1. Recent Articles

      1. How to Jump Start Your Start-Up

        Explore Broowaha (22 hours, 5 min ago) Marketing , Productivity

        Solid Advice from HBR author Thomas Waite:

        First, have a very clear vision of exactly what your business will be. One way to do this is to create a unique customer value proposition—basically, a statement that defines your business from the customer perspective. It clearly and concisely identifies your most desirable customers, defining what unique and attractive value you can deliver and how it is that only you are able to deliver it.

        (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Boston   Harvard   Massachusetts

      2. You Can’t Be the Victim as an Entrepreneur

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 19 2012)

        You Can’t Be the Victim as an Entrepreneur People with a victim mentality should never be entrepreneurs. We all know the role of starting and running a business is unpredictable, and has a high risk of failure. For people with a victim mentality, this fear of failure alone will almost certainly make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. I’m sure you all know someone who is the perennial victim. The problem is that most of these people aren’t likely to accept your assessment, so it’s hard to help them. They don’t see themselves as others see them, and many simply refuse to accept the reality of ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      3. The default state of a startup is failure

        Explore cdixon.org (May 18 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        If you are starting a company and wondering why nothing good seems to happen unless you force it to happen, that’s because the world wants to stay the way it is. Customers, partners, and most of all incumbents don’t want to think hard, try new things, or change in any way. 

        (Read Full Article)

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      4. Three Things You Must Know Before Pitching Investors

        Explore Business & Small Business (May 18 2012) Funding , Productivity

        Three Things You Must Know Before Pitching Investors First impressions are always important in business, especially when you're approaching investors to secure funding for your startup. Angel investors and venture capitalists have specific expectations surrounding "the pitch," that charged moment when you try to sell an investor on you and your company. If you're heading into this culture for the first time, you'll need to do more to prepare than just catch a few episodes of "Shark Tank." As part of women's entrepreneurial network Ladies Who Launc (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   New York

      5. Is Now the Time to Hire MBAs?

        Explore ben's blog (May 18 2012) Recruiting

        Conventional wisdom among smart technology entrepreneurs says not to hire people with Masters in Business Administration (MBAs) into startups. Aaron Patzer, founder of Mint, expressed the sentiment well when he said: “When valuing a startup, add $500k for every engineer, and subtract $250k for every MBA.” My friend Peter Thiel once warned a young entrepreneur:… (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Andreessen Horowitz   Sun Microsystems   Bill Campbell

      6. To Make Your Employees Feel Less Busy, Give Them More to Do?

        Explore inc.com (May 18 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        To Make Your Employees Feel Less Busy, Give Them More to Do? Sometimes scientific findings of such head-slapping obviousness--talking on the phone makes you a worse driver and men generally favor large breasts, for example--that they make the average lay person wonder how anyone ever got funding to investigate the question in the first place. But then every once in a while, you run into a research result on the opposite end of the spectrum--something so counter-intuitive you can hardly believe it's true. Harvard Business School just produced one of the la (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Harvard Business School

      7. Navigating the Recruiting Maze

        Explore Small Business News, Tips, Advice (May 18 2012) Recruiting

        Navigating the Recruiting Maze For a lot of hiring managers and small business leaders, hiring remains the most crucial pain point. If you magically get the right people, stuff just gets executed. However, we never make the perfect hiring decisions all the time. Sometimes we are in a hurry to fill the role, and the options available seem more attractive than the list of skills and qualities we carefully created. navigating maze Of course, every manager has a different outlook – some of us “hire fast, learn fast and fail fast, (Read Full Article)

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      8. 7 Ways to Motivate Your Startup Team — Without Giving Away Equity

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 18 2012) Productivity

        7 Ways to Motivate Your Startup Team — Without Giving Away Equity Startup entrepreneurs live, eat and breathe their companies. Catching a quick catnap under your desk counts as a good night's sleep. But how do you get the same level of commitment from mere employees? Typically, the answer has been to award them significant chunks of the company in the form of stock and options. It’s not just greed. Sharing equity in your business early on can lead to complex problems as your company grows. Luckily, there are ways to motivate workers without giving away the store. 1. Show them you care. Tech entrepreneurs are notorious for their lack ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Starbucks

      9. Why Your Company Needs a Mantra

        Explore Startups and Burritos (May 18 2012)

        Why Your Company Needs a Mantra

        Does your company have a mantra? If not, stop what you are doing and develop one. Like, right now. It’s that important. What the heck is a mantra? Good question. It’s the core purpose for why your business exists. If you’ve ever seen Simon Sinek’s TED talk, ‘it starts with why’, your mantra is the why. To catch you up to speed, here’s a quick, (somewhat-bastardized) synopsis of Sinek’s TED talk: Every business has a what a and a why. The what explains what your business does (e.g. sells widgets)

        (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Simon Sinek

      10. The right work-life balance for your startup

        Explore chicagobusiness.com (May 18 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        The right work-life balance for your startup

        Let's face it, startups often feel like an all-out sprint to get your product to market before your competitors do. That typically means you are living and breathing your startup around the clock, often putting in long hours. And, you typically can't ever get away from it, even in your limited free time. Your friends want to talk about it, your best thinking is while you are alone in the shower, you get that great idea while at the gym, etc. That is all fine and dandy, until you realize that a s...

        (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Chicago

      11. Master Networking: Tips from Introverts

        Explore inc.com (May 18 2012)

        Master Networking: Tips from Introverts As it turns out, there's a lot of introverts out there! And many of them have their on tricks for making networking not only effective but almost enjoyable. We received a number of responses to our article on Networking for Introverts. Several of our readers were kind enough to share additional tips on how introverts can network successfully, so we thought we would share them here. "Part of life's gift is just being able to listen and get to know someone. Still, I sometimes don't say anything wh (Read Full Article)

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      12. Do-It-Yourself Public Relations

        Explore inc.com (May 18 2012) Marketing

        Do-It-Yourself Public Relations For most journalists, taking a meeting with a vacuum salesman would be right up there with getting their teeth pulled. But when we worked as reporters and James Dyson came to town, we always took the meeting. Dyson—the founder of the eponymous appliance company that's best known for it's see-through vacuums and quirky commercials—isn't just a brilliant inventor, he's the perfect pitchman for his company. But it wasn't his fabulous British accent or those memorable ads that got him the coverage i (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Facebook   Cnbc

      13. 7 Ways to Gauge Your Commitment to Your Startup

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 18 2012) Productivity

        7 Ways to Gauge Your Commitment to Your Startup We’ve all heard the old joke “In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.” This quote epitomizes the true essence of commitment. We all know at least one self-professed entrepreneur who claims to committed, but seems to treat it like a part-time hobby, won’t put any personal skin in the game, and is quick to give up when things are tough. There are no middle roads to real commitment, and if you are not ready to fully commit to all the rigors of a startup, you are better off sticking with your current ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      14. Monthly Financials, Quarterly Board Meetings, Continuous Communications

        Explore Feld Thoughts (May 18 2012)

        Monthly Financials, Quarterly Board Meetings, Continuous Communications I’ve been writing about boards of directors some lately – both changing my behavior as well as thinking out loud as I explore reinventing how boards work for the book “Startup Boards” that I’m working on with Mahendra Ramsinghani. All fit in the context of continuous communications as I believe three things about early stage [...] (Read Full Article)

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      15. The Startup Owner's Manual: Using Failure Wisely

        Explore inc.com (May 17 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        The Startup Owner's Manual: Using Failure Wisely Editor’s note: This post is part of a series featuring excerpts from the recently published book, The Startup Owner’s Manual, written by serial entrepreneurs-turned-educators Steve Blank and Bob Dorf. Come back each week for more how-tos from this 608-page guide. Existing companies already know what works and what doesn’t. For them, failures are an exception—if not a crisis. They happen when someone screws up. Startups are different. They’re searching for a business model, not executing, and the (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Steve Blank   Bob Dorf

      16. A framework to think about pricing seed, angel, and venture capital rounds

        Explore - This is going to be BIG! (May 17 2012) Funding

        How do you price a round? Its one of the most often asked questions and yet I've never seen a great answer given. It seems to me that the most important factor in pricing your round isn't your progress or your idea. It seems to come down to two things: 1) How much do you want to raise? 2) Supply and demand of capital willing to invest in your company. The second is pretty obvious, but what about the first? So the more you want to raise, the more your company is worth? Kind of, actually...but how ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   China   Charlie O'Donnell

      17. Keep a Grand Vision but Execute With a Laser Focus

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 17 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Keep a Grand Vision but Execute With a Laser Focus It’s great to dream big, but your startup needs a laser focus in the beginning to get market and investor attention. Google did it with search engines, Apple did it with a personal computer, and even Wal-Mart did it through low prices. A business plan I saw a while back to combine all the good features of several popular social networks on one site does not do it. Trying to do everything at once probably means that none of the items will be done well. Plus it’s almost impossible to craft a message that will make your offering ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Apple   Marty Zwilling   Wal-Mart

      18. Know the Right Resources for Your Startup Stage

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 16 2012) Funding , Marketing , Productivity

        Know the Right Resources for Your Startup Stage Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. That’s like trying to sell part of something to a stranger for big money when you haven’t fully defined it yet. It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility for when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). The challenge is finding and using qualified affordable support organizations for each stage. Don’t waste your resources ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      19. 9 Ways to Convince Your Parents to Support Your Startup - Not Just Financially

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 16 2012) Productivity

        9 Ways to Convince Your Parents to Support Your Startup - Not Just Financially For many young entrepreneurs, getting their parents’ support for a new venture can make a huge difference - emotionally, practically and even financially. But it’s not always easy to explain to Mom and Dad why, instead of getting a “real job,” you’re putting everything on the line to create a new technology startup. It can be done, though, and these youthful startup veterans explain how: Tip #1: Don’t get too full of yourself. “Show your parents that you have thought [your idea] through to the long term, not just what you hope happens in six months,” says Kelsey ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Chile   Facebook

      20. How to find great mentors, even if you’re an introvert

        Explore mixergy.com (May 15 2012)

        As an introvert, Ruben Gamez couldn’t connect with anyone he met at a three-day conference, so instead he built online relationships with mentors that helped him increase conversions by 10 percent. It was all done using networking techniques for introverts, so we invited him to teach you how to do it. (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Hiten Shah   Noah Kagan

      21. How to position your company so customers think of you first

        Explore mixergy.com (May 15 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Sean Glass wasn’t converting his early beta customers, so he repositioned Higher One to make customers think of his company first and grew its value to as high as $1.3 billion after going public. It was all done using positioning and marketing techniques, so we invited him to teach you how to do it. (Read Full Article)

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      22. Great Businesses Evolve Innovation to a Revolution

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 15 2012) Productivity

        Great Businesses Evolve Innovation to a Revolution Great businesses these days start with innovation, and then take it up a few notches to make it a revolution. An example is Google, who turned a new search technology into a tool that most of us couldn’t live without. As an entrepreneur, how do you know if you have the potential to innovate, and what are the steps to get from innovation to revolution? While digging into this subject, I came across a recent book by Patrick J. Howie, called “The Evolution of Revolutions,” which makes the points that resonate with my experience. He starts with a discussion ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Google   Marty Zwilling

      23. Stop Flying Blind: Use Big Data to Benchmark Your Startup

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 14 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Stop Flying Blind: Use Big Data to Benchmark Your Startup Most startups fail. Nine out of 10 never amount to anything more than fond memories and a forgotten Facebook page. One reason is that they often lack a clear picture of exactly how they’re doing until it’s too late. But there are tools designed to help you assess your startup's progress compared to similar companies. The best way for startup founders to improve their chance of success is by learning to make better decisions. But if you want to make better decisions, you need better data. And that’s where Startup Compass comes in: It’s designed ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Startup Genome

      24. How and Why Your Startup Should Go Virtual

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 14 2012) Productivity

        Working virtually sounds like heaven to many startups. After all, not having a central office staffed with employees saves money on rent, utilities, parking, etc., freeing you to invest in research, development or marketing. On the other hand, operating virtually is no panacea. Before you make the virtual leap, you need to figure out exactly what working virtually means to your business. The concept of virtual work has many names, from telecommuting and teleworking to distributed companies and remote workers. And virtual companies can be structured in several ways: 1. Lead a distributed workforce, consisting of full- and part-time employees ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Internal Revenue Service   Russia   Sara Sutton Fell

      25. Test Your Business Model Against These 10 Elements

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 14 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Test Your Business Model Against These 10 Elements You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. There are no “overrides” – for example, businesses don’t thrive just because they offer the latest technology, or because everyone wants to be “green, or because their goal is to reduce world hunger. I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. The most common failures are solutions looking for a problem ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling   Elizabeth Edwards

      26. Should Your Board Members Be On The all@company.com Email List?

        Explore Feld Thoughts (May 14 2012)

        Should Your Board Members Be On The all@company.com Email List? tl;dr – Yes. I’m on the all@company.com list for a number of the companies I’m on the board of. CEOs and entrepreneurs who practice TAGFEE welcome this. I haven’t universally asked for inclusion on this list mostly because I hadn’t really thought hard about it until recently. But I will now and going forward, although I’ll [...] (Read Full Article)

        Comment

      27. 9 Deadliest Start-up Sins

        Explore Steve Blank (May 14 2012) Productivity

        Inc. magazine is publishing a 12-part series of excerpts from The Startup Owner’s Manual, the new step-by-step “how to” guide for startups. The excerpts, which appeared first at Inc.com, highlight the Customer Development process, best practices, tips and instructions contained in our book.  Feedback from my readers suggested you’d appreciate seeing the series posted here, as well.

        (Read Full Article)

        Comment

      28. Successful Startups Often Come With a High Price

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 13 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Successful Startups Often Come With a High Price Most entrepreneurs expect to face the “normal” challenges of starting a business, which include finding the right opportunity, building and executing a winning plan, and financing their venture. But many forget the pitfalls associated with traditional business jobs which can apply even to the smartest and most dedicated people running their own business. Often these facets of entrepreneurship don’t rear their ugly head until well down the road. Yet before you start, you should think about what the impact might be on your psyche, and how to neutralize these challenges in your own plan. I’ll summarize them here ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Kawasaki   Bill Gates   Marty Zwilling

      29. Smart Entrepreneurs Plan Multiple Rollout Iterations

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 12 2012) Funding

        Smart Entrepreneurs Plan Multiple Rollout Iterations

        The traditional mode of starting a company is to plan a serial process, where you complete only once all the steps, leading to the “big bang” launch of the company. I strongly recommend a dramatic departure from this model, called “planned iteration,” where you assume you won’t get it right the first time. This idea was well articulated by Paul Graham in an old essay, called “Startups in 13 Sentences” in which he talked about “making a few people really happy rather than making a lot of people semi-happy.” One of his key points is that “launching teaches you ...

        (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Paul Graham   Google   Marty Zwilling

      30. 10 Tips on the Value of Collaboration in Startups

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 11 2012)

        10 Tips on the Value of Collaboration in Startups Any entrepreneur with a vision can postulate a new business, but it takes a collaboration of many people to make it a success. Today the complexity of forces required for success include multi-disciplinary skills, competencies, and experiences in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Entrepreneurs who embrace the “lone wolf” approach usually live to regret it. I just finished a new book, “The Collaboration Imperative,” by Ron Ricci and Carl Wiese, which makes the case very well for why collaboration matters in every business, as well as startups. Every entrepreneur should heed the following lessons ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      31. Guidelines For Interviewing At A Startup

        Explore Feld Thoughts (May 11 2012) Recruiting , Productivity

        Guidelines For Interviewing At A Startup My long time friend Chris Moody, president and COO of Gnip, has offered to write some guest posts on management – we’ll call the series Moody on Management. In addition to being an outstanding early stage / high growth executive, Chris has made a study of management in startups and is extremely thoughtful about what [...] (Read Full Article)

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      32. Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas

        Explore Paul Graham (May 11 2012) Productivity

        That's what these ideas say to us. This phenomenon is one of the most important things you can understand about startups. You'd expect big startup ideas to be attractive, but actually they tend to repel you. And that has a bunch of consequences. It means these ideas are invisible to most people who try to think of startup ideas, because their subconscious filters them out. Even the most ambitious people are probably best off approaching them obliquely. 1. A New Search Engine The best ideas are j (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Jessica Livingston   Apple   Trevor Blackwell

      33. Is Entrepreneurship for Everyone?

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 10 2012)

        Is Entrepreneurship for Everyone? Not long ago, serial entrepreneur and founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council Scott Gerber offered his prescription to Fix Young America. In short, Gerber believes entrepreneurship can cure a lot of what’s wrong with the American economy. Yesterday on Salon.com, those ideas came under attack as an Occupy imposter - instead of representing American’s youth, the post contended, they’re shills for “the most noxious aspects of the bipartisan status quo.” Gerber can defend himself, but in criticizing him, the authors seem to be condemning entrepreneurship. And that needs defending. To give them their due, Salon authors Daniel ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Scott Gerber   Adam Goldstein

      34. The Best Entrepreneurs Are Undaunted by Failure

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 10 2012)

        The Best Entrepreneurs Are Undaunted by Failure If you haven’t had a failure, you aren’t pushing the limits. If you are really an entrepreneur, you are a risk taker and less cautious by nature, so failures should be expected. Wear you startup failure as a badge of courage. Don’t go after failure, but embrace it when it does happen and grow from it. People who are afraid of failing should not become entrepreneurs. They can't overcome the psychological fears of making a mistake, and are afraid of losing money. They are better off keeping their day job. Successful entrepreneurs, on the other hand ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Apple   Thomas Edison   Steve Jobs

      35. From Founder to Alchemist, Why Titles Aren't Trivial

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 9 2012) Recruiting

        From Founder to Alchemist, Why Titles Aren't Trivial The current technology boom is, on most fronts, quite unlike the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. But one aspect that both seem to share is a fascination with titles - both yours and your teams’. Many startup entrepreneurs are returning to the creative titles of the 1990s. Is that really a smart move? Ranjith Kumaran, founder and CEO of PunchTab (which creates instant loyalty platforms), and co-founder of YouSendIt, where he was the Chief Technology Officer (he’s still on the board) acknowledges the “topic of unique, creative and alternative titles keeps coming up as of late.” Kumaran says it ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Ranjith Kumaran

      36. A new field guide for entrepreneurs of all stripes

        Explore Lessons Learned (May 9 2012)

        A new field guide for entrepreneurs of all stripes TLDR: Brant Cooper and Patrick Vlaskovits, authors of The Entrepreneur's Guide to Customer Development are back with a new book called The Lean Entrepreneur. Illustrations by FAKEGRIMLOCK. You can pre-order it starting today. It's been just about two years since Brant Cooper and Patrick Vlaskovits released their self-published book The Entrepreneur's Guide to Customer Development (you can see my original review here). It took the idea of Customer Development and made it accessible to a whole new audience. Since then, Brant and Patrick have been tireless advocates for the whole Lean Startup movement. From Lean Startup Machine ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Imvu   California   Amazon

      37. 8 Hard-Earned Insights Into Raising Startup Capital

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 8 2012) Funding

        8 Hard-Earned Insights Into Raising Startup Capital Approaching investors for the first time is a daunting exercise for any startup. Regardless of whether you’re raising venture capital, approaching angels or still trying to figure out where to get started, it’s critical to stay level-headed about what you’re really pitching - and what it’s actually worth. The best way to do that is to leverage the hard-won experience of real-world startup. So we asked a panel of eight successful young entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) about their startup funding successes (and failures) and the lessons they learned. Turns out that while every startup ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   San Francisco   Young Entrepreneur Council   YEC

      38. 4 Stupid Legal Mistakes That Can Kill Your Startup

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 8 2012) Legal

        4 Stupid Legal Mistakes That Can Kill Your Startup Everyone knows Dickens’ famous opening from A Tale of Two Cities. But “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." is only the beginning of the line. The sentence continues: “it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” It’s that second part that makes the quote an apt metaphor for life in a startup - and a dire warning to entrepreneurs. When you’re starting a company, your job is to be super-smart and achieve the best of times, while avoiding the dumb mistakes that can lead to the worst of times ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Coca-Cola   Charley Moore

      39. How to Show Your Customers a Little Extra Love

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 8 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        How to Show Your Customers a Little Extra Love I deal often with early-stage startups, and many of these don’t have any customers yet (but wish they did), so it’s not surprising they still don’t think of customers as their friends. More disturbingly, others do have customers, but the customer service program consists of an informal focus on “problems,” rather than a proactive effort to establish a positive relationship with friends. The right time to put a formal customer service program in place, with measurements, is before the first sale of your product or service to a customer. You can’t manage what you don’t ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      40. How to get traction using clever hacks & little money

        Explore mixergy.com (May 7 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        How to get traction using clever hacks & little money After wasting six months developing a product that nobody wanted, Chuck Gordon built a successful self-storage marketplace that raised $4.5 million in venture capital. It was all done with clever hacks and a shoestring budget, so we invited him to teach you how to do it. (Read Full Article)

        Comment

      41. 3 People You Must Have on Your Advisory Board

        Explore Brewin' on Broad Street (May 7 2012) Legal , Leadership

        One of the greatest assets an entrepreneur can have is an Advisory Board. And the best part is that it costs very little. The “right” Advisory Board members contribute invaluable guidance and advice and provide access to networks of industry, … Continue reading →

        (Read Full Article)

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      42. 6 Reasons Why Startup Prototypes Attract Investors

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 7 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        6 Reasons Why Startup Prototypes Attract Investors It’s a long way from an entrepreneur’s “idea” to a working product with a real market and paying customers. A necessary intermediate step for proof of concept, credibility with potential investors, and communication with your team, is a working prototype. Building a prototype should be an early and high priority task for every startup. A prototype doesn’t need to look great, or be built to scale, but it better accurately translate your vision into something real and tangible. For less tangible p (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      43. Why Churn is SO critical to success in SaaS

        Explore Blog of David Skok, Matrix Partners (May 7 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Why Churn is SO critical to success in SaaS

        Summary: Illustrates graphically why churn is a huge problem a SaaS company gets larger. It also looks at a very surprising factor that can massively accelerate SaaS growth: negative churn. (This article  is applicable to any recurring revenue business, not just SaaS.) Introduction As a SaaS company becomes larger, the size of the subscription base...

        (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   David Skok   Dropbox

      44. How to Succeed in Living the Entrepreneur Lifestyle

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 6 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        How to Succeed in Living the Entrepreneur Lifestyle

        As we recover from some tough economic times, more and more people seem to be turning to entrepreneurship as an alternative to traditional employment. I applaud this trend, but caution all of you thinking this direction to approach entrepreneurship with your eyes wide open. It is not for everyone, as the entrepreneur’s path is fraught with challenges. Many experts have tried to clearly lay out the criteria for success in a way that allows you to judge your own situation and your own temperament, and make a rational decision before starting down this path. One of the best summaries ...

        (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Harvard   Marty Zwilling   Bill Murphy

      45. Startup Investors Bet on the Jockey, Not the Horse

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 5 2012) Productivity

        Startup Investors Bet on the Jockey, Not the Horse In the beginning all businesses are just people playing out an idea. It’s never the other way around – there is no idea so big that it doesn’t need people to make it succeed. Investors know this, hence the saying “Bet on the jockey (founder), not the horse (idea).” A great jockey is a great role model. Like it or not, everyone looks to the entrepreneur as the jockey role model in a new business. Typically this energizes new startup founders, but some struggle trying to live up to their own, as well as everyone else’s expectations. In ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      46. The 3 (or 4) Character Traits it takes to Create a Successful Startup

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 4 2012)

        The 3 (or 4) Character Traits it takes to Create a Successful Startup Want to know the second most comon question from startup entrepreneurs? (The first, of course, is “Where can I get money?”) It’s “What traits do successful entrepreneurs share?” They’re not asking about tangible things like good ideas, great teams and adequate funding, but, rather the inner characteristics that set apart the founders of successful startups. No doubt you’re motivated, but that’s not even close to enough. And there’s no doubt you have to be optimistic, perseverant, energetic and at least a little bit lucky. But if you really want to know how how an entrepreneur ... (Read Full Article)

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      47. 6 Tips to Max Your Business Problem Solving Skills

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 4 2012) Productivity

        6 Tips to Max Your Business Problem Solving Skills If you can’t solve problems and enjoy it, you won’t make it as an entrepreneur. By definition, an entrepreneur is the first to undertake a given business, and firsts never happen without problems and people frustrations. The toughest problems are people problems, like personnel issues, but there are tough operational problems as well, such as vendor delays. The real entrepreneurs I know are good at overcoming both people problems and business obstacles, and get satisfaction from the challenge. Some people think this is a talent that you must be born with, but experts disagree. You can definitely train ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      48. The 5 Numbers that Actually Matter

        Explore Startup Remarkable (May 3 2012)

        The 5 Numbers that Actually Matter What Startup Metrics do you measure? In God we Trust – everyone else bring data – W. Edwards Deming In our online and tech world we now swim in an ocean of data – we could literally spend all day analysing it. I’ve spoken with some successful entrepreneurs about the importance of this in the [...] (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Facebook

      49. 5 Ways to Bootstrap Your Startup

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 3 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        5 Ways to Bootstrap Your Startup The conflicting (frequently unsolicited) advice startup entrepreneurs too often hear is enough to make you tune it all out. Either you’re told that you need to go big and grab all the angel or VC money you can get your hands on, or that you should start small, do it on your own, and retain control of your company. But bootstrapping a startup is not easy, requiring discipline and fortitude, as well as ingenuity. But entrepreneurs who have done it have discovered some best practices to increase th (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Internal Revenue Service

      50. Inventor-Entrepreneur Pairs are Ideal for a Startup

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 3 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Inventor-Entrepreneur Pairs are Ideal for a Startup In my experience, inventors aren’t interested or aren’t very good at building a business, and entrepreneurs aren’t usually good scientists. These people need to find each other, and can jointly make a great team for a new startup. Historically, it’s also not often that a good inventor was also a good entrepreneur. Some now argue that even our entrepreneur heroes, like Thomas Edison, really cheated on the invention side. Only a few great entrepreneurs of recent times, like the young Bill Gates, seem to have elements of both sides. Even he had some great help from ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Steve Ballmer   Bill Gates   Thomas Edison

      51. How to Maximize the Value of Mentors in Accelerators

        Explore instigatorblog.com (May 3 2012) Marketing

        The questioning (negative) press about startup accelerators and incubators isn’t going to stop. It’s going to continue and likely increase. Some of it will be meaningless drivel mixed in with a healthy dose of ranting and raving (not dissimilar to the endless and cyclical discussions on whether we’re in a bubble or not.) But a lot of the press and blog posts we’ll see about accelerators and incubators will be very meaningful and important. I suspect more and more of this will come from people that have actually gone through accelerators; they being the best ones ...

        (Read Full Article)

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      52. Building It Is Not Enough: 5 Practical Tips On User Acquisition

        Explore On Startups by Dharmesh Shah (May 2 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Building It Is Not Enough: 5 Practical Tips On User Acquisition The following is a guest post by Brian Balfour, Co-Founder and CMO of Boundless. You can read more of his writing on his blog at BrianBalfour.com. Stories about the growth of "hot" startups such as Facebook, Instagram, AirBNB, and others have created a belief that if you build the right product, customer acquisition will be easy. Don't be fooled. These stories are the exception, not the rule, and don't tell the entire story of the immense effort it took to grow their customer bases. Finding scalable acquisition channels is a time consuming and strategic effort. If you ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Boston   Facebook   Zynga

      53. Angel vs. VC: Which Investor Is Best for Your Startup?

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (May 2 2012) Funding

        Angel vs. VC: Which Investor Is Best for Your Startup? Getting financing for your startup is rarely easy, but if you approach the wrong investor, you can make it even harder than it has to be. “How can there be a ‘wrong investor’?” you might be thinking. “Don’t I just go with whoever is willing to give me the money?” It’s not quite that simple. Approaching the wrong investor is kind of like asking someone who’s married out on a date. Not only will they turn you down, but they’ll probably think you’re an idiot. Many first-time entrepreneurs mistakenly lump angel investors and venture capitalists ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Rieva Lesonsky

      54. Startup Founders Need to Build a Dream Team

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 2 2012) Recruiting , Productivity

        Startup Founders Need to Build a Dream Team If you are a young startup founder, how do you find that CEO or other executive for your “dream team” to close on funding and kick start your company? It makes logical sense to scour the job boards, engage an executive recruiter, or scan the networking sites like LinkedIn for a good array of candidates, and then interview the ones with the best resumes. If that’s as far as you go, you haven’t done the whole job. In reality, none of these alternatives is as effective as face-to-face networking. As I’ve said before, there is no substitute ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling   Peter Drucker

      55. 7 Success Maxims from Savvy Business Leaders

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (May 1 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        7 Success Maxims from Savvy Business Leaders Even though I have seen many business leaders succeed, and many that failed, I still struggle with what really makes the difference. It seems like some CEOs are just more tuned in to the market realities, customer dynamics, people interactions, and are better leaders. But what does that really mean? A while back I found some great business leadership insights in “The Secrets of Tuned In Leaders”, by Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott. They did a series of interviews with CEOs to understand how technology companies create success, and why most fail. They found many similarities between the ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   David Meerman Scott   Marty Zwilling   Craig Stull

      56. When confidence trumps competence in the workplace

        Explore curiousjuice.com (Apr 30 2012)

        When confidence trumps competence in the workplace Ask any individual what they admire about a leader and invariably their description will include “confidence”.  People love to be around those that exude confidence.  Confidence is the trait that appears to trump all else when leaders are evaluated (and conversely, as I learned far too often during my dating years, “nice guys finish last”).  This makes sense – after all, who wants to follow, or date, someone who is unsure of themselves?  I recall a recent quote from a tech CEO where he said that he values most in candidates creativity, cleverness and confidence. However, countless scientific studies show that ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   America   Bertrand Russell

      57. 3 Ways to Stop Fighting With Your Team!

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (Apr 30 2012)

        3 Ways to Stop Fighting With Your Team! Conflict between founders and team members is among the most insidious problems that can cripple a startup company. Problems can arise on teams of just two or three people, and even in startups that work with regular freelancers or independent contractors. Often, conflict starts so subtly you hardly notice it. But if you don’t take steps to stop the problems, these clashes can hurt your authority, your team’s morale and ultimately your business. There are several everyday conflicts many startups face. Here are three of the most common types of employee problems you’re likely to encounter - and ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Rieva Lesonsky

      58. Top 5 Ways To Freak Out Potential Investors

        Explore ReadWriteWeb (Apr 30 2012) Funding

        Top 5 Ways To Freak Out Potential Investors No one believes they have an ugly baby. And all entrepreneurs are convinced that their businesses are better than the other guy’s. So chances are you’re sure (or at least really hopeful) investors will be lining up, eager to put money into your business.  Angels, VCs and banks take a more clear-eyed approach. If they see any of these five warning signs, they’re likely to put away their wallets and head for the hills. Whether you’re looking for private equity, venture capital or angel investors, there are some common warning signs practically guaranteed to scare investors ... (Read Full Article)

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      59. Most Entrepreneurs Need to be Inspired to Perspire

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Apr 29 2012) Marketing

        Most Entrepreneurs Need to be Inspired to Perspire I’m fully convinced that both inspiration and perspiration are always required in a startup. Yet many people seem to be stuck on one end or other of this equation – all perspiration with no dream, or all inspiration with no reality. Success is the right balance of both for fun and profit. Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Those at the other extreme don’t look up from the grindstone long enough to notice whether all ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      60. The Scarcest Resource at Startups is Management Bandwidth

        Explore bothsidesofthetable.com (Apr 28 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        The Scarcest Resource at Startups is Management Bandwidth When you work inside a startup with lots of clever and motivated staff you’re never short of good ideas that you can implement. It’s tempting to take on new projects, new features, new geographies, new speaking opportunities, whatever. Each one incrementally sounds like a good idea, yet collectively they end up punishing undisciplined teams. I [...] (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Mark Suster

      61. Entrepreneurs Need to Have Fun to Be More Innovative

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Apr 28 2012) Productivity

        Entrepreneurs Need to Have Fun to Be More Innovative I’m convinced that people who have fun at work are more innovative, as well as happier. I don’t have any big scientific studies to prove this, but in my considerable business experience, I haven’t seen many successes come out of a group of fearful pessimists or unhappy people. As I was looking through the literature, I did find evidence that many strong business leaders, like John D. Rockefeller, knew how to laugh at themselves. Humble leaders with this trait seem to create cultures that don't take themselves too seriously; cultures willing to take risks; cultures capable ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling   John D. Rockefeller

      62. How to: Compete with Amazon S3 Without Buying Hardware

        Explore Adam Smith's Blog (Apr 27 2012)

        How to: Compete with Amazon S3 Without Buying Hardware Here's what you do: Given a piece of data you want to store, replicate it 2x, and store half a copy across four different raw storage providers (people selling you hard drives attached to the Internet). For example, Rackspace gets one half a copy, as does SoftLayer, GoGrid, and Storm on Demand. Keep in mind that you're buying raw storage from each of these guys, not redudant storage. Your data will be available as long as two of the four raw storage providers are up. This design could provide more independent failure modes than Amazon S3. More importantly ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Amazon

      63. Do My Early Stage Investors Own Too Much Of The Company?

        Explore Ask The VC (Apr 27 2012) Funding

        Question: Most VCs commented that they can not fund current cap table where the CEO and COO would get 10% equity once fully vested while the current investors have 80%. We talked to our investors and they have agreed to rework the cap table, however, I would like to understand from you what should I [...] (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   India

      64. 9 Attributes of the Best Entrepreneurial Leaders

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Apr 27 2012) Productivity

        9 Attributes of the Best Entrepreneurial Leaders Creating and building a business is not a one-man show. It requires a team effort, or at least the ability to build trust and confidence among key players, and effectively communicate with partners, team members, investors, vendors, and customers. These actions are the hallmark of an effective leader. Behind the actions are a set of principles and characteristics that entrepreneurial leaders, like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, seem to have in common. Look for these and nurture them in your own context to improve the odds of success for your own startup: Clarity of vision and expectations. You must be ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Bill Gates   Steve Jobs   Marty Zwilling

      65. Startup Founders: Don't Freak Out

        Explore On Startups by Dharmesh Shah (Apr 26 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Startup Founders: Don't Freak Out When I was working on building my first startup, Really Bad Things(TM) happened on an alarmingly regular basis. I was in my early 20s and living in Birmingham, Alabama (where there was no startup ecosystem at the time). So, when something happened that we thought would quite possibly kill the company, one of us (I had a co-founder) would freak out. Sometimes, both of us would freak out. Sometimes, we would freak each other out. Then, we would ultimately decide to take the Scarlett O'Hara (Gone With The Wind) approach — “I'll think about that tomorrow” and get ... (Read Full Article)

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      66. Incumbents die due to irrelevance or ineptitude

        Explore cdixon.org (Apr 26 2012) Marketing

        Judging from the tech press, you’d think the biggest risk to successful companies is competition. But when you examine the history of technology, incumbents usually decline because the world changes and they lose relevance, or because they lose visionary founders and the organization decays. Some examples: - Dell thrived when PCs dominated the computer market and [...] (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Lycos   Dell   Yahoo

      67. Define Startup Social Media Goals and Metrics Early

        Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Apr 26 2012) Marketing , Productivity

        Define Startup Social Media Goals and Metrics Early If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. There are many ‘experts’ out there telling you how to do it, or even offering their services. But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Jim Sterne, who has written six books on Internet advertising, marketing, and customer service, tackled this complex world of social media metrics in his book titled "Social Media Metrics." He has one of the first books on this ... (Read Full Article)

        Comment Mentions:   Marty Zwilling

      68. Demoting A Loyal Friend

        Explore ben's blog (Apr 24 2012) Recruiting , Productivity

        When I started Loudcloud, I hired the best people that I knew—people whom I respected, trusted and liked. Like me, many of them did not have deep experience in the jobs that I gave them, but they worked night and day to make it work and they made great contributions to the company. Yet for… (Read Full Article)

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      69. See all articles >>