your specific situation.Not All Plugins are Created EquallyIt's important to know that Redmine plugins are usually an open-sourced side project. As a result,...
Working Remotely – Jack's Journey Out of the Office29 Mar 2016 | 3:01 amEmployees regularly cite the option of working remotely as something they'd love. In fact, 80-90% of U.S. workers say they'd like to work from home at least part of the time. At the same time, not all companies favor remote work. Yahoo famously banned remote work because they felt it was being abused.When we talked with 11 different experts from project management and the agile world, we found very stark differences in opinion on remote work.We believe that working remotely can be done, and at Planio we're living proof of it. We have a distributed team that stretches across the globe, and honestly we like to think we're pretty productive.So, our talented designer Desirée Themsfeldt created an...
Integrate Planio with Slack, HipChat and more using Sameroom.io21 Mar 2016 | 3:35 amHave you ever struggled with team members updating you on a project on Slack, while others are using Planio Team Chat, and yet another team member is using HipChat?You end up with project information spread out in different chat apps. You can't pull together the information when you need it.When you use Planio Team Chat, you don't have this problem, because Planio keeps a searchable chat log of all chat messages for you. If you mention an issue number in Planio Team Chat, your message is automatically associated with that issue.But, if your team uses different chat apps, you won't get the benefit of keeping information in one place.We recently included Team Chat as well as CRM & Helpdesk in all new...
Startup Champ
5 Reasons why Indian travellers need Travel Insurance1 May 2016 | 10:22 amIn the words of the famous French novelist, Marcel Proust, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes." The word Travel holds different connotation for different people. While some call it their passion, others like to beat the mundane routine of life. The case may be whatever; travel surely rejuvenates, and adds a new perspective into our lives. With growing pollution levels, hectic work-life balance, and travelling companies booming with seasonal offers for foreign destinations. People seem to discover a new found love & respect for travelling abroad. Away from the hustle bustle of life, an overseas vacation comes as a sigh of relief. A recent survey shows...
7 Tips For Hiring Freelancers For Writing Custom Essay1 Apr 2016 | 10:24 amCustom Essay writing is a daunting process for several people, due to a number of reasons. It takes a lot of time to write, especially if one is not familiar with the subject. It requires an extensive amount of research to be done on the subject, which a lot of people are not able to do. The time spent on research plus the time spent on writing the final essay adds up to a huge amount of time, which the individual has to get out of his busy schedule. Due to these reasons, a number of people recruit freelance writers for the job. In this post, find out how you can get good quality work from freelancers. Most of these writers are familiar with writing a good custom essay and are accustomed to this job. They...
Being An Entrepreneur And Dealing With Stress25 Mar 2016 | 11:15 amI get headaches very often. There are times when I don't reply to emails and messages. I don't do any work that is very important and needs to be done quickly. I just sit quietly in a corner with literally no thoughts in my mind, or I just sleep. I do worry about how people will consider me unprofessional. Hell, they do! I do worry about how I won't be able to deliver the results promised to people. I do worry about making the ends meet. But then I think this is so with every person who is trying to build a new business. This happens with every person who decides to become independent. Entrepreneurship and stress just go together. No. That's not something I came up with just to rationalize my actions....
A Customer-Focused Approach Vs a Customer-Centric Approach24 Mar 2016 | 8:39 amFast moving and integrated technologies are resulting in larger and larger business impacts. These changes aren't simply related to businesses, they're also changing the customer; the new customer is always connected, has a very loud voice and reaches further than you can imagine. Do you want to survive and make the most of your new customer? Well it's not enough to stay as a traditional business anymore; with the evolution of the internet and the uprising of the digital customer a new customer centric approach is required for a business to thrive. Today, customer-centricity begins with creating a business culture where the customer is at the centre of everything you do. In today's market the...
3 Crucial Tips for Manufacturing Start-ups23 Mar 2016 | 3:06 amWhile there may be some who claim that the UK's manufacturer sector has declined over the course of the last two decades, it still accounts for an estimated 54% of the nation's exports. It is also part of a global industry that contributes £6.7 trillion to the world's economy on an annual basis, so the marketplace remains extremely competitive and a key engine of growth and urban expansion. It is also integral to the development of society too, as we rely on man-made products and structures during everyday life. It made us feel the importance of manufacturing startups and problems they face in the beginning. To help you deal with those issues, we have compiled three crucial tips for you. 1. The...
Life-Long Learner
Introducing Troops – The Slackbot For Sales People4 May 2016 | 9:38 amThis post originally appeared on the Troops.ai blog. It wasn't too long ago that my partners and I found ourselves obsessing over an idea for a product that we've always wanted. It would help us be more effective at what we've been doing our entire lives: hustling –or in a more traditional sense, "selling." In the world of technology that support sales and account management teams, the most commonly used software is a broad category commonly known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). If you're not familiar, maybe you've heard salespeople at your company complain about having to use it. It seemed crazy to us that despite the fact that there are now self-driving cars, the advancements in a...
LinkedIn Flirting: How to Automate LinkedIn Prospecting26 Apr 2016 | 4:19 pmA little less than a decade ago Seth Godin popularized the term permission based marketing. "Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them." Opt-in email marketing is a seminal example of permission based marketing because users would opt into receiving information instead of just being blasted with it. The metaphor I always think of when it comes to this topic is someone "raising their hand" to receive communication. Whether we're talking cold email or calls, if you've read this blog by now you know I'm huge proponent of outbound acquisition. The fact is most people aren't actively...
Notes And Ideas From The Last 7 Books I've Read21 Apr 2016 | 5:23 amOver the past few months, I've re-invigorated the habit of reading regularly. For a while I wasn't reading because I "already had enough to do." I felt like didn't need to consume any new information unless it was immediately actionable. While the amount of stuff to accomplish hasn't diminished, I felt like I was in a less creative period than in the past so I wanted to get in the flow of reading again. For the past few months I've been doing non-fiction for 10 minutes every morning and then fiction or biographies before bed and it's been great. Here are the last 7 books I've read. Below the titles you'll find my notes.

The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation...

How To Use SlideShare To Generate 1000's Of Views And Rank On The First Page In Google In 30 Days12 Apr 2016 | 4:08 pmOne of the more underutilized tactics startups can use to drive traffic and leads is Slideshare marketing. Organic promotion mechanics, great SEO, and visual CTA's…Slideshare has it all! In fact, I'm about to go ham and create a few myself. My buddy Dave Gerhardt and the team at Drift have been absolutely dominating Slideshare so I bribed him to share the blueprint for how they created & promoted a presentation that reached the first page of Google in less than 30 days and still generates a ton of leads for them to this day. Here's Dave… —//— Back in October, I started working at Drift and was given one job from the founders: build us an audience. I've always worked in marketing roles (previously...
Adding Value On Existing Interfaces5 Apr 2016 | 5:09 amSome of my favorite tools I use everyday take an existing interface and show me data on top of it that's hard to see. I love this because I don't have to change my workflow to get value. Here's a few examples and use cases sales and marketing folks might find relevant: Conspire Chrome Plugin A key way I use LinkedIn is to get introductions to companies I'm trying to pitch using the 2nd degree connection feature. There is just two problems:

Not everyone who knows each other is always connected on LinkedIn

Sometimes, you might have 20 connections to someone and you don't know which person to ask for an intro

 This company Conspire became very useful when they released a chrome plugin that sits...
Lea Richards – Founder and Owner of Pig of the Month BBQ5 May 2016 | 9:42 amI live by the idea that action creates reaction, so I tend to test my ideas early and often. Lea Richards / Lea is the founder and owner of Pig of the Month BBQ, a nationwide mail order barbecue company. Founded in 2011 as a bootstrapped venture, she quickly learned how to leverage her marketing and PR savvy to grow her business on the cheap. She now shares this knowledge with other entrepreneurs around the country. She has been mentioned in the New York Times, Food & Wine Magazine, Food Network Magazine, and Good Morning America among others. Shout out to her @iheartbbq. Where did the idea for Pig of the Month come from? I'm a former corporate slave, so it all started when I made the choice to quit my job...
Ted Novak – Partner and Managing Director at Clique Studios4 May 2016 | 10:12 amA concept and a direction are the only two ingredients you need to bring an idea to life. Ted Novak is a partner and managing director at Clique Studios, a leading design, and engineering company that builds digital experiences for high-growth organizations. Clique Studios has been named one of Chicago's "Best and Brightest Companies to Work For," received honors at the Webby Awards for design in education, and has taken home a Gold Stevie Award at the American Business Awards. Prior to Clique Studios, Ted held a senior management position with a privately owned business and technology consulting firm, where he focused on healthcare, mergers and acquisitions, and enterprise business applications. Ted...
Paul Burke – CEO and Co-founder of RentHoop3 May 2016 | 12:17 pmThe foundation for a growth strategy is to create meaningful relationships. Paul is the CEO and Cofounder of RentHoop, a mobile app that connects renters looking for roommates. He compares the app to Tinder in which you can swipe on roommates that you may be compatible with. Paul is 24 years old and currently works a day job in sales. He started selling candy and soda out of his backpack in junior high and went on to sell counterfeit sports jerseys in high school. I passed out free samples of a nutritional bar at Costco twice a week and was judged on how many boxes I sold. It wasn't bad at first, but I did not believe in the product and what I was saying. Needless to say, I wasn't very good at it....
Dave Idell – Co-Founder and CEO of Croissant3 May 2016 | 11:58 amI usually draw up a checklist of items I want to get done that day. I then go down the list, stopping only for operational things such as customer support. Dave Idell is Co-Founder and CEO of Croissant, a startup based in New York, Boston, & DC. Croissant provides on-demand access to coworking spaces in these cities via a single monthly membership. The team started Croissant as a way to fill the need they had while trying to find a decent seat at a coffee shop. Instead of always buying coffees and $4 pastries, they made it possible to just "pop in" to nearby coworking spaces as opposed to committing to buying a full time membership there. Writing code since he was 9, Dave has always been on the lookout for...
Dr. Steven Pike – Dentist at Dr. Pike Dentistry For Children2 May 2016 | 12:43 pmWe continue to change. We're always looking for new things and are always open to change. Dr. Steven Pike is a third generation dentist. His grandfather on his father's side was a dentist and his father is a dentist, too. The idea of becoming a dentist never occurred to Steve until he was 32 years old. One day, his parents came to visit and they said, "If you're interested in joining your father's dental practice, this is going to be your last opportunity because he is getting ready to retire in six years." So, he said to himself, "I that's a good idea. I think I'll go to dental school." In his mid-thirties, he was the oldest person in his class at dental school! He became a practicing...
Platform Strategy Blog
The rise of full-stack solutions24 Apr 2016 | 8:05 amIn the course of my work advising business leaders on the ongoing platform revolution, I enjoy the privilege of getting a ringside view of key shifts in business as they start showing up across industries. One of those shifts that I've begun to observe over the course of my recent discussions is the rise in importance of, what I've begun to call, the full-stack solution. THE FULL-STACK SOLUTION The term full-stack is often misused and misrepresented but I'm using this term in the specific context of the Platform Stack that I lay out in my book Platform Scale and in the blog post here. Traditionally, pipe businesses built products and services and sold them to customers. Increasingly, businesses are...
The future of competition24 Feb 2016 | 4:47 amUnderstanding competitive strategy has long been an obsession of CEOs and business leaders. A lot of the drive for understanding the nature of competition stems from the assumption that business is a zero-sum game. Till very recently, that seemed true. Today, it doesn't. Michael Porter's work on competitive strategy (not least the five forces model) has long served as some form of cornerstone for business strategy. The idea was that business success relied on the creation of moats and management of these five forces. The goal of business, in the Porterian sense, was to beat the competition. But over the last fifteen years, we've seen a significant shift in how we think about competitive strategy....
The platform you never planned for17 Feb 2016 | 6:20 amThe title of this post may sound contradictory to a lot of my work that focuses on creating a playbook to identify structural patterns for planning, strategy, and policy for platforms. While platforms require careful strategy and planning, a lot of platform evolution defies best-laid plans by virtue of the fact that user behavior on platforms is emergent. After writing a detailed section (Section 2, Platform Scale) on the design and planning of platforms in my first book, Platform Scale, I had caveated (in the final chapter of the section) that much of platform evolution depends on emergence. Much like Lego, you can lay out the building blocks, but the configurations that emerge can take the platform in new...
Ten questions to answer while managing a platform, network or marketplace26 Jan 2016 | 5:12 amManaging platforms involve much more than just getting the orchestration of supply and demand right. It involves much more than just getting to critical mass. There's a whole range of issues that managers of successful platforms must constantly think about. Last year, I wrote a book 'Platform Scale' which focused on the first part: How to build a business model that can orchestrate supply and demand and get to network effects. Much of my blog has also focused on answering some of those questions. However, over the past two years, I've focused my research and advisory on a much broader and more comprehensive range of platform management issues, which I will increasingly start writing more about in...
Best of #PlatformThinking – 20159 Dec 2015 | 5:01 amEvery year, I bring out a post in December highlighting the best articles from the year gone by. 2015 has been a great year for platforms, in general, and for my work in this space, in particular. Moving on from the activity among startups, the discussion on platforms has taken centrestage at the C-level across Fortune 500 firms. Gartner declared that it's annual CIO survey reveals platform thinking as the next big focus. While being interviewed by The Economist, I was pleasantly surprised to see Germany's push towards platforms at all levels of the economy. I've also had extremely enriching experiences working with leaders across multiple industries looking to move to platform-based business models...
This NYC Startup is Doing the Impossible: Making it a Pleasure to Host a Party5 May 2016 | 9:27 amPutting together a social event is an annoying process that takes a lot of work that we have sadly gotten used to. All the duties, like making a Facebook description no one reads, the uncoordinated...
How to Get What You Need As A Founder5 May 2016 | 8:27 amI have many conversations with founders that start with "I need…" "I need to raise money." "I need to hire more people." "I need to find some more customers." It is very easy to develop tunnel vision...
Drone Test Site Aims to Boost Upstate N.Y. Growth5 May 2016 | 7:27 amLocal officials hope to position the region around a drone testing site in Rome, N.Y., as a nationwide hub of commercial drone research, testing and manufacturing.
This is What Sir Richard Branson Said at the Tribeca Film Festival5 May 2016 | 6:27 am...exemplifies the idea of seamless entrepreneurship, defying the status quo and reimagining advertising content in a new context.
10 Things You Need to Know When Responding to RFPs5 May 2016 | 5:27 amIf you are in the B2B space, odds are you will need to respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from prospective customers throughout your normal course of business. The RFP process is typically...
The Ultimate Guide to Landing and Keeping Rockstar Customers2 May 2016 | 6:26 amHave you ever worked with clients or customers that over several occasions, made you question why you do what you do? Yeah. Those are not rockstar clients and they're also bad for our passion, our creativity, and our hustle. You're awesome at what you do, I know it, but when you work with customers that question everything you do or make you feel like a fail, it can suck a lot of energy out of you and as a result, leave you running on nothing but fumes with the customers you love working with. So how do you avoid this drama? By landing only the best customers and keeping them. These customers are what we like to call your rockstar customers. The one's that you adore so much you are their #1 raving...
Why You Need a Style Guide25 Apr 2016 | 6:28 amSo I asked him, "Can you please send over your style guide" and he responded, "I am just going to go ahead and throw a bunch of stuff into a Dropbox folder and you can pull what you need from there." Great. This guy thinks the way I cook. I'll just put in a dash of this, some of that, a sprinkle of this, and hope for the best. If you treat your brand the way I cook, then you are in for one messed up, disappointing journey. Recently, Onboardly started working with Frontify (Yes, full disclosure, they are a client) to help get the word out about their two products: Style Guide and Workspaces. Let me tell you, as soon as we dove into their product, we were a) embarrassed that we hadn't set up a...
Startup Beat: April 2016 Edition21 Apr 2016 | 9:38 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? Tell us in the comments below! 1. Sorted Elevator pitch: Sorted helps you stay organized faster than ever before. Why Onboardly believes this startup matters: There are some serious list lovers on the Onboardly team, and we're loving what Sorted can do for your traditional to do list on your phone. Before you say to yourself, "Wait - another To Do list app?" slow your roll. As TechCrunch reported, Sorted wasn't "designed for the...
Top 15 Online Tools for Today's Design Teams18 Apr 2016 | 6:30 amLet's get visual, visual. I want to get visuallllll. Pictures tell a bajillion words and so does great design. We have collected our top 15 favorite design tools that we often use here at Onboardly. Check them out! 1. Frontify - Software for Brand Style Guides, Design Workflows & Visual Collaboration This is a must-have tool for any brand, agency or designer. Frontify has two main products: 1) Style Guide creator and 2) The Workspace. Both equally as awesome. Frontify Style Guide lets you create your living brand. It's a place to store your logos, images, color palettes, typography, icons, rich text and more to allow your brand to be consistent across all platforms. Woot! Frontify Workspace lets your...
Demand Marketing Command Center [Infographic]11 Apr 2016 | 6:30 amDemand marketing is shown to be incredibly effective way to attract visitors to your site and skyrocket lead generation. Unlike traditional methods, demand marketing clusters your content marketing, PR and social media into one, cohesive strategy to attract (and keep) "out of this world" customers. As a startup, you don't have the same brand recognition or advertising budgets of established companies–like say, NASA. If you want to be in demand, you need to take control. You've got to stand out and show everyone why you matter. To learn how to navigate your way through demand marketing, check out the infographic below. You'll learn how to define your goals, the five core demand marketing principles,...
Tech in Asia
4 rising startups in India – May 55 May 2016 | 11:51 amThe ecommerce craze may be cooling off, but the ecosystem is not.
Meet Airbnb's first ever guest5 May 2016 | 7:19 amHe slept on an air bed in the living room of Airbnb co-founders' three-bedroom apartment - but he still had a whale of a time.
Now Indians can pay for Google Play apps with their phone bill5 May 2016 | 6:28 amThis means people can pay for Android apps and in-app purchases along with their phone bill. Will this be what the app makers need to finally make money?
Alibaba proves that China is at 'peak smartphone'5 May 2016 | 6:22 amChina's ecommerce titan reaches 423 million active buyers, most of whom are shopping on phones or tablets.
Alibaba's Hong Kong fund throws cash at 'Uber for vans' startup GoGoVan5 May 2016 | 5:30 amThe Hong Kong-headquartered startup has over 150,000 drivers across 13 cities in Asia.
Объявлен конкурс стартапов на приз в €100 тысяч5 May 2016 | 11:38 amПрошедшие отбор проекты поедут в Париж на финал конкурса, который состоится�13-14 октября 2016 года
Три полезные ссылки. Контроль рабочего времени5 May 2016 | 10:15 amВесна за окном отвлекает вас и ваших сотрудников? Сегодня мы расскажем о сервисах, которые позволят отслеживать затраты рабочего времени и анализировать результаты.
Apple признала глобальный сбой в работе App Store5 May 2016 | 8:23 amЕсли проблему вскоре не решат, владельцы некоторых приложений начнут терять выручку
Эти спортивные термины теперь используются в бизнесе5 May 2016 | 7:33 amНо не забывайте, что в бизнесе главное победа, а не участие
Крейг Райт отказался доказывать, что именно он создал биткоин5 May 2016 | 6:40 amПредприниматель извинился и признал, что�не может подтвердить свои заявления, так как��сломался�
Swedish Startup Space
Lars Björk Is The Big Winner of the Qlik Takeover29 Apr 2016 | 5:05 amAll signs are now pointing towards a multi-billion dollar acquisition of the Swedish company Qlik. Here's how much richer the CEO Lars Björk will be. On Thursday, new details emerged on what looks to be one of the largest deals ever with a Swedish-based tech companies in the city center. A number of international venture capital giants have come up with a firm takeover offer of Nasdaq-listed Qlik. The offers are expected to exceed the current market cap of $2.8 billion (22 billion SEK) and the current owners are now evaluating the offers together with its advisers at the investment bank Morgan Stanley. A deal has been encouraged by the new major shareholder, a hedge fund called Elliott which controls 9...
Cryex want to lower the price of exchanging money to almost nothing28 Apr 2016 | 1:26 amThe secretive startup Cryex becomes a little less secretive. The company's CEO now reveals her plan: To create a digital marketplace that will lower the cost of exchanging currency with up to 90 per cent. On Thursday morning Breakit reported that two of the founders of Cryex have left the company. However, operations does not seem to be slowing down. Cryex is an ambitious project, that raised $10 million from investors including Northzone last year. Management has, however, been very quiet about the company's plans. Now, CEO Lotta Eek, reveals a bit more. "If you look at how the stock market has developed over the past 20 years, we see that the commission, the price of trading, has fallen drastically....
Starbucks Challenger Raises $2.5 Million From The Creator of Gmail27 Apr 2016 | 5:34 amThe creator of Gmail invests in the Swedish bicycle café. We have previously reported that the founders of the Swedish advertising agency Studio Total, Per Cromwell and Tomas Mazetti, launched a startup consisting of bike cafés, called Wheely's Café. The company has among other things been admitted to the prestigious incubator Y Combinator in Silicon Valley. Now is the time for further expansion. Maria De La Croix, CEO of Wheely's, says to Breakit that the company has closed a financing round at the equivalent of $2.5 million (20 million SEK). "Wheely's has now expanded to 50 countries in less than a year without any money. We are excited to see what we can achive with a bank account," she says to...
Rebtel Recruits Sales Activists To Outsell Its Competitors26 Apr 2016 | 1:17 amSwedish startup Rebtel takes a new approach to reach out with its VOIP service. The company is now creating a new sales staff from its customer base with a new "activist app". Rebtel was founded by Hjalmar Winbladh and Jonas Lindroth in 2006. After keeping a low profile for a few years, the service was relaunched early in 2016. The company hopes that the new app, Rebel Calling – yes, that's what it's called, is going to change how we make international calls. The difference from, for example, Skype and Viber is that you do not need to be connected to the internet and the app will cost $ 1 a month to use. The app uses your mobile operator to connect locally to the Rebtel server. The call is then routed...
Paradox Sets IPO Date – Revenues Are Cut In Half24 Apr 2016 | 11:57 pmThe company announces official IPO-plans after its record breaking year. Paradox Interactive has been known in the gaming community for its extremely complicated strategy games such as the Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis series. After months of speculation, the company has finally confirmed its upcoming IPO at First North. "We are looking forward to offering our employees, our fans and other investors – with a genuine long term interest in the company and its games – a part in an exciting journey", Fredrik Wester, CEO at Paradox writes in the company's first ever quarterly report. He is the largest shareholder with 39 percent of the company, followed by the investment company Spiltan which owns...
Barcelona Startup Thingthing Keyboard App Closed €350.0005 May 2016 | 8:34 amThingthing is the keyboard app that wants to boost your productivity, letting you attach documents, photos, calendar availabilities and more while chatting and emailing – all of it inside your keyboard. The company just closed a round of €350.000 from VC's such as Saatchinvest, Pioneers Ventures, Seedcamp and Simile Venture Partners, but also from several angel investors. […] The post Barcelona Startup Thingthing Keyboard App Closed €350.000 appeared first on Barcinno.
Bootstrapping TutoTOONS Has 100 Million Reasons To Be Happy5 May 2016 | 5:49 amThe Barcelona-based game house TutoTOONS has reached their biggest milestone so far – 100 million downloads of their games. The startup has bootstrapped its way from the start in Lithuania, where they launched (and have their HQ), and now two and half years later, they're still without funding, but still going strong. Since early 2014 the game […] The post Bootstrapping TutoTOONS Has 100 Million Reasons To Be Happy appeared first on Barcinno.
Why This Vice President Left J.P. Morgan To Build Fluttr: "LinkedIn With A Heart"4 May 2016 | 7:52 amMost of us have dreams or adventures we hope to carry out during our lifetime, but often times the responsibilities of our daily life and current career track gets in our way. But some ideas are just too good to let go, too exciting to put off doing any longer. Amleto Montinari had an idea like this, […] The post Why This Vice President Left J.P. Morgan To Build Fluttr: "LinkedIn With A Heart" appeared first on Barcinno.
Barcelona Startup Job: Visca Web (Marcadores.com)4 May 2016 | 2:05 amCompany: Marcadores.com Area: Media/Internet Location: Barcelona Job type: Engineer Job description: Android Developer – Real-time sports data app (Marcadores.com) The development of the first version of the application has been carried out by an external partner and is nearing completion. We want to bring the next steps of our mobile development in-house and we are looking for an […] The post Barcelona Startup Job: Visca Web (Marcadores.com) appeared first on Barcinno.
Barcelona CleanTech Camp Calls for Startups3 May 2016 | 10:22 amBarcelona is yet again striving to make the city smarter and cleaner with the use of technology, this time with the launch of a CleanTech Camp to support ideas, entrepreneurs and startups that work within the field of clean energy and sustainable cities. So if you have an idea or a startup making the world […] The post Barcelona CleanTech Camp Calls for Startups appeared first on Barcinno.
The Internet is Going Crazy Over This 'Shock Clock' That Will Zap You Awake On Time5 May 2016 | 1:24 pmA new startup is redesigning the alarm clock into a wearable device that literally shocks its wearers to wake them up. The company behind the clock, Pavlok, guarantees its tested sensory input on its wearable devices can change a person's behavior and lifestyle habits. The Shock Clock Wake Up Trainer is based on the idea of classical conditioning that Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov used on dogs to train them to reflexively respond to a stimulus. The Shock Clock utilizes three sensory stimuluses including a vibration, a beep and then a zap to wake its wearers up. Though the mild electric zap is not painful, the company says it can be unpleasant. Their website reads: "The electrical stimulus is...
BioQuark's Ira Pastor: Meet the Man Whose Biotech Company Is Trying to Bring People Back From the Dead5 May 2016 | 11:24 amMeet Ira Pastor, the CEO of BioQuark, director of the ReAnima project, and a man who may soon bring the dead back to life. In the coming months, Pastor's team of doctors will attempt to bring patients back from what science considers to be an irreversible death. Last month, Bioquark's ReAnima project received ethical approval to experiment on 20 patients who have been pronounced clinically and legally dead, or what many refer to as brain dead. Brain death is the irreversible and complete loss of brain function including the involuntary body functions that keep you alive. However, a body that has suffered from brain death can still be kept alive through life support. Through the use of stem cell and...
This $1,800/Month Apartment Lease Will Let You Live All Around the World4 May 2016 | 5:07 pmA new startup is offering an apartment lease that will allow those who take it on to live around the world. Roam considers itself the first global co-living provider with spaces in Ubud, Bali and Miami and Madrid by the end of May. The company is targeting location-independent professionals and travelers who are interested in a communal living space abroad where they are able to live comfortably and get work done. Roam plans to have eight to 10 locations internationally by 2017, reported Fast Co-Exist. The company recommends those who are interested in signing up to give up their current residence or sublet it out. Founder Bruno Haid believes Roam will cater to "location-independent" people. Haid,...
FBI Arrests Man Who Sprayed Mouse Poison on Whole Foods' Buffet4 May 2016 | 3:14 pmA man who casually walked into a Whole Foods store and sprayed mouse poison onto the self-serve food bars has been arrested by the FBI. An employee at a Whole Foods in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was alarmed after witnessing the man, now in custody, pouring a liquid onto the prepared foods at the buffet-style section of the grocery store. Whole Foods closed down its food bars afterwards and the FBI was informed of the suspicious activity. The grocery chain said in a statement: "Out of an abundance of caution, all salad and hot food bars were immediately closed down at the store, all food was thrown out and the store team thoroughly cleaned and sanitized all food stations, equipment and serving utensils before...
Facebook Opens Up Their Malaysia Office, Continues to Conquer Asia4 May 2016 | 12:28 pmFacebook has officially opened its new office in Malaysia. Dan Neary, Facebook's Asia-Pacific vice president, announced the opening on Wednesday in a Facebook post. via @jimmytancw He wrote that 18 million Malaysians, making up 81% of people on the internet in the country, use Facebook every month. via @eo_apac He said that Facebook has helped connect people around the world allowing them to be in touch with family, friends and customers. via @liljacobi The Malaysia office in Kuala Lumpur is aimed at helping business owners stay connected with their customers. Neary wrote of one example: "I particularly like the story of the Malaysia e-commerce startup Zawara, which...
Yapsody Blog
The Most Important Tips about Managing Events Data3 May 2016 | 10:56 pmThe 21st century events are tougher than ever before. Although event registration has become much easier and planning more sophisticated, there is always the nuisance of managing adverse group of people. Moreover mismanagement may lead to chaos and plans may go awry if you don't manage key information effectively. The most important information that may be needed by your clients or the CEO include the following: 1. Event Registration Information The clients would always want to stay knowledgeable about how many people are attending the event, how many have registered and what is the expected turnout? Keeping the events data organized is the first thing if you want to please the clients. 2. Actual, real...
How to Choose the Perfect Date for Your Events3 May 2016 | 10:24 pmEvent management can get tricky with so many variables coming into play in a single equation. Top that up with the usual fears and anxiety that give event managers sleepless nights. However, all hope is never lost and by following some simple yet sure to work tips, you can steer any event towards success. Do Your Homework In the world of event management, knowledge truly is power. In Competing on Analytics, which appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Thomas H. Davenport presents analytics competition as the future of business. It goes a long way to collect data from events you or others around you might have organised in the recent past. By analysing the successes and failures faced in relation to the...
ENGAGE WITH ATTENDEES PRIOR TO THE EVENT27 Apr 2016 | 10:03 pmENGAGE WITH ATTENDEES PRIOR TO THE EVENT Events are meant to promote networking, and networking does not begin on the day of the event itself. In order to get your attendees excited about the event and also to create new content for the same, you need to engage with them prior to the event, and this is how you go about it: BLOGGING Blog posts are rich in content and they largely influence the way your event is perceived by your audience. By creating good quality blog content, you can not only engage with existing attendees, but also expand your reach to other potential attendees. Resort to platforms like LinkedIn, apart from your own website, to put forth your event and your views in front of thousands of...
Important Data You Must Consider for Your Next Event27 Apr 2016 | 9:56 pmImportant Data You Must Consider for Your Next Event In an era drowned in technology, there is no escape from data analysis. You cannot deny the importance of data nowadays and this is more applicable in case of event planning. You must collect, analyse and take action on collected data to become more productive as a marketer or event planner. Your success to make an event successful depends more or less on how you collect, disseminate and organize data. Data collection is important because you must exactly know your audience and who are the guests attending your event. Moreover, you must also capture the feedback of the audience to make next event successful. Finally, if you want some publicity, data is...
Strategies to Boost the Creativity Quotient for Event Professionals24 Apr 2016 | 11:53 pmStrategies to Boost the Creativity Quotient for Event Professionals An event manager is, in a way, paid to come up with creative ideas. There's a saying that you don't become an event manager, you are actually born one . Well, that's true. Event managers are expected to spout off spectacular ideas in the spur of the moment. But let's face it, Creativity seems to have a mind of its own. More often than not, you will find event managers stuck in a rut because they're unable to come up with new and original ideas for the events. But there is something you can do, after all, your reputation as an event manager is at stake. Practice makes perfect, and you can follow these tips if you feel you need to hone your...
StartUp Beat
Featured Startup Pitch: HR-Assistant – Integrated Human Resources Management software in the cloud5 May 2016 | 2:20 pmCOMPANY: HR-Assistant ELEVATOR PITCH The perfect solution for integrated management of human resources. PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION HR-Assistant is employee management software in the cloud... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
In three years a Polish startup plans to employ 2,000 IT experts5 May 2016 | 1:37 pmFounded in June last year and operating on the professional IT services market, Onwelo plans to employ more than 2,000 specialists in Poland and abroad in three years' time. Opening a new office in... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Featured Startup Pitch: Decorilla – Interior design meets VR technology4 May 2016 | 2:45 pmCOMPANY: Decorilla ELEVATOR PITCH Decorilla combines traditional, in-home interior design and technology to make beautiful dream designer spaces more accessible. PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION ... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Featured Startup Pitch: qplum – Smart investing for individuals3 May 2016 | 1:39 pmCOMPANY: qplum ELEVATOR PITCH Institutional trading strategies for individuals. PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION qplum is a service that puts you in control of your investments, where we believe smart... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Featured Startup Pitch: Sell Sprint – On-demand premium selling service for the UK29 Apr 2016 | 11:10 amCOMPANY: Sell Sprint ELEVATOR PITCH We're the UK's first on-demand premium selling service. To put it simply, we make it easy to sell your unwanted stuff–whatever that might be.... Click the link or visit www.startupbeat.com for the full story!
Strategists' Guideline to Corporate Alignment3 May 2016 | 6:00 amInnovation is crucial in product lifecycle, especially to a company's long term relevancy. However, innovators are often challenged by the mandate to focus on current demands. To begin the transformation from reactionary to visionary, innovators need to overcome challenges of being a visionary innovator. One of the most common reasons for failed strategic programs is the inability to produce…
What Can I Do With This? Usefulness28 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amThis is the 4th of 5 posts on patenting your ideas. This episode: Usefulness. This one is an easy one. Take one look at the invention and ask yourself. "Is this useful?". There are many, many cool ideas, but if they are not useful, then they probably don't qualify as a patentable invention. For example, an artist creates…
Thinly Veiled Sales Messages Are 90% Of The Internet26 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amDo you remember the days when selling a product meant advertising, PR, cold calling and direct mail? At least you could tell the difference between advertising and truth then. I was reading a post on Medium the other day on success. I read a lot of posts on success, even though I know that most…
Boredom Is The Best20 Apr 2016 | 6:00 amA Little Boredom Helps You Innovate My wife and I were waiting in line at one of our favorite ramen places here in the Bay Area, Santouka (they have the absolute best broth you know – personally I'm a fan of the Shio myself) and behind us in line was a small family, mom, dad, daughter.…
Unsubscribe This, Buddy!15 Apr 2016 | 2:26 pmWhen I Say Unsubscribe I Mean Immediately, Right Now. Recently, I've been on a tear to try to get to "Inbox Zero" – or at least "Inbox Everything Read That I Need To Read And Everything Filed That I Need To File" – as I mentioned in an earlier post, I used Outlook to sync…
Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders
Startup Jobs for 5/4/164 May 2016 | 5:27 pm

Shine is looking for a Marketing and Engagement Intern in NYC.

Conductor is looking for a local Product Management MBA Intern in NYC.

 The post Startup Jobs for 5/4/16 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
Startup Jobs and Career Advice for 5/2/162 May 2016 | 3:46 pm

MediaMath is accepting applications for its paid Marketing Engineer Program in NYC.

"NewCo", a stealth-stage direct-to-consumer startup, is hiring a VP of Operations in NYC.

 The post Startup Jobs and Career Advice for 5/2/16 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
Startup Career Advice for 4/11/1611 Apr 2016 | 4:15 pm

Feargall Kenny writes about how to market yourself from selling for a big cloud vendor to a niche VC-backed tech company.

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke summarizes an interview with Kickstarter's Publishing Ambassador Maris Kreizman about a typical day at work.

 The post Startup Career Advice for 4/11/16 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
Startup Jobs for 4/6/166 Apr 2016 | 5:04 pm

Medium is hiring for an Editorial and Onboarding Operations position in NYC.

Hardbound is hiring a Story Design Intern in NYC (or remotely).

 The post Startup Jobs for 4/6/16 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
Startup Jobs for 4/4/164 Apr 2016 | 5:38 pm

Managed By Q is hiring a Business Analyst, Operations in NYC.

OneLane is hiring a Head of Operations in London.

 The post Startup Jobs for 4/4/16 appeared first on Startup Jobs and Career Advice from Startup Leaders.
Fitssi: Find a nearby workout partner26 Apr 2016 | 10:35 amFitssi What is Fitssi? Fitssi is a social app connecting users with new and interesting nearby fitness partners on-demand and encompasses an athleisure lifestyle within one app. The team behind fitness recognized the surge in emerging fitness trends and have open the doors on fitness categories, meaning users can connect with a community across Barre, […] The post Fitssi: Find a nearby workout partner appeared first on Nibletz.
Tagmmer: A mix of Dropbox and Pinterest26 Apr 2016 | 10:24 amTagmmer What is Tagmmer? Tagmmer merges Dropbox with Pinterest. In a few words, Tagmmer allows you to store, share or promote any file and any weblink in a visual place. Think of it as a personal, social library in the cloud for any content: web articles, blogs, eBooks, PDF, PPT, HD videos, Youtube videos, music, pictures, […] The post Tagmmer: A mix of Dropbox and Pinterest appeared first on Nibletz.
Code Republic launches, aims to be the YC of Japan25 Apr 2016 | 1:54 pmYahoo Japan and East Ventures – a prestigious Asian VC firm – are teaming up to create the Y Combinator of Japan. The new accelerator, Code Republic, will be led by Ryu Hirayama, managing director of YJ Capital, and Batara Eto, co-founder of East Ventures. The structure of the three month program is very much in-line with […] The post Code Republic launches, aims to be the YC of Japan appeared first on Nibletz.
Google to launch in-house incubator – Area 12025 Apr 2016 | 9:36 amAccording to The Information, Google is creating a new, in-house incubator for employee-run startups. The incubator, named "Area 120," will be overseen by two long-time Google Executives, Don Harrison (Vice President of Corporate Development) and Bradley Horowitz (Vice President of Streams, Photos and Sharing). According to The Information, the finer details of Area 120 are still being worked […] The post Google to launch in-house incubator – Area 120 appeared first on Nibletz.
Ctzen: Communicate directly with local government25 Apr 2016 | 7:55 amCtzen What is Ctzen? Ctzen is a mobile app that allows citizens to send ticket issues to government, such as potholes, vandalism, crime, broken street lights, etc. We send all these reports to local governments or private companies in charge of the solution. We offer to these governments/private companies our management system, so they can manage, […] The post Ctzen: Communicate directly with local government appeared first on Nibletz.
PAYMILL Blog
How To Protect Your E-commerce Checkout From Fraud3 May 2016 | 6:26 amEditor's note: This is guest post by John Stevens who loves to code websites, and improve their UX. With major leaks and fraudulent transactions on the rise, online security has become a serious topic for consumers and online businesses – with consumers worried about their online data being nabbed by malicious hackers everywhere, and online businesses concerned about lost revenue. PYMNTS.com, an authority in payments and commerce, discovered there has been a major increase in online fraud transactions. Online fraud has jumped a significant 11% since the shift of these fraudsters online. Digital goods retailers were victimized by these fraudulent operators. According to a report by CreditCards.com,...
PAYMILL's Strategic Insolvency. Here's What You Need To Know29 Apr 2016 | 7:42 amWe have contacted you, our merchants, earlier this week and you might have already read the news in the media. But we want to give you the transparency, as we always have, surrounding the current situation, and answer the questions you probably have. Please always feel free to contact us directly, we're always happy to help. Why did PAYMILL choose to file for preliminary insolvency? In coordination with the potential investors, shareholders and the main creditors, our management team has made the strategic decision to go for a preliminary insolvency in self-administration in order to bring the M&A negotiations to a successful result. What does M&A negotiations mean? Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are...
How To Get Started With Augmented Commerce And Take Your Business To The Next Level26 Apr 2016 | 7:06 amEditor's note: This is a guest post by Dmytro Ternovyi who is an IT enthusiast and a passionate technology writer. Augmented commerce, you say? Virtual reality has been the big buzz in technology circles for quite some time now. It might surprise some to hear that some analysts are expecting augmented/virtual reality to become a $120 Billion market by 2020. While virtual reality has the gaming and film markets pretty well in hand, speculating investors should be aware that there are dozens of more practical, and possibly more lucrative uses for augmented reality, especially in the business sector. The ability to super-impose images and movable 3D models over an actual environment has huge implications...
10 Common E-commerce Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Business20 Apr 2016 | 7:03 amEditor's note: This is a guest post by Abhyudaya Tripathi who is a digital marketing expert Technological advancement has brought a new dawn to the world of business as e-commerce has dominated the market for over a decade. Thus, no wonder why companies have jumped into the business of online selling. However e-commerce is not just buying and selling your products; it's a full-fledged way to run a business online. So, this goes without saying that, companies have to pay proper attention towards the development and maintenance of their e-commerce websites too. This post will outline all the mistakes to avoid when building your online business so you can start generating more sales and revenue. So...
What Are The Must Have Tools For Building Your Business?15 Apr 2016 | 2:01 amEditor's note: This is a guest post by Nate M. Vickery is a business consultant and Editor-in-Chief at Bizzmarkblog. In business, focus is a vital factor which can make or break a company. As an entrepreneur, you should be objectively aware of your strengths and find a way to utilize your weak spots. However, only after you start building your business model, and developing your strategy, you will realize how many aspects can be perceived as a potentially problematic area for your company. Believe it or not, 17% of Startups fail due to lack of the actual business model. "17% of Startups fail due to lack of the actual business model"Click To Tweet Many businesses start without any strategy whatsoever as...
RapidResource Small Business Blog
It's National Small Business Week - Are You Ready?3 May 2016 | 3:15 pmPhoto credit:�Nicolas Raymond/freestock.ca It's that time of year again – one of eager vitality, a celebration of humble beginnings and the chance to reflect on what's already been accomplished while looking ahead at new possibilities. Is it the emergence of spring? Nope, it's the spirit of National Small Business Week! First established as a nationally recognized event in 1963 through the proclamation of President John F. Kennedy, and officially proclaimed by the sitting president every year since, National Small Business Week is an annual recognition of the positive impacts of the nation's small businesses, whose critical economic and societal contributions are often otherwise overshadowed by bigger...
Infographic: 6 Ways to Ramp Up Your Restaurant's Revenue5 Jan 2016 | 9:42 amNow that your restaurant has started to grow and you're finally seeing the reviews and capital you've been striving for with all of your hard work, it's time to use this success to continue increasing your income. Make sure that your business doesn't lose its momentum with these six small business tips for ramping up your restaurant's revenue. 1. Have all of the right equipment Having the proper equipment to run a business is particularly important for restaurant owners. If you need another oven to keep up with your growing consumer base, make sure you put some of your savings toward this investment. The same thing should be done if you have an important appliance that needs updating, such as a...
How to Stay Holiday Neutral This Season - Part 2: Your Store22 Dec 2015 | 9:01 amThis holiday season, you'll want to grab the attention of new and existing customers with festive and creative marketing ideas and in-store decor. However, because there's such a wide variety of cultures and religions engaged in holiday�celebration, it's important to recognize the season with messages and decor that respect all beliefs. Use these strategies to keep your small business's holiday outreach, marketing campaigns and in-store decor holiday neutral this season. 1. Focus your blog on family Decorate your website with images of holiday gatherings, such as families sharing a meal or friends sledding together in the snow. After all, regardless of which religion your customers follow, most holiday...
How to Stay Holiday Neutral This Season - Part 1: Your Office21 Dec 2015 | 10:44 amAs your small business grows and you hire more employees, respecting diversity in the workplace is essential to ensuring your staff feels comfortable and valued. During the holidays, this is particularly important. While you and your family may celebrate a specific holiday, remember that some of your employees may have different beliefs. Everything from decor to holiday parties and emails should remain as neutral as possible. Here are a few tips for your small business as you try to maintain workplace etiquette throughout the holiday season. Focus on your team's accomplishments Highlight what you and your employees share rather than where you differ. For example, if you're throwing a holiday party or...
Infographic: How to Optimize Your Mobile Device Campaigns18 Dec 2015 | 1:18 pmNow that majority of consumers throughout the world are heavily reliant on mobile devices, you have a unique opportunity to reach a wider consumer base. In fact, according to Retail Touch Points, a 2015 survey by SessionM found that 90 percent of the 12,000 respondents frequently use mobile phones to make retail purchases. Using mobile apps to advertise your products and streamline the shopping process for customers will make your small business more attractive to consumers. How do you transition marketing efforts to a mobile platform? Follow these steps to ensure you're optimizing your mobile device campaigns. Target devices Certain mobile devices and operating systems have higher conversion rates. It's...
Pakistan attracts the highest rate of malware attacks in the world: Microsoft Report5 May 2016 | 10:26 amMicrosoft Corporation has revealed their latest volume of Security Intelligence Report (SIR). The report says, Pakistan attracts the highest rate read more The post Pakistan attracts the highest rate of malware attacks in the world: Microsoft Report appeared first on TechJuice.
Microsoft's free upgrade to Windows 10 offer ends July 29th5 May 2016 | 9:52 amMicrosoft has announced that it will be ending the free Windows 10 upgrades on July 29th. If you're still on read more The post Microsoft's free upgrade to Windows 10 offer ends July 29th appeared first on TechJuice.
Government tightening the ropes on tax collection from salaried individuals5 May 2016 | 9:20 amThe Federal Bureau of Revenue, in their efforts to increase tax collection from those who are already inside the tax read more The post Government tightening the ropes on tax collection from salaried individuals appeared first on TechJuice.
2 Pakistanis among finalists of entrepreneurship competition GIST5 May 2016 | 8:30 amThe 2016 GIST Tech-I finalists have been revealed and two Pakistanis have managed to scrape their way through to the read more The post 2 Pakistanis among finalists of entrepreneurship competition GIST appeared first on TechJuice.
RepairDesk, a CRM for Mobile Repair Shops, Secures 40,000 dollars Seed Funding5 May 2016 | 5:30 amAn alumnus of the LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship, RepairDesk has secured seed funding of 40,000 dollars from Anant Handa, CEO read more The post RepairDesk, a CRM for Mobile Repair Shops, Secures 40,000 dollars Seed Funding appeared first on TechJuice.
The Startup Journal – Indian Startup Stories, Startup News, Startup Resources, Interviews
You'll Envy Directi's Office After Seeing These Pictures5 May 2016 | 7:56 amSome of you might not have heard of Directi, but BigRock is a well-known name in the startup and tech industry. Directi is the parent for the domain name registrar BigRock. Directi, which started by offering web-hosting services in 1999-2000, today owns a group of businesses. Apart from BigRock it also has tech solutions arm LogicBoxes and free SMS and group chat provider Talk.To in its portfolio. Let's have a look at what employees of one of India's largest tech company have that'll make you envy them. Bean bags and X-Box Fifa for breaks Butler service to feed you as you work Canteen with various recreational activities Different themes for different areas Floor with lounge theme Floor with street...
Ezebee Lets You Buy Creative Items With Just A Chat With The Seller4 May 2016 | 7:08 amRunning an online business has become so customary these days and also expedient owing to the anticipated generated needs. Online business has inevitably assumed the face of technical and commercial domains, encompassing nearly all of the flourishing industries. Under the current scenario, every small business is getting their online sections to dive into this thriving live marketplace. Have you ever heard of e-commerce and cloud? Chances are that you might have as they are the latest trending features in clubbing the essence of business with innovating technology. With a committed vision to provide professional support to those who are looking to expand their business online, ezebee.com marks an...
This Startup Wants To Be The Google AdWords For Outdoor Ads3 May 2016 | 8:30 pmWith the number of online startups popping out every day, it can be said that online advertising has taken over the out-of-home (OOH) media space. And while that is true to some extent, it is also true that the OOH industry can never go out of fashion as marketers are becoming increasingly creative with their outdoor campaigns nowadays. Step out of your home and you're sure to spot a billboard, hoarding or a unique out-of-home advertising creative running on the sides of the roads. No longer just confined to static billboards, global brands have been conjuring up some truly creative interactive ads that are actually a joy to look at and play with. With a valuation of INR 1040 billion, the Indian...
MobiKwik Raises $50 Million From GMO Payment Gateway And MediaTek3 May 2016 | 9:48 amThe Gurgaon-based One MobiKwik Systems, which owns online recharge and mobile wallet MobiKwik, has raised about $50 million (Approx. INR 332 crore) in fresh capital, in a new round led by Japan's GMO Payment Gateway and Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company MediaTek. "MobiKwik is excited to have raised an undisclosed amount in the Series-C round of funding led by GMO and MediaTek. GMO is Japan's leading payment gateway, and MediaTek is the world's leading semiconductor company," a company spokesperson said. MobiKwik has 30 million users and has partnered with 75,000 retailers throughout the country including Big Bazaar, WHSmith India, Cafe Coffee Day and Store King in the offline space. In online space,...
[Exclusive] OYO Rooms In Expansion Mode? Wants To Acquire Nexhop, A Bangalore Based Start-Up2 May 2016 | 11:42 pmOYO Rooms is planning some serious acquisitions this season as our sources have come to know that they are in talks with a Hyperlocal e-commerce start-up called Nexhop from Bangalore. The details of this acquisition are not yet available at this time but as per the sources inside the company, it seems that an acquisition is being planned out to increase the team strength of Oyo Rooms. Our sources say that Oyo is interested in this particular company as they are showing some promising work with Nexhop. Recently Oyo has raised $100 Million from SoftBank and it seems they are on track to spend the money on increasing their talent pool in the company and expand their operations domestically. Their most recent...
SEO Plugin for Wordpress by Squirrly
11 Hacks for Writing Engaging Content [Infographic]3 May 2016 | 4:29 amIs your content not generating the responses you've hoped for? That happens more often than you'd think. Fortunately for you, there's an easy fix, and we're more than happy to share it with you in this infographic. Here are 11 ways to create engaging content that will surely fill up…
The Squirrly Team: Meet Andreea29 Apr 2016 | 10:16 pmOnce upon a time, there was a Squirrly Team of 14 (plus 2) living in Nuts Land. With their furry tails and their fluffy minds, they embarked the SEO ship to travel to far lands and spread content marketing secrets to every kingdom. Do you want to know more about them?…
How Real Estate Companies Can Reevaluate Their Digital Marketing Strategy26 Apr 2016 | 8:40 amIt's never pretty when a company has to reevaluate their marketing strategy. The key words here are "has to". It's entirely reasonable to change things from time to time, to grow or change with the times. However, if a company has to reevaluate, that's because the current strategy isn't getting results. It goes double…
How Your Real Estate Company Can Win More in 2016 with Digital Marketing23 Apr 2016 | 3:21 amThis time, we're going to take a broader look at how your real estate company can improve its marketing results. I'm going to talk about different digital marketing strategies and give you an idea about their strengths and weaknesses. If you're more interested in content marketing than other ways of promoting yourself online, see our…
The Squirrly Team: Meet Cristina21 Apr 2016 | 2:39 amOnce upon a time, there was a Squirrly Team of 14 (plus 2) living in Nuts Land. With their furry tails and their fluffy minds, they embarked the SEO ship to travel to far lands and spread content marketing secrets to every kingdom. Do you want to know more about…
Outlier Magazine
Ep 324: Steli Efti Interview – Show Up. Follow Up. Close3 May 2016 | 9:30 pm"Don't sacrifice your health or happiness for your entrepreneurial goals." Steli Efti Steli Efti – Co-Founder & CEO of Close.io Steli Efti is the co-founder and CEO of Close.io. He's Silicon Valley's most prominent sales hustler, a YC alumni, advisor to several startups and entrepreneurs and the author of The Ultimate Startup Guide To Outbound Sales. He is an alumni of Y Combinator (they helped making companies like Dropbox, Airbnb, 9gag, and more). His company has received funding from Spark Capital, SV Angel, Start Fund, and Omidyar Networks as well as several notable angel investors. Connect with Steli: Website | Facebook | @Steli | Book | Keynote | Podcast Subscribe to the Outlier...
Ep 323: Sarah Heering Interview – Disrupting an 8.4 Billion Dollar Industry2 May 2016 | 4:45 pm"Some people go to business school and some people have a startup." – Sarah Heering Sarah Heering is the COO and Co-Founder of NailSnaps. Sarah is a seasoned entrepreneur who previously founded and ran the boutique media agency SAJE Media serving clients such as Comcast, Chivas, and Sophos. Heering's expertise is driving traffic and awareness via high-performance media strategies. NailSnaps exists to disrupt the 8.5 billion dollar nail industry with the world's best way to create, share, and wear custom nail art. The NailSnaps mobile/social platform lets people turn photos into custom nail wraps that can be applied at-home in minutes. No mess. No toxicity. No dry time. The peer-to-peer marketplace...
Ep 322: Leanne Jacobs Interview – Beautiful Money1 May 2016 | 10:18 pm"I want to be remembered as a graceful leader." – Leanne Jacobs Leanne Jacobs – Holistic Wealth Expert Leanne Jacobs is recognized for her work in cultivating daily habits that lead to holistic wealth for her clients worldwide. Since launching her business in 2004, she has created numerous holistic wealth programs and seminars that teach personal finance, entrepreneurship, leadership and more. Her newest program, The Beautiful Money Course, uses her expertise in finance and leadership to teach people how to achieve their goals, find fulfillment in their work, and align themselves with what they truly value in life – all while creating more cash flow and financial freedom than ever before. Leanne is a...
Ep 321: Jenn Scalia Interview – Getting Psyched26 Apr 2016 | 8:37 pm"I come from a place of service and inspiration and I really just wanna lead by example and show people that anything is possible when you have the right attitude." – Jenn Scalia Jenn Scalia – Visibility Strategist and Online Business Coach Jenn Scalia is a visibility strategist for entrepreneurs who want to make an impact. This self professed introvert and single mom went from rock bottom to creating a multi 6-figure business. Known for her tough love, no-B.S. style, Jenn helps entrepreneurs overhaul their biggest fears and empowers them to share their message with the world. Connect with Jenn: Website | @jennscalia | Facebook | Instagram Subscribe to the Outlier Newsletter: Click Here Brought to...
Ep 320: Heather Osgood Interview – True Native Media24 Apr 2016 | 11:09 pm"I found that as business owners we have a tendency to do the things we like to do instead of the things we always need to do." – Heather Osgood Heather Osgood – Founder & CEO of True Native Media Heather Osgood is a serial entrepreneur, with a passion for living outside her comfort zone and a system for continual self improvement. Starting her career in Advertising Sales she quickly learned what it meant to be a business owner, seeing the failures and successes of hundreds of small business owners. Her training and knowledge in sales and marketing created a strong foundation for the development of her trade show production company which she owned for over nine years and just recently sold. The sale of...
#BariPepsi will let you rock and party hard5 May 2016 | 12:51 amDoes size matter? Think about it. There are so many outlets that offer big size pizzas, burgers, sandwiches etc. Why do they do that and what's the agenda behind it? Customer satisfaction. There is basically no point when you are left unsatisfied after using a certain product of a particular brand. This is where Pepsi... The post #BariPepsi will let you rock and party hard appeared first on PakWired.
How To Be More Productive At Work; Backed By Science [INFOGRAPHIC]4 May 2016 | 4:21 amEveryone wants to be more productive. Here's an infographic, created by officevibe, that illustrates how to be more productive at work with some data backed by science. The post How To Be More Productive At Work; Backed By Science [INFOGRAPHIC] appeared first on PakWired.
Dominating Your WhatsApp Marketing Strategy30 Apr 2016 | 2:41 amText marketing, once yesterday's news with SMS, is being rejuvenated by mobile messenger apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Viber, and others. With the ubiquity of chat apps, it's no surprise marketers are exploring ways to connect with their audiences. But the question is, how should you jump on the WhatsApp marketing brandwagon (pun... The post Dominating Your WhatsApp Marketing Strategy appeared first on PakWired.
MILLION-DOLLAR URLS: The most expensive domain names of all time29 Apr 2016 | 10:58 pmWhat's in a web address? Quite a lot of cash. We scoured domain-name resource DN Journal and put together a list of documented million-dollar, domain-only ".com" sales. Some have been squatted on for 20 years and have only recently traded hands. Unsurprisingly, sex- and gambling-related domains are some of the biggest moneymakers. NOTE: Web businesses... The post MILLION-DOLLAR URLS: The most expensive domain names of all time appeared first on PakWired.
Windows 10 update message interrupts live weather report29 Apr 2016 | 4:44 amMicrosoft made Windows 10 a recommended upgrade for previous versions, and users have reported the desktop operating system asking about a download without warning. There have even been reports of the software installing itself without user consent. It can be rather annoying, and a meteorologist at KCCI in Des Moines observed that first hand. During... The post Windows 10 update message interrupts live weather report appeared first on PakWired.
Trustifi Aims To Change The Way We Do Business By Having All Our Emails Secured5 May 2016 | 2:47 amTrustifi Postmarked Email solution provides legal proof of sending emails. The company offers a system and device agnostic solution that allows the sender to see the path that their email has taken — from being sent and received, opened, printed, and forwarded. This technology contends legal proof of sending and provides legal chain of evidence. Below is our interview with Sarah Newman from Trustifi: Q: Sarah, could you explain the function and advantages of your Trustifi email solution? A: Trustifi's patented postmarked email product is a system and device agnostic solution that allows users to easily encrypt their emails and email attachments end-to-end, track email from send to delivery, print,...
Transpay – Simplifying Cross-Border Payouts For Digital Marketplaces5 May 2016 | 2:06 amTranspay is focused on simplifying cross-border payments. The company offers a payout platform which addresses the core needs of millions of recipients in the emerging & developing markets of the world. They enable platforms and marketplaces like Microworkers to send mass payouts directly to recipients' bank accounts through the world's largest, independent direct-to-bank network. The funds are delivered in local currency much faster than standard wire transfers or prepaid cards. Below is our interview with Nagarajan Rao, SVP at Transpay: Q: What makes Transpay a good choice? Tell us something more about the company? A: The popularity of digital marketplaces and on-demand talent platforms is soaring,...
Continuum GRC Released The Next Generation Antidote To Fight Cyber Crime4 May 2016 | 4:00 amContinuum GRC has recently introduced the next generation of cyber-crime prevention for organizations with NIST and SEC compliance. The company partnered with Lazarus Alliance to bring internationally recognized and awarded expert technology security executives with the "right stuff" to work for you and who is the global hot-spot for leveraging the expertise of the best and brightest subject matter experts in Proactive Cyber Security, Cyberspace Law, IT Operations, IT Risk Management, IT Audit & Compliance, IT Governance and Policy Development. Below is our interview with Michael D. Peters, CEO at Continuum GRC: Q: What makes Continuum GRC a great choice? A: A significant differentiator for Continuum...
Medical Departures Raises $2.5 Million To Expand In Southeast Asia And Latin America4 May 2016 | 3:01 amMedical service marketplace Medical Departures has recently announced a $2.5 million in a Series A funding and plans to expend in in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Below is our interview with Paul Mctaggart from Medical Departures: Q: Paul, what is Medical Departures and how does it work? A: Medical Departures is the medical service marketplace that helps patients find, compare & book medical appointments around the globe. Q: You've recently announced a $2.5 million in a Series A funding led by Singapore-based VC fund DMP and Hubert Burda Media, with CyberAgent Ventures and OPT SEA participating; tell us something more? A: Medical Departures plans to use the investment to continue to expand the range...
justAd Plans To Open Several Locations Around The World4 May 2016 | 1:39 amjustAd is one of fastest growing platforms for production and serving of rich media mobile ads. To learn more we sat down with Yariv Erel, CEO of justAd: Q: How would you describe justAd in your own words? A: justAd is a marketing technology company. We focus our technologies on the creation and serving of interactive and engaging advertising. We offer an ensemble of solutions for most of the LUMA landscape categories. Each solution is different in UI, capabilities and business model. Each one is relevant for the specific category i.e. creative agency, DSP, publisher and affiliate marketing. Recommended: LinkNow Media – Web Design And Online Marketing Expertise For Small Businesses Q:You've recently...
SwitchME Lets You Compare And Save On Your Existing Home Loan3 May 2016 | 6:31 pmAs with all loans, we borrow money and spend months and years to repay them, while the bank enjoys a good rate of interest, even though interest rates have fallen. But not anymore, SwitchME is a simple tool that helps you calculate how much money you could save if you simply switched your loan from your current bank to one offering less rate of interest. If you are loyal to your bank, you could simply choose an option that saves you money. All you need to do is visit the site and enter details of loan amount, EMI being paid. Without asking for any other personal information, this free tool lets you know how much you could save. If it seems interesting, use SwitchME! The post SwitchME Lets You Compare And...
Get The Best Of Digital Content, eCommerce And Payments Offerings At Garena1 May 2016 | 6:31 pmHeadquarters in Singapore and with presence in most of the ASEAN countries, Garena is one of the fastest growing companies in the world. At the core of its growth is a simple belief of its founder that we can make the world a better place by connecting goods, information, people and services. Garena works tirelessly to make this possible by offering digital content, eCommerce and payment services both on the internet and mobile platform. The company has a proud history of bringing innovative solutions to the market that address gaps in existing infrastructure and improving it considerably. The post Get The Best Of Digital Content, eCommerce And Payments Offerings At Garena appeared first on NEXTbiGPRODUCT.
Meet BuffBoxx, The #1 Fitness Subscription Box26 Apr 2016 | 6:31 pmYou care about your fitness but your busy schedule takes away most of your time? Well, if you have the right attitude and desire to stay fit, BuffBoxx can take care of the rest. Yes, BuffBoxx is a monthly service that brings to your doorstep all the things you will need to stay fit so that you do not spend any time on getting the logistics right. From choice apparel to workout guides, supplements you will need and nutritional snacks you can munch on, BuffBox will bring it all to you for a monthly subscription fee. Now, you can concentrate on your routine and let BuffBoxx take care of the rest. The post Meet BuffBoxx, The #1 Fitness Subscription Box appeared first on NEXTbiGPRODUCT.
Get The Best Of Global Packaging Services Via Inmark Packaging24 Apr 2016 | 6:31 pmTransport of goods is essential to trade and you cannot avoid it. What you can avoid though, is the unnecessary troubles of losses during transit, show causes for improper transport from regulatory offices, safety related to your staff and your business partners and delays in delivery of goods to your customers. More often than not, these hassles arise due to improper packaging and transport. What you need is a reliable and experienced partner like Inmark Packaging. For over 35 years, Inmark Packaging, has been addressing client requirements for packaging using their wide spectrum packaging options. From rigid containers to packaging for dangerous goods, temperature controlled packaging and specimen...
Get The Best Of Games At Game Cooks19 Apr 2016 | 6:31 pmSmartphone games have been entertaining us when we are bored, when we commute, when we can't sleep at night and even through boring meetings (hush hush). But one thing is for sure. You do not enjoy every single game that you download. There are only a handful of studios that can make games that everybody likes and that's because the developers are gamers themselves. Game Cooks is a team with recorded success with their popular games such as Captain, Cubama, Scab, Deja, Maarifa, Nerds and many more. Their upcoming game Broma is something gamers are waiting eagerly to try. Visit their site to know about their interesting games and the ones that will come up shortly. The post Get The Best Of Games At Game...
112: A Step-by-Step Guide to Generating Business Leads on LinkedIn – with Jerrod Bailey4 May 2016 | 10:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Jerrod Bailey is a Partner and VP of Business Development at Tallwave, an Arizona-based business design and innovation agency focused on helping companies build great products and take them to market successfully. Jerrod is a revenue growth specialist focused on getting to that first dollar of revenue and beyond. He helps startups and growth companies to develop their business model, their go-to-market, and launch plans and then structure their company to reach a lot of customers very efficiently, whether they have a hundred sales reps or none. For 12 years prior to Tallwave, Jerrod served as an operator in three venture-backed startups, all having exits between $77M and...
111: 5 Steps to Crafting Your Startup's Online Sales Funnel – with Jeremy Reeves27 Apr 2016 | 11:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Jeremy Reeves is a sales funnel expert. He specializes in building strategic and automated online sales funnels that help his clients generate more revenue. He created millions of dollars in additional profits for his clients. He's worked with some of the world's leading entrepreneurs as well SaaS companies like CrazyEgg and ClickTale. And in this episode, he's going to share his expertise on how you can build a better sales funnel for your SaaS business. You can be getting a ton of traffic to your website and you may have a great product. But if you don't have a sales or marketing funnel, then you will never be effective at converting all of that traffic into...
110: How This Entrepreneur Built an Agency for an Internet of Things World – with Marcelino Alvarez13 Apr 2016 | 11:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Marcelino Alvarez is the co-founder and CEO of Uncorked Studios, a rapidly growing design and engineering firm that builds connected products for both the digital & physical world – ranging from an app/website to a wearable device or smart home technology. The company also has a history of developing social impact projects e.g. in 2011 my guest and his team developed an open data initiative to help residents of Japan report and understand the levels of radiation following the earthquake and nuclear disaster. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Portland, Oregon. Its clients include companies such as Google, Adidas, Intel and Lego. Here are 3 reasons why you...
109: How This Bootstrapped Startup Went from Zero to $55K a Month – with Mogens Møller7 Apr 2016 | 11:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Mogens Møller is the co-founder and CEO of Sleeknote. A SaaS product that helps ecommerce sites get more email opt-ins, without affecting bounce rate and sales. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Aarhus, Denmark. Sleeknote currently has around 700 customers and generates $55,000 in monthly recurring revenue. And the business has been bootstrapped from day one. In this episode we talk about:

How the founders came up with the idea for the SaaS product while doing freelancing work for a client

How the first version of the minimum viable product was developed and shipped in under 7 days

A major mistake they made by trying to focus on too broad a market for...

108: How One Phone Call Gave a Bootstrapped Startup Its AHA Moment – with Ryan McKay-Fleming31 Mar 2016 | 7:00 pmListen to this episode on iTunes Ryan McKay-Fleming is the co-founder and CTO of Chalk.com, a SaaS product that helps teachers with lesson planning, grading, assessment and attendance. Over 100,000 teachers worldwide is using Chalk.com. The company is based in Toronto, Canada. It was founded in 2012 and to date has raised $500K in its initial seed round. This is a story about two college friends from the University of Waterloo in Canada, who decided to build a startup. They had an idea for a product that would make teachers more productive. They didn't do a validation or talk to teachers, they just went ahead and built the product on a hunch. As you can imagine, things didn't go quite to plan when they...
Startupxplore Blog - The blog for startups and investors
Future unicorns: the ten startups with most chances of becoming part of the select 1000 million club13 Apr 2016 | 4:30 amOn average, it takes startups around six years to become unicorns; companies valued in over 1000 Million US Dollars. This conclusion can be drawn from the latest VB Profiles report, which provides strategic information on business and has analysed distribution at the highest levels of entrepreneurship environment. According to this document, in 2015 over 208 […] The post Future unicorns: the ten startups with most chances of becoming part of the select 1000 million club appeared first on Startupxplore Blog - The blog for startups and investors.
Bitcoin pioneers rub their hands as it emerges from the underworld16 Nov 2015 | 7:08 amBorn in 2009, it has slowly gained territory. Its short history is full of avatars, among them an amazing boom, the everlasting suspicion of its use as hot money and, above all, one great question: will this decentralised cryptocurrency substitute coins and notes? Startups that decided to build their business around Bitcoin start reaping its […] The post Bitcoin pioneers rub their hands as it emerges from the underworld appeared first on Startupxplore Blog - The blog for startups and investors.
3 key learnings from being part of a multicultural founding team21 Oct 2015 | 8:00 amToday we find the global entrepreneurial ecosystem to be evermore interconnected. With countless international events, blogs, forums and webinars, meeting a fellow entrepreneur from across the globe to exchange ideas and experiences is almost second nature. It is therefore not surprising that a startup would arise with founders from distinct countries, ethnicities, and backgrounds. In […] The post 3 key learnings from being part of a multicultural founding team appeared first on Startupxplore Blog - The blog for startups and investors.
Q&A with Michael Pryor, CEO of TRELLO about their product and their launch in Spain1 Jun 2015 | 11:15 pmHi Michael, first of all thanks for this interview. For those that have been living under a rock the last 2 years, could you please tell us who is Michael Pryor and what's Trello? Hi! I'm Michael Pryor, the CEO of Trello. I'm also cofounder of Fog Creek Software and sit on the board of […] The post Q&A with Michael Pryor, CEO of TRELLO about their product and their launch in Spain appeared first on Startupxplore Blog - The blog for startups and investors.
Q&A: Ignacio Vilela talks about Startcaps Ventures, a SF-based microVC with Spanish origins5 Mar 2015 | 1:51 amIgnacio Vilela is the founding partner of Startcaps Ventures, a Spanish Venture Capital firm based in San Francisco that invests in technology-based companies. The company has just had its first exit (Authy) and we thought it was the right time to catch up with them to talk about their story, investment thesis and why they're […] The post Q&A: Ignacio Vilela talks about Startcaps Ventures, a SF-based microVC with Spanish origins appeared first on Startupxplore Blog - The blog for startups and investors.
9 co-working, co-living, and startup retreats to join in 20168 Apr 2016 | 4:28 am� Being 'Out of office' is gaining momentum. Co-working and co-living are becoming more commonplace. Here are some of the most exciting ways to dip your toe into this brave new world of work, play and adventure around the world over the coming months. Please let me know if you know of more and I will add. � 1.�Escape to Umbria, Italy, 24–27 June 2016 'Take some time off-line to consider your escape. We often go so fast that we forget to really consider what we're escaping from and to. The weekend offers you a space where you can slow down and reconnect with what matters to you and map out your escape plan. Long walks, great coffee, cooking, animal feeding, hammock hangouts and play time.' � �� 2.�Refuga,...
15 Apps To Learn Design And Coding On Your Smartphone4 Apr 2016 | 2:52 pm� Whether you like it or not, programming is becoming one of the most important skills in the 21st century. You were certainly not the lucky one who had a chance to�learn to code in the first-grade as Estonians do�but you can definitely catch-up by being smart about your time. The design is another great skill to have if you are thinking of taking over the world, think of the great design startups like Airbnb,�Uber, and Square. Today I am sharing with you an exclusive list of 15 useful apps to learn design and coding on your smartphone. Invest in your future by learning design and coding while commuting, flying or waiting for your friend who is always late. � Lynda Learn software, creative, and business...
45 Great Websites to Make Some Extra Money21 Mar 2016 | 5:00 pm� Whether you're between jobs, bootstrapping your business, working remotely, freelancing, or even staying home with your baby, there's almost always a need for some extra cash. Depending on your skills, you can choose one of the following websites and start selling your services immediately, regardless of your location. A computer, Internet connection, and a few hours of your time is all it takes. � Without any doubt, there is at least one thing you know better than people around you. Why not turn it into money, now? � "Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable while you're being miserable." ― Clare Boothe Luce � ADVICE & KNOWLEDGE � Savvy�– Teach online using video chat and...
9 Things Entrepreneurs Get Horribly Wrong When Starting a Company [GIFs]17 Mar 2016 | 12:23 pm� 1. What you think it will be like at the end of a VC pitch: � � What it actually is like: � � There is a perception that venture capitalists throw money at everyone and anyone. But anyone who has actually tried to raise capital knows that it is a mental struggle, and take a ridiculous amount of time and rejection. This is also the reason, that when you succeed if feels that much sweeter. � � 2. The response you think will happen from your Beta product launch: � � What ends up happening: � � It is super important to just get your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) out as fast as possible, because basically no matter what, it will not do as well as you want it to do. You never know what your customer wants...
Guide to the 7 Stages of Entrepreneurship15 Mar 2016 | 6:37 am� � � � � � � � � ��
Sunstone Communication - Blog
Is there a right or wrong way to build a startup ecosystem?24 Apr 2016 | 10:44 amThe digital age offers new hope in communities across the world. A recent speech by Paul Graham and a well thought out book by Brad Feld describe some of the ways cities can build on this opportunity. These ideas are a great start. But more innovation is needed. Every community can find its own way to meet its own goals. This should be an ongoing and passion filled debate. This article shares my ideas and questions. What do you think?�Paul Graham gave a talk recently in his home town of Pittsburgh. His theme was how rust belt industrial city with a great heritage could nurture a startup ecosystem to rival Silicon Valley. I live in Glasgow. A city with a comparable past from its days as the second city of...
The hidden secret of B2B SaaS - Solve a real business problem17 Apr 2016 | 9:21 amOne of the most common mantras in the startup business is "solve a real world problem." In other words base your business on something that people need or want. And are willing to pay for. Its kinda obvious to state that B2B SaaS needs to solve a real business problem.��Business problems can be a complex area. The collective challenge is for the organisation. �The common good devolves into an intricate web of threats and opportunities. A different picture for all the units and individuals�that make up the whole.�This creates both enthusiasts and barriers in almost every situation.For business to change, people must changeThere is no easy formula to define a business problem. At heart it is always about...
Your value proposition is never a no-brainer3 Apr 2016 | 8:30 amI spent a long and fascinating day this week talking about a string of early stage companies. I watched pitches from four interesting companies. I listened to reports from a portfolio of startup investments. Including one that has failed in the recent past. Then I had an intense meeting with two friends about the plans for a new business. All the lessons from the day would amount to a good snapshot of the whole Scottish startup ecosystem.��In this post I want to focus on just one. Many of the conversations turned on sales. How could these companies generate their first revenue? Or grow fast enough to reach scale? No surprise. At two separate moments this discussion went deeper. The real problem emerged....
A tough economy - The best opportunity B2B SaaS will ever have20 Mar 2016 | 12:22 pmWe had the annual budget statement in the UK this week. Chancellor George Osborne focused on the macro risks which face the global economy. Continued weakness in the Eurozone. Slowing growth in China. �Turmoil in many emerging markets. Wherever you live you are familiar with the narrative.�The startup world has caught the bug. Many investors believe that the so called bubble in valuation is deflating. Blogs and analysis are full of advice about how to weather the storm. Cut costs. Focus on profitability. Use your cash to survive. This routine is just as well known. I was going to count all the articles I have read with this type of advice. But I ran out of fingers and I couldn't be bothered.�Because this...
The Anti-BMC - How to make real strategic choices13 Mar 2016 | 1:41 pmIn preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.Dwight D. EisenhowerThis is one of my favourite quotes. It rings true the first time you read it. Why? Ike was both a great strategist and a man who delivered. That is how he became an iconic leader. Success in both strategy and delivery is also the challenge facing a SaaS startup. Creating a new business is not just about having an idea. It is about execution.��And in my mind the definition of execution is two things. Completing the multitude of tasks needed to build, sell and support your SaaS product. And making good strategic choices. The second part of this definition is the key to the Eisenhower quote....
VegaShark: Relentless Web evangelist Lost in random thoughts
Report from #DMWF panel in Amsterdam: The Art of Storytelling21 Apr 2016 | 12:10 pmOn Wednesday last week, I had the pleasure to attend, as a panelist, the session dedicated to "The Art of Storytelling" at #DMWF Amsterdam. My co-panelists: Selena Gabat Director Social Media at Sky Deutschland AG, Lukas Kreutzer CMO at Europeesche, Robert Zuidgeest, Head of Digital Marketing at The Walt Disney Company. We were moderated by Chelsea Bosters, Founder of Online Bazen & Marketingmed. We started with a simple question: What is storytelling? Well, storytelling is still (and probably will always be) one of the most powerful engaging technique. Storytelling is so effective because you are not telling people how great your company is, you are showing it to them. An example? Nike, in the early...
ExpatLife: Advices to a younger self (the other 5).21 Apr 2016 | 12:00 pm"I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again" - Bill Bryson One of my favourite game when I was a kid, was picking up my mother's globe, to spin it and, with closed eyes, point my finger on a random place, dreaming about moving and living there. I was surrounded by any kind of maps, my mother was a Geography teacher: I guess it played a role shaping me as an expat in motion, staying in motion. I do have 5 more messages to be delivered to my younger expat self, even if she doesn't seem to be in the mood to accept advices about how to run her life! 6. Balance...
ExpatLife: 10 Advices to a younger self.26 Feb 2016 | 1:19 amExploring different cultures. Have an international professional experience. Learn a foreign language. Be part of an international community. Enjoy a better quality of life. Earn more money. There are many motivations to move abroad. Expats' lifestyles are so mixed and matched that is not possible to give a single meaning to the world "expat". There is something we can be sure and it's confirmed by surveys: "Once expat, always expat ". Being an expat may become addictive. After your first move abroad you are in a serious danger to become a serial expat. I'm an expat since more than 10 years, I lived so far in 5 different countries in Europe. Being an expat was in my bucket list since my...
Beacons technology: is it here to stay? That's not the right question.24 Nov 2015 | 5:43 amFrom 2013 beacons technology started to become the new hype, also thanks to Apple iBeacons launch. Beacons were welcomed as the marketers dreams coming true. Enabling a more granular location awareness compared to GPS and being able to target customers with relevant, personalised and appropriately timed messages, beacons poised to transform how retailers, events, transit systems, museums and educational institutions communicate with people indoors. The reality? Beacons technology has been experimentally piloted by big retailers (Macy's, Virgin, Walmart, …) but not fully adopted (yet) by many, especially in Europe. Despite the potential revolutionary applications, consumers interest seems to be tepid and...
Elevator pitch: the investors' version11 Mar 2015 | 6:15 amThere are plenty of articles and books advising you on how to start up your start up, on how to prepare a perfect business plan, the ideal deck, your invincible elevator pitch. Probably what you'll find below is neither original neither new to your ears. The aim of this post is to report what 5 Venture Capitalists shared during a training session for entrepreneurs. I hope that reading some investors' perspective will boost your confidence and will help you to raise faster and more money than expected! #1 Quoting almost literally an investor: "Get rid of the mindset that is hard to get money. You must believe in yourself. The more you can have the confidence in yourself and in your business, the more you...
Viola Notes
Why your website needs a compelling hero message and how to create one that doesn't suck (with 30 great examples!)29 Apr 2016 | 1:46 amThe idea that every entrepreneur should have a well-rehearsed elevator pitch was once considered a "must", so that should they ever meet potential investors in an elevator (or a metaphorical elevator) they'd be ready to "wow" them enough in the time that it takes to travel a few floors for them to want to hear even more. These days, people are a lot more time-poor and pitch weary, so if you can't explain what your startup does and why it's unique in a sentence or two, your lack of clarity may result in either skepticism or disinterest (or both), and the same goes for your website's hero message. If anyone asks you what you do, and you can't say "I founded" (or, "I work at") a...
What your approach to recruiting top talent says about you and your company (and why it really matters)14 Apr 2016 | 10:02 amOne of the main criteria for us when we look at a new investment opportunity is the makeup of the management team, their ability to execute a variety of responsibilities and to face the challenges of building a fast-growing, category-leading company. Even if the founding team seems impressive and promising, we always look deeper to see if they have been able to recruit great talent so far, because their ability to recruit top-quality talent usually speaks volumes about the trajectory of their company towards either success or failure. We often encounter founders who reassure us that it's "not a problem" for them to recruit talent and grow the company. They even brag sometimes that they are able to...
Mapping the Israeli Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Startup Landscape4 Apr 2016 | 6:15 amVirtual and Augmented Reality are still in their infancy in terms of consumer adoption, and depending on who you ask – whether it's VCs, analysts, skeptics, visionaries, tech enthusiasts, sociologists and so on – you'll get different answers as to how brightly the future is shining for the VR-AR-related markets. So how will the now much-shared picture of Mark Zuckerberg at last month's Mobile World Congress 2016 be perceived five years from now: As a defining event, or a reminder of unjustified hype? And how is Israel faring in midst of all of this VR-AR innovation? Mark Zuckerberg at Mobile World Congress 2016 VCs and analysts have been trying to get a sense of the maturity of the Virtual Reality...
5 Key Security Takeaways from RSA Conference 201630 Mar 2016 | 4:52 amEarlier this month I attended RSA Conference 2016, the largest of the Information Security industry's annual conferences, and THE conference to attend if you either deal with security at your organization or invest in security This year's conference marked its 25th anniversary and was the biggest one to date, with more than 40,000 attendees at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. This year's expo included a generally well balanced mix of large incumbents and security startups displaying cutting edge technologies side by side. It was also great to see a strong Israeli presence among the vendors, both large and small. Many of the expo vendors and products tended to be in the areas of endpoint security...
Love thy Competitor: Why competition can be a good thing for startups23 Mar 2016 | 12:57 pmOne of the questions we often ask when we meet new companies as part of our deal flow analysis is "who are your competitors?" and sometimes the reply we hear is a triumphant "There are no competitors!". Indeed, there are entrepreneurs out there who believe that minimal (or no) competition is a good thing, especially when they are pioneers in a new category, because being the first "mover" in a new playing field can be a significant advantage that allows for fast land-grabbing. But the truth is that although competition is often seen as an obstacle, it can also be an important propellant. When a new product or service category is in its infancy, competition can be a good way to co-educate the market,...
7 Reasons Bad Design is OK3 May 2016 | 12:27 pmGreat design is always preferable to bad design. It can increase engagement and conversion rates. If you produce online content, websites or Apps, the real question is how good is good enough? Anyone who consumes digital media struggles with interfaces that don't work and designs that are confusing. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of interface and content design is the extent to which people cope with bad designs. We don't think about it very much, but most of the interfaces we use in our daily life have design flaws. Yet somehow we cope and for some reason we don't just quit, we persist and use these substandard systems. As a content producer and a system developer I have spent a lot of time...
7 Ways to Benefit from Content Discovery15 Apr 2016 | 10:13 amIn this article, I'll explain why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not enough and how Content Discovery can unlock the true potential of your content. For anyone engaged in Content Marketing, the process is always the same. You create fantastic content and your job isn't half done. Getting your content noticed is the real job of a Content Marketing professional. The Goldilocks Zone � Search engine optimization is terrific. If people are actually searching for content related to your subject and you rank highly in the search results, SEO can get you a big boost. But search engine optimization has many shortcomings:

Who's Looking for Who? – If your audience is not searching for your content, no...

Content Marketing the Future of Journalism?30 Mar 2016 | 12:44 pmContent Marketing is changing the way we get news. Topics formerly covered by journalists working for old-school media are being covered better by independent writers and content producers working on content marketing campaigns. Is this the end of journalism? How did we Get Here? � TV Networks have been experiencing falling ratings and shrinking revenues for years. Newspapers and magazines are closing their doors regularly. More recently, radio stations have been feeling the pinch of podcasts. New media has been chipping away at the revenue model for old media for a long time: Classified ads in newspapers have been replaced by Craig's List, eBay, Monster.com and a host of other online services that...
How to Make your Content Hub More Professional14 Mar 2016 | 12:45 pmAs a content marketer you work hard to produce good content for your content hub. Your content hub may be a blog, website or microsite. Despite your best efforts, sometimes your content does not perform the way you would like. If your results are falling short, your content hub could be the problem. 10 Tips to Make your Content Hub more Professional 1. Use Good Design, Graphics and Branding Your content hub represents your brand. It needs to convey your brand's personality and your story. It's your way of standing out from the crowd. The best way to achieve an attractive, unique and credible looking site is to work with a graphic designer. They can design a modern looking, well organized site...
How to Switch to HTTPS and Keep your Social Share Counts24 Feb 2016 | 10:42 amYou will encounter many issues when you move your WordPress site to HTTPS to improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is the story of my bumpy but ultimately successful journey to HTTPS . Why HTTPS is Important for SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an obsession for anyone who operates a website. Getting even the smallest advantage in the race to be #1 on search engine rankings can mean the difference between success and oblivion. On August 6, 2014 Google made a rare announcement. Google promised it would give a boost to websites that displayed all of their content using strong HTTPS encryption. Google usually doesn't divulge its strategy for ranking websites, but in this case Google has a...
Are We Ready to Pull the Trigger on Smart Guns?5 May 2016 | 11:55 amLast week, the White House released a plan to spur the development and availability of smart gun technology—tech that would make it impossible for anyone but a gun's authorized user(s) to pull the trigger. While there is some ambiguity regarding the precise definition of a "smart gun", authorized-only firing is a universally agreed-upon component. The response from […] The post Are We Ready to Pull the Trigger on Smart Guns? appeared first on snapmunk.
The Wheel That Turns Every Bike Into an eBike5 May 2016 | 8:55 amEntrepreneurs are generally told not to reinvent the wheel. And you probably shouldn't, unless the wheel you have in mind transforms regular bicycles into powerful electric bikes in a minute flat. That's exactly what the GeoOrbital Wheel does, and it pulls off the feat with style points, thanks to a design inspired by the high-tech […] The post The Wheel That Turns Every Bike Into an eBike appeared first on snapmunk.
Need A Portable Stone Floor Wood Burning Pizza Oven? Sure You Do.4 May 2016 | 2:55 pmToday it's common to see families and individuals trying to recreate restaurant recipes in the interest of convenience, saving money, or tackling a new challenge. While most meals can be prepared with standard appliances, there are a handful of recipes which require specialized equipment. Traditional margarita pizza for example needs to be cooked in a […] The post Need A Portable Stone Floor Wood Burning Pizza Oven? Sure You Do. appeared first on snapmunk.
With Software Like This, You Could Learn a New Language Faster Than You Can Say…4 May 2016 | 8:55 amLingoHop hopes to make learning a new language faster and more personalized to a user's specific needs by using the latest in linguistic research and contextual instruction. Whether you're an international business traveler or a student going on a foreign exchange, LingoHop will tailor your learning to your needs, assuming they can get the Kickstarter funding they're seeking. The post With Software Like This, You Could Learn a New Language Faster Than You Can Say… appeared first on snapmunk.
The Tuxedo Will.i.am Wore to The Met Gala Was an AI-Powered Wearable3 May 2016 | 1:55 pmLast night was the 2016 Met Gala. For those of you who don't know, the Met Gala is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City, serving also as a kick-off for the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit. Somehow, this is a really big deal and essentially all […] The post The Tuxedo Will.i.am Wore to The Met Gala Was an AI-Powered Wearable appeared first on snapmunk.
Four simple ways to improve web experience for your business4 May 2016 | 7:50 amHow can you improve web experience for your business? Everyone knows how to use the internet right? Wrong. Well, not totally, but most people aren't using it to its fullest potential. You sit there, on Safari, Internet Explorer or whatever, [...] The post Four simple ways to improve web experience for your business appeared first on EverythingStartup.
Video communication made simple with Ilos videos3 May 2016 | 8:49 amVideo communication made simple with ilos videos New service ilos videos is a company that is aiming to bring video to the forefront of communication so that it sits side by side with other mediums such as email, SMS and [...] The post Video communication made simple with Ilos videos appeared first on EverythingStartup.
Why childcare apps make monitoring your child's progress easier than ever before1 May 2016 | 10:02 pmWhy childcare apps? While the world obsesses over early years education and introducing children to learning from a preschool age, monitoring the progress of our youngsters has been strangely ignored. Now, thanks to child care apps like HiMama, that no [...] The post Why childcare apps make monitoring your child's progress easier than ever before appeared first on EverythingStartup.
Entrepreneurs India – The Podcast series with more than 50,000 downloads22 Apr 2016 | 6:45 pmEntrepreneurs India podcast is changing the way people consume content on internet. Podcasts have been there in the market for a long time now. They are a better way to deliver content where the podcast host or the owner shares [...] The post Entrepreneurs India – The Podcast series with more than 50,000 downloads appeared first on EverythingStartup.
Free social marketplace ezebee launches new mobile-first website in India14 Apr 2016 | 9:19 amSocial Marketplace Ezebee Reloaded � You may have heard of the European marketplace ezebee.com which gives anyone in the world the chance to open a free online shop and sell for fair prices. They have just this month relaunched their [...] The post Free social marketplace ezebee launches new mobile-first website in India appeared first on EverythingStartup.
Learning About Adult Education & Apps29 Apr 2016 | 7:35 amAdult Education and Apps Loving the idea of what people can learn when we learn it. I am a huge fan of using Apps to help teach what we can to adults and children. Adult education is learning what Adults can learn and how we can help them learning it more efficiently. I love using what I've learned with my son to help teach other adults. I appreciate the idea of teaching. I've been blessed to teach from an elementary to adult education level. Its interesting to see how adults even that are on a C or lower level of education can operate smart phone. The idea of people whom are ABE (Adult Basic Education), GED (or ESL (English as a Second Language are really understood with a CASAS (Comprehensive...
Moment of Clarity In Apps26 Mar 2016 | 6:12 amThat Moment When It All Changes I was a happily married man. I feel joy in relationships. I was living the dream 3 house 2 cars a child and a beautify wife. I'm not married. I'm Divorced in fact. I also had a breakup from a second significant other that ripped my roots, logic, foundation and strength rough from my soul. As a 2 time looser in love, Father of 2 boys and startup founder who founded a startup partly be cause no startup would have me. Well, to be accurate no startup would meet my exact terms to have me. My point is, life sometime hits you in the gut then kick you in the groin just to prove you are a man or woman. So what happens when everything you fundamentally believe is wrong ? I was...
What I learned from 295 Lbs18 Mar 2016 | 5:05 pmWhy being lean means executing info quickly. Struggled with the idea for the longest time. I dreamed of it. It consumed me for about 5 days. Burning Desire I was in the gym. I'd just finished working out and I felt pretty good about myself. I had just lifted 235 in a decent set of 5 sets of 10. I moved on to do cardio. I then saw a gentleman that looked like a mountain sit down on the bench next to the one I just left. He preceded to lift with 3 plates on each side. I was in awe. At the same time, I saw how he did it and I felt I could do that. At that moment, I believed I could do it. I saw it in my mind. Steps to Make it Happen I really had no clue. I saw it, I believed it, but I didn't have a real...
10 Things Every Startup Must Have to Thrive in 201612 Jan 2016 | 8:13 pmThe Startup world often appears to be a sexy nuance of sorts and while in many instances that may be true your goal as a Startup in 2016 is to actually startup. With this in mind we've compiled a list of our top 10 actions every startup must take to solidify their ventures in 2016. � Every Startup needs a place to call home. When you're read to promote your vision you need a professional and reliable presence online. Bluehost is our hosting solution of choice. Build your presence online with Bluehost using the link below and we'll give you a special unannounced bonus. Read more ...
Why Blab is Important In 201630 Dec 2015 | 10:15 amHAPPY NEW YEAR! Anyone that has heard of or been on Blab.im should know Britney M. What's Blab.im? Glad you asked. Blab is a form of streaming social media. Blogger, Podcasters and Solopreneaurs all can build communities. You don't just do your thing but you share the stories of others. Who's Brittney? Glad you asked. Brittney M is the personification of awesome. The role Brittney M is as a community manager of Blab content. Brittney and the Blab team are always listening to help. So Why Is Blab Important You can be you and stream too. Its simple. Content is king. That has been the case for generations now. Blab allows communities to build streaming content. You can upload Blab.im Videos to...
Data Interface Testing | Data Interface | Testing
11 Apr 2016 | 3:02 am11 Apr 2016 | 3:02 amSay, you got a DB comprising of huge data with billion of records. You have to showcase it on UI only after making sure that everything you want to represent on UI is accurate and as expected. Incorrect data could impact your business in unknown and serious ways that can lay undetected for months. So, here you might need to plan a new strategy, which should lead to answer all your questions. One of the finest approach among this strategy should be, to make sure that everything you are showing is validated and verified. This leads to a special type of testing called as Data Interface Testing. � What is Data Interface Testing ?? Before we go ahead with Data Interface Testing. Let's first discuss,...
30 Mar 2016 | 2:01 am30 Mar 2016 | 2:01 amWhat is interrupt testing Interruptions are never welcomed. Not just in our lives, but also when we are listening to music and suddenly a text message drops-in killing the rhythm right in the middle! This is called an interruption and you may not believe it but people actually sell of their mobile devices to get rid of this. Interrupt testing takes into account the disturbances caused of interruptions and suggests practical solutions to keep the user experience smooth throughout the use cycle of the application. Ideally, in case of an interruption the application that is interrupted should enter a suspended state and restart as soon as the interruption ends. But before we get into that lets start by...
27 Mar 2016 | 9:50 pm27 Mar 2016 | 9:50 pmMotivation There exists a number of different machine learning algorithms like, Classification, Regression and Ranking Algorithms. They can learn from historical data and create models for prediction of future. So, which one is better (in terms of performance) , can be determined from different evaluation metrics. One evaluation metric can be accuracy which has been defined as below Accuracy = Number of passed test cases / Number of total test cases. An accuracy of 0.8 means 80% of the test cases are predicted correctly. So by evaluating each model by this metric we can figure out which one is performing better. This type of metric is better if we are interested in Positive data points where data set...
16 Mar 2016 | 11:34 pm16 Mar 2016 | 11:34 pmAt times, you get frustrated while cropping each and every icon form the psd and use it in the application. Sometimes it's even more! Why? Because when we work on responsive applications we have to rework on the same icons which adds on to unwanted size on icon folder, resulting into issues. It is a lot of struggle. Moreover, the image icons tend to lose their quality when scaled up, which results in degrading of the application performance as it requests http for each icon/image. Icon fonts are easier to use and gives liberty to style by using CSS. All icons work as fonts and can be used anywhere without worrying about their size and color. Adding on the advantages, these icon fonts become more...
15 Mar 2016 | 1:49 am15 Mar 2016 | 1:49 amFront end developers or UI developers often do certain kind of things like:

Changing small codes of CSS and JS and combine them for production.

compiling CSS/JS/HTML preprocessor.

Compressing images, css, js, html etc.

Switching and reloading browser for changes.

 Now for compiling, minifying a preprocessor you will need some paid or free softwares like prepros, koala, codekit etc. some of them support windows or some mac. For image compressor we have punypng or other software and for auto update we can use some editors like brackets visual studio etc. Now there are some preprocessors or templating language or operating system that these software editors doesn't support then what will you do. One...
WHAT DOES YOUR PEE SAYS ABOUT YOU1 May 2016 | 3:05 amWhat Colour Of Your Pee Says About You The colour of human excreta acts as an indicator of the disease or an element in a human body. In this article, we are going to discuss how to determine the causes of your coloured urine and make you understand how the coloured urine can be a symptom of certain health issues. Even though this is not an interesting topic but it is important for everyone to know about what the colour reveals. Each colour of the urine has its attribute and complexion. Urine plays a vital role in the body's disposal process. What Are The Components Of Which Urine Composed Of? Urine is a liquid that contains the unwanted substances of the body secreted by the kidney and excreted through...
Smarter Ways To Make Money Online Like Pro Bloggers29 Apr 2016 | 1:36 pmMany bloggers on the internet waste their potentials to earn pennies through their blog. They don't even know their possibilities to make money online. They are happy with a few cents of earning. Don't get the heart but it's true. It is a big difference between professional bloggers and amateur bloggers. You drive Traffic, attracts social media attention, collect subscribers, all for your website to make money online. After doing such hard work, you are generating only Pennies per month. You don't think that you can deserve better than this. If your answer is yes, then this post is for you. Just read it slowly and understand each and everything for better results. We observe many bloggers as well as...
How To Register A Company In India25 Apr 2016 | 12:54 amOnce when you have come up with a great idea and have decided how to register a business company in India, then certainly you must follow some procedures to register your business in India. After deciding regarding registration, naturally there arise many questions like where should you get the application form, what is the process for registration, what is the registration fee, whom should I contact for making my registration successful. To get rid of all the confusion, let we help you make your registration process simple and easy with all necessary details. This article will help you with all the relevant information as a step-by-step procedure for those who have decided to register a business in India...
What Is CRISPR And How Can It Edit Your DNA?2 Apr 2016 | 5:00 amScientists have invented an innovative Technology, which will be helpful for eliminating our diseases easily and quickly by altering our DNA found in Human Body. This technique is named as CRISPR Gene Editing Technology. Have you ever heard about this CRISPR technology? Probably many of us are not aware of this technology. This article will help you with a crystal clear, detailed description about CRISPR and How Could It Edit Your DNA? Here arises a new question? Is it possible to modify our DNA? Of course yes. Everyone should know the fact behind editing our DNA. WHAT IS CRISPR? CRISPR is a newly adopted technology that allows the bacteria in the cell to fight against the Viruses that affects the Human...
10 healthiest Benefits of Green Tea26 Mar 2016 | 2:14 amA Tea Originated from China by the leaves of "Camellia sinensis" commonly known as "Green tea" is now spread all over the world. It is available in various varieties depending on Horticulture, natural conditions, harvesting time and production. The process of making green tea is called Steeping. It is made from less refined and un-oxidized leaves, so it contains many anti-oxidants and nourishment elements. So Today we going to discuss ten healthiest Benefits of Green Tea, which, can help you to live healthily. There are several amazing benefits of drinking Green Tea. Let us enumerate the tested perks of Drinking Green Tea 1) Green tea arouses Physical performance Green tea improves metabolism of...
SimpleStartup | Tools, Resources & Training for Creative Entrepreneurs
23 Compelling Lead Magnet Ideas to Attract More Subscribers11 Apr 2016 | 9:08 amAre you finding it challenging to come up with good lead magnet ideas for your online business? Or maybe you've tried creating one before, but it's not converting as well as you'd like. If so, then you're in the right place. In this post, I'll show... The post 23 Compelling Lead Magnet Ideas to Attract More Subscribers appeared first on SimpleStartup | Tools, Resources & Training for Creative Entrepreneurs.
9 Ways to Promote Your Lead Magnet For More Email Subscribers7 Apr 2016 | 9:06 amAre you still struggling to convert more website visitors into email subscribers? Or perhaps you're new to blogging, and you don't know the best way to promote your lead magnet. You're not alone. Every day I hear bloggers, content marketers, and small business owners talk about how they're... The post 9 Ways to Promote Your Lead Magnet For More Email Subscribers appeared first on SimpleStartup | Tools, Resources & Training for Creative Entrepreneurs.
7 Highly Profitable Online Business Models For Entrepreneurs4 Apr 2016 | 12:48 pmKnowing what business model to choose from can be challenging for a lot of entrepreneurs. When I first started online, I struggled choosing a model that would work. I tried all sorts of strategies and tactics, but didn't really make any significant earnings from them. But after... The post 7 Highly Profitable Online Business Models For Entrepreneurs appeared first on SimpleStartup | Tools, Resources & Training for Creative Entrepreneurs.
7 Steps to Creating a High-Converting Sales Funnel From Scratch20 Mar 2016 | 10:00 amBuilding a sales funnel for your online business can be challenging and time consuming. Unfortunately many entrepreneurs don't ever build a proper sales funnel for their business which means they're potentially missing out on a lot of sales. Why should you build a sales funnel... The post 7 Steps to Creating a High-Converting Sales Funnel From Scratch appeared first on SimpleStartup | Tools, Resources & Training for Creative Entrepreneurs.
7 Essential Elements of a Perfect Lead Magnet13 Mar 2016 | 4:15 pmAre you getting traffic to your website, but struggling to convert that traffic into leads, customers and clients? If so, then it's unlikely that the best solution is simply spending more on advertising, designing a better website and writing more blog posts. If you're not... The post 7 Essential Elements of a Perfect Lead Magnet appeared first on SimpleStartup | Tools, Resources & Training for Creative Entrepreneurs.
Built In NYC - All Blogs
Ride-sharing company Via cruises home with $100M in new funding5 May 2016 | 11:11 amViaViaVisit their siteView company profile+ Create Job Alert announced today that they raised a $100 million Series C round, bringing the company's total funding to $137 million. The round was led by Pitango Growth, with participation from Poalim Capital Markets and C4 Ventures, amongst others.�"Via is creating the public transit system of the future," said Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, co-founders of Via, in a statement. "With existing transportation infrastructure straining and in some cases failing to meet rising demand across the globe, Via's dynamic bus system offers cities a smart solution to traffic congestion and emissions."Via is trying to re-engineer the way public transit works in the United...
Break up with your bad job: 6 companies hiring this month5 May 2016 | 6:09 amSummer is almost here, and with the change of seasons it might be time for a change of career.�Here are six awesome companies hiring this May.�VTSview open jobsView Profile �+ Create Job Alert"We're looking for smart, driven individuals who are passionate about building products that bring innovation to the commercial real estate industry. We place huge value on the people that make up VTS, and as we continue to grow, we're always looking for team-players who are equally as dedicated to seeing our clients succeed."What they do:�VTS is�a commercial�leasing and asset management platform for landlords and brokerages.�Location:�119 W 40th StreetPerks:�Best-in-class compensation packages (including equity),...
Week in review: ESPN partners with Vice Media, AOL to build new VR studio and more5 May 2016 | 5:47 amESPN and Vice are tying the knotThe StoryESPN announced this week that it will air Vice Media Vice Media Visit their siteView company profile+ Create Job Alert's The Clubhouse, a show where athletes talk to viewers off the field, on both its TV network and on the web. ESPN will also carry new episodes of Vice World of Sports after they air on Vice's cable network, Viceland.Why this is huge The deal marks the first collaboration between these two gigantic and influential media entities. As part of the partnership, Vice will also re-broadcast digital short films in ESPN's documentary series, 30 for 30.�Vice already produces a weekly show for Time Warner Inc.'s HBO and operates its own network with A+E...
7 on-demand Mother's Day gifts you can get without putting down your smartphone4 May 2016 | 3:29 pmYou love your mom, sure, but you're also busy. We get it. We're busy too. So, we came up with some gifts that'll show mom you love her, but don't actually require you to put down your phone after reading this. Here are seven on-demand tech companies that'll deliver love to your mom this Mother's Day.�TryTheWorldView Profile �+ Create Job AlertTry the world�is a subscription service that will deliver your mom a box of food from somewhere exotic every month, curated by a local chef. Last month's box was from Sweden, and included things like crushed berry saft, Swedish dumplings and salmon and dill toasts. We're not really sure what the berry saft is all about, but I've been assured it's delicious. Prices...
2 of Africa's top software engineers toured NYC's startup scene. Here's what they had to say.3 May 2016 | 1:34 pmWe talk a lot about the New York tech scene. Actually, here at Built In NYC, that's just about all we talk about. But every so often, there's an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the entire scene from an outside perspective.�A couple of weeks ago, we met the people at Andela Andela Visit their siteView company profile+ Create Job Alert. Andela is a company that finds top African software developers and places them with U.S. tech companies as full-time, distributed team members. Last month, Chiemeka Alim and Emmanuel Isaac, two Lagos, Nigeria-based software engineers who are on the team at 2U traveled to NYC to work in-person at the company for two weeks.�It was their first time in the U.S., so we asked...
The FUN Entrepreneur
Newsflash: Worrying Does Not Help Your Business30 Apr 2016 | 5:48 amI recently watched another great movie starring Tom Hanks called Bridge of Spies. The main plot of the movie revolved around a Russian spy who was caught on American soil during the Cold War and efforts made to exchange him for an American U2 pilot captured in Russia. Tom Hanks played the role of the lawyer of this Russian spy and throughout the movie asks the spy whether he was worrying about the situation he was in. Each time the spy looked back and asked, in the most honest tone, "would that help?" � Worrying is a natural response to anxiety caused by negative thoughts about what could happen. Very often what we think might happen is often worse than what actually happens, because as humans we have a...
Special Marketing Tips For April Fool's Day31 Mar 2016 | 2:57 amOnce again it is upon us. The one day of the year were it is accepted, and somewhat expected, that colleagues pull pranks on each other, the media divulge incredibly false information and the world becomes a little bit less serious for a short while. If you work in marketing April Fool's Day is above everything else, a day where you can flex your creative muscle and do something big without the need of having the truth to back you up. In fact, for the past 10 years the special marketing campaigns created by some of the biggest or brightest brands in the world continue to marvel us even after they were proven to be nothing else but a joke. � If you run or work in a small business, you need not be afraid of...
Top 7 Failures Which Led To Success26 Mar 2016 | 12:58 pmWith the hype over "overnight successes" (which are anything but) and get rich schemes, constantly flooding our email inbox as well as popping up on many websites we visit, it is easy to forget that the road to success is often more challenging that it first appears and failures are inevitable. As I read through the hundreds of questions I get asked to answer on Quora every week I see a strong pattern of people who want to go from €0 to €1000 a day within an exceptionally short span. Even though I wouldn't believe anyone would be giving out the correct answer to this question, for free at least, people keep asking. � The road to success is paved by many failures along the way. A failure could be as...
Brilliant Networking Websites To Grow Your Business20 Mar 2016 | 4:10 amOne of the main reasons some businesses are successful whilst others fail is the contacts and connections which successful businesses muster. These connections are not only important to be able to enter certain markets and gain new customers, but could also act as advisers or a budding start up. The most tried and tested way to achieve these contacts is through networking. The opportunities that arise from effective networking can lead to your business benefiting from cooperation in the form of joint ventures, client leads and market exposure. � Tim Ferriss, author, blogger and motivation speaker says, "you are the average of the five people you associate with most". Networking is the key to achieving more...
The Secrets To Effective Risk Management5 Mar 2016 | 9:06 amEntrepreneurs are often considered risk takers and sometimes even gamblers. This is true and indeed it differentiates entrepreneurs from the rest, those who are not ready to take the risk of believing in an idea enough and creating a business around it. However whilst the risk taking is often glorified by successful entrepreneurs, the risk management put in place to achieve success is often kept secret. A new entrepreneur might be forgiven to think that he or she must risk it all at the beginning to launch a business, but this is not true. Only risk what you can afford � If you are just starting out, chances are that you are going to need funding. Traditionally the main option would have been to borrow...
Business & Entrepreneur Resource | Empowering Entrepreneurs | Aeona
How Slack Became a Unicorn Company in 2 Years27 Apr 2016 | 10:45 pmSlack became a billion dollar company in 2015, just two years after first launching their product. It all began as an internal tool their company used to simplify communication within their company, before eventually evolving into a cloud based collaboration tool for teams around the world. We've broken down the most important lessons Slack learnt and the strategies they used to become one of the fastest growing SaaS (Software as a service) companies in the last two years. When examining their journey, it almost seems as though the Slack team found success by accident, though that would be furthest from the truth. In fact, Stewart Butterfield and his team were successful entrepreneurs that founded...
What happens when you stop doing it for yourself?10 Apr 2016 | 10:08 pmThis week, I turned off the life support for Backpack, my three-year experiment into bettering K-12 education through consistent communication between student, parent, and teacher. You won't find much on the internet about the app. It only gained substantial traction in the last eight months of its life:

Backpack received a grant from the University of Sydney Union's startup incubator.

The inaugural Lenovo Choice Award for student-led innovation was won by Backpack.

The app was listed on Product Hunt, and received media attention both locally and internationally.

Multiple VCs asked me to pitch Backpack, and ultimately I raised funding from muru-D (the startup accelerator backed by Australia's largest...

Locus of Control – Are you in control?30 Mar 2016 | 11:11 pmThere is a simple, but useful tool that helps you to understand how people respond to situations, and to anticipate their likely behaviour. It can also help you identify those who are likely to be winners and losers. This tool is called the Locus of Control. � Everyone wants to know what separates winners from losers? One of the significant factors limiting the attainment of your vision is the degree to which you believe you are in control of your destiny. Your locus of control can be internal or external. You can have a combination of both but normally one will outweigh the other. So what are the differences between an internal Locus of Control and an external Locus of Control, and how can you identify...
Journey of a 21 Year Old Founder28 Mar 2016 | 10:25 pmLily Wu started Austern International when she was only 19 years old. One year later, she won a $10 000 AMP Tomorrowmaker Grant from over 5600 entries and now runs her program across four cities around the world. In 2015, she won first place in Anthill's 30 Under 30 competition, naming her one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs under the age of 30. We decided to ask her a few questions and share a little about her journey. Why did you first become an entrepreneur? To be perfectly honest, it never started off as anything altruistic, saving the world or even anything that meaningful. The reason I became interested in starting in business was actually a fight for survival when I was 15. My parents...
Attitude vs. Aptitude23 Mar 2016 | 5:29 pm"Your attitude, NOT your aptitude, determines your altitude" -Zig Ziglar In one of my articles, "The Exactitude of Attitude", I examined the importance of having people not only with the right skills, but the right attitude – and that 46% of new hires fail within the first 18 months on the job. The reason? For 89% of them it is because they have the wrong attitude, and that only 11% fail because of the lack of technical skills and competencies. However, as leaders and managers in our business we already have existing employees who display a range of different mixes of attitude and aptitude. What are these mixes and what are their implications? In this matrix different people will be in...
Practo Business Model & How does Practo Make Money4 May 2016 | 11:52 amPracto Business Model, How does Practo Make Money! Practo is the blue eyed boy of Indian StartUp ecosystem from the healthcare (rather healthtech) vertical, but has not been so much so successful in making a dent in the digital healthcare in India. God knows why they are claiming themselves to be a "Services Marketplace" when […] The post Practo Business Model & How does Practo Make Money appeared first on Unicornomy.
Unit Economics & Growing Your Startup 100X1 May 2016 | 8:12 amGrowing @ 100X with Positive Unit Economics Starting Up is hotter than ever, it is not like people in the yester years did not startup, they did, but it was called "Business" back then, now it is called "Start-Up". People back then also got investments from outside their business, it was primarily from friends and […] The post Unit Economics & Growing Your Startup 100X appeared first on Unicornomy.
BlaBlaCar Business Model & How does Bla Bla Car Make Money25 Apr 2016 | 10:05 amBlaBlaCar Business Model – The World's Largest Ride Sharing Community Unicornomy's little sister Sharing Economy is on the rise, people are using shared resources more than ever, be it rental apartments on the trip (AirBnB), shared cabs for short distance travel or sharing the rent over an app or sharing the food bill over an […] The post BlaBlaCar Business Model & How does Bla Bla Car Make Money appeared first on Unicornomy.
How does Tinder Make Money24 Apr 2016 | 11:42 amHow does Tinder Make Money – Let's Swipe Right for the Analysis with Unicornomy! About Tinder, Funders, Founders & Facts about Making Money Swipe Right – has become much of a misfit communication Verb these days, people using Tinder are very well aware of how to use this phrase right! Tinder should be credited with all […] The post How does Tinder Make Money appeared first on Unicornomy.
How does InstaGram Make Money24 Apr 2016 | 10:10 amHow does InstaGram Make Money – Unicornomy Analysis About Instagram, Funders, Founders and Facts InstaGram was started just for fun, just like other social networks, with no intention or clear visibility to make money any time in the near future. It is a photo sharing app that does just one thing, share photos in a […] The post How does InstaGram Make Money appeared first on Unicornomy.
Startup – Interviews
Jens Haase Co-Founder Loopagain – perfect loop Gifs5 May 2016 | 12:00 amLoopagain is an web application that automatically extract perfect looped GIFs from any video and converts them to a social media shareable format. We developed the algorithm in our free time. Normally, my Co-Founders and me offer consulting work for Data-Mining and Text-Analysis. Most of the work we did there is not easy to explain and hard to visualize. With Loopagain, we can fill this gap. Where did the idea for Loopagain come from? The idea for Loopagain came from a blog post that I read. The Blog post proposed an algorithm to extract perfect looped GIFs from videos. It showed very good results for some videos. But it had the drawback that you need to try every video multiple time to find the correct...
Malik Akande Founder of Kommen – UberKit4 May 2016 | 12:00 amMy name is Malik Akande. I am the founder of Kommen. I am a Computer Engineer by profession (Alma Matter: Boston University), and have a long history in technical consulting. I used to be a manager at Accenture, but always had the entrepreneurial bug and had multiple projects I always pursued on the side, even with my full time job. I am also the founder of Uberkit.net. Where did the idea for Kommen come from? I run a website (http://www.uberkit.net) where I sell business reports to Entrepreneurs and Uber Drivers. We often get emails from Uber passengers, Entrepreneurs and Uber drivers who have various unfulfilled requests/needs. One of the unfulfilled needs was scheduling Uber rides. Why did you decide to...
Christian and Rose Founders of "THE O"2 May 2016 | 11:30 pmAbout the project THE O is a smart accessory for your belongings that proactively notifies you when you're about to lose or forget your wallet, keys, umbrella, camera, passport etc. Live Smarter. Be Carefree. About the founders Christian has extensive experience in creating software-supported solutions that make people's lives easier. He used to develop tools for clients and employees of a large corporation from specification through testing and training. He believes simplicity is beautiful. Rose has a versatile background in branding and design. She spent ten years successfully creating luxury fashion goods and marketing them around the world. She trained in jewelry design and ran her own label for...
Philip Tompkins founder of We Evolve Us2 May 2016 | 12:00 amI'm a former Microsoft Cloud guy that left to lead team of 6 building a collaboration software platform that evolves with its users, we have two different products from the core platform we've built, a free city based B2C product focused helping local community organizers connect, collaborate, and improve the places we all live. The other is a white-label B2B product that will support our growth and expansion, focusing on improving internal cross-departmental collaboration and action-oriented social project management targeted at the specific initiatives and goals of each organization. Where did the idea for We Evolve Us come from? Why did you decide to start this business? What does your typical day...
Dan Stone founder of JSM – Jack Stone Marketing30 Apr 2016 | 12:15 amI've wanted to run my own business for as long as I can remember and have always been a bit obsessed with marketing, so starting up JSM (Jack Stone Marketing) made perfect sense. JSM is all about small and medium businesses and helping them shorten the journey to their long-term goals. Where did the idea for JSM come from? Marketing is just something I love doing and finding out more about whenever I can, so the opportunity to help others do this better – and I particular small and medium businesses – was something I couldn't resist. Why did you decide to start this business? I have built up a strong network over my career in marketing and I put some feelers out to start with, just to get some...