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TechCrunch
Dice Reports Murky Waters For Tech Jobs

Leena Rao

2 Jul 2009 | 3:51 pm

After months of dismal unemployment numbers, this morning’s continued growth in the unemployment rate from 9.4% in May to 9.5% for the month of June reinforces the fact that the U.S. is still very much in the midst of recession. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today that employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, compared to 322,000 jobs in May. Unfortunately, the tech industry is still feeling the heat of the recession, with the rate of available jobs not improving much from the past few months, according to technology jobs site Dice.com. Tom Silver, senior vice president…
The Infamous 2009 LimeWire Pizza Fiasco

Michael Arrington

2 Jul 2009 | 3:08 pm

July 1, 2009 - the day the music wars started in earnest. Last night the guys from Dovecote Records, a small music label based in New York, were hanging out at their local bar. Employees from file sharing startup LimeWire showed up to have a party. There was confusion over the ownership of some pizza, and a riot almost ensued. From the Dovecote Blog: Woman: “Who the FUCK are you? And why are you eating our pizza?” Kosuke and Paul look confused. Kosuke: Are you joking? Is this a joke? Woman: No this is definitely NOT a joke. I want to know who you are and why you’re eating our pizza.
Twitter Makes Hashtags More #Useful

Leena Rao

2 Jul 2009 | 2:14 pm

You may have noticed that Twitter has started hyperlinking hashtags. Those are words preceded by a “#” which denote what the Tweet is about and makes it easier to search for Tweets about specific topics and events. For instance, try searching for #realtimecrunchup. Now that they are hyperlinked, when you click on a hashtag, you are led to the search result page for the specific hashtag. Others have been implementing this; FriendFeed (big surprise) has been doing this for awhile. Some of the Twitter clients, including the desktop versions of Tweetie and Seesmic Desktop also provide…
One More Thing: The New Facebook iPhone App Will Allow Video Uploads

MG Siegler

2 Jul 2009 | 1:37 pm

Yesterday, we wrote about what Facebook was planning for the next major release of its iPhone app, version 3.0. The big update will contain 15 new features, probably none bigger than the addition of event management to the app, finally. But there was one thing Facebook developer Joe Hewitt didn’t mention yesterday, and it’s a big one: Video uploads from the iPhone 3GS. Hewitt just started working on the feature yesterday, thinking it would be something that would come in the next release, after this one. But he was surprised at how quickly he was able to get it up and running and…
Google Blog Search Takes Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Jason Kincaid

2 Jul 2009 | 12:51 pm

Last fall Google launched a revamped version of its Blog Search, converting the site’s frontpage into a automated news portal similar to sites like Techmeme. It has its fair share of issues (for one, it’s subject to the same problems of automated grouping as Google News is), but it was a step in the right direction for the site. That said, it has been missing some key features. For one, there hasn’t been a good way to track breaking news stories as they happen — generally stories only pop up as they gain momentum and are written about by multiple sites, which can take…

Entrepreneur
Recruit Talent with Social Media

30 Jun 2009 | 5:00 pm

Learn to use social networking sites to lure quality hires.
Learn to Lean on Your Advisors

29 Jun 2009 | 5:00 pm

Take advantage of expert advice--but know that the final say is yours.
5 Tips to Become a High-Achiever

28 Jun 2009 | 5:00 pm

Understand your threshold and exceed your goals.
The 10 Worst Partners For Your Start-Up

28 Jun 2009 | 5:00 pm

Don’t give away equity or authority to these characters.
10 Rules for Quick and Easy PR

25 Jun 2009 | 5:00 pm

Simple steps to give your business a competitive edge, on a budget.

VentureBeat
Ain’t no thang: SocialThing sort of becomes AIM Connect

Eric Eldon

2 Jul 2009 | 5:25 pm

This past April, AOL began testing out a social toolbar for web sites, under the name of a lifestreaming service called Socialthing, which it acquired in 2008. The toolbar is now going through a rough transition into something else, although it’s not totally clear what’s happening. At least judging by the live test that AOL has been running on its country music site The Boot. The Socialthing name has been dropped (and some features broken) in favor of a new name: AIM Connect. The Socialthing toolbar has let people sign in with AIM, ICQ or Bebo identities and chat with friends on…
Real estate site Trulia says traffic is still growing

Anthony Ha

2 Jul 2009 | 4:57 pm

Trulia, the real estate website backed by prominent venture firms Sequoia Capital and Accel, published some numbers today showing that despite continued problems in the housing market and the general economy, the San Francisco startup has been having a strong 2009. That continues a pattern we’ve seen already, with Trulia claiming record traffic and revenue back in January, due in part to interest from investors looking for real estate deals. Now the company says that momentum has continued over the first six months of the year, with visits growing 40 percent compared to the same period…
The future: Hamster wheels that run on magnets?

Camille Ricketts

2 Jul 2009 | 4:18 pm

Magnets very rarely come up in serious renewable energy discussions. But why? It doesn’t get more zero-emission than that! At least that’s the thought behind car designer Harsha Vardhan’s new Transporter TW: an electric vehicle propelled by magnetic fields. The single-passenger car is technically electric — just like the Tesla Roadster or the impending Chevy Volt — but its electric engine drives magnetic fields instead of tires. Now why would that be advantageous — besides looking exactly as futuristic as people in the 80s thought things would? Apparently,…
DOE taps DuPont for $9M solar research project

Camille Ricketts

2 Jul 2009 | 3:25 pm

Science-oriented conglomerate DuPont has landed a $9 million partnership with the Department of Energy to conduct research into consumer-facing solar goods and components. The focus of the three-year program will be to market a protective film for plastic and glass thin-film photovoltaics, the company says. Thin-film solar products have been taking off lately (they are a core business for companies like First Solar and Solyndra), mainly because they cut the costs of commercial and residential solar installations. They are also much more malleable, able to be folded or wrapped around…
German utility Yello Strom steals the smart grid spotlight — at least for today

Camille Ricketts

2 Jul 2009 | 2:04 pm

The net is abuzz today with talk of Yello Strom, the German utility that reportedly takes smart grid technology and web integration to the max with its new Sparzahler meter — cowing U.S. utilities that are just beginning to adopt green initiatives. On closer inspection, however, it’s simply the first to integrate a lot of features that debuted in the U.S. For example, one of Yello Strom’s major boons is that it is the first European utility to give its customers access to Google PowerMeter — but there are already eight North American utilities on board. The other is…

Hacker News
MySpace now a “digital ghetto”

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How Much Of Life Are You Actually Living?

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Feel the cache size: a definitive experiment

Comments
Google App Engine Broken For 4 Hours And Counting

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Open source software only comes in one edition: awesome.

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SmartBrief on Entrepreneurs
SmartBrief will not be published Friday

1 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pm

In observance of Independence Day in the U.S., SmartBrief will not be published Friday. Publication will resume Monday. -More-
Time to rethink Generation Y?

1 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pm

This essay in Advertising Age looks at psychological changes the recession may be causing among members of Generation Y, wide -More-
9 ways to blow a pitch

1 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pm

If you manage to get yourself in front of investors for a pitch, remember you'll have no more than one hour -- including chit -More-
Saving the world, 1 task at a time

1 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pm

You've got 10 minutes of downtime and a smartphone. Do you a) destroy digital zombies or b) save the world? -More-
Business loan delinquencies edged up in May

1 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pm

After showing some signs of progress in April, more small and medium-sized businesses fell behind on their loans in May, when -More-

How to Change the World
How to Achieve Revenue

GuyKawasaki

1 Jul 2009 | 10:59 am

The harsh reality of the startup scene today is that revenue is the best, and maybe only, form of funding. While many conferences focus on gaining the attention of investors, we’ve put one together that focuses on generating revenue. It’s called Revenue Bootcamp. It’s on Friday, July 10th, at the Microsoft Mountain View, California campus. Click here to learn more about it and to register. The topics include increasing traffic, selling advertising, and utilizing other revenue streams. There is also a keynote and booksigning with Chris Anderson, the author of Free: The Future…
Reality Check Now Available in French

GuyKawasaki

28 Jun 2009 | 7:39 pm

Vient de paraître en français: La réalité de l'entrepreneuriat Le guide irrévérencieux pour dépasser, devancer, distancer vos concurrents de Guy Kawasaki Publié en français par les Editions Diateino, avec l'aimable autorisation de Portfolio, Penguin Group. 26 euros. Ce livre, traduit par Marylène Delbourg Delphis, fait suite à L’art de se lancer, le bestseller de Guy Kawasaki traduit en 10 langues, paru en 2006 aux Editions Diateino. La réalité de l’entrepreneuriat, comme L’art de se lancer, est un livre de chevet pour tout entrepreneur, où qu’il vive. Ce livre vous…
Sites Used at San Diego Venture Group Speech

GuyKawasaki

25 Jun 2009 | 11:19 pm

These are the sites and applications that I used in today’s San Diego Venture Group speech about using social media as a marketing tool. Making Connections LinkedIn LinkedIn: Find References LinkedIn: Companies LinkedIn: Answers: Home LinkedIn: Jobs Home Jigsaw Spokeo Social Networking Facebook | Alltop Twitter / Home Twitter Corporate Examples JetBlue Dell Outlet Virgin America Amazondeals CirqueLasVegas Comcastcares Kogibbq Twitter Search Examples Monitor: guykawasaki OR alltop Monitor: comcast OR Directv Monitor: Starbucks VIA Search.twitter.com/ Camaro Camaro within 100 miles…
How Mayo Clinic Uses Social Media

GuyKawasaki

23 Jun 2009 | 4:57 pm

Over at the American Express Open Forum I posted an interview with Lee Aase. He manages syndication and social media for Mayo Clinic. In this interview he explains the history of Mayo Clinic’s use of social media and how effective this effort has been. If you’re considering social media for your organization, it’s a worthwhile read. Click here to read it.
How to Use Alltop to Add Content to Your Website, Blog, and Feed Reader

GuyKawasaki

21 Jun 2009 | 10:43 am

We’ve enabled people to access and repurpose the website and blog feeds that we’ve curated at Alltop: Widget. Create a widget of any Alltop site by going here. Then you can deploy these widgets in your blogs. These widgets display the five most popular stories from the respective topic. This is a great way to add fresh content to your website or blog with very little work. To see a list of “all the topics” that may be relevant, go here. RSS feed. Grab the RSS feed of any Alltop topic by clicking on the RSS symbol in your browser’s navigation area. Then you can…

WSJ.com: Independent Street
Friday Memos

Raymund Flandez

5 Jun 2009 | 7:14 pm

- Main Street businesses still aren’t hiring. Last month, small businesses shed more than four times as many employees as larger businesses did, according to payroll processor ADP. [CNNMoney.com] - As small-business owners try to cut travel costs, they’re increasingly looking to Web conferencing. Fuze, Zoho Meeting and GoToMeeting are some of the best options available, with prices ranging from $12 per month to $50 per month. [Inc. magazine] - Some small-business employers fear the possibility of a mandate in health care reform proposals that employers must pay for insurance.
Friday Memos

Raymund Flandez

29 May 2009 | 11:56 am

- More small business owners are opting to take a less expensive vacation and are feeling less guilty about taking time off compared to last year, according to this week’s release of results from an American Express survey of business owners. But four out of 10 business owners don’t plan to take any vacation at all; they can’t afford it. [American Express Open Small Business Monitor] - Laid-off workers are becoming street-food entrepreneurs in the streets of San Francisco, selling everything from Thai curry, barbecue pork sandwiches, crème brulee, pho and escargot-on-a-stick. To alert…
Friday Memos

Raymund Flandez

22 May 2009 | 10:04 am

- America’s Recovery Capital, the new emergency loan program of up to $35,000 for small businesses, was introduced this week by the Small Business Administration. The so-called ARC loans are specifically for companies that in the past were profitable but are struggling or have been making loan payments but are just beginning to miss them because of financial hardship, says Eric Zarnikow, SBA director of financial assistance. [The Washington Post] - Karen Gordon Mills, the new SBA administrator who’s an expert on venture capital, says she’s thinking about working with other…
SBA Loan Programs Getting Back on Track, Mills Says

Raymund Flandez

14 May 2009 | 12:41 pm

It’s finally happening. Efforts to get money to capital-strapped small businesses are beginning to work, as banks have returned to making loans backed by the federal government, says Karen Gordon Mills, the new Small Business Administration head. More than 10,000 Recovery Act loans have been approved, which represents about $3 billion in credit supporting small businesses, she said in her testimony at a Senate hearing Wednesday. The hearing was about the small business provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was enacted in February. Since then, more than half of…
Senators Propose Plan to Help Small Businesses Pay for Health Coverage

Simona Covel

7 May 2009 | 5:08 am

Congress is gearing up for the big battle for health-care coverage, expected to come to the fore this summer. In the meantime, ideas for small businesses are beginning to surface. The newest proposal comes from Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). More than half of the nation’s uninsured, they point out, are self-employed, work for a small business, or are a dependent of someone who works for a small business. Fix small-business coverage, and you fix a big part of the health-care problem. They’ve tagged their proposal the Small Business…

Photostream from Daylife

VatorNews.tv
YouTube doubles upload limit to 2GB

2 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm

Latest update targets big studios to dismay of ordinary usersYouTube announced this week in a blog post that it would be increasing the maximum upload size from 1GB to 2GB. Revealing this upgrade alongside tips for sharing and embedding HD videos, the announcement clearly targets users focusing on HD video uploads.In fact, seeing that the site is maintaining its old restriction that limits videos to 10 minutes or under, we can pretty plainly see that this update is intended only for users uploading HD content. And while people are slowly transitioning to HD cameras, the high cost of such…
Bling Nation goes "bling-bling" with $8 mln

2 Jul 2009 | 11:59 am

Startup is enabling consumers to make purchases using their cellphones as debit cardsImagine a day when you won’t have to carry around a wallet anymore. Everything you need is digitally stored in your Smartphone, including your cash. So you walk to a register with some groceries, scan your phone at the checkout, and receive a text message receipt with transaction information, an updated account balance and rewards balance. Startup, Bling Nation, is well on the road to bringing this to a widespread reality, receiving $8 million in Series A funding today. The round was…
Murdoch doesn't think CNBC talent is good

2 Jul 2009 | 9:37 am

Rupert Murdoch on business media, Twitter and buying the the New York TimesAs the leading media figure in the world, Rupert Murdoch is one to listen to when it comes to views about old and new media. TheStreet.com landed an interview with the king of media. Here are some highlights:On buying The New York Times: "That's nonsense... But I would imagine that it would be legally and politically almost impossible, so I'm not thinking about it."On MySpace shakeup: "The business sort of grew out of control and really out of size. I blame myself and it had to be brought back in size... it will…
Free vs Freely distributed

2 Jul 2009 | 6:30 am

You can get it for free at the cost of your attention, your email, your address, etc.With the publication of Chris Anderson’s new book "Free," the discussion about the role of free, today and in the future has expanded. Articles from Malcom Gladwell in New Yorker, and Seth Godin discuss the various merits and challenges of Free. Is Free inevitable? Is Free the beginning of the end? Let me answer the question. First of all, what we are experiencing right now is “Better Than Free." The videos on YouTube, magazine articles, newspapers reports, anything that used to be analog that…
Facebook gets serious about sharing

2 Jul 2009 | 6:00 am

New tests foreshadow future changes that leave all privacy decisions up to the userEverybody knows the story already. First, Facebook upgrades the way privacy settings work. Then tens of thousands of users wave their angry fists in revolt by joining a “Petition Facebook to go back to the old settings” group. A few weeks pass and, finally, life goes on.Expect the story to be repeated many times over in the next few weeks, as Facebook rolls out a series of tests that change the way privacy and sharing work on the social networking site. The current timetable sets product finalization and…

Small Business Labs
Self-Employment Not Falling

sking

1 Jul 2009 | 1:00 am

The New Times article Are We Becoming Less Entrepreneurial has a chart showing that the percentage of the U.S. workforce that is self-employed has been falling since 1990. The data source is the OECD Fact Book. However, as the chart below shows, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS) the percentage has been roughly steady to slightly up over the last decade. I haven't had a chance to check out the OECD data, but it appears likely that the OECD only counts unincorporated self-employment. It also looks like they…
Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs Hot

sking

30 Jun 2009 | 1:01 am

Baby boomer entrepreneurship is a hot topic these days, with lots of recent discussion, studies and information on the trend. Three of the more interesting are: - Seniors as Entrepreneurs in Business Week. Key quote: A combination of economic volatility as well as the growing number of baby boomers with time, energy, and money on their hands has redefined the starting age for new startups and has led to a surge in senior citizen entrepreneurs. - A recently released Kauffman Foundation Study - nicely summarized by the study author in an…
The SBIR Debate - Should VC Backed Firms Be Eligible?

sking

29 Jun 2009 | 1:05 am

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is up for renewal and there is a battle going on over whether or not VC backed firms should be allowed to win SBIR grants. Started in 1982, the SBIR program is designed to help small businesses develop and commercialize ground-breaking new technologies that have broad benefits. 11 federal agencies participate by setting aside 2.5% of the research and development budgets for small businesses. The program provides roughly $2.2 billion in annual grants, and in 2008 about 3600 phase 1 grants were awarded. …
Teen Necessity Entrepreneurs

sking

28 Jun 2009 | 1:16 am

The New York Times article Teenagers are Building Their Own Job Engine talks about teens starting their own businesses because of a lack of jobs. According to the article, teen unemployment is at 22.7% and the economic downturn is leading older workers to take jobs that teens would normally get. This is resulting in teens becoming necessity entrepreneurs - starting businesses because there are not other options. Gen Y continues to appear to be a very entrepreneurial generation.
Tweet Chat on Small Business Credit Tuesday at 2:00pm Eastern

sking

27 Jun 2009 | 1:00 am

Intuit is hosting a tweet chat Town Hall on small business credit this tuesday, June 30th at 2:00pm eastern/11:00am pacific. The focus of the Town Hall is practical advice for small businesses seeking credit and loans. The participants are myself and: Phil Bryan, senior vice president of retail and lending at Metro Credit Union in Massachusetts, which is one of the largest credit unions in the state. Metro is also the top SBA loan producer for credit unions in Massachusetts. Gene Marks, small business owner, expert and author. He recently co-moderated a series of Intuit…

DEMO.com Top News Stories
DEMO meetups bring veterans and new comers together

Chris Shipley

1 Jul 2009 | 1:52 pm

July 1, 2009 DEMO meetups serve two purposes: they introduce DEMO to new entrepreneurs and they reunite DEMO with past participants. The Boston meetup on Monday served both purposes in one encounter. One of the first people through the door at VOX Monday evening was Mike Robbins, who demonstrated a stock quote application at DEMO ’99. Mike was 13 years old at the time. Read more
DEMOfall09 Conference.. Preferred Pricing deadline 6/30

DEMO Staff

30 Jun 2009 | 4:22 pm

DEMO event, Sept. 21-23 in San Diego! Preferred reg. rate of $1995 expires today, 6/30. Don't miss new Alphapitch program, DEMO Lifetime Achievement award winners and more. http://www.demo.com Read more
DEMO Meetup with Chris and Matt on 7/1 in Austin

DEMO Staff

30 Jun 2009 | 4:16 pm

Join Matt Marshall and Chris Shipley for a DEMO Meetup tomorrow, July 1 at Lanai in Austin, TX from 6-8 p.m. Register now at http://demoaustin.eventbrite.com/ Read more
VentureBeat presents MobileBeat 2009

DEMO Staff

24 Jun 2009 | 3:11 pm

July 16, San Francisco: Join Matt Marshall, co-executive producer of the DEMO conference, along with influential investors, mobile industry executives, entrepreneurs, press and analysts at MobileBeat 2009 for one-day of in depth discussion, debate and networking. Read more
What’s in an Innovation Ecosystem?

Chris Shipley

24 Jun 2009 | 3:09 pm

There is the inevitable question that arises during these DEMO meetups we’ve been holding around the country. Matt Marshall and I both hail from Silicon Valley, and here we are in New York, D.C., Seattle, L.A., and next week Boston and Austin. More than once a night at any of these events, someone is bound to ask what we think of their entrepreneurs or want to know how their city stacks up to the Valley and other stops on our tour? Read more

Tony Wright dot com
Should you move your startup to the Valley? Depends on where you are (Data included!)

Tony Wright

12 Jun 2009 | 11:03 am

I admit that I am a bit of a contrarian. For a long time, the contention that “if you’re doing a startup, you HAVE to be in Silicon Valley” didn’t sit well with me. Sure, talent is important– but for many startups you need only a few talented folks to prove that you’ve got something and companies like WordPress have proven that you can build a great team (literally) anywhere and everywhere (they are virtual and across the world). Sure, energy is important– but the biggest source of energy isn’t your peers– it’s the people who are…
Just How Important is the Valley? Let’s Look at some Data.

Tony Wright

17 Apr 2009 | 10:17 am

[Edit: Added the raw data in a table at the end] Some of the smartest startup brains I’ve ever met have said that if you want to be in the startup game, you MUST be in the Valley. There are plenty of justifications out there for it, and many/most of them make a fair bit of sense. Recently, Paul Graham posted another great essay on the topic, and said: The second idea is that startups are a type of business that flourishes in certain places that specialize in it—that Silicon Valley specializes in startups in the same way Los Angeles specializes in movies, or New York in finance. [1]…
Google is a friend to the news business (but it’s got to evolve)

Tony Wright

12 Apr 2009 | 9:14 am

People are upset about the news industry dying/changing, and with good reason. There’s a lot of great history and romance in journalism, and it’ll be a shame to see them go. There’s a great summary of the issue by Nick Carr and some good thoughts (with a linkbait title) by Scott Karp. Karp says: Those who argue that Google is a friend to content owners because it sends them traffic overlook the basic law of supply and demand. The value of “traffic” is entirely relative. The more content there is on the web, the less value that content has — because of the surfeit of ad…
How We Handle Sales Calls

Tony Wright

6 Apr 2009 | 10:53 am

As a business with public contact information, we are inundated with sales calls. The process generally runs roughly like this: We get a phone call from a number that is often “blocked” for caller ID. We’ve learned to screen those calls. Some leave a voicemail, some do not. If they aren’t blocked, we’ll answer the call, and we’ll generally get blasted with a run on sentence. If it’s a short introduction, I’ll politely decline. If it’s a long monologue, I’ll hang up. We get a followup email from the caller describing their service.
Quick Thought on Hearing Brad Feld Speak

Tony Wright

26 Feb 2009 | 9:55 am

I saw Brad Feld speak last night at Beer, Brad, and Boulder (you can see the recorded stream and chat here) and was really struck by something that he said. In response to the question: "How broken is venture capital?" he said (paraphrasing, among other things): "It's not broken, but it is saturation. It's absolutely cheaper to build companies nowadays, but it's not necessarily cheaper to build them and scale them. Venture Capital is still necessary to scale businesses from the prototype stage, but no longer quite so valuable to get to that prototype…

Up and Running
Is Entrepreneurship Declining?

Tim Berry

1 Jul 2009 | 9:58 am

Very interesting piece on BusinessWeek.com today, “Is Entrepreneurship Declining.” John Tozzi gets two contrary points of view from two people I’m proud to know and admire: Scott Shane and Steve King. John picks up the right links: Scott says yes and Steve says no. Both pieces are well-written and well-researched. William Blake said, in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, “anything possible to be believed is an image of truth.” I’ve always liked that quote. Tozzie concludes: I can’t argue with the entrepreneurship numbers. But as one of Scott’s commenters…
Business Boost: Business Planning for Oregon

Tim Berry

30 Jun 2009 | 11:20 am

I hope it doesn’t seem like total self promotion–I’ve tried to avoid that as much as possible on this blog–but hey, tomorrow Palo Alto Software is going to give away thousands of copies of Business Plan Pro (and not a light version, the upscale, premier version) for free to Oregonians who want it. I would like to think that’s newsworthy, even if it’s my company. The video here is my talking for slightly less than three minutes, my summary of what happens tomorrow. If you can’t see it for any reason, please click here to go to the Youtube source. And…
In Business, Too, It’s OK to Say No

Tim Berry

30 Jun 2009 | 6:11 am

I like the following line in “Love Minus Zero/No Limit,” by Bob Dylan. She knows there’s no success like failure. And that failure’s no success at all. Here’s a good look through the window of things going wrong or, at the very least, not as planned. I happened upon it yesterday morning while drinking my coffee, absorbing the early-morning web on a sunny summer morning in Oregon. It’s called BabbleSoft looking for a new home. I’m sure it was a hard decision to write about; but I’ll bet it was even an even harder one to make. Posting in…
Understanding the Changing Media Landscape

Tim Berry

29 Jun 2009 | 6:52 am

This 18-minute TED talk offers a very intriguing broad view of the changing face of information, media and communication in general as new phenomena–cellphones, Facebook and Twitter–change the way information travels and multiplies. If for any reason you don’t see this video here, you can click this link to jump to the source as it was posted on YouTube.
Almost 22 Million ‘Personal Businesses’ in the U.S.

Tim Berry

26 Jun 2009 | 8:52 am

Steve King at Small Business Labs posted this morning that U.S. personal businesses grew by almost 1 million in 2007, to 21.7 million, according to the U.S. Census. Of course that’s before the big economic crash, but still, that’s interesting to me. A personal business is a non-farm business with no employees. The growth in personal businesses fits right in with the research Steve and his company have been doing for Intuit, on the new artisan economy. The individual experts, consultants, graphic artists, bookkeepers, designers, programmers and bloggers, among others, are part of…

The Startup Lawyer
Venture Capital Geography & Performance

Ryan Roberts

22 Jun 2009 | 9:03 am

I’ve always been skeptical of the “you have to be in the Valley” to be a successful startup. Well here’s some potential ammo for those of you being pressured into moving, whether from Dallas to Boston, or Rancho Cucamonga to the Valley: Non-local investments made by venture capital firms based in the Valley, Boston, and New York outperform their local investments. This is according to a working paper titled “Buy Local? The Geography of Successful and Unsuccessful Venture Capital Expansion” just published by Henry Chen, Paul Gompers, Anna Kovener, and Josh…
What is a Registered Agent?

Ryan Roberts

16 Jun 2009 | 10:47 am

A registered agent is someone, either a company or an individual, that a corporation appoints to receive service of process and other official notices such as state franchise tax notices. Service of process is how a third party gives your company notice of a pending legal matter, which allows your company to respond accordingly. A corporation’s registered agent must be located within the relevant state. For example, if your Texas company is incorporated in Delaware, your company will need to hire a registered agent in Delaware. If your Texas company is incorporated in Texas, you or…
June One-Six-Seven-One

Ryan Roberts

16 Jun 2009 | 6:57 am

Back in high school, I told my closest friends that “when I have a law firm, 2pac will be playing in the office.” I really didn’t plan to have my own law practice in high school, I was just letting my friends know that I wouldn’t change. Of course, I’m writing this from the Southlake Town Square Starbucks, the un-official yuppie suburb headquarters of north Texas. And yes, I’m wearing the official yuppie job uniform: grey slacks and a blue dress shirt. But what better day than today, 2pac’s birthday, to keep my word to those closest friends of mine.
Startup “Odds of Success” Calculator

Ryan Roberts

10 Jun 2009 | 6:50 am

StartupNation released an “Odds of Success Calculator” so that entrepreneurs can “see if your business is prepared for success.” The calculator derives your odds of success based upon your answers to the following 8 questions: (1) About how much debt and equity capital has been provided to your business? (2) How long do you think it would take to obtain additional funding for your business? (3) How often do you evaluate your cash flow status/plan? (4) What’s your degree of business planning? (5) What’s the approximate annual growth rate of your market? (6) How many…
The 83(b) Election For Startup Founders

Ryan Roberts

10 Jun 2009 | 4:28 am

If founders stock is issued subject to a vesting period, each founder should make a Section 83(b) election with the IRS within 30 days of purchasing the restricted stock. If a founder fails to make a 83(b) election, each vesting milestone will be a taxable event for the founder. “Income” will be calculated as the difference between the FMV of the portion of stock that vested and the original purchase price of the newly-vested portion. Thus, failure to make an 83(b) election could leave the founder with a tax bill without experiencing a liquidity event. The 83(b) election…

Forbes
Can We Innovate Our Way Out Of Recession?

1 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

Yes--but it will take lots of strategic alliances among many players to pull it off.
How To Value An Auto Dealership

30 Jun 2009 | 3:25 pm

A lot of these outfits are on the blocks. Here's how to price them.
Bean Battles

25 Jun 2009 | 12:00 pm
Sweet Talker

25 Jun 2009 | 12:00 pm

Jacques Torres' showmanship sets him apart in the chocolate market.
How To Deal With Bankrupt Customers

23 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm

What you should know about reclamation rights and critical-vendor orders.

Startup Professionals Musings
Startups: Plan an Exit Strategy Early

2 Jul 2009 | 6:42 am

If you startup is your dream, why would you want to think about an exit? It’s going to be so successful and so much fun that you don’t need to think about what comes after. Wrong. There are two very real and practical reasons why you need to plan an exit: Outside investors want to collect their return. Remember that equity investments are not like loans with interest. The investor sees no return until he cashes out, or the company is sold. Even three years is a long time to wait for any pay check.Entrepreneurs love the art of the start. Assuming your startup takes off, you will probably…
Entrepreneurs: Motivate People Without More Money

1 Jul 2009 | 7:00 am

For some great leadership advice, see “Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows: Learn How to Inspire Others, Achieve Greatness, and Find Success in Any Organization”, by Charles P. Garcia. He says, “Too often businesses assume that offering more money is the only way to motivate employees. The reality is that employees value having strong leaders, who motivate them to do their best, just as much if not more.”Here are a few tips derived from his first-hand discussions with some of the nation's greatest leaders that apply to every entrepreneur in these tough economic times:…
Internet Business Networking: A Brave New World

30 Jun 2009 | 6:54 am

With the advent of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, Internet usage has totally morphed, from a serious business medium, to a social and fun medium for many. Even the name has changed to Web 2.0, and “regular” people build new applications with “mashup” technology, rather than programmers.I’m a technology follower from the early days of the Internet, so a few months ago I decided to dive into this new world and check it out (who even heard of blogging or mashups ten years ago). I realized quickly that this new world isn’t just for the social life of millennials…
Startups: Grants are ‘Free Money’, but not Free

29 Jun 2009 | 6:43 am

With the advent of President Barack Obama’s recent economic stimulus package, including $50 billion aimed at alternative-energy initiatives, applying for grants has become the rage for high-tech startups. I applaud the initiative, and encourage startups in this direction, but there are costs.Many entrepreneurs see grants as “free money,” since they are not loans and don’t have to be repaid. A grant is not an equity investment, so the entrepreneur doesn’t have to give up a stake in the company either. Typically they can be used to fund product development and commercialization that…
Startups: Poor Record Keeping is Expensive

28 Jun 2009 | 6:45 am

I’ve noticed a great tendency among startup founders to ignore the essentials of expense accounting in the early stages of their startup. Just because you are not making money yet, doesn’t mean you don’t need to keep records.In fact, just the opposite is true. When you anticipate losses for the first year or two, it is more important to properly document all expenses, including tricky ones like business travel, business meals, and your home office. Sloppy documentation and reporting of these expenses is an open invitation to an IRS audit, which is the last thing you need or can afford…

Presentation Zen
Who says technical presentations can't be engaging?

Garr

29 Jun 2009 | 7:45 pm

People often ask if technical or science-related presentations can be as compelling as presentations covering other less technical topics. Now, not every presentation has earth-shattering, Nobel-Prize winning significance, but I assume if you are talking about your research or current issues in your field, etc. that your words have a benefit for someone else. I assume it is important, otherwise why waste your time and the time of others? And if it is important, then being effective matters. No one ever said that clarity and a connection with the audience were sufficient conditions for an…
Simplicity in Las Vegas

Garr

23 Jun 2009 | 2:16 am

As our world gets more complex, discussions about simplicity grow. Yet, ironically the issue of simplicity itself — what it is, how we attain it, etc. — is not at all simple. Or perhaps we should say it is not at all easy. Simplicity means many different things to many different people, and it seems difficult to ever get people to agree exactly what it is. Simplicity is elusive and words are often inadequate to illuminate its essence, yet most rational people agree that simplicity (how ever you define it) is a worthy goal so long as "it is not too simple." Like you, I'm very interested…
TED talk: How social media is making history by helping citizens report the real news

Garr

21 Jun 2009 | 9:08 pm

Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, has a new TED talk that is not just appropriate for our times in general, but given what is happening in Iran, it's actually perfectly poignant for this particular week. The Internet and social media changed everything, as we know. For generations communication was one-to-one or one-to-many — the one-to-many being largely the domain of the professionals. Today, as Shirky points out, the new dimension is the many-to-many, where people for the most part have the ability to bypass censors. This talk…
Felix Jung's Pecha Kucha presentation Tips

Garr

19 Jun 2009 | 1:51 am

Recently Felix Jung gave an interesting talk at Pecha Kucha Chicago, Volume 9. Felix told me that he became so interested in the process of developing his 6-minute and 40-second presentation that he created his own guide of sorts to help others. I think there's some good stuff in there worth sharing. First, let's take a look at Felix's presentation below. (The presentation is good, but the audio capture was very poor which is a bit of a distraction; try to get past that and just imagine yourself there at the live event in chicago. Go here just to see the slides with the same audio. You can…
Portuguese & Finnish PZ books now available

Garr

17 Jun 2009 | 10:16 pm

The Presentation Zen book is now out in about 13 languages other than English. Portuguese and Finnish versions have just been been released.Apresentação Zen: Idéias Simples Sobre O Design de Apresentações e Performances I have a couple of copies of the Portuguese version of PZ. The Alta Books people did a great job with the design; the book feels really nice in the hand. Below is an iPhone snap of the cover and the opening to Chapter 3 (Planning Analog). The book is available here.Esityksen suunnittelu - zen ja pelkistämisen taitoI have not received a copy of the Finnish version yet,…

Great Demo!
The Value of Value = 2.5x

Peter E. Cohan

1 Jul 2009 | 3:14 pm

In 2008 Gartner surveyed over 600 IT buyers, asking them to identify both the strengths and the weaknesses of marketing and sales efforts across all types of technology providers.“More than half the respondents said the biggest weakness or shortcoming in IT sales and marketing efforts is the lack of a quantified value proposition. The survey data also showed that, on average, buyers are 2.5 times more likely to buy products if a vendor is able to effectively quantify its value proposition.”[I’ve added the underlines]This is a rather compelling reason to uncover the Delta, the value…
Gwabbit – Capturing Email Contact Information Automatically

Peter E. Cohan

30 Jun 2009 | 11:34 am

Ever found yourself cutting and pasting email signature information, line-by-line-by-line-by-line, into an Outlook contact record? Technicopia has produced a nifty little utility that makes this a one-click process.Gwabbit (www.Gwabbit.com) is an Outlook Add-in that provides this capability. $19.95 purchase price; free trial available as well. Nice tool!
Webinar Links: Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales

Peter E. Cohan

27 Jun 2009 | 11:43 am

[Warning: Shameless semi-self promotion!]Here are links to my two most recent webinars, both entitled "Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales". The first was targeted for U.S. audiences; the second for UK and European folks. Enjoy!http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/060309-NA-G2MC-WBRARC?ID=701000000005DBChttps://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/519679179In each webinar, a Citrix inside sales manager shared experiences to set the stage; I then presented ideas on how to engage a prospect, gather key pieces of information conversationally, and provide a…
Photo Clip Art Tips 2 of 3: Sources and Rights to Use

Peter E. Cohan

21 May 2009 | 1:19 pm

While great photos abound around the web, a few sources are set up specifically for presentations and similar uses. There are two main issues to be aware of:1. Copyrights2. CostsGenerally speaking, we should not simply copy images from company websites or the “image” areas of Google and Yahoo – these images are generally marked directly or indirectly with “Copyright xxx – All rights reserved”, meaning these images are not being offered for use. Using them, in fact, puts your organization at risk of copyright infringement. [The same is true for copying comic strips or…
Photo Clip Art Tips – 1 of 3

Peter E. Cohan

18 May 2009 | 11:44 am

Using photos in presentations can be a much stronger method of communicating ideas than using bulleted text. (After all, if “one picture is worth a thousand words” then you’d need a pile of PowerPoint bullets to achieve the equivalent…!)For Great Demo! Illustrations, photos showing frustration, piles of paperwork, stacks of files and related photos can be terrific “before” images. A number of presentation skills books recommend the same idea including:- Beyond Bullet Points – Cliff Atkinson – available on Amazon.com- Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds – available on…

Patricia Handschiegel
The New Power Girls: Award-winning Writer/Director/Author Andrea Buchanan on Switching Platforms

Patricia Handschiegel

2 Jul 2009 | 10:52 am

One of the greatest gifts in business is not a good lawyer or the coveted lucky break but also the ability to be agile, or in other words the talent to embrace and master new things. Call them change agents or chameleons, these lucky souls are capable of adopting and mastering whatever course is set before them. For Power Girl Andrea Buchanan, this has been television, then film, then author and now speaker -- and she's not stopping there. Her recently released book Note to Self is the first of many "products" she's creating around a desire to inspire and motivate women. Like Martha Stewart…
The New Power Girls: Video Series Episode 5 - Smarty People's Amy Swift Shares How to Network in Business

Patricia Handschiegel

30 Jun 2009 | 7:49 pm

It's often said that it's "not what you know but who you know." Within ten minutes of being around Smarty People's Amy Swift you completely why people say just that. Amy's events in Los Angeles and beyond have brought in some of the most successful high profile women entrepreneurs in the country to teach, learn and network. She was a force behind the events hosted by the high profile organization Ladies Who Launch and has since become one of L.A.'s preeminent business social butterflies. One minute you'll see her at a private party at Arianna Huffington's house, the next she's rubbing elbows…
The New Power Girls Episode 4: How to Turn What You Love Into A Business With Celebrity Journalist Sal Morgan

Patricia Handschiegel

24 Jun 2009 | 6:09 pm

Let's face it. Most people would dream for the chance to be on the red carpet at any star-studded event. Now imagine if it were a part of your business. That's the life TV personality and entrepreneur Sal Morgan leads in Los Angeles. She mixes with stars on red carpets from the Oscars to the Golden Globes, is constantly in demand at high profile gifting suites, and showered with schwag at incredible events. Growing up, she wanted to work in Hollywood, and that's exactly what she did. Power Girls know what they want and aren't afraid to get it. As Australia's number one celebrity journalist,…
The New Power Girls: Video Series Episode 3 - Making the Move from Employee to Entrepreneur with Paige Adams Geller of Paige Premium Denim

Patricia Handschiegel

10 Jun 2009 | 10:11 am

One of the biggest dreams of any entrepreneur, male or female, is a successful company that is earning revenue. Even bigger, a successful company that is earning a lot of revenue - with product everywhere in the market, a highly respected brand and high level partnerships and relationships that further drive the vision forward. That's exactly the case with employee-turned-entrepreneur Paige Adams Geller, who after years of working for others launched her own denim company, Paige Premium Denim. Created in 2004, the company focused on creating jeans for women by a woman, something that had not…
The New Power Girls: Video Series Episode 2 - Sprinkles Cupcakes Founder Candace Nelson on Creating A Niche Product

Patricia Handschiegel

3 Jun 2009 | 1:27 am

If there is one thing you'll find about the new modern women entrepreneurs and executives today, it's that they are fantastic at identifying and owning niches. Rachel Ray cornered the market on simple cooking. Arianna Huffington took hold of - then owned - political news and commentary online. There are hundreds of hundreds of women entrepreneurs on The New Power Girls email subscriber list that are doing the same across a bunch of different markets. Among those is Sprinkles Cupcakes founder Candace Nelson, who has taken the food industry by storm with the first cupcake-only bakery. In a…

NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation
Top Planning Secrets of Million Dollar Entrepreneurs – Part 2

kathykormanfrey

20 Jun 2009 | 8:44 am

This one page strategic plan is the second part in a series on planning secrets of million dollar entrepreneurs. The exercises shared in this series represent an exclusive look inside the elite entrepreneurial group EO (formerly known as YEO – Young Entrepreneurs Organization). EO members must have businesses with a minimum of $1,000,000 in revenues. Below is what EO members recently learned during an Executive Management Program in Boston, MA. Step 2: After completing the Painted Picture phase of planning, a strategic plan is next. There are two options: Beginner. This beginner…
Top Planning Secrets of Million Dollar Entrepreneurs – Part 1

kathykormanfrey

7 Jun 2009 | 6:46 pm

This is the first part in a series on business planning exercises for entrepreneurs. The exercises shared in this series represent an exclusive look inside the elite entrepreneurial group EO (formerly known as YEO – Young Entrepreneurs Organization). EO members must have businesses with a minimum of $1,000,000 in revenues. Below is what EO members recently learned during an Executive Management Program in Boston, MA: Planning Part 1: Develop and Share Your Vision Cameron Herold, former COO of 1800GotJunk, spoke to EO Executive Management Program members about the first step of…
2009 Young Entrepreneur Awards

kathykormanfrey

7 Jun 2009 | 5:10 pm

This year the NFIB YEF Awards program will be giving out over $600,000 in scholarships to young entrepreneurs nationwide thanks to the financial support from numerous small business leaders, corporate and foundation supporters. This year’s major corporate sponsors are Visa and The McKelvey Foundation. To see who finalists in your state, and to read more about the program, click here .The recipients will attend the university, college, community college or vocational/technical institute of their choice with $1,000-$10,000 in annual tuition assistance from the NFIB Young Entrepreneur…
#4-How Entrepreneurs Are Surviving the Financial Crisis

kathykormanfrey

21 May 2009 | 11:33 am

This is the last in our series on what specific steps entrepreneurs are taking to survive the slow economy. In this post we feature Jennifer Folsom, Director of Mom-Entum Resources (http://www.mom-entum.com/). The company matches high-performing individuals with part time work. Jennifer notes the following about their operations given the current state of the economy: “Mom-entum is one of those companies actually doing better and seeing more business during the down economy. Clients call us and say, ‘We can’t afford someone full time in this position, do you have anyone…
#3-How Entrepreneurs Are Surviving the Financial Crisis

kathykormanfrey

1 May 2009 | 9:12 pm

Entrepreneurial skills are good ones to have, especially during a slow economy. This series focuses on the top survival tips from successful entrepreneurs on getting through the crisis. In this post we feature Marty Janis President & CEO, Atlantic Services Group (www.AtlanticServicesGroup.com). The company provides valet, transportation, garage management, and maintenance services. Marty encourages entrepreneurs as follows: “Focus on the type of business you go after so you are not chasing money. Work with businesses that are sustainable through tough market conditions. Stay on top…

Building A Million Dollar Business Part Time
#19 How We Hired an Intern on Twitter (yes..Found, Interviewed, Hired)

hotmommas

12 Jun 2009 | 8:37 am

Here is Brandy. She is our new intern. Isn’t she adorable? Twitter-size pic of Brandy She is smart as a whip and responsive beyond belief too. She is actually totally overqualified to be an intern. She is a virtual assistant – and a fabulous one who gets paid. But she wants to help US – The Hot Mommas Project – because she is inspired and wants to give back. Here is how we found her, and hired her, 0n Twitter. It all started when I posted the following on Twitter: Posted by ChiefHotMomma Please RT: The Hot Mommas Project is seeking 2 unpaid interns. Must have…
#18 Top 5 Tips for Getting Media Coverage. Media Training Part 2 – Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time.

hotmommas

2 Jun 2009 | 9:21 am

Here is a pair of underwear I came across in the Gold's Gym parking lot. This will make sense later. Media. Coverage. How do you do it? How do you get there? The Hot Mommas® Project has experienced a baptism by fire with regard to media training this past year. We talked with some experts to make it more familiar, and less “TAKE.ME.TO. YOUR.LEADER.” Here are the big things we learned. {ThemeSong: Take It Off by The Donnas] 1. GETTING COVERAGE IS ABOUT GETTING OUT THERE. For the Hot Mommas® Project, getting coverage was about GETTING OUT THERE. Here are a few cause and…
#17 How to Bring Red Carpet Cache to Your Event – Media Training Part 1

hotmommas

8 Apr 2009 | 1:49 pm

Last night I attended the premiere of Rock of Ages on Broadway. Here is a review. It ROCKED! I was with my friend who works in the entertainment industry. In this post I share what I learned re: ins and outs of the red carpet. What does this have to do with The Hot Mommas Project and entrepreneurs , in general? With a little organization, red carpet “cache” can be applied to any event needing to stand out from the crowd. Below are my top 5 observations about the red carpet, how it works, and ideas for applying it (entrepreneurial bootstrap style) to an event. On March 9, the…
Building a Million Dollar Business Part-Time #16: How to do a Mass/Blast Email Campaign

hotmommas

16 Jan 2009 | 2:26 pm

Let me start this post by saying: I am not a huge fan of mass emails. Exception: When someone has opted in, as I have for two of the best newsletters I know (from Harvard Business School and Julie Weeks’ WomenAble, also listed at bottom of this post). Sections of this post will cover: Popular mass/blast email programs/campaigners, how to write a blast email, challenges of blast emails, and other fun stuff. Everything in this post is totally opposite @TheMogulMom’s summary of Seth Godin’s advice on “How to Write a Personal Email.“ For the Hot Mommas Project,…
Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #15b: Announcing Our Judges

hotmommas

17 Dec 2008 | 8:06 am

Today we announce the Hot Mommas Project judging panel. (I’m also pasting the list below). They are awesome. Here is the press release. How do you figure out how to “announce” something? This is how I did it given that we are going guerrilla and, even if we had more money I wouldn’t spend it because the economy stinks: 1. Modeling – This is a nice word for copying people. I pretty much copied what I saw my friends and clients at the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation do when they released their Johnny Money Online Game (business simulation game). It was picked…

Young Entrepreneur
How To Create A Marketing Campaign That Everyone Will Be Talking About

Adam

1 Jul 2009 | 10:15 pm

People are being bombarded with marketing messages, from the time they get up in the morning and switch on the radio or TV, to the time that they venture out into the real world, to the time that they eat their TV dinner before crashing for the night. As an entrepreneur, you had better make sure that you have a message that people want to hear, with the ability to crash through all the other “noise”. You might have a great product or service, one that you fully believe in, with all your heart. Your challenge is to create a marketing campaign around that product or service which causes…
Interview with Brad Sugars

Adam

30 Jun 2009 | 10:07 pm

I am really excited about this weeks interview with Brad Sugars. He is an amazing entrepreneur, and the founder of ActionCoach.com - read on to find out more. 1. Having had 27 jobs by the time you finished your degree must have given you a huge amount of experience in the real world at a very young age, which job did you take the most lessons away from? Working for others is great because it gives you an opportunity to learn what not to do in certain situations, which is many times more important than learning what to do. But one of the best lessons I had working was probably at K-Mart when I…
“When You Are Led By Values, It Doesn’t Cost Your Business, It Helps Your Business.” - Jerry Greenfield Of Ben And Jerry’s.

Adam

29 Jun 2009 | 10:15 pm

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have ice cream in their veins. These two unlikely entrepreneurial heroes rose to pop culture status by following different paths. Jerry is more of the joker, always ready with a quick quip, who landed his first job in the industry as an ice cream scooper in college. He tried moving through medical school without any success and reverted to work as a lab technician, whilst Ben drove an ice cream truck in his senior school year, but also dropped out of college. The pair first met each other when they shared a Manhattan apartment following graduation, but they did…
The Most Common Errors When Writing A Business Plan

Adam

28 Jun 2009 | 10:09 pm

The thought of compiling a formal business plan can be quite daunting to the entrepreneur. Many of us see ourselves as the creative type rather than the formal intellectual and we might have an inbuilt tendency to try and fly by the “seat of our pants”. In spite of the pain, perceived or otherwise, involved in its creation, we must invest the time and effort to come up with a formal business plan. It is not as hard as you think, there are plenty of good books on the subject and some really great software packages, such as Business Plan Pro, for example. So what are the most common errors…
As an Entrepreneur - What is the one thing you cannot do without? - Entrepreneur Poll Update #2

bizguy

25 Jun 2009 | 10:05 pm

Hi Everyone, Adam Toren here with another poll update! In this poll, we are putting together an amazing list of entrepreneurial tools and gadgets which make our busy lives so much easier. By the end of the poll we should have gathered an excellent list - so add your entry now! It’s just a click away and your entry goes live on Twitter. We are asking…

Fast Company
Run for Your Life: The Pentagon's Robotic Hummingbird Takes Flight

Cliff Kuang

2 Jul 2009 | 4:00 pm

Video of the latest flying contraption by DARPA, the Pentagon's hyper-strange research lab. Darpa, the Pentagon's advanced-research unit--AKA, the place where they develop Men In Black technology--is working on a flapping robo-sentinel. Aerovironment, the company that's been developing the gadget, just revealed video of the progress they've made, working off of a $2.1 million Darpa grant: This is the first-ever hovering air vehicle to use flapping wings while carrying its own power source. The hope is that the hummingbird will be useful for indoor and outdoor surveillance, as well as dropping…
No, It's Not an Urban Myth: Video of Heinz Beanzawave Surfaces

Ariel Schwartz

2 Jul 2009 | 3:45 pm

Last month, we posted pictures of the Heinz Beanzawave, a USB-powered prototype mini microwave that measures just 7.4 inches tall by 6.2 inches wide and 5.9 inches deep. And while we confirmed the microwave's existence with Heinz, it's still hard to believe that the company is actually developing a $160 companion microwave for its Snap Pots single-serving baked bean containers. And yet, here it is. A video of the Beanzawave in action has surfaced, proving that workers may never again have to leave their desks to get piping hot beans. Check out the Beanzawave below.
Summer Movies We're Afraid to See: Brokeback Platform

RooftopComedy

2 Jul 2009 | 3:30 pm

It's official: You can make anything into a movie.In this season of Transformers and G.I. Joe, and with Hollywood prepping big-budget versions of Monopoly, Bazooka Joe, and Stretch Armstrong, what's next? Each week we'll supply the title for an upcoming--and completely fake--Hollywood movie. You supply the plot synopsis, then reveal the hidden text below to see what Rooftop Comedy came up with. Brokeback Platform Director: Gus Van Sant Compatibility is a force of nature. Quote: "I wish I knew how to force-quit you..." Plot Synopsis Set against a sweeping white studio backdrop, Justin Long and…
Inside the Most Successful Restaurant Chain in the World

2 Jul 2009 | 3:15 pm

Darden Restaurants is the world's biggest casual-dining operation and is still growing, despite the tough times. Here's a look at the restaurants that comprise the food behemoth.Darden Restaurants is the world's biggest casual-dining operation and is still growing, despite the tough times. Here's a look at the restaurants that comprise the food behemoth. Revenue numbers are for fiscal 2008, except when stated otherwise. The pitch: "Service with a hop"Size: A 10-stool lunch counter in Waycross, Georgia -- Bill Darden's first restaurant, opened in 1938 The pitch: "When you're here, you're…
Germany's Got Tweeting Smart Meters

Ariel Schwartz

2 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Sorry, United States. We may be rolling out smart meters like there's no tomorrow, but Germany's Yello Strom utility is introducing the quirkiest smart metering application yet: a program that tweets customers' energy consumption. Do-it-yourself wireless power monitors like Tweet-a-Watt do the same thing, but Yello Strom is the first utility to offer the service. Yello Strom is also poised to become the first European utility to offer access to Google PowerMeter. Such innovation doesn't come cheap. Unlike in the United States, Germany's energy industry is deregulated. That means Yello Strom's…

Inc.com
A Start-up Takes on Wal-Mart

1 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Alice.com, which launched recently, is the fourth Internet start-up from co-founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire and, according to Wiegand, "our biggest swing of the bat." Can the partners, who sold their last business to Microsoft, disrupt the stolid consumer-products industry? Method: Running Through the Legs of Goliath Slideshow: How Two Friends Built a $100 Million Company
More Features: A Negotiating Mistake to Avoid

1 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

The key to smart negotiating, says Norm Brodsky, is listening to the other side's position before you speak.
6 Tips for Restaurant Owners

1 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Restaurants are one of the most common types of small businesses, but also one of the most difficult to make successful. The competition is intense, and margins are thin. Here’s some advice from top restaurant owners, including star chef Tom Colicchio, on how to survive and thrive. Creating the New American Restaurant Slideshow: The Best Industries for Starting a Business Right Now
More Features: Unleashing Employee Creativity

1 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Here are six tips for entrepreneurs on how to inspire employees to be innovators at your company.
More Features: How to Motivate Employees

1 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Kevin Plank, founder of Under Armour, sounds off about improving employee morale during a recession.

David Silverman
Should You Write Your Own Promotion Plan?

David Silverman

25 Jun 2009 | 1:22 pm

A reader asks: I work at a small start-up developing enterprise software products for global markets (< 200 people) as a Director of Engineering. I have been knocking on the door of a VP level position for about 8 months now, but those plans were put on the back burner by my manager when the downturn hit us and we went into a consolidation phase. Now, after about 9 months of hard work, things started turning around for us and I once again opened up the topic with my manager. He expressed his appreciation of the work I've done and agreed that I should be made a VP. But then, he asked me to lay…
The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received

David Silverman

15 Jun 2009 | 10:18 am

In my last post I talked about how to make your résumé more likely to catch the attention of a hiring manager. As a follow up, I'd like to discuss cover letters. Here's my basic philosophy on them: don't bother. That's because the cover letters I see usually fall into one of three categories: The recap: The résumé in prose form. It's redundant, harder to read than the résumé, and provides no additional insight. The form letter: This says, essentially, "Dear Sir or Madam: I saw your ad in the paper and thought you might like me." And it's clearly a form letter where maybe they got my…
How to Write a Résumé That Doesn't Annoy People

David Silverman

5 Jun 2009 | 8:34 am

A Google search for "résumé" results in over 178,000,000 hits, whereas "possum" nets only 5,340,000. Thus the documentation of work experience is 33 and 1/3 more popular than arboreal marsupials. But what does this really tell us? Not much, but neither does the average résumé that comes across my desk. Some excerpts: "Administered resolution of issues and implementation of ideas surfaced by individuals." "Partaking in meetings designed to enhance collaboration, identify and develop strategies to ensure success regarding the accomplishment of goals." "Experienced leader with superior…
Do You Get Paid for Your Time?

David Silverman

29 May 2009 | 11:11 am

In the face of global implosion of markets, we've been rethinking everything from executive compensation to the business schools to trust to the future of capitalism itself. Here's one small step in a better direction: pay me for my time. In most companies, anyone can send anyone else a request to do something for the firm. Marketing asks you to tell all your friends about the latest offering from the Nairobi office; the Help Desk reminds you that the server you've never known existed is now no longer in service and wants you to let them know if you've got any files stored there; HR wants you…
Is Your Email Businesslike — or Brusque?

David Silverman

22 May 2009 | 10:30 am

A reader writes with the following query: "I manage 15 staff who are scattered about. I email them since it's the easiest way for me to communicate with all of them at the same time. Often my emails are very short and to the point. It's business. Two staff see that as my being harsh and have no problem letting me know that. Example: "Would you please update these primary care providers in the database, including addresses and phone numbers?" Six days later, I sent the following email as follow up to my initial request: "I would like this taken care of by Thursday this week. If you are having…

Grade A Entrepreneurs
Lunch with Sylvia Paull: When PR makes meaning

marylened

27 Jun 2009 | 2:24 pm

One of the email addresses that intrigued me the most a while ago was the one I received from Whoisylvia@aol.com. I immediately thought of Schubert’s song based on Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona (”Who is Silvia”) and this is the only reason why I opened the message. Good that my love for music saved me from discarding an email from somebody I only knew by her real name, Sylvia Paull. She is a “Silicon Valley Public Relations Icon,” as Alan Deutschman puts it in an article for Fast Company: “One of the most effective behind-the-scenes…
Twitter and social media against traditional media: May not be the right debate, after all…

marylened

22 Jun 2009 | 10:32 am

Coverage of the situation in Iran may be a significant turning point in the overall recognition of the importance of social media by a larger public. Over the last few months, social media has got a head start for promptness over media networks on several occasions. How many times have we heard that Twitter broadcasted information about the Sichuan earthquake 45 minutes before CNN reported! So, no wonder that “Twitterverse spoke-out in exasperation and opposition against traditional media networks (CNN specifically) and the absence of instantaneous coverage of the Iranian…
Social Media: What can we possibly share with our peers in Life Inc.?

marylened

15 Jun 2009 | 8:11 am

Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back starts with a telling anecdote: the author, Douglas Rushkoff got mugged on Christmas Eve in from of his Brooklyn apartment, and instead of getting sympathy, he was basically urged to shut up by local residents, afraid as they were that the incident would damage the reputation of their neighborhood, i.e. reduce the value of their home. “When faced with a local mugging, the community of Park Slope first thought to protect its brand instead of its people,” Rushkoff writes. The anecdote is Rushkoff’s starting…
Social Media Marketing: Amita Paul, CEO of Objective Marketer

marylened

7 Jun 2009 | 11:18 am

A 140 Sec Pitch: At TWTRCON, attendees were invited to vote for six of their favorite vendors. ObjectiveMarketer (http://objectivemarketer.com) was one of them. Amita Paul, the company’s founder, got the opportunity to pitch her product in front of the audience.I am not sure she used up her 140 seconds, actually, but one thing was clear in less than 30 seconds and 30 words: ObjectiveMarketer enables you to define the right message for your buzz channels – yes “objectively” — listen to, analyze and measure what really comes back from what you send out there. If you…
TWTRCON SF09: Twitter for business use

marylened

1 Jun 2009 | 10:32 pm

While the media may have found Twitter, only 5% of Americans are currently using it, according to a research performed by Harris Interactive in April. This doesn’t mean that Twitter is a fad. The adoption of new behaviors is generally a much longer process than is usually anticipated by innovators and early adopters. The truth of the matter is Twitter is still very new – and significantly enough, TWTRCON SF09 that took place on May 31, 2009, was the first conference focusing on Twitter as a business tool for marketing, customer service, PR, or to make money. Quite a few companies…

sales training blog - startup sales mentor
Pipeline Management Series: Time to Show Them Something

Karl Goldfield

23 Jun 2009 | 4:47 pm

Well, you are exhausted. That is to say that questioning has taken you as far as you need to go. You know who is involved, what they want, what they don’t want, and most of all what will get them running right onto the client list of one of your competitors. It is time to [...]
SETV - Show Date/Time - What’s convienent for you?

Karl Goldfield

18 Jun 2009 | 8:35 am

Let The Sales Evangelist, Karl Goldfield, know what date/time you would like to view the weekly sales episodes each week! Send us an email and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!
Great Sales 2.0 Applications!

Karl Goldfield

16 Jun 2009 | 7:34 pm

It is essential for a sales professional to get a huge number of quality leads in order to widen their market. The advent of new technology has paved way to make this easier for modern sales professionals. There are so many tools, so many platforms, so many softwares, so many websites that a sales professional can utilize to get leads but only one Web 2.0 Application stands out. MyWay Reach is an innovative new service designed to maximize your sales potential by extending your reach within target accounts and territories.
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-14

Karl Goldfield

14 Jun 2009 | 9:04 pm

The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sale.. http://twurl.nl/s0×1s5 # RT @damphoux: @b2b_sales_leads, @nedelsha, @Jeff_Ogden, @JoeGalvin discuss b2b Sales & Marketing Alignment http://bit.ly/DslEj #sales20 # asking the tough questions can case the client to think and commit #sales #STA http://bit.ly/OXBWu # RT @SalesBlogcast shares “17 Things You Have to Know!” http://bit.ly/13ceAA #sales [...]
SETV Episode 19 – Evangelist in Discovery: Speaking their Language

Karl Goldfield

11 Jun 2009 | 8:06 am

How much time have you spent learning the language of your buyers. Karl will share how a Sales Evangelist works toward understanding the word choice and vernacular of their contacts by title and industry. By speaking the language of the potential client more can get done in less time.

Silicontap.com
5AM Ventures III Reaches $159.25M

2 Jul 2009 | 10:39 am

Menlo Park-based 5AM Ventures, a venture investor in the life sciences industry, has now hit $159.25M in its fundraising for 5AM Ventures III, according to a regulatory filing from the firm today. Details on limited partners in the fund have not been disclosed. 5AM closed an initial fundraise on its newest fund in March, with commitments of $119.25M, according to regulatory filings.
SpineGuard Gets $4M

2 Jul 2009 | 7:07 am

San Francisco- and Paris-based SpineGuard, which is developing medical devices for back surgery, said this morning that it has raised $4M in a funding round from Delta Partners. According to the firm, the investment brings its Series A funding to $15M. Other investors in the firm include Credit Agricole Private Equity, Innoven Partenaires, and A Plus Finance, which all invested in an April tranche of funding. As part of the new funding, the company said that it has added Joe Mason of Delta Partners to its board. Maurice Bourlion, co-inventor of the firm's product, also joins the board.
Hitachi GST Completes Buy of WD Facility

2 Jul 2009 | 5:52 am

San Jose-based Hitachi Global Storage Technologies said today that it has completed its acquisition of a substrate manufacturing facility previously owned by Western Digital. The firm said that the facility, located in Sarawak, Malaysia, produces aluminum substrates used in hard drives. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Western Digital announced the sale of the facility in May, and was previously a part of Komag.
Bling Nation Raises $8M For Mobile Payments

2 Jul 2009 | 5:33 am

Palo Alto-based Bling Nation, a developer of mobile payment technology, said today that it has raised $8M in a Series A funding round. Lead investor in the round was Lightspeed Venture Partners,, Meck, Ltd., and CampVentures. Bling Nation develops a mobile payment product which allows consumers to pay merchants through their mobile phone, using text messaging. Bling Nation said that it had previously raised $5.3M in funding from Meck Ltd. The firm claims that its payment network allows transactions to be processed more efficiently than traditional credit and debit card networks.
Green Technology Investments Up In Q2

1 Jul 2009 | 10:54 am

One area of the venture market is saw a bump in activity, according to publisher Greentech Media: the green technology investment space. According to Greentech Media, investments in the space hit $1.2 billion in Q2, up significantly from the $836M invested in the space in the first quarter. According to the report, there were 85 deals in Q2 versus 59 deals in Q1. Greentech's analysis found that in Q2, solar power deals led in terms of investment category, with $33.4M in 17 deals; automotive and transportation was next with $202.... (more)

Austin Startup
SpareFoot [Video]

Bryan Menell

30 Jun 2009 | 2:11 pm

Last week we had a chance to speak with Chuck Gordon, the CEO at SpareFoot.com. The website is the rental marketplace for extra space. They’ve also made some cool improvements to the website recently, so check it out and turn your spare garage into cash.
Zilliant Honored on the 2009 Supply and Demand Chain Executive 100 List

Bryan Menell

29 Jun 2009 | 1:09 pm

Zilliant, the leading provider of price optimization and management solutions for B2B manufacturers, distributors, high-tech, and industrial service companies, today announced it has been named to the 2009 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 list. Zilliant is recognized as an innovative leader in the Order/Demand Management category for enhancing order and pricing management practices in its customer’s supply chain to not only meet today’s urgent business imperatives of the current economic downturn, but also to thrive as the economy rebounds. “Since the economic shift, we’ve seen…
Cubit Planning [Video]

Bryan Menell

29 Jun 2009 | 12:21 pm

We dropped in on Cubit Planning during week 5 of Capital Factory. The video is below.
Silicon Labs Announces Integrated TV chip

Bryan Menell

29 Jun 2009 | 10:46 am

Silicon Laboratories, a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today announced the Si2170, a complete, globally-compliant hybrid TV tuner with analog TV demodulator in a single CMOS IC. Leveraging Silicon Labs’ proven digital low-IF architecture, the Si2170 is the industry’s first silicon TV tuner to exceed the performance of traditional discrete TV tuners, enabling TV makers to deliver improved picture quality and better reception for both analog and digital broadcasts. The high level of integration eliminates over one hundred discrete components, enabling…
Hourville Featured [Video]

Bryan Menell

26 Jun 2009 | 8:56 am

Hourville, a marketplace for people who sell their services by the hour, was featured in a great article written by Lori Hawkins at The Statesman. Hourville was featured as part of the first ever SXSW Accelerator program in 2009, and then was selected as one of five company to be part of Capital Factory for 2009. Our cameras were there as The Statesman photographer came to the Capital Factory to shoot some pictures for the story.

Risky Business
Why Sarbanes-Oxley Is A Small Business Issue

29 Jun 2009 | 10:35 am

Is Sarbox holding back entrepreneurs?
Liquidators Get A Boost From The Recession

15 Jun 2009 | 1:21 pm

AMC Liquidators is one business doing well for itself.
Topless Coffee Shop Burns Down In Suspected Case Of Arson

4 Jun 2009 | 9:29 am

The Grand View is no more.
Musings On The GM Takeover, And The Biggest Boom Industry

3 Jun 2009 | 11:43 am

Today's Capital Commerce posts.

Yes to Me
Starseeds: Hadar

akemi

1 Jul 2009 | 7:51 pm

This is the second article about starseeds. For the basic info about what starseeds are, etc. please read the first article. (Photo credit) Hadar, the utopia of love Hadar (also called Beta Centauri) was once the utopia of unconditional love, where everyone gave love freely without any expectation of payoff. It worked because everyone was doing so. Love was as natural part of Hadarian life as saying hello or breathing air is for us. What I heard is that Hadarians wanted Earth to grow more in this wonderful energy of love. As I wrote in the article about Alpha Centauri, the Earth…
Online Gratitude Journal June 2009 Edition #30

akemi

30 Jun 2009 | 10:33 am

I just had a mini revelation. Perhaps I’ll develop this into full article in the future, but here is the heads-up: (Photo by Mr. Greenjeans) Occasionally I receive emails from people who want “free” readings, and I’ve wondered why. Is psychic reading typically offered free and I’m violating the rule? Hmm, no, there are plenty of psychics who ask for far more than I do. Is it because they don’t think I’m worth their money? But if so, why do they ask me for reading ever? Is it because they don’t have money? This may seem right, but then, it hit me: It’s because they don’t…
Are You Afraid Of Finding Bad Things In Your Akashic Records?

akemi

26 Jun 2009 | 1:43 pm

“I want to have your Akashic Record Reading but I’m afraid of finding something bad. . .” I’ve received several emails in this line, so it’s time to clarify. (Photo Credit) It’s a good idea to approach Akashic Record Reading and the higher knowledge it offers with sincerity rather than curiosity. You may feel a bit nervous about it. That’s okay. That said, I don’t consider any reading to be “bad”. Let me explain. Trauma and energetic issues In the past life part of my Akashic Record Reading, traumatic events such as murders, rapes, and wars do show up occasionally.
Sexual Orientation And Akashic Records

akemi

24 Jun 2009 | 9:14 am

One client, who identified himself as gay, asked, “Does our soul have anything to do with our sexual orientation?” It’s an interesting question. I will first discuss this issue as Akashic Record Reading specialist. Then let me share my personal view about sexual orientation and how unreasonably GLBT individuals are treated even today. (Photo Credit) Male and female energy in a soul On the physical level, we are born with male or female genes, which show up as different hormonal levels and physical shapes. On the soul level, we all have more or less of male and female energy. A soul…
Starseeds: Alpha Centauri

akemi

21 Jun 2009 | 10:56 am

This is a new series about starseeds, or star traveler souls. After our Higher Selves came out from the Source, some of us incarnated on this Earth right away, some have been to other places before coming to Earth. The latter is called starseeds. There are many groups of starseeds. Identifying this group, the origination of your Higher Self / soul, your star family, is a big part of my Akashic Record Reading because it defines your basic makeup. By now, I have read piles of Akashic Records and I think I can write about each group from my perspective and experience. I just reorganized my…

The StartUp Blog at PartnerUp
Is Health Coverage an Entrepreneurship Deterrent?

Megan Dorn

2 Jul 2009 | 10:30 am

The New York Times started a small business blog a few weeks ago called “You’re the Boss.” While the content is great, it was actually some comments on one of the recent posts that struck me as particularly interesting. The post itself was called “Are We Becoming Less Entrepreneurial?” It highlighted data from three different sources that show entrepreneurship is on the decline. Author Scott A. Shane reasoned near the end of the post that this decline is likely a result of large companies out-competing small startups. He called it the “Wal-Mart effect.” Several of the post’s…
Tips for Business-Starting Baby Boomers

Megan Dorn

1 Jul 2009 | 10:49 am

Baby boomers starting businesses is a topic we’ve covered before, a few times in fact. Nonetheless, it’s a hot topic that continues to gain traction as more and more boomers hit retirement age, especially in today’s economic climate. The great thing for many boomers entering into entrepreneurship is that they have more capital to invest, at least more than the average entrepreneur. The problem with that, however, is that because of their age they have more to lose—like their life savings for example. Luckily they also have knowledge and experience to put them ahead of the game and…
How to Write a Successful Blog: Keep Your Audience Coming Back For More

Megan Dorn

30 Jun 2009 | 11:22 am

This is a guest post by Zeke Camusio of The Outsourcing Company. If you are under the misconception that blogging is about YOU, step back and think about what it actually takes to create a successful blog. Let go of your ego and think of blogs as powerful marketing tools that can either make or break you. If you blog on behalf of your company, remember to always present your writing in a professional manner. Your content represents your company, so think before you write. The following tips will put your blog on top of search engines and keep your readers coming back for more! Who is Your…
Small Business Tip of the Week: Business Insurance

Megan Dorn

29 Jun 2009 | 8:26 am

Knowing what kind of insurance to get can be an issue for many small business owners, so here are the basics: Worker’s compensation insurance is the only kind required by law, but liability and property insurance are highly recommended. They can be tailored to different needs, but in their most basic forms they protect against legal damages in the event of a lawsuit or property damages as a result of natural disasters. A good business insurance broker will be able to recommend exactly what your business will need both now and in the future.
Social Media Breakfast Rocked

Megan Dorn

26 Jun 2009 | 12:31 pm

Social Media Breakfast this morning was wildly successful. For starters, we had perfect weather–not a cloud in the sky. Pair that with some awesome food cooked over a blazing HOT grill by myself and a few Deluxe execs. What made it so great, however, was the record-breaking turnout of more than 300 social media enthusiasts. Oh, and the cherry on top—we had a jumbotron! Seriously! Anyway, there’s nothing I can say that will do this amazing event justice (more like I’m too tired from cooking about 800 eggs), so we’ve posted a ton of pictures on PartnerUp for you all to…

Startup Nation
StartupNation - Smart Way to Manage your Gas Costs

1 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am

Business is filled with risk, but uncertainty about the cost of gas now no longer has to be a question mark.
StartupNation - Training, Yes, andquot;Trainingandquot; Your Clients to Pay You

31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

Learn tricks to getting paid on-time and in full by your clients.
StartupNation - 7 tips to get organized and be more effective in business

12 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

Learn how to get organized, gain peace of mind, and become more effective in running a business.
StartupNation - How to Accept Credit Cards at Your Website

31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

Learn how you can accept credit cards at your website.
StartupNation - Teaching You to Be Rich - Part 2

6 May 2009 | 12:00 am

Continuing the extremely practical and simple-to-follow advice on how to be rich, from the bestselling author, Ramit Sethi.

ZDNET Entrepreneurship Resources
Visionary 2009: Jim Clark on the importance of Stanford university to Silicon Valley

1 Jul 2009 | 11:58 am

Jim Clark, co-founder of Silicon Graphics and Netscape was one of four winners of the SDForum 2009 Visionary Awards. He spoke about his earlier life and how he was trying to get out of Texas, then trying to get out of the navy. He also spoke about the importance...
Visionary 2009: Kay Koplovitz - more women entrepreneurs

30 Jun 2009 | 11:56 am

Kay Koplovitz calls for more women entrepreneurs during her acceptance speech at the SDForum visionary awards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGRyvhsP7Uk Her Bio: Kay Koplovitz is currently a principal of...
Creative destruction in Canada

22 Jun 2009 | 7:50 am

Canada is much better off nurturing entrepreneurs than trying to bail out the past. by Dana Blankenhorn
MySpace cuts 30% of workforce; Says it was bloated

16 Jun 2009 | 10:46 am

MySpace said it would cut its staff by 30 percent in an effort to become Ã‚Â "a more innovative, efficient, and entrepreneurial business." When the cuts are over, MySpace will have about 1,000 employees. MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta said in a statement Techmeme: ...
The many faces of small business and open source

15 Jun 2009 | 8:31 am

Legacy businesses may be where the money is, but it's not where the growth is. Go for the real little guys, and the entrepreneurs, first. by Dana Blankenhorn

BUZZ in theHUB: Genotrope's Startup Watch
Buzzient

TS

1 Jul 2009 | 10:12 am

Genotrope Record: Buzzient Funding Status: Seed Round Investors: successful entrepreneurs and accredited investors from Silicon Valley, Boston, and Europe. Industry: B2B, Analytics Offering Description: social media monitoring, deep analytics
First Round Office Hours in Cambridge

TS

30 Jun 2009 | 8:26 am

Make sure to mark July 6th, 2009 on your calendar if you are a viable start-up and want a chance to speak with one of the premier web investment firms. First Round Capital is holding an Office Hours session in Cambridge at Toscanini’s Ice Cream in Central Square. If you are not familiar with First Round Capital, you should be. They are well known as one of the most savvy and successful early stage investors with a team that has earned their cred in the trenches as entrepreneurs themselves. Their current portfolio includes Mint.com, Xobni, Get Satisfaction as well as a few Boston area…
Gathr.me

TS

24 Jun 2009 | 10:54 am

Company Name: Gathr.Me Company URL: http://www.gathr.me Funding Status: Not yet! Investors: NA Industry: Consumer Internet Offering Description: Gathr.Me me is a personal portal to manage your online presence. It is an aggregator for not just your social network status, but all of your social networks and their functionality as well as email, and other sites where you have a personal profile or require a login and password. Gathr.Me will also allow ou to distribute all manner of media (videos, pictures, blogs, documents) from our portal to multiple sites at once.
KillYourcube

TS

18 Jun 2009 | 3:10 pm

Genotrope Record: KillYourcube Currently Hiring Funding Status: Seed Investors: Bootstrapped Industry: Consumer Web, Career Guidance Offering Description: Helping people forge their own career paths to success. Our patent-pending technology designs customized Career Maps that show you the road to your ideal job in a way never before possible.
TechFellow Awards Disappoints

TS

12 Jun 2009 | 7:50 am

Image via Wikipedia Is it just me or do you think the TechFellow Awards was pretty lame and sort of seemed tossed off? The TechFellow Awards presented itself as being all about disruptive innovation and making innovation happen. They had a huge list of prominent judges and my expectations were high. I was looking forward to learning about the newest disruptive innovations coming out of the crucible of cutting edgeness, the hotbed of invention, the bleeding fringe type stuff. What we got was Social Networking, Virtual Goods, Instant Message integration, an audience vote for your favorite…

Savvy Auntie
Happy Auntieversary to Me!

11 Jun 2009 | 8:29 pm

Dear Readers,Exactly two years ago today, I woke up an "Auntrepreneur." It was on June 12, 2007 that I decided to start the company of my dreams. I didn't know it then, but it was the happiest day of my life.I have learned so much as an entrepreneur over the last two years - the first year spent developing the brand and SavvyAuntie.com, and the second year seeing the brand and website launch and grow. Savvy Auntie is a multi-platform media company. You've only see the tip of the iceberg....I thought this milestone was a good time to reflect on a few of the things I've learned over the last…
Savvy Grace

9 Jun 2009 | 7:26 am

Dear Readers,Today, SavvyAuntie.com turns 11 months old. I just can't believe that it's not even a full year since the launch of the site! The support and encouragement from aunts, the press and sponsors has been incredible.Speaking of sponsors, I am proud to announce the newest sponsor for the Savvy Auntie brand. Turner, specifically TNT, has asked me to help them connect Savvy Aunties (and frankly anyone who likes quality television) with the third season of Saving Grace.After seeing a preview for the show's second season and learning that Grace Hanadarko, played so amazingly by Holly…
Yes And - No Buts

24 May 2009 | 8:43 am

Dear Readers,Recently I was asked to be part of a panel on social media for women entrepreneurs, and while I was there, I was lucky enough to have met Lauren Porat, Co-Founder, Urban Interns. We had previously met on Twitter.com, and I was glad to put a face to the Tweet!We were talking about the ebbs and flows of being a start up (Lauren's company helps start ups find interns and assistants who are willing to work for little or no pay in return for a great resume building experience) when she said something that I've never been able to articulate myself.Lauren was asking me about…
Reactors and Creators

17 May 2009 | 8:21 am

Dear Readers,There are two types of people in the world: Reactors and Creators.Reactors let the world happen to the them.Creators make the world happen.Which one are you? XOXO,Auntie Melanie
Dear Madison Avenue, Please Don't Wish Me a Happy Mother's Day

9 May 2009 | 9:07 am

Dear Readers,Last May, before I launched SavvyAuntie.com, I wrote a blog post about childless women and Mother's Day. It's been one of my most popular posts to-date and so I thought this year, I would simply update the data and re-post. (First published on May 2, 2008. Data has been updated for 2009)Dear Madison Avenue,Please don't wish me a Happy Mother's Day.It's not that I don't appreciate the wishes. And I don't mean to be the "Ebenezer Scrooge" of Mother's Day. It's a perfectly lovely holiday.But I am not a mother.And it's not that I don't want to be. I personally do. But for now, I am…

Escape From Cubicle Nation
Instant mood lifter: thank someone for a job well done

Pamela

24 Jun 2009 | 5:55 am

I am sitting in the Phoenix airport about to take off for the first leg of my book tour in Silicon Valley, CA and Portland, Oregon. I arrived at 4:30am since my husband dropped me off before work. My flight takes off at 6:15am. The entrance to the departure curb was blocked off for maintenance, and by the time we realized it, I had to crawl over some barriers with my suitcase and drag my book-laden suitcases far down the sidewalk. The police officer stationed at the blocked off entrance gave me an annoyed look. “Someone left you stranded, huh?” he said, as if I had been…
Overloaded corporate employee w/entrepreneurial dreams needs your advice

Pamela

16 Jun 2009 | 11:12 am

It has been awhile since I have done an “open source coaching” post. These have been some of my very favorite times on the blog, since the advice from my readers is so specific and supportive. Past posts include: The 23 year old ballplayer trapped in a cube and the follow up post with input from his mom Relationship advice for an aspiring entrepreneur This time around, my gentle reader is, in her words, trapped in a hellish situation and wants to find a way out. Here is the gist, edited for confidentiality. We decided that “Manic Mathilda” was an appropriate…
Open letter to recent college graduates

Pamela

12 Jun 2009 | 5:44 pm

Congratulations! Making it through four or five years of college requires concentration, stamina and discipline and you should feel very proud of yourself. I am proud of you. I imagine you have been getting looks of pity from friends and relatives since you are graduating in one of the bleakest economic climates since the Great Depression. Here is the good news: there is no need to worry. Living with constraints and challenges is one of the best learning opportunities you will ever get. By succeeding in a tough economy, you will be much better prepared for life than peers who graduate…
How to know if a work challenge is building or busting your chops

Pamela

11 Jun 2009 | 1:57 pm

The other day I got a panicked text message from a client. “Help me Pam. I am totally scared. Call me.” Expecting to hear the worst, I called him right back. “What’s going on?” I said. “I just got asked to take on a big project and I am scared out of my mind” he replied. Knowing that he was new in his consulting business and that a big project was exactly what he had been asking for, we worked together to diagnose the scary parts so he could move out of the panic zone and get busy. If you get in a similar quandary, here is how I suggest getting out of…
Learn fantastic relationship-building skills with me, Keith Ferrazzi and Daniel Pink on 6/11

Pamela

10 Jun 2009 | 2:44 pm

I sometimes have a flair for the dramatic when talking about important business building ideas. I am dead serious about this one: The topic of this call is the secret to the universe, and will radically alter the course of your destiny if you apply it. What I mean by “secret to the universe*” is that when you build strong mentoring relationships with people who are deeply committed to your personal and professional success, you are propelled faster towards the things you want to accomplish in life than any other single thing you do. Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author of Never…

Life Beyond Code
The Three Stages of an Idea

Rajesh Setty

28 Jun 2009 | 12:41 pm

All of us get MANY new ideas everyday. Majority of these ideas will never see the light of the day.They die in our minds. But, some ideas we choose to pursue. How do we determine which ones to kill and which ones to pursue? It’s a million dollar question, really. Here is one model to think about what makes you pursue some ideas and what makes you abandon most of them. At each stage, there are a few attributes that become VERY important – so I have chosen to include a short note with each of the attributes in various stages. So, here is that simple model: 1.Think: This is where you…
The 6 Levels of Engagement in Online Conversations

Rajesh Setty

24 Jun 2009 | 1:40 pm

My new column was published today at Lateral Action. This is about the levels of engagement in online conversations. Social Media has lowered the barrier to initiate conversations. Unfortunately, most conversations initiated via social media go nowhere. I talk about how to elevate those conversations and convert them into real relatonships – online and offline. Here is the graphic that will summarize the article And here is the entire article: Lateral Action: The 6 Levels of Engagement in Online Conversations PS: Special thanks to my friends Brian Clark and Mark McGuinness for helping…
There is a book in your heart…

Rajesh Setty

22 Jun 2009 | 12:24 am

That was the topic of my presentation at the recently concluded #140Conf at NYC. It was also the day when my new book was released. The new book is titled: TH!NKtweet 140 bite-sized lessons for a fast paced world. The entire book was written on Twitter. This is probably the first published book that was entirely written on Twitter. I am fortunate to have Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki) to write the foreword for the book. I am also thankful to all the wonderful people who provided advance praise for the book. You can also read the early reviews of the book here: TH!NKTweet: Early Reviews I am also…
Upbeat Blog Tour – First Wave

Rajesh Setty

19 Jun 2009 | 11:40 am

My friend Teresa Morrow is helping to organize two waves of Upbeat Blog Tour. This is the list for the first wave. Thanks to all those that are participating in the blog tour. 1. June 22nd – Starts with Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners writing a book review of Upbeat. 2. June 23rd – Melody Campbell at Small Business Guru will share a video review. 3. June 24th – Karen Pierce Gonzalez at Karen Pierce Gonzalez Public Relations will display a book review. 4. June 25th – Murali Mullani at Inspions will share a interview with Rajesh. 5. June 26th – Jeff Hurt…
Newsletter Topic: Please take me from P to Z or Ineffective pre-suppositions

Rajesh Setty

13 Jun 2009 | 12:59 am

For those of you who are joining late, I send out a newsletter every week. This week’s topic is: Please take me from P to Z or Ineffective pre-suppositions The newsletter will go out on Sunday this time. Apart from one article, I will include a few Aha-Moments (inspired by my close friend Bill Sherman) for the week and a couple of announcements. There will be more interaction with the newsletter subscribers than here. Occasionally there will be some pre-announcements of products and special discounts from me or my friends. There will NEVER be an obligation to buy or participate in…

Tim Berry: Planning, Startups, Stories
Business Boost: How Did it Go?

Tim Berry

2 Jul 2009 | 2:04 pm

Thanks for asking. Our Oregon Small Business Boost day (business plan software free for Oregonians) yesterday went even better than expected. I like this summary from our local newspaper, which tagged it as “frenzy” on its front page this morning. And you can click here for our summary of it. We distributed more than 17,000 cards through 85 locations. By the next morning, we’d had people logging in and registering their new software from more than 170 different cities and towns in Oregon. When some locations ran out of cards, we got them more units, even though we’d…
Blogging: 10 Things To Do with A Bad Headline

Tim Berry

2 Jul 2009 | 8:03 am

I thought it was one of my better posts ever on Huffington, A Great Debate About Ideas, because it covered something really important — the battle of free vs. not — and tied Chris Anderson, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, and Ellen Goodman together. But it wasn’t, it turns out, because of a dull deadline. Maybe I should have called it “The Battle of Free vs. Not.” Hmm, no, see, I’m not that good at headlines. “Naked idea orgy?” Delete it Start over Make it a list of 10 Make it a list of 5 Insult somebody famous Find a way to add one or more of the…
Invention vs. Necessity, Upside Down

Tim Berry

1 Jul 2009 | 7:24 am

You know the phrase: Necessity is the mother of invention. Right? You hear it a lot. But what if, in fact, invention is the mother of necessity. Once the technology exists, we then complicate things, demand more, and use up the productivity gain in raising the quality bar. Take budgets, for example. I realize it’s hard for most people to imagine a world without ready access to spreadsheets (you’d almost have to be a baby boomer, since spreadsheets and personal computing burst onto the scene in the early 1980s). But spreadsheets changed what we expect of budgets and budgeting.
Business Boost: Business Planning for Oregon

Tim Berry

30 Jun 2009 | 11:16 am

I hope it doesn’t seem like total self promotion — I’ve tried to avoid that as much as possible on this blog — but hey, tomorrow Palo Alto Software is going to give away thousands of copies of Business Plan Pro (and not a light version, the upscale, premier version) for free to Oregonians who want it. I would like to think that’s newsworthy, even if it’s my company. The video here is my talking for slightly less than three minutes, my summary of what happens tomorrow. And if you can’t see it for any reason, then please click here to go to the Youtube…
Questioning 10 Things Women Need to Know About Men

Tim Berry

30 Jun 2009 | 7:35 am

I spent a spare moment on twitter last Saturday afternoon. It had been a busy day, a long drive home in the morning, quiet time to myself in the car, then an explosion of small children, a beautiful summer day, a nice dinner in the garden. And I discovered this: Top 10 Things All Women Need To Know About Men. It caught my eye in twitter, I clicked, I read. I liked the intro. I’m not a church goer myself, at least not anymore, but the introduction, church or not, God or not, was pleasant enough and engaging. Thoughtful. I even like the list. There’s something in the tone that makes…

KK Lifestream
Futurama Death Clock

1 Jul 2009 | 10:40 am

Originally posted in Kevin Kelly Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons and Futurama, once told me that he was inspired by my countdown clock, and wanted to use it in Futurama. In my version I found actuarial tables to calculate my average longevity and devised a countdown clock aimed at my roughly estimated day of death. Since I am not a regular watcher of the show I had never seen what happened to the idea. A profile of Groening in Wired catches him as he plays with the idea, and you can see how he immediately spots the ridiculous and funny: Back at Groening's studio, he is talking up an…
Investigative journalism by amateurs

30 Jun 2009 | 7:06 am

Originally posted in ct2 Will bloggers ever go to the same lengths that professional journalists do to get a good story? I mean, without a payroll? Newspapers claim it will never happen. Sometimes it will. The following is a wonderful case where very passionate fans did their own amazing science and investigative research worthy of any national newspaper or world-class magazine. The story is about whether vegan resturants in LA are truly vegan, but the larger story is how deep and thorough their investigation was. I'd be curious to know where they learned their skills. Oh, if you are a…
Create feedback loops.

30 Jun 2009 | 6:00 am

Originally posted in New Rules Networks sprout connections and connections sprout feedback loops. There are two elementary kinds of loops: Self-negating loops such as thermostats and toilet bowl valves, which create feedback loops that regulate themselves, and self-reinforcing loops, which are loops that foster runaway growth such as increasing returns and network effects. Thousands of complicated loops are possible using combinations of these two forces. When internet providers first started up, most charged users steeper fees to log on via high-speed modem; the providers feared speedier…
Why Technology Can't Fulfill

26 Jun 2009 | 3:22 pm

Originally posted in The Technium At the beginning of this summer an Amish guy I met online rode his bicycle out to our home along the foggy Pacifica coast. Online, is of course, the last place you'd ever expect to meet an Amishman. But he contacted me via my blog, and then a few months later he appeared at our door hot, sweaty and out of breath from the long uphill climb to our house under the redwoods. Parked a few feet away was his ingenious Dohan foldup bike, which he rode from the train station. Like most Amish he did not fly, so he had stored his bike on the 3-day cross-country train…
Coordinate smaller webs.

26 Jun 2009 | 6:00 am

Originally posted in New Rules The fastest way to amp up the worth of your own network is to bring smaller networks together with it so they can act as one larger network and gain the total n2 value. The internet won this way. It was the network of networks, the stuff in between that glued highly diverse existing networks together. Can you take the auto parts supply network and coordinate it with the insurance adjusters network plus the garage repair network? Can you coordinate the intersection of hospital records with standard search engine technology? Do the networks of county property deed…

Preneur Marketing - The Blog of Entrepreneur Pete Williams
The Future Of Outsourcing To Virtual Assistants

pete@preneurmarketing.com (Pete Williams)

20 Jun 2009 | 6:35 pm

{A proper intro will be posted when my VA wakes up and gets my email}
Using HARO To Generate Blog Content

pete@preneurmarketing.com (Pete Williams)

8 Jun 2009 | 9:51 pm

HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a great tool for getting yourself out there and in touch with journos needing expert opinions and quotes… But I’ve been testing it as a source for unique, high quality blog content - Check out the video for more info..
Are You Making Your Market What It Is ?

pete@preneurmarketing.com (Pete Williams)

28 May 2009 | 2:13 am
The Formal Friday Update

pete@preneurmarketing.com (Pete Williams)

21 May 2009 | 3:45 pm
Are They Really Much Better Than You ?

pete@preneurmarketing.com (Pete Williams)

1 May 2009 | 3:58 pm

“…Dog, I was having nervous breakdowns … Like “Damn, these n*** that much better than me?” - Kanye West; Touch the Sky It’s a good question… One that every successful athlete, singer and entrepreneur asked themselves at least 3,465 times. (Yep, i got me a clipboard and did a survey) … and there are just as many ways to answer the question. … and it’s the answers you give yourself that make the difference. See, in reality it’s not that they are better than you… the successful simply know; They’re no better than…

Signal vs. Noise
QUOTE: 'Rock Star' is perhaps the most abused phrase

Matt

2 Jul 2009 | 2:02 pm

‘Rock Star’ is perhaps the most abused phrase in the history of job listings. Nobody should be looking for a “rock star” accountant, HR recruiter or janitor. Whomever is posting these jobs is grossly misinformed as to the nature of rock stardom. Or accounting. Or both. —AvoidThisJob.com on the differences between a Rock Star and a Planet Funk Store Manager
Product Blog update: New Basecamp features, Highrise/Harvest integration, etc.

37signals

2 Jul 2009 | 8:18 am

Some recent posts at the 37signals Product Blog: Basecamp New File Uploading features in Basecamp We’re excited to announce a batch of improvements to File Uploads in Basecamp. Now it’s easier to attach multiple files at once, we’ve improved our progress bar to show you as each file is uploaded, and you can click thumbnails to zoom image attachments without leaving the current page. These new features make it faster and easier to attach, review and discuss files in Basecamp. Here’s a demo video to show you all the improvements. New Basecamp feature: The Daily Digest…
Oldie But Goodie: Sketching with a Sharpie

Jason

1 Jul 2009 | 7:16 am

I’ve always preferred sketching UIs with an as-thick-as-I-can-find Sharpie over a thin ballpoint pen or finely sharpened pencil. Ballpoints and fine tips just don’t fill the page like a Sharpie does. Fine tips invite you to draw while Sharpies invite you to just to get your concepts out into big bold shapes and lines. When you sketch with a thin tip you tend to draw at a higher resolution and worry a bit too much about making things look good. Sharpies encourage you to ignore details early on. If you sketch, try a thick Sharpie next time. You may find you’re better able to…
Design Decisions: Results from the Basecamp account screen redesign

Jason

30 Jun 2009 | 9:54 am

Just about two weeks ago we launched the a redesign of the account chart in Basecamp. This is where people can upgrade or downgrade their accounts. The goal was to increase overall upgrade conversions and encourage people who are on Basic plans or lower to upgrade to the Plus plan (our lowest priced full-feature plan). Results I’m glad to report our design hunches appear to have paid off. We’re only about two weeks in, so we don’t have a ton of data yet, but we can compare the 14 days since the upgrade with the 90 days prior to the upgrade. Average upgrades/day: up 13%…
Working at 37signals

JZ

30 Jun 2009 | 8:54 am

It’s been several weeks since I was hired here at 37signals so I thought it might be interesting to share some of my experiences so far. Ready, set, go! One of the best things has been how quickly I’ve been able to jump in and start contributing. The very first project I worked on was a refresh of the Account screen in Basecamp. What started as an exercise quickly escalated to a new design that we wanted to actually put into the app. So it wasn’t long before I moved from Photoshop right into the app code to integrate the new design. This required me to build on my limited…

WorkHappy.net: killer resources for entrepreneurs
Clicky Web Analytics (GetClicky.com)

Carson

8 Jun 2009 | 8:33 pm

What is it? Clicky Web Analytics: A web analytics system (i.e. a web stats program). Who makes it? Roxr Software Ltd. Why is it the killerest? I remember when Google Analytics (GA) came on the scene, and for free, I thought "there goes every single web analytics company, it's over." And to a degree, I was right. I don't think there are any web analytics offerings that existed before GA came out that haven't lost crippling market share to GA. But in an instructive (and inspiring) move – the Roxr folks found a way to create something that is more in touch, more contemporary, more…
Using Google Docs to make a survey

Carson

18 May 2009 | 10:18 am

Did you know you can make a free, and rich survey or poll using Google Docs? It’s simple to set up, and as a bonus it drops all your results into a spreadsheet where you can slice/dice/analyze/chart/graph or whatever. To create a survey, inside Google Docs go to New then click on Form as shown at right. Go through and create your questions, set the response type (multiple choice, checkbox, text, drop down, etc.) where you’ll enter in the possible answers and if the question is required or not. When you’re done, select a theme (the look of your survey) and save it and a link to your…
Balsamiq

Carson

8 May 2009 | 1:23 pm

What is it? Balsamiq: It's a tool that anyone can use for making web page mockups. In the early stages of creating a web site, or specifically a web application, there's a period of time when you need to wireframe, or sketch out rough ideas for page construction and layout, without necessarily worrying about the precise design of the pages (i.e. colors, fonts, exact shapes, etc). Balsamiq is a tool designed to help you do that. It has various "elements" or building blocks that you can drop on your page to construct your mockup. Who makes it? Balsamiq Studios LLC Why is it…
Happy Quote – the starting point

Carson

19 Apr 2009 | 10:48 pm

“...now it's when the client says she's happy that I really start to work hard. That's the starting point.” (more) - Chase Jarvis, profession (inspiring!) photographer
Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner

Carson

13 Mar 2009 | 9:03 am

What is it? Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner: A collection of short, potent videos and podcasts by very well-known successful entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerburg, Larry Page and Michael Dell, as well as some less well-known, but still inspiring and successful entrepreneurs. They've been doing this for a few years, and new additions are added regularly. Who makes it? Stanford University Why is it the killerest? Well, because it’s bite-sized nuggets of inspirational goodness and expertise that we all need. I like as well how it’s broken out by topic, by speaker, or by date. How…

OnStartups
6 Quick Tips For Landing That Startup Dream Job

Dharmesh Shah

29 Jun 2009 | 2:13 am

My startup, HubSpot, has done a fair amount of recruiting/hiring over the past year (the team has grown by over 100%, despite the down-turn in the economy). Along the way, I’ve found some “patterns” to the recruiting that we do and the kind of people that end up joining us. I’m going to stay away from the overly obvious stuff (mostly because I have no idea what the obvious stuff actually is). I’m also going to assume that you’re already smart and passionate and all the other trimmings of a star candidate. Tips For Landing That Startup Dream Job 1. Match the…
Angel Investor Non-Admissons: 10 Things They Won't Say

Dharmesh Shah

15 Jun 2009 | 3:34 am

As a tribute to the very funny VC Non-Admissions and the follow-up Founder Non-Admissions, I offer to you my own take on this — from an angel investor perspective. Sorry that mine aren’t in a cool presentation form with pictures and such. I don’t have that kind of talent. 10 Things An Angel Investor Will Never Say 1. I really want to support entrepreneurs — but just those that are going to make me money. 2. I dread having to explain your business idea to my spouse (who can veto any deal). 3. I don’t really have enough stake in…
Flat Is The New Up: Introducing Hockey Stick 2.0 [cartoon]

Dharmesh Shah

28 May 2009 | 4:02 am

Did this tickle your funny bone? Please tweet it. Looking for other startup fanatics? Request access to the OnStartups LinkedIn Group. 48,000+ members and growing daily.You can also find OnStartups on Twitter.
Is Your Startup Practicing Inward Facing Dog?

Dharmesh Shah

15 May 2009 | 3:24 am

For those curious about the title, it’s a reference to “downward facing dog” (one of the most widely reognized yoga poses). Is your startup practicing inward facing dog? That is, are you overly focused on things going inside the company with too little attention on what might be going on outside the company? Signs That Your Startup Is Practicing Inward Facing Dog 1. More than a few days go by and you haven’t talked to a customer other than to provide support or try to sell them something. 2. When people bring up things like “Did you hear about X (a direct…
The Attention Economy vs. The Wallet Economy

Dharmesh Shah

8 May 2009 | 3:18 am

The attention economy has been all the rage for startups for a while. Here’s the general line of reasoning with the attention economy: 1. Grab user’s attention. 2. Sell that attention to others. Like many abstractions, this one is a tad over-simplified, but not so much as to not be useful. A bunch of modern-day startups fall into the above pattern. Get a mass of users to your shiny-new website then monetize that attention through things like advertising (basically reselling that attention). Why do so many web startups take this approach? I think…

Growthology
Jobs Update: Unhappy Times are Here Again

Tim Kane

2 Jul 2009 | 1:08 pm

Interesting data on the U.S. employment situation today. The payroll number (-467,000 jobs in June) is bad enough that it should chill the chatter about green shoots, mainly because it is no longer "less bad" than the month before. (Vanity "I told you so" link here). I'm sorry I can't offer my usual picturing employment chart. New MS Excel software is not allowing me to screen capture the graphic. (Curse you, Steve Ballmer!) And yet, I still want to share an update on the severity in the change in the unemplyment rate down to the last decimal point. According…
That's Why We Need More Entrepreneurs

Dane Stangler

2 Jul 2009 | 9:26 am

Scott Shane recently joined the New York Times as a blogger for the site's new You're the Boss blog and in his most recent post used a series of charts to show that the United States is actually becoming less entrepreneurial than we would like to pretend.Professor Shane, a professor of entrepreneurship, has been an outspoken skeptic of entrepreneurial capitalism, casting doubt on the extent and benefits of entrepreneurship. His latest line of research concerns genetics and entrepreneurship, identifying "the influence of genetic factors on the variation across people in…
Children's Literature as Economics 101

Dane Stangler

2 Jul 2009 | 7:53 am

Adam Smith should have published his magnum opus as a children's book. Or, more realistically, all macroeconomic and microeconomic professors, in a crisis-precipitated moment of soul-searching, should include some children's literature on their syllabi. Two of the most venerable names in children's book publishing are Little Golden Books and Richard Scarry. It recently occurred to me in the course of bedtime reading with our boys that two titles in particular do a remarkable job of explaining how the economy works.The first, I'm a Truck, is the seemingly mundane tail of a…
Links

Dane Stangler

25 Jun 2009 | 9:42 am

Here is an essay just published in the wonderful journal innovations, one of the editors of which is the brilliant Phil Auerswald.Download Creative Discovery Innovations June 2009Also, a great post the other day by Jeff Cornwall at The Entrepreneurial Mind.
Private Schools for the Poor?

Tim Kane

23 Jun 2009 | 7:27 am

The cause of much of the developing world's problems is a lack of human capital. Aid agencies and international groups therefore call for more spending on public schools, without wondering if this cash infusion actually achieves any meaningful change. Is there a better way? Last week on City Journal's website, Liam Julian reviewed James Tooley's The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves. The book discusses the millions of poor people around the world who prefer to send their children to private schools, as…

ArcticStartup
NewsToScreen Files For Bankruptcy

Antti Vilpponen

1 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pm

NewsToScreen, the service by Finnish marketing men that aimed to charge consumers for watching ads, has filed for bankruptcy according to Kauppalehti. We covered the company just little over a year ago in March. Later last year I talked to the CEO Marko Parkkinen back then and he quoted them having 80 000 users. Apparently not everyone was paying the 29€ annual fee as it would have brought in revenue of over 2 million euros. The company had a very respectable board including Marko Parkkinen a reknown marketing man in Finland, Seppo Sairanen known for making his wealth from the private…
Part II: Danish Strongholds In Renewable Energy

Päivi Kangasmäki

1 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

Denmark is a great example on effective use of public promotion instruments on renewable energy. And now we are not speaking merely about the effecitive use of manpower on transportation (bicycles account for 18 per cent of all trips taken in Denmark)! Oil crisis in 1970’s created a basis for Danish renewable energy production. In those days Denmark imported 99 per cent of all energy used. After 30 years, Denmark has enjoyed an economic growth ( GDP 56 per cent higher since 1980) with reduced CO2 (35 per cent lower since 1980). In 2004, Denmark has the lowest energy consumption…
Dazzboard, An ‘Open iTunes’. We Have Invites

Ville Vesterinen

30 Jun 2009 | 10:00 pm

We all know and love Apple for giving us the almost seamless experience to manage content between the web, our laptop and ipod or iPhone via iTunes. Only problem is that it’s as closed system as it gets. Linkotec, a Finnish startup is aiming to come to rescue with Dazzboard. Dazzboard wants to become a non-proprietary, web-based personal portal for storing, organizing and sharing (via different of social networks) songs, photos, videos and other media content. Ideally, with Dazzboard you can sync anything with a memory to store your content. Dazzboard overview from getdazzboard on…
The Pirate Bay To Be Acquired – Don’t Worry, Be Happy?

Paula Marttila

30 Jun 2009 | 5:52 am

The news that The Pirate Bay (TBP) is to be acquired by Swedish company Global Gaming Factory X (GGF) for MSEK 60 (App USD 7.7 million) spread all over the media this morning. The purchase includes the domain name and related web sites, including www.thepiratebay.org, and amounts to consisting of at least MSEK 30 in cash and up to the equivalent of MSEK 30 in the form of newly issued shares in GGF. The transaction is scheduled to be closed in August 2009. The deal was shortly after the announcement confirmed by TPB, whereby Peter Sunde, the spokesperson of TPB, turned off his phone having…
Thank You Sponsors

Sponsor

30 Jun 2009 | 4:00 am

This is our periodic thank you note to our blog sponsors to describe what they have to offer. The Sun Startup Essentials program is specifically designed to help startups get their business off the ground FAST with the right IT infrastructure at the LOWEST COST possible. This program is available in many countries throughout the world. You can also go directly to your local country’s Sun Startup Essentials program web page to learn more. The Finnish Software Entrepreneurs Association is a non-aligned association for innovative, professional, growth-friven and entrepreneurial software…

NextBillion.net
Have you Been to Changemakers Lately? It's About Time

2 Jul 2009 | 9:55 am

Authored by: Francisco NogueraChangemakers is one of the web's most dynamic and interesting destinations for those of us interested in ideas and their power to advance tangible change in the lives of the "next billion". Its recent re-design and the upcoming finals for one of their competitions (one very much in the vein of development through enterprise) are reasons compelling enough for me to ask you: have you been to Changemakers lately? If the answer is no, well it's about time. Their new site is refreshing in so many ways. Visually it a made a great leap forward, showing beautiful…
Breaking News: Husk Power Systems Wins $250K Venture Competition

1 Jul 2009 | 1:02 pm

Authored by: Rob KatzHusk Power Systems, a company we profiled here on NextBillion back in October, was announced today as the winner of the Global Business Plan competition sponsored by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco Systems. As the winning entrant, Husk Power walks away with $250,000 in seed funding, which they will use to build and operate more power plants in rural areas of Bihar, India's poorest state.Congratulations to Chip Ransler, Manoj Sinha and the rest of the Husk Power Systems team on this big win. They have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and…
Social Capital Markets 09: Go to "Woodstock" with a 40% Discount

1 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am

Authored by: Rob KatzBy the time we got to Woodstock / We were half a million strong - Joni Mitchell, "Woodstock"Well, there won't be half a million of us, but as Bill Baue noted in a recent CSR Wire article, the Social Capital Markets conference (2009 vintage) is quickly shaping up to be an important event for our generation of changemakers, investors, intrapreneurs, policymakers and innovators. (His exact quote was "...[SoCap09] is quickly becoming the Woodstock for social entrepreneurs.") NextBillion.net covered the event extensively last year, and we are pleased to be going…
Microfinance: An Open-Book Blog

30 Jun 2009 | 8:45 am

Authored by: Tayo AkinyemiOccasionally one encounters a novel application of a familiar technology. In this case, it's blogging. David Roodman, fellow at the Center for Global Development and architect of the Commitment to Development Index, is writing an open-book blog about microfinance. He drafts a chapter, then posts it for comment and critique. Mr. Roodman shared the introduction to his book on February 17th and has since authored nine additional sections. Although the work looks substantially complete, there is still a tremendous opportunity to contribute…
Yes, Microfinance has Positive Effects on the Poor

29 Jun 2009 | 4:15 am

Authored by: Manuel BuenoMicrofinance in its simplest form involves extending loans to a group of borrowers (usually called self help groups) who agree to help each other by means of group savings and informal support. The typical self help group consists of 10 to 20 people who meet regularly to discuss social issues and activities and deposit their savings in a joint bank account. Once enough savings have been accumulated, group members can apply to internal loans within the group or apply for loans through a commercial bank. Even though microfinance is estimated to have directly reached 100…

Silicon Moon
Natalie Portman's MakingOf, Hollywood's Behind-The-Scenes Site

30 Jun 2009 | 11:09 pm

HatTip to Christine. Natalie Portman recently co-founded MakingOf which seeks to bring a behind-the-scenes look into the various creative processes in movie making. Christine Aylward is her Co-Founder and CEO. More from their site:"MakingOf is a behind-the-scenes Web destination, founded by Natalie Portman and Christine Aylward, that provides an intimate, fresh look into the process of creating entertainment by the insiders themselves. Our mission is to champion the art and craft of entertainment creation. We started MakingOf because we realized that so much of what goes into entertainment…
TEDTalk: Katherine Fulton's "You are the Future of Philanthropy"

30 Jun 2009 | 10:37 pm

"In this uplifting talk, Katherine Fulton sketches the new future of philanthropy -- one where collaboration and innovation allow regular people to do big things, even when money is scarce. Giving five practical examples of crowd-driven philanthropy, she calls for a new generation of citizen leaders." President of Monitor Institute, Katherine Fulton is also a strategist, author, teacher and speaker working for social change.
News & Links List

29 Jun 2009 | 11:10 pm

"Does a venture capitalist’s size — and network — matter?" VentureBeat, Matt Marshall"The Top 100 Networked Venture Capitalists" TechCrunch"Yahoo Kills Maven: From Acquisition To Deadpool In 17 Months" TechCrunch"Venture Capitalists V. Founders: Battle At Mochi Media" TechCrunchYes, lot from TechCrunch today but it's just because they had worthwhile posts :)"Extending Google services in Africa" Official Google Blog"Twitter as the Foundation of Your Business" BNET"Looking into the Future of Digital Marketing" eMarketer"The True Story of True Ventures" peHUB"Solidarity With IranReagan's…
Pickup Basketball and Company Crisis, Lenses Into True Colors

26 Jun 2009 | 12:54 am

(heads up since this post has religious references)"An entrepreneur shows his true colors in a period of crisis, not in a period when everybody is having success." — Giorgio Armani on the opening of his new $40 million Manhattan store in the middle of the recession.When I saw this quote in Fortune magazine a couple of weeks ago, I immediately thought of personal experiences seeing people for who they are under intense, competitive athletic contests, such as pickup basketball. The mild mannered guy in my dorm or the well-liked summer intern became complete morons on the basketball court. One…
Term Sheets 101 by Justin Fishner-Wolfson

24 Jun 2009 | 10:58 pm

Great overview by Justin Fishner-Wolfson, who is a principal at Founders Fund. Timely too since I'm finishing up my own overview of startup financing due to various requests I get. I can point people to these slides too.Term Sheets 101 by Justin Fishner-Wolfson, Founders FundView more PDF documents from Dave Mcclure.

Leveraging Ideas
A Twitter Haiku

Sam

14 Jun 2009 | 6:04 pm

tweets connect afar other substitutes be damned I’d choose a handshake Related PostsMay 25, 2009 -- Streams: Layers and Data (0)April 29, 2009 -- Dave Winer on the Bootstrapping Effect (1)February 20, 2009 -- Information Day Trading (0)February 11, 2009 -- Startup Marketing Plan: Reverse Engineer Memes (0)January 12, 2009 -- Why Accept a Friend Request? (5)January 1, 2009 -- Hack: Insights from Twitter Favorites (5)December 7, 2008 -- When Does Crisis Become Opportunity? (1)December 4, 2008 -- Is There a Future for Air Applications? (9)November 26, 2008 -- Twittering Micro Voicemails…
Recognize Sunk Costs and Move On

Sam

27 May 2009 | 9:08 pm

I am re-posting a few paragraphs from my friend Michael Karnjanaprakorn’s most recent post: A New Path. Michael’s doing some exciting stuff with All Day Buffet and I wish him the best! …A couple of weeks ago, I had breakfast with Annie Duke (professional poker player) who told me a great life lesson and story around sunk costs. In the most basic terms, the concept is used in making good decisions (which is the secret to the success of professional poker players). Wikipedia defines sunk costs as “costs that cannot be recovered once they have been incurred.” So, for…
Streams: Layers and Data

Sam

25 May 2009 | 9:57 pm

This past week TechCrunch jumped on the stream meme. Erick Schonfeld published an article that generated some noise, citing a recent post by John Borthwick. Playing with Facebook this week got me thinking more about the role of data within streams. Specifically, I have a few follow-up thoughts to my last post on the value and consequences of real-time information. At a basic level, streams are flows of objects, with each object containing unique metadata. However, this metadata can be abstracted to create parallel streams layered one on top of the other. I think we’re about to see a rise of…
The Consequences of Real-Time Information

Sam

12 May 2009 | 9:59 pm

Real-time is the new black. Everyone from Facebook to the New York Times is pumping any feature they can slap a real-time label on. While I’m a big proponent of the real-time movement, the media’s incessant focus on the *consumer web* has failed to probe the consequences of what it means to manage real-time information and derive actions or produce consequential decisions. In my opinion real-time at the consumer level is considering real-time only at the highest levels: discovery and creation. Platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc) allow us to publish content in real-time, and a nascent…
Plan for Your Competitors’ Vision, Not Their Reality

Sam

11 May 2009 | 12:13 am

From day one Workstreamer has been very focused on the process of Customer Development. We’re competing in a very large market filled with a variety of legacy products as well as an increasing number of new entrants looking to re-segment and disrupt old ways of doing things. In a highly competitive or burgeoning market it can be disarming to see new entrants burst onto the scene or read about incumbent competitors scoring large new rounds of financing. At Workstreamer have the good fortune to believe that our approach and features (yet unannounced, but currently in heavy beta usage)…

D.I.Y. Startup news
ZCOPE: web-based project management software based on the motto „Project management is fun!“

public

1 Jul 2009 | 6:36 am

Besides tasks, dates and budgets there‘s a version controlled document repository and a project blog. The focus lays on the realisation of the projects, not on the planning. With ZCOPE your projects and communication are controlled by YOU http://www.getzcope.com/
Vizerra - 3D virtual models of World Heritage Sites

public

30 Jun 2009 | 5:32 am

Vizerra is a 3D educational portal which offers a client application through which a user can take a three-dimensional virtual tour of famous locations throughout the world. http://vizerra.com/
Startup ticker (A feed reader which only uses feeds from startups as its source.)

tonybls12

29 Jun 2009 | 10:50 am

We felt that we were missing out on news from everyday starups. Big blogs get a lot of news tips and product launches everyday and there is noway they can cover them all. This is where startup ticker comes in. If you have a startup and have a rss feed of your latest news then submit it to us here We check each startup that is submitted to make sure it is a valid startup and no spammers get in. http://startupticker.com/
web2.0collage launches, creates scary collage of sites you visit

public

29 Jun 2009 | 9:18 am

web2.0collage uses browser history sniffing to determine what websites you visit and creates a collage of them. Before you get worried, it uses a white-list sites, so the collage should be safe.
ViewLike.Us Launches - Online Resolution Tool For Web Designers.

public

26 Jun 2009 | 9:25 pm

ViewLike.Us allows for webmasters to quickly and with ease check there website in various screen resolutions, including the iPhone! The system uses Ajax & PHP and thus requires no download! Give it a try now! http://viewlike.us/

KillerStartups.com - all
StartupWiz.biz - A Laboratory For New Entrepreneurs

2 Jul 2009 | 1:00 pm

In their own words“Your startup living laboratory.”Why it might be a killerComprehensive resource indeed. It covers every angle and every step of the formative process an entrepreneur goes through.What it doesStartupWiz introduces a new program of its own which prepares entrepreneurs and business owners to achieve a much greater level and probability of success. The program's series of 14 sequential modules goes well beyond the traditional MBA courses and startup ‘boot-camps' available. It takes the student from "Am I really prepared to be an entrepreneur?" to "I'm ready to pitch my…
BirdFeedApp.com - Tweet From Your iPhone

2 Jul 2009 | 12:55 pm

In their own words“A very nice Twitter client for your iPhone.”Why it might be a killerThose looking for tools enabling them to tweet from their iPhones will find it worth a spin. What it doesExactly what the title reads. Birdfeed joins the family of Twitter clients that has Tweetie has the patriarch, and actually makes some worthwhile additions to the cause. The basic features are all covered. These include the ability to manage multiple accounts, view Twitter trends, and post both shortened URLs and pictures as part of you tweets. The best bits include enhanced scan abilities as regards…
ChallengePost.com - Online Marketplace For Challenges

2 Jul 2009 | 12:52 pm

What it doesThis young site acts as a spot where people can post challenges regarding issues or topics that matter to them, and accept becoming part of challenges posted by others. In addition to that, the site boats a “Wish” section that will let anybody make a wish either through the site or via Twitter and inspire either a challenge or the solution to one that was already posted. Challenges can (and do) cover a lot of ground – users post them for personal realization or for noble causes (like charity). Challenges that are posted just for fun can likewise be found, and they provide…
Howsthe.com - Be Notified When Your Site Is Down

2 Jul 2009 | 12:48 pm

What it does“Website monitoring at its best” is the way this service is described by the team behind it. Monitoring you website is exactly what it does, and it lets you know when your site is no longer reachable by users so that you can do something to remedy it. Some of the features that are currently fully functional include notification to multiple locations via your preferred method (e-mail and MS are fully supported), whereas aspects like the wait period can be set down beforehand. You might have created a website because you wanted to inform people about something you deemed as…
JakeApp.com - A Collaborative File Sharing Tool

2 Jul 2009 | 12:08 pm

In their own words“Jake is a collaborative file sharing tool that allows you to securely and easily share files on your computer with other people. Just drag a folder into Jake, invite your friends or co-workers and start sharing!”Why it might be a killerIf you are looking for a streamlined way to share documents with others and collaborate online, this can help you achieve that goal inexpensively.Some questionsAren’t there too many similar tools already available? What makes this one stand out?What it doesJake is a new tool that is geared towards those who are to engage into online…

start Up (NZ)
Accommodate Me signs partnership deal with AVIS and Budget Rent A Car

17 Jun 2009 | 5:00 am

NZ boutique Accommodation site "Accommodate Me" today announced AVIS and Budget Rent A Car as strategic partners on their site. "Securing two of the world's largest rental car companies as partners of Accommodate-Me.co.nz is fantastic", says Steve Davies, Publisher. "As our site continues to grow with listings every month, so does our reputation as being New Zealand's best boutique & luxury accommodation website." AVIS New Zealand MD, Kathryn O'Neil said "She was delighted to associate their brand and new site to a partner like Accommodate Me". Chris Destrieux, National Sales &…
No iPhone on new XT Network at launch, but range still looks pretty good

19 May 2009 | 5:00 am

As expected by many media commentators there will be no iPhone at the time of launch of the new XT Network. Alan Gourdie says that negotiations with Apple are still underway but has no information on when those negotiations might conclude. While the range of handsets avaiable at launch is certainly impressive and a major step up from Telecoms previous offerings there can be no denying that the ommission of the iPhone from the launch line up leaves a glaring gap. On the upside (possibly) was the announcement of a Bebo phone. Details on this handset are pretty lite but…
First word on Telecom business plans

19 May 2009 | 5:00 am

First details of XT business plans Business Share: one plan for multiple phones.We've received information that suggests Telecom has some pretty innovative business plans in the winds, the first of which is a Business Share plan that allows for one plan to have multiple mobiles. What's so innovative about this you may ask? Well from what we can ascertain this plan will allow you to add and remove mobiles as your business changes but all under one plan which potentially means no penalty charges if you disconnect one of the mobiles, and should mean know additional fees for setting…
Some unknown "Hip Hop Star" dies two hours after his first tweet - Who gives a damn

18 May 2009 | 5:00 am

Over on Techcrunch they've just reported that some unknown Hip Hop star was killed only hours after posting his first tweet. Ok, this is kinda eerie but at the end of the day, who really gives a damn, apart from his momma.This is a prime example of the type of ridiculous reporting thats becoming more and more prevalent as the Twitter phenomenon takes hold of the mainstream media. Standby for the noise of the mainstream and the world of pop to begin to dominated the Twittersphere.For those of you with nothing better to do here's a link to the story on TC…
Open Hack Day UK

18 May 2009 | 5:00 am

Yahoo recently hosted Open Hack day in the UK, check out what happens when you put 270 internet developers from 15 countries in a room for 24 hours and challenge them to come up with innovative technology applications? Geeks one day will rule the known universe.

Campus Entrepreneurship
Gladwell Reviews Anderson’s New Book, Free

David J. Miller

1 Jul 2009 | 6:24 am

While it feels a bit incestuous to me, Malcolm Gladwell reviews Chris Anderson’s new book Free in the New Yorker. The review titled Priced to Sell: Is Free the Future. The book and the review hit on a lot of concepts we discuss here — digital readers, the value of information, and the future of media. As many of you know, my startup — FamilyFantasySports.com — is based in part on the free model as we offer free games to families interested in playing fantasy football together. From the review: Anderson is the editor of Wired and the author of the 2006 best-seller…
UC Berkeley Football Tickets — $225,000 Seat License

David J. Miller

30 Jun 2009 | 1:43 pm

As a grad of U of M who buys one off tickets when I go visit, I find it to be insane when I read the UC Berkeley is asking 3,000 of its season ticket holders to purchase $225,000 personal seat license — (H/T Newmark’s Door). From the original USA Today Blog entry: So no, Berkeley hasn’t exactly been a football factory the last half-century. But that hasn’t hurt the self-esteem at Cal, where the university is asking fans to pay $225,000 — yes, $225,000! — for personal seat licenses. That’s the per-seat tab being sought from about 3,000 fans who have…
3 (or 4) Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Should Take Cold Showers

David J. Miller

25 Jun 2009 | 7:43 am

Over the past 2 weeks I have been taking nothing but cold showers and have come to believe that entrepreneurs should only take cold showers. Here are the 3 (or 4) reasons why entrepreneurs should take cold showers. 1. Taking cold showers saves time. There is no lolly gagging, singing, or day dreaming while in a cold shower. This saved time allows entrepreneurs to get more done. It also reminds us that time is precious and shouldn’t be wasted in the shower or other places. I would have to say my shower times have dropped from 12-15 minutes to 3-4 minutes. This at least an extra hour a…
Jack Welch Launches Online MBA – Snooze

David J. Miller

22 Jun 2009 | 8:53 pm

The cover of the Wall Street Journal featured a story on Jack Welch and his involvement with a new online business school. Its clear to me that Welch is trying to cash in on one the few areas that have seen successful IPOS over the past few years — he has invested with an entrepreneur who was able to take online Golden Gate University public during the darkest days of the financial crisis. My favorite part of the story is the last line where Welch says, “I think its a real education.” What he doesn’t say is, “I think this is a great investment for me.”" My…
VC Continues to be Overrated; Policy Makers Beware!

David J. Miller

20 Jun 2009 | 8:26 am

For years I have been reminding people that less than 5% of firms ever take any kind of venture investment — that is one of the reasons I find the growth of business plan competitions so odd. Why prepare students for pitching to Venture Capitalists when most of them will never do it? (We’ll answer that in another post). Well, there is a growing chorus of entrepreneurship bloggers sounding the alarm that policy makers are focusing too much on the VC model when talking about economic recovery. Growthology (a blog out of Kauffman) and The Entrepeneurial Mind (Jeff Cornwall) have both…

TheFunded Founder Institute News
The Founder Institute on Entrepreneur.com

28 Jun 2009 | 9:45 pm

Thanks to Entrepreneur.com's Amy Reinink for featuring both TheFunded.com and The Founder Institute in her latest article, "5 Lifelines for Your Startup." It reads; "The Funded is an online networking group for startups seeking venture capital, following the same entrepreneurs-helping-entrepreneurs model as Ultra Light, with a focus on sharing information about investors. Founder Adeo Ressi says the free networking site lets its more than 12,000 members dish about specific investors anonymously. Ressi adds that a thorough application process ensures members are actually business…
New Partners to help sell your company story

24 Jun 2009 | 2:40 pm

Evangelizing and selling your company 'story' in a cost-effective way is crucial for any bootstrapping startup. We've partnered with 2 great services to help you do just that; PR Newswire - PR Newswire is the global leader in news and information distribution services for professional communicators. They are giving founders a free 12-month membership ($195 value), plus over $2,000 in free and discounted services. MyPRGenie - MyPRGenie is a social media-based, PR delivery platform that allows you to build traffic, access over 500,000 journalist/blog contacts, and track your results. They…
Two New Partners

23 Jun 2009 | 6:30 pm

The title of the post says it all... Lightserve - This leading technology consulting firm is providing Founders with discounts on 2 crucial services; (1) Audit-Class IRC 409A and FASB123R valuation for $2500 ($500 discount), and (2) three free months of service and extended discounts on Lightserve's banking-grade Virtual Data Room software. nResult - nResult is a innovative software testing company, where their engineers act as a seamless extension of your own teams for a wide range of compatibility, functionality, usability, accessibility, and load testing. They are providing discounts on…
MediaTemple signs on as a Hosting Partner, and more from Microsoft

17 Jun 2009 | 6:00 am

After our great Company Roadmap session last night, we have received some additional resources from partners that will help our companies bring their roadmaps to fruition. MediaTemple - This premier hosting company is giving Founders 50% off 1 year of their "BASE," 30% off 1 year of their "RAGE," and 20% off 1 year of their "EXTREME" dedicated virtual private server offerings. Microsoft Empower - Offering free licenses to all MS operating systems, MS Office Professional, Project Professional, Visio, and the full range of MS integrated server software. Activation details are in the…
Four New Mentors

16 Jun 2009 | 1:00 pm

The Institute would like to welcome our four newest Mentors in the Summer 2009 Semester. They bring a range of skills to the table, and they add to a strong list of entrepreneurs and visionaries. Michael Diamant is CEO of Skip Hop, founded in 2003 by him and his wife, Ellen. As new parents living in New York City, they were surprised by how few products resonated with the urban lifestyle they were used to. Michael, a veteran Internet entrepreneur, saw an opportunity to move into a new type of business, creating products and a brand that spoke to parents just like themselves. David S. Kidder…

Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing
Page views required to generate $1M in ad revenue?

DonDodge

1 Jul 2009 | 9:47 am

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Beebo, Plaxo, Orkut, and MSN Spaces are the biggest well known social network spaces. But what about the 800 other sites scrambling for audiences in the social network space? Can they generate $1M in advertising revenue per month, or even per year? Will they ever be profitable? USA Today says "Social Network Sites Work To Turn Users Into Profits" and summarizes the problem with this quote; "Short of striking it rich with online ads or creating a new revenue stream, how can so many sites leverage their vast audiences? In many respects, it is the same query that…
Why do Fast Followers often beat the First Mover innovators?

DonDodge

26 Jun 2009 | 8:06 pm

Innovation drives our industry, attracts the best talent, attracts VC money, and wins fame for its leaders. Innovation leaders burst onto the scene, win early market leadership, but sometimes can't sustain the pace. Why do "fast followers" often jump in later and make fortunes? Is management responsible for the success or failure? Or, are these innovation leaders acquired by larger players before they have a chance to evolve into successful stand alone companies? I have been on the leading edge, sometimes bleeding edge, of technology for most of my career. I have been fortunate to be part…
Why VCs say no 99% of the time

DonDodge

25 Jun 2009 | 4:15 pm

Venture Capital investing is a very tough game...and very lucrative if you are good at it. Part of my job at Microsoft is working with VCs, so I have learned a lot about the way they think...and why they say No to 99% of the deals they see. This blog post by Jeff Bussgang, of Flybridge Capital Partners explains why VCs want to see every new startup...but say no 99% of the time. "As one wise old VC once told me, "the trick in this business is to spend very little time on a lot of deals, and then a lot of time on very few deals." In other words, see everything to be a better investor, but…
Boston startup events

DonDodge

23 Jun 2009 | 11:09 am

Boston has a vibrant startup community with lots of events to connect with VCs, Angels, and other startups. Here are several events for the coming weeks. Xsite:2009 The Recovery Starts Here – June 24, 8:00AM – Organized by Xconomy. High-tech, life-sciences, and energy innovation may well hold the key to the nation's economic health and long-term competitiveness. And as a hotbed of American innovation, New England is poised to become a key driver of economic recovery in the U.S. What’s Next In Tech – Exploring The Growth Opportunities of 2009 And Beyond – June 25, 6:00PM - Organized…
This Week In Startups QA

DonDodge

23 Jun 2009 | 10:36 am

This Week In Startups is a weekly webcast hosted by Jason Calacanis that takes questions from startups, and discusses news events of the day. Jason asked me to be a guest on the show link to the video. The questions were great issues for all startups so it makes sense to share them here. The show starts with Jason asking me questions about Microsoft, Bing, Zune, and other issues. The show went on for two hours…all of it compelling and insightful :-), but here is a guide to the questions and time marks. How do I get VC or Angel funding for my business? Investors expect an exit or sale to…

Colorado Startups
Startup2Startup is Tuesday - don’t miss it

David Cohen

28 Jun 2009 | 7:32 pm

I’m really excited that Dave McClure is bringing the popular Silicon Valley event “Startup2Startup” to Boulder this Tuesday night. I’m moderating a discussion called the “Ultimate Platform Hotness Smackdown: iPhone, Twitter, Facebook, Google, and the native web”. We’ll be comparing and contrasting these platforms and others, for the relative benefit and interest from the startup perspective on a variety of platform topics (features, distribution, monetization, etc). The panel is a really great one, and we’re lucky to have them in town. Dave…
Mentors matter

David Cohen

19 Jun 2009 | 3:32 pm

I’m often approached by entrepreneurs who are looking for mentors. A common misconception is that mentors are difficult to find. I always tell them that they’re just not trying hard enough. Colorado is full of experienced entrpereneurs and the vast majority of them are happy to help other entrepreneurs when asked. When approaching individuals that you think can help your business, they key is to build a real relationship with them. I’ve talked about this before in my post Find and Engage Great Mentors - it’s one of my personal favorites from this blog. TechStars is…
The amazing portable OS of the future

David Cohen

7 Jun 2009 | 3:10 pm

I’ve been lugging my MacBook Pro back and forth on my 5 block daily commute to work for a couple of years now. I finally got sick of it, and decided to set up a second MacBook Pro that was identical, so that I could keep one at the office and one at home. I used Carbon Copy Cloner, and it took just a few hours and a spare external hard drive, which in typical Mac fashion, worked flawlessly on the first try. I’m a Mobile Me subscriber, so I tested the multi-machine sync plus iPhone, and everything worked great. I can now update contacts, calendars, etc on either laptop or the…
Failure in context

David Cohen

4 Jun 2009 | 10:42 pm

A few nights ago, I had dinner with some special guests who were visiting Boulder and TechStars. They were Joachim and Steven who are with the Singapore government and Ken Zolot, a TechStars mentor and MIT Lecturer from Boston who is also a Senior Fellow with the Kauffman Foundation and is working to understand entrepreneurial ecosystems. Among many interesting parts of the discussion, one topic stuck out for me. It was about how failure is almost celebrated here in the US in the context of entrepreneurship. Things have changed in Singapore, but apparently Asian culture has historically made…
Announcing my new startup seed fund

David Cohen

13 May 2009 | 9:51 am

Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of a new seed fund designed to invest in early stage web/software startups nationwide. This new $2.5M fund was finalized last week and will begin investing immediately. As many of you know, I have personally invested in about a dozen startups over the past four years and have been fortunate enough that many of those have been successful. I have also been very encouraged with the results of funding pre-seed investment through TechStars, the mentorship-driven summer program based in Boulder and Boston. Based upon the successes I’ve…

OnlyOnce
Ah, Summer in New York

Matt

26 Jun 2009 | 5:05 am

This graphic about says it all. [cid:image001.jpg@01C9F634.E6900420]
On the Other Hand...

Matt

24 Jun 2009 | 1:18 pm

On the Other Hand...A couple days ago, I wrote about how crummy the customer service experience was with Clear going out of business with no notice and no apology. Today my inbox revealed the exact opposite experience: Greetings from Amazon.com. You saved $1.40 with Amazon.com's Pre-order Price Guarantee! The price of the item(s) decreased after you ordered them, and we gave you the lowest price.I didn't even know Amazon had a Pre-order Price Guarantee. They could have gotten away with not giving it to me, and I would have never even thought about…
Techstars: One Pitfall to Avoid

Matt

24 Jun 2009 | 5:58 am

Techstars: One Pitfall to AvoidGeorge and I met with our Techstars "mentee" companies again yesterday. As was the case with the last meetings, the sessions were energizing and fun and great to see new companies unfolding. One lesson I was reminded of yesterday with both companies is a timeless one, since at least the beginning of the commercial internet:Don't create a "solution looking for a problem"I call this the Pointcast problem, after the mid-90s service that pulled headlines into screensavers and clogged corporate networks until the fad passed. One of the companies we're working…
A Clear Problem

Matt

23 Jun 2009 | 6:51 am

A Clear ProblemI got this email in my inbox late last night: Dear Matt Blumberg, At 11:00 p.m. PST today, Clear will cease operations. Clear's parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations. After today, Clear lanes will be unavailable. Sincerely, Clear Customer Support Regardless of what you think of the Clear service (these are the paid-express lanes in a handful of airports), this is just a crummy way to shut down a business. Not even a hint of "we're sorry we took your money and are…
The Passion of the Specialist

Matt

18 Jun 2009 | 1:31 pm

The Passion of the SpecialistI remember once talking to my friend Cella when she was between jobs. She said she was working out 9 hours a week, which I found stunning at the time. I try very hard to get 3 hours a week in, and I am usually successful, but it's not without sacrificing sleep and being deliberate about my schedule. So 9 felt luxurious, but appropriate for someone between jobs. With that as a frame of reference, I have heard lots of definitions or embodiments of the word "commitment" before, but I ran across another one the other day that I still find mindboggling. I have…

Learn to Duck
Why Denver and I Broke Up

Micah

2 Jul 2009 | 12:55 pm

Last night, Denver and I broke up. Thats right, the city of Denver is on the outs with me. The following is a chat session I had with some friends where I explained basically what happened. There is a lot of cursing, so if you are offended, you might want to close your eyes or have someone read you the following. Imagine this was a company or store. I had a horrible experience. With social media, I am directly touching more than 12,500 people through Twitter, this blog and facebook. Imagine if that group of 12,500 shares this with their followers and friends. How many people are going to hear…
Calm Like a Ninja

Micah

23 Jun 2009 | 11:38 pm

I have a folder in my Google Reader called “Friends”. It has blogs that are written by people that I have physically met. Often, I will add a person’s blog soon after meeting them, and then over time, depending on the subjects they write about, I will continue to read them or return them to the blogosphere, and keep an eye out for them to be mentioned in other places. Right now, I think the blogs in that folder number around 200. Of those, there are about 10 I check out first. My friends Rana, Tyler and Michael always share interesting images, quotes and posts, so I usually…
We All Start Somewhere

Micah

21 Jun 2009 | 10:51 am

Its Fathers Day. For the rest of the year, I tend to not dwell on that fact that I have a biological father and an adoptive father, but today, I always take a bit of time to dwell. When I was about a year-and-a-half old, my parents got divorced, and my mom moved from Fort Collins, CO to East Palo Alto, CA. I never knew much about the circumstances of the divorce itself, but what I do know wasnt pleasant. My mom was 21 when I was born, my father 23. He was in veterinarian school, and the two of them were really hippie poor. He delivered goats milk and cheese for a living, my mom (I think) did…
Conformity Makes Community Comfortable

Micah

17 Jun 2009 | 12:10 am

In 2007, I was sitting in an office trying to think of different areas to grow the interactive agency that had just acquired my agency months prior. I knew that there was money in the usual places: search marketing, web design and the like. I was chatting on IM with a friend of mine that had run afoul of Elliot Spitzer (long before the whores were made public), and there was a blog post about him that ranked #1 for his name. “Dude, its not that bad,” I said, “the number one result for Micah Baldwin is a kid at Georgia Southern University that wrote a paper about why pot…
Influence is the New Hotness

Micah

12 Jun 2009 | 9:50 am

Google’s rise came because the internet exploded. The number of websites got so large that it was impossible to find anything by simply using human built online directories (like the old Yahoo). But has the internet gotten too large for any single search engine? Microsoft doesnt think so, they just launched Bing. Google has moved into other areas of content creation (email, mobile, documents, etc.). There are new search engines launching almost daily. Real time search engines. Social search engines. Semantic search engines. Each tries to to the same thing. Take a keyword query and…

Startup Weekend
Working on Starutp Weekend’s New Website!

marcnager

1 Jul 2009 | 6:14 pm

A rediculous, quick clip from today’s happenings at the Startup Weekend HQ in Seattle! Sweet stuff in store for the new website! A big thanks to Mick Thompson and Cameron Preston doing the web development!
Startup Weekend News

clint

30 Jun 2009 | 4:11 pm

Startup Weekend is exploring the idea of becomming an NPO, specail thanks to Eric Koester of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP for all the help in that department. We are exicted about the potential for new variations on the Startup Weekend concept. Currently we are moving forward with a Startup Weekend in conjunction with Women 2.0. In addition, there is talk of a Startup Weekend event specifically for foodies and another for laid off employees. Please contact us if you have any ideas or would like to push a new iniative in conjunction with Startup Weekend. I spoke with Dave of SpotGrab…
nPost Event in Seattle a hit!

marcnager

24 Jun 2009 | 5:24 pm

The Startup Weekend guys here in Seattle went to nPost last night here in Seattle. The event drew over 200 people to see a few startup demos, network, and of course grab a drink or two! Saw presentations from Bing, Blue Box Group, Gist, Mpire, Evenues, Viafo, and Twilio. All presentations went well and it was great to see such a prominent grouping in Seattle’s startup scene!
Announcing Startup Weekend Finals!

marcnager

7 Jun 2009 | 1:00 pm

Startup Weekend in proud to announce Startup Weekend Finals! Get your chance to win a spot in history as the first winner of the Hyde Trophy! Every year hundreds of projects, teams, and companies emerge from Startup Weekend events around the world. Startup Weekend will select 10-15 of the best teams to bring together and present live in front of the global Startup Weekend Community in a Pitch Fire style presentation. Past and current members of the Startup Weekend Community will cast their votes live for the top ideas. The top 3 ideas will receive significant contributions to help continue…
Nashville Startup Weekend iPhone App Released

clint

5 Jun 2009 | 3:20 pm

GPS Assassins - Concieved at the Nashville Startup Weekend has been relased as an iPhone app. After months of agonizing wait, GPS Assassinswas released to beta testers in the Nashville area, provided they had an iphone or iPod touch and an Internet connection. The App was conceived from participants in the first Nashville Startup Weekend and uses the GPS navigation technology in smart phones to seek out others around the area to participate in a kill-or-be-killed, text-based role playing game. Basically, the object is to “assassinate” your friends and neighbors.

Startup Houston
No Happy Hour Tonight

Josh Tabin

2 Jul 2009 | 12:16 pm

Have a happy 4th of July and a safe weekend!!! We’ll see everyone next month at a new location. More details to come next week.
Venture Capital in Houston

Marc Nathan

20 Jun 2009 | 7:16 am

Purva Patel, one of the journalists at the Houston Chronicle who ‘get it’ about emerging businesses recently wrote up an interview she had with Dennis Murhpree of Murphree Venture Partners: http://www.chron.com/disp/discuss.mpl/business/6489409.html# Mr. Murphree is stalwart advocate of the VC community in Houston and has taught investment management at the University of St. Thomas and the venture capital course at the Rice University Jones Business school for several years. In short, when he speaks, people listen and his opinion matters. Even though he is personally trying to…
How to uncover and secure the right PR support for your company

Suzanne Tormollen

9 Jun 2009 | 7:42 pm

Suzanne Tormollen of Atingo Public Relations is a 13 year PR veteran of the tech scene who has worked with many venture-backed companies in the Austin and Houston areas. You can view her work history at www.atingo.com. Suzanne is a new contributor to Startup Houston. Ok. You’ve secured funding; created a solid leadership team; and have a product in the market. Now you want to increase exposure and awareness for your company. But how? I’ve been involved in several new business meetings over the past few months in which this has been the prevailing question. And, I’m…
Houston’s Premier Coworking Site is turning One!

Marc Nathan

4 Jun 2009 | 3:29 pm

The Caroline Collective, the largest coworking site on the planet and southern book end of the Houston Tech Corridor is celebrating its one year anniversary on Saturday. It’s only been twelve months, but @carolineco has established itself as strong supporter of the Houston Startup and Arts scene and a good friend of freelancers everywhere. Congratulations to the hard work, vision and preserverance of the founders, Matthew Wettergreen and Ned Dodington along with their friends and tenants like Monica Danna and Grace Rodriguez who helped make an abandoned and decrepit warehouse into a…
SparkStart & Houston Startup Happy Hour

Marc Nathan

4 Jun 2009 | 1:29 pm

There is just one week left until the Microsoft BizSpark sponsored SparkStart event in Dallas, register here: http://sparkstart.eventbrite.com/ Christian Thilmany, (@uxarchitect) the User Experience Architect for Microsoft, is hosting the event and several Houston folks, including your favorite Network Partner (email mnathan – @- houstontech.org for details) will be panelists. SparkStart is a full day of business and technology discussion (open format) and learning event for startups (“startup bootcamp”). This event will also be a networking opportunity for those startups who are…

Bootstrapping
Mixing Media Guerrilla Style

heckman

18 Jun 2009 | 11:11 am

I have mentioned many times in my posts that the time will come soon when the big brands really get on board with things happening in the guerrilla marketing world. With the 33 Keys project that ran in Quebec Mazda has done a very impressive job mixing various media forms to create an obsession in the community and more importantly in the Mazda 3’s target audience. It would not hurt to have the budget they have either, but it is good to see a budget like that being used for something innovative. You can read Kristin Laird’s article at marketingmag.ca about the project. ©…
Would you pay $.64 to give your blog a heads up on the Competition!

heckman

17 Jun 2009 | 5:45 am

If you are serious about using a blog as a way to promote your business the information that you get out of this in going to change your blog. What is keeping you from taking action today with your blog. I don’t often promote products unless they have made a real impact on my life. Well friends problogger.net and the teaching of Darren Rowse is one of those cases. I’m not sure how I found Darren’s blog and really it doesn’t matter but I became obsessed with his stuff when I was at a point in my life when I was not sure what to do next. Darren’s stuff made me…
Qualifying Your Time

heckman

15 Jun 2009 | 6:00 am

You’re a bootstrapped business—strapped for cash, strapped for time, and wondering how the hell you’re going to get through another month of balancing endless responsibilities. So what do you do when every minute counts? Well, for one thing, stop counting every minute, you’ll only end up adding undue stress to your already stressful situation. After you take a few deep breaths, start a list and prioritize your responsibilities—qualify your time. One of the best places to start prioritizing is when you consider how much time you should spend on reconnecting with your prospects.
There’s no Shame in Being a Guerrilla

heckman

8 Jun 2009 | 6:11 am

So what if people look at you funny, there’s nothing wrong with being a guerrilla. Look at it this way, you get to scratch yourself wherever and whenever you want, how great is that? Alright, alright, so maybe you don’t want to be an actual guerrilla, but if you’re a bootstrapped business owner, employing guerrilla marketing is sure to help you stretch your budget and tap into some awesome potential. Where do you start? First, don’t concern yourself with thinking outside the box, forget the box altogether. Because by trying to come up with ways to think outside the box, you naturally…

Startup Story Radio
The Making of a Sausage King with David Samuels of Esposito’s Finest Quality Sausage

Rob McNealy

25 Jun 2009 | 8:09 pm

In This Podcast Episode We’ve added a new guest host to our lineup, 50 Interviews: Entrepreneursauthor Brian Schwartz. In this episode, Brian interviews David Samuels, the Sausage King of NYC and owner of Esposito’s Finest Quality Sausage. They discuss how 9-11 inspired him to become an entrepreneur, and how the business has become debt free. About David [...]
Shortened URLs and Twitter Ads with Joe Moreno of Adjix

Rob McNealy

1 Jun 2009 | 5:43 pm

In This Podcast Episode Rob McNealy interviews Joe Moreno, President of Adjix, a unique URL shortening service which features click through stats and a unique Twitter advertising program. Joe Moreno’s Bio Joe Moreno worked for Apple Inc. from 1998 – 2007 in engineering and marketing. Joe’s past ventures have included Acasero, Inc., designed to give offline consumers the ability [...]
Affiliate Marketing Basics for Small Business

Rob McNealy

8 May 2009 | 8:32 pm

What is Affiliate Marketing? If you are into social networking on sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or MySpace, you probably have been inundated by low level affiliate marketers trying to hock ways to make a bazillion dollars or get a zillion Twitter followers. If so, you been exposed (albeit badly) to affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing [...]
Data Mining with Aubice Co-Founder Michael Webb

Rob McNealy

5 May 2009 | 2:31 pm

In This Podcast Episode Rob McNealy interviews Michael Webb, co-founder of the software technology company Aubice, about how business owners can use Aubice for data mining and data analysis about their market. Michael Webb’s Bio Michael R. Webb is Chairman and Co-Founder of Aubice LLC. Aubice is a software technology company that is changing the way people interact [...]
Affiliate Marketing Jargon Glossary

Rob McNealy

3 May 2009 | 4:54 pm

Commonly Used Terms and Jargon Used in Affiliate Marketing Affiliate Marketing has its own language. Before starting out in affiliate marketing, you need to understand industry jargon, and what it means. Following is a List of Commonly Used Affiliate Marketing Jargon: Arbitrage – Arbitrage is reselling web traffic at a higher price than it cost to obtain it. [...]

TechStars
“Skills & Persistence” Episode 4 of The Founders

andrewhyde

23 Jun 2009 | 11:11 am

Another episode! We have quite a few requests for a single place for all the video files, so we created a home for The Founders. Here is episode 4, which revolves around a trip to Denver to visit KKO to play poker and meet some more of the fantastic mentors. The three teams ideas are evolving and growing, sharing details about their companies and lives. We hope you enjoy! You can also view the video at TechStars.tv, Vimeo, iTunes, YouTube or RSS.
Devver starts to lift the covers

davidcohen

22 Jun 2009 | 6:50 am

Devver is a company from last summer (TechStars 08) that offers cloud-based testing and code quality tools to agile software teams. By utilizing the power of cloud computing, Devver’s services dramatically enhance developer’s productivity. One of the things I always loved about they guys from Devver is their ability to figure out what they needed to go build, and then no matter how hard it was they just put their heads down and built it. And they did it well. We’re just now starting to see Devver lift the covers on their first first service, which is a cloud-based Ruby…
Episode 3 of The Founders: A Community Party

andrewhyde

17 Jun 2009 | 9:57 pm

Another exciting episode of The Founders is launched! This week is A Community Party. You can also view the video at TechStars.tv, Vimeo, iTunes, YouTube or RSS.
Jeffrey Kalmikoff

davidcohen

14 Jun 2009 | 6:31 pm

Jeffrey Kalmikoff is a Partner and Chief Creative Officer of skinnyCorp, the company behind Threadless. He’s also a TechStars mentor. Threadless is about their community, and Jeffrey has worked with many TechStars companies such as Foodzie and some of the new 2009 companies to help them work effectively with their own communities. As he’s fond of saying, “If you treat your customers as your friends, they will respond in kind.” Jeffrey recently shared his thoughts on being a TechStars mentor in his thoughtful post “What’s in it for me?” saying “While…
“The Founders” Episode 2- Orientation

andrewhyde

11 Jun 2009 | 11:21 am

Our weekly video series is creating some buzz. Thanks to everyone that has shared this with their friends and colleagues. This weeks episode is all about the initial orientation after the teams move to Boulder. The first day is called the longest day of the year by founders, and David shows why. They meet Brad Feld, the mentor network, and are introduced to the term ‘coopertition.’ Anand Iyer and Dave Drach from Microsoft (BizSpark!) comes for a visit to meet with the teams and talk about Boulder being a hot spot for tech. The teams wrap up the next day, and enjoy some…

Gawker: Valleywag
Should Police Academy Alumni Direct Microsoft Ads? No.

Hamilton Nolan

2 Jul 2009 | 10:34 am

Microsoft has heard your pleas: it's pulled its "Worst Tech Commercial Ever," which tried to use a puking theme to sell Internet Explorer. And you'll never guess who the director was! You will never guess. The spots did not come from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Microsoft's edgy ad agency of record. Instead, they were from an agency called Bradley & Montgomery. And they were directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Who said earlier this month: I think they were trying to do something that was a little less mainstream, and I think that's (what led to) my involvement. Normally the corporate world is very…
Google Voice Is Cool, But Do You Need It?

Kevin Purdy

1 Jul 2009 | 5:00 pm

You've read about the features, you saw the invites going out, but you might be wondering what, exactly, Google Voice could do for you. Here's our guide for the curious and uninvited on whether your phones need some Google juice. We're not going to explain every feature, quirk, and option in the Google Voice service, which is slowly giving out invites to those who request them. We've already taken a first look at Google Voice, and Google Voice's own Getting Started guide does a nice job explaining the service's ins and outs. We're looking to answer the question we seem to hear most often from…
Let's Screw Up the Entire Internet to Save Newspapers

Hamilton Nolan

1 Jul 2009 | 10:09 am

The hot new idea among people who think about "journalism," and the sanctity thereof: let's ban linking, on the internet! Let's also ban wheels, in order to save the horse industry. Let's also ban talking about things! This whole argument is premised on the assumption that we must save newspapers. At the cost of making the internet into an inefficient mess! So Richard Posner, professional smart man and US Appeals Court judge who writes 23,000 words per day, floated the idea of banning links (and more!), so internet cannibals don't keep stealing newspaper content for nothing: Expanding…
'Well-Designed' Orgasms, Voice Mail Important to Twitterati

Ryan Tate

30 Jun 2009 | 4:52 pm

AT&T failed to give Adam Frucci a sense of childlike wonder about his iPhone; Jimmy Jane's mobile device proved more satisfying to Melissa Gira Grant and Ana Marie Cox damned an internet conference with faint praise. The Twitterati were discerning customers today. Gizmodo associate editor Adam Frucci's outgoing voice mail message is about to get really interesting. AFP's Olivier Knox stumbled onto a fascinating interview. Gakwer contributor Melissa Gira Grant wrote up a gadget review, on spec. The New Yorker's Susan Orlean doesn't see Mark Sanford shooting the breeze with, say, Eliot Spitzer;…
Exploiting the Blog-to-Book Bubble: A Guide

Alexia Tsotsis

30 Jun 2009 | 3:49 pm

Two blogs, Texts From Last Night and Look at this Fucking Hipster, scored contracts at Penguin's Gotham Books imprint in the past week, the latest in an endless series of such deals. Shouldn't you get a piece of the action? It's not like there's any shame in aiming for a book deal right when you start your blog. As the New York Observer puts it: These days it seems more and more like people start goofy Web sites practically counting on seeing their stuff between two covers. If someone's going pay $20 for a bound collection of stale weblog posts, they might as well be yours. Here are some tips…

E-Consulting - Entrepreneur
Moonfruit: Paying for social media prowess

Meghan Keane

2 Jul 2009 | 2:24 pm

Companies may be looking to social media as a cheap alternative to traditional advertising, but it certainly isn't free. It takes time, effort, and often — money. Witness today's trending topics on Twitter. Michael Jackson's stronghold on the most popular topic all week has finally been loosened by a much more frivolous word: Moonfruit. Entirely unrelated to the Moon Walk, Moonfruit is a DIY website builder that is giving away 10 free laptops to celebrate its 10th anniversary. All people have to do to qualify is advertise the company on Twitter with the hashtag #moonfruit. The campaign is…
What's bad for the economy is good for advertising to women

Meghan Keane

2 Jul 2009 | 12:30 pm

Advertisers and marketers may not know how to communicate with moms online, but they're going to be sending a lot more advertising their way in the coming months. Women's sites are performing very well in the online ad category, and as the recession deepens, that trend is likely to increase. Advertising is down across most sectors and many forecasts expect flat growth in online advertising this year, but female focused sites are an exception.PaidContent points out that women's sites have increased their advertising revenue in the past six months, even as other online destinations have lost ad…
When disclosure isn't enough

Patricio Robles

2 Jul 2009 | 6:30 am

Disclosure is a touchy subject when it comes to blogging and digital journalism. Most of the time, the debate is centered on when disclosure is necessary. But what happens when disclosure isn't enough? As I was going through my feed reader yesterday, I came across a post on Silicon Alley Insider (SAI) that serves as the perfect example of why a debate about journalistic ethics and standards online can't be limited to the topic of disclosure.The post details how Gilt Groupe, a New York-based ecommerce company, is reportedly set to raise $40m in funding at a $400m valuation. The co-founder of…
DoubleClick's new benchmark report on online advertising is good - but it could have been great

Mike Teasdale

2 Jul 2009 | 4:08 am

Last week DoubleClick launched its 2008 Year in Review Benchmarks, an impressive piece of work looking at the performance of online advertising primarily in the US market. The data was collected throughout 2008 and covers “hundreds of advertisers, thousands of campaigns, and tens of billions of ad impressions.” However, it could have been so much more useful to the UK online advertising industry.Some of the findings are unsurprising. Bigger ad placements work better than smaller ads. Video works better than non-video ads. Others are less intuitive. Flash ads have a slightly lower click…
The economics of free web content

Ben LaMothe

2 Jul 2009 | 2:51 am

It is the hot topic in media circles: should news organisations give away their content on the web for free? This week saw a few posts by influential bloggers and media commenters on the subject. Here's a round-up. Tuesday's blog explosion about the arguments for and against free web content were caused in part by Malcom Gladwell's (author of 'Outliers' and 'Blink') review of a new book on the subject of free content by WIRED magazine's Chris Anderson in The New Yorker. At the center of Gladwell's argument is the idea that charging nothing for something is bad business. You can't pay a staff…

The Freestyle Entrepreneur
That Crucial Recovery Shot

Bill Sheridan

1 Jul 2009 | 4:54 pm

Even though I enjoy (?) playing the game and one of my three sons was a golf professional before accepting a position with the Nationwide PGA Tour, by no stretch of the imagination am I an expert on the sport of golf. To illustrate that point, at one time I assumed that great golfers hit each shot perfectly every time. That was an incorrect assumption of the highest order. Sometimes they hit it too far to the right (shank) out-of-bounds; and other times they hit it too far to the left (hook) out-of-bounds. On very rare occasions all they catch is air (whiff)! When any of the above (or…
INTRODUCING A NEW BUSINESS

John Ingrisano

30 Jun 2009 | 7:01 am

Nothing motivational or witty today. (Yes, I know, the assumptions I’m making about past missives are vast.) Just an announcement that my money management workshop and seminar business is now fully functional. The Family Finances Conference Center (FFCC) has been built around my latest two-book set, The Back to Basics Book of Money and the accompanying workbook, available on Amazon.It’s also available as a download onto Kindle readers.(And you thought I was a techno-dino!) The Family Finances Conference Center is dedicated to… 1.Providing financial wellness programs to…
THE INSTINCT OF THE ENTREPRENEUR

John Ingrisano

25 Jun 2009 | 10:13 am

[ A verion of this article first appeared in the June 2009 issue of Corporate Report Wisconsin.] (This could be titled, “How John Lost His ‘Blink Factor’ … and How He Got It Back Again.”) Like the cat that always lands on its feet, some entrepreneurs consistently seem to stroll through the mine fields of potential disaster and come back with juicy, successful deals every time. These are the people who always land on their feet, for whom the bread always hits the floor jelly-side-up … always.I have seen them.In fact, I used to be one. Is it luck?Instinct?Intuition? Forget…
Where’s Lee Iacoccoa When We Need Him?

Bill Willard

24 Jun 2009 | 9:33 am

The Nine C’s of Leadership Compiled By Bill Willard Contributing Author The Issue Remember Lee Iacocca? The guy who rescued Chrysler Corporation from itself? Well, he’s 82 now and has a new book: Where Have All The Leaders Gone? (Scribner, $26). What follows is another part of my series of macro and micro “Leadership” Book Reviews and Issues of Week—a look at Iacocca’s “Nine C’s of Leadership”. What He Thinks Iacoccoa pulls no punches when he wonders: “Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We…
Start with the Answer — And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders

Bill Willard

18 Jun 2009 | 11:26 am

By Bob Seelert Published by Wiley, 2009. $24.95 Today, the words “business” and “wisdom” are rarely seen in the same sentence. But for Bob Seelert, Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, the two go hand-in-hand. At a time when our economic systems need to energize people and produce leaders at all levels, Seelert brings us Start with the Answer. This collection of ninety-four real-life stories from Seelert’s forty-year career as CEO of five companies in three different industries provides insights and practical instruction for anyone who wants to succeed as an…

Mind Petals: Infinite ideas to bloom
GaGas Fracking, health and safety need not apply

Dale Y the Green Guy

13 Jun 2009 | 3:43 pm

Something insidious is happening just below ground, affecting potentially millions of people in the United States. Reported health problems, polluted drinking water and other safety hazards, have been documented using a process called gas fracking (or fracing as the actual patent for this technique is spelled), and it appears to be an accepted technique for obtaining the highest yield of natural gas from the 35,000 plus wells that are ‘fracked’ every year [Para 15, line 4]. Many people may never have even heard of gas fracking before. It’s the process whereby huge amounts of water mixed…
Going green from top to bottom

Dale Y the Green Guy

27 May 2009 | 3:49 pm

We are lucky to live in this age of enlightenment. Where visionaries can see the future, and instead of waiting around for it to show up, they take matters into their own hands and try to change it for the better. The biggest case in point with all of this is the new White House administration. Certainly, a lot has been written about Obama this and green incentives that, and coming from the top, it sets an example for us all. However, incentives and words about what should and need to be done, goes only so far. It’s up to us to use these tools and use these incentives and use the knowledge…
Plastic bags, can we get rid of them please?

Dale Y the Green Guy

18 May 2009 | 3:21 pm

Plastic is here and here to stay, I’m afraid, and so we will have to deal with it. As much of a scourge it is to the environment, it has many good and positive uses, particularly in the medical industry where using plastics have no doubt stopped the spread of disease and have saved countless lives. But there is one element of plastic that we can all do without. We can get rid of plastic bags altogether, get rid of them for shopping, and get rid of them in our landfills. Did you know that upwards of, perhaps, a trillion plastic bags are used each year worldwide, and truth be told, these are…
Bio Fuels vs The Environment - Here’s the story

Dale Y the Green Guy

6 May 2009 | 1:43 pm

Talk about a firestorm brewing, one of the mainstays of the environmental movement, which are bio fuels, are now under attack by…these same environmentalists who advocated its use in the first place! What? How can this be? Aren’t bio fuels supposed to be one of the answers for getting rid of pollution and CO2 in our atmosphere? Let’s get down to the nitty gritty, shall we? One of the climate initiatives the current administration is wanting to develop is the implementation of bio fuels, in particular ethanol, to start replacing fossil fuels that we burn in our autos and trucks. The…
Solar Cells and what’s out there, here’s the skinny

Dale Y the Green Guy

24 Apr 2009 | 7:50 am

If you listen closely, you can almost here the music and a famous announcer saying, Da da da da, Solar Cells, Ready for Prime Time! And with it being the year 2009, right now might be the time to turn those dreams of solar cells into reality. First of all, even in this recession that we are having right now, solar cells are having a boom year. If you ever wanted to invest in the stock market, solar cells are darn near a sure thing. More states will be giving tax benefits and rebates this year, mainly due to the new government administration and the 30% tax incentive that benefits solar cell…

Sparkplug CEO
Spark an Idea Thursday: Taking a Business Holiday

Kelly McCausey

2 Jul 2009 | 2:29 pm

This week’s Spark an Idea Thursday is about managing your business over the Holidays. Will you be taking a few extra days off over the Fourth of July? If you’re in Canada, are you taking a break for Canada Day festivities? We entrepreneurs can have a hard time unplugging from business and the web. I don’t really even like to be totally disconnected. I usually have my Blackberry with me at the very least. Still, I know that it’s healthy to disengage now and then. The holidays are the perfect time. But how to make it happen? Brandie says to plan for it. Lynette…
Home Based Businesses : Finally, Your Questions Answered!

Bill Parlaman

2 Jul 2009 | 9:49 am

So I’m driving in my car this morning listening to the news station on the radio. Now I usually have some sort of business education CD playing on marketing, copywriting or how to get more traffic to websites. ( This is a huge lesson and I’ll write more about this in an upcoming post, OK?) But this morning I was not playing my CD’s because my kids were in the car and the pain of listening to their moans and groans to my CD’s apparently outweighes my business education. So anyway, I hear the Stock Market is in a tail spin because the United States lost another…
Listening To My Market & Launching a New Membership Site

Kelly McCausey

1 Jul 2009 | 9:52 pm

We’ve heard a lot of buzz about membership sites over the last year. For awhile it was ‘the’ topic in the internet marketing world, but that’s not why I’m talking about it. I’m not a ”latest thing’ marketer. Actually, I’ve been running membership sites for over five years now. Today, I’m pleased to launch a new one. Blog Internship was developed as a direct response to my readers, listeners and mailing list subscribers who have been keenly interested in how I work with my blogging interns at Mom’s Talk Network. In my…
Sparkplugging on Your Kindle

Kelly McCausey

1 Jul 2009 | 9:14 pm

Are you one of the blessed? (Do you have a Kindle?) I would LOVE to have a Kindle. It’s definitely on my wish list for Christmas ‘09. It would be so amazing to have my library available at my fingertips whereever I go. If you are one of the gadget elite, I have good news for you. Sparkplugging, the blog network, is now available on your Kindle. For $1.99 a month you’ll have easy access to all of our posts anytime you like, wherever you are. Cool huh? Would you like to publish your blog via Kindle? Just sign up here.
Would You Sacrifice Love For Business?

Kelly McCausey

1 Jul 2009 | 3:36 pm

I outed myself today as an avid watcher of the ABC series, The Bachelorette when I announced the newest addition to my Mom’s Talk Network blogs, Family TV Addicts. Yes, I am a television addict. That probably shocks a lot of people who are always asking me how I have time to do everything I do and it should confirm once and for all that I don’t do all that I do ;) (Outsourcing is a lovely thing.) Actually, I watch a lot of television while I work. Remember the evil Mac from my home office heaven post? It’s primarily used as a TV. (Yep, that’s Hulu.com on the…

BootStrapMe
Get Yourself on the Web - with NetworkingForPros.com

30 Jun 2009 | 10:53 am

© WordRidden I've been contributing over the last few months to the content of a vibrant and growing site that points toward the future of the Internet and has profound potential for users interes...
When Setbacks Happen

29 Jun 2009 | 5:36 am

In this economy you have to expect setbacks. And you have to be prepared to deal with them. Whatever you do to create that mental framework is up to you. I know of people who keep a litttle laminated ...
How Big is Your Farm?

21 Jun 2009 | 4:51 am

Seth Godin asked that question recently, as a metaphor.If you own a lot of acres but just have a few bags of seed, you might be tempted to spread out what you've got and cover as much territory as...
Yescalate Brings You Business Information and Customer Reviews

19 Jun 2009 | 11:17 am

© Ed Yourdon With any new business, one of the most difficult tasks is finding affordable ways to publicize products and services. Yescalate gives you and your customers a chance to tell your local co...
Problem Solving is Key

11 Jun 2009 | 5:15 pm

Success in starting a business is mostly about figuring out what to do when challenges arise. So I couldn't help but get a little excited when I say this point on problem solving. In the piece Si...

I Will Teach You To Be Rich
The 10 Year Savings Strategy: Saving money after you’ve already handled the basics

Ramit Sethi

1 Jul 2009 | 11:34 pm

What do you do when you’re already saving, investing, and automating your money? What’s the next step? What to do after you’ve handled the basics. Use the 10 Year Savings Strategy to leave your friends in the dust. I get this question a lot. “I’ve already set up my automatic infrastructure and I’m investing money every month. My 401(k) is maxed out and I have sub-savings accounts set up. What else should I be doing?” So you’ve already handled the basics of personal finance: automation, negotiation, using my Scrooge Strategy advanced tactics, and…
Looking for people in your 20s, 30s, and 40s — what do you wish you’d saved for?

Ramit Sethi

29 Jun 2009 | 3:06 pm

Lots of people leave comments on this site saying, “Ramit, I’ve already handled the basics, so what am I supposed to do with my money now?” I’m working on a new post to give you a strategy to leave your friends in the financial dust. But first, I need your help to tell me what you wish you’d saved for 10 years ago (surveys take less than 1 minute). If you’re in your 20s, click here. If you’re in your 30s, click here. If you’re in your 40s, click here. Look for the post soon.
Guy is scared of calling companies, calls them, negotiates fees successfully

Ramit Sethi

28 Jun 2009 | 10:20 pm

Another one from Ramit’s Inbox on negotiating a fee away… Here’s a good example of how you can get many fees waived in 2 minutes with a phone call. (It’s kind of curious that people email me instead of the company directly, but…) From: Stephen T. To: Ramit Hey Ramit, enjoyed your book and it’s been a great help. I signed up at myfico.com to get my credit information, and this morning (a month later) got a happy note from them telling me they’d billed me $89 for the next year. I’d rather not use their service for the next year. Perfectly…
The Money Diaries: The 20-something who can’t seem to get out of his parents’ house

Janna

23 Jun 2009 | 7:30 am

Today is another post in the Money Diaries series, which is based off New York Magazine’s Sex Diaries. We’ve collected stories from real people about their spending habits over seven days, anonymized them, and posted them here. Today’s post is by a 25-year-old who lives at home with his parents in an attempt to save money to buy a house. Meanwhile, he obsesses over small expenses thinking that they affect his housing fund. Day 1 3:45 p.m.: I read my email while taking a break from work and I find out I’ve been chosen to do the Money Diaries. Oh jeez! Why today? I just spent…
Is frugality about saving money or making you feel less guilty?

Ramit Sethi

17 Jun 2009 | 12:14 pm

In the fascinating article, “The Green Bubble: Why environmentalism keeps imploding,” Nordhaus and Shellenberger cite this provocative study that has close parallels to frugality: “It’s easy enough to point out the insignificance of planting a garden, buying fewer clothes, or using fluorescent bulbs…But the ecological irrelevance of these practices was beside the point. What downscalers offered was not a better way to reduce emissions, but rather, a way to reduce guilt. In 2007, we asked environmentalists in focus groups about green consumption. None thought that…

Startup Hustle
6 Ways To Look Like A Fortune 500 Company

Dezmon Landers

8 Jun 2009 | 6:51 am

Have you ever lost a prospective client because they didn’t feel comfortable with your company? I have and I would argue that most entrepreneurs have at some point. Unfortunately, this happens everyday to new businesses around the world and especially in the United States. By nature, humans are risk averse and that directly correlates into their buying behavior. In more developed countries like the United States, consumers are so spoiled by the juggernaut companies with billions of dollars at their disposal that perfect product presentations becomes the standard. While this is great for…
Why 50/50 Partnerships Aren’t Really Fair

Dezmon Landers

17 Mar 2009 | 8:54 pm

Partnership is one of the most beautiful things about entrepreneurship. Like marriage, you are supposed to work together as one unit, offset each others weaknesses and step in when the other is unable. Unfortunately, no business runs perfectly forever and when times become hard the partners need to make uncomfortable decisions about carrying the business through or dissolving it. Conflicts There are a couple different things that yield partner disagreements and conflicts. The most common is company goals. Company goals vary widely and can be anything from human resources, financial planning…
There Is No Help: Only Trade, Incentive and Persuasion

Dezmon Landers

8 Feb 2009 | 2:41 pm

One thing I’m starting to see very clearly as an adult and entrepreneur is that there is not much help around when you need it. Maybe I was way off but I thought that there was some compassion in the world of business. I thought that if you showed someone that you have potential to be great and worked hard at it, they may cut you a break. Well, if you believed that myth like I did a couple of years ago, dismiss it IMMEDIATELY cause it just ain’t gonna happen. Once I realized that HELP just didn’t exist in the world of business, I was much better off and you will be too. I…
Why Home Ain’t Always Where The Heart Is…

Dezmon Landers

4 Feb 2009 | 10:01 pm

I talk to ALOT of entrepreneurs and for some of them it seems as if they can’t make progress where they are. For some, their idea needs more work, for others their not focused, but for a few, they’re simply not in an environment that understands their vision. It saddens me to see an entrepreneur feel locked into the confinements of where they grew up or what they know. Business is about RISK and if you really plan to be successful then you must be uncomfortable oftentimes to get the results you want. What does a conducive environment contain? In order to get to a place where you…
Patience Is A Virtue But Impatience Pays The Bills…

Dezmon Landers

29 Jan 2009 | 7:34 pm

As an entrepreneur, I’m always in a hurry to get things done and to move on to the next challenge. I often hear things like “Slow down” and “Take your time, you have a whole life ahead of you”. While I understand the importance of being patient, it doesn’t really seem like the people giving the advice are actually taking it for themselves. When is the last time you’ve ever heard someone say “I’m just going to take my time getting into work today.”? When is the last time you’ve heard an entrepreneur say “I’m just…

Start Up Blog
Creativity wins

Steve Sammartino

2 Jul 2009 | 5:40 am

No doubt all my savvy readers remember the Wicked Sick BMX as was sold on Ebay. Turns out it was a project designed by a couple of creatives at the Advertising Agency George Patterson Y&R. And all I can say is kudos. Sure creativity takes courage,takes clients and businesses that ‘get it’ and when well executed, creativity wins. The added bonus of creativity is that usually comes at no extra cost.
Free – is not a business model

Steve Sammartino

2 Jul 2009 | 12:33 am

Firstly – I’ll start by saying I think Chris Anderson is an incredibly clever guy. I thought his book ‘The Long Tail’ was and is the future of business. But when it come to ‘free’ he has got it wrong this time. As has Seth Godin and all the other ‘free’ converts. As Malcolm Gladwell correctly points out, they are forgetting many of the fundamentals in business, by getting caught up in the stale newspaper argument, which in the new digital economy, is the easy and soft target of who will disappear. The irony of this ‘newspaper’…
Deus Ex Machina

Steve Sammartino

30 Jun 2009 | 10:51 pm

I had the pleasure the other day while in Sydney to be taken to the Deus Ex Machina workshop. For the uninitiated Deus (as the in crowd call them) are re-built old motorbikes – think big 400cc 1970’s Japanese motorcycles, which are re-built with the greatest retro feel ever and style which is all it’s own. Apparently one of the owners is an Ex Mambo founder and you can see that they certainly have a flair for design and all things super cool. As the pics below show – these guys really understand ‘Theatre at Transaction’. In summary it’s a great…
Path to startup success

Steve Sammartino

30 Jun 2009 | 1:05 am

As published in Australian Anthill this week. I was thinking about business and at what point it becomes possible to believe you have a good chance of winning. I came to the conclusion that four elements pave the way to start-up success. The four elements are: Your concept has been validated in market. You know what to do. You know how to do it. You are actually doing it – right now. If you work through these four elements, then success is inevitable. Of course, all of these elements need some explaining. 1. Your concept has been validated in market Firstly, let’s look at the last two…
Direction evidence

Steve Sammartino

29 Jun 2009 | 9:59 pm

Talking to my business partner today he made a simple statement: ‘Your task list and calendar should reflect your overall goals’ And it’s statement worth assessing in a methodical fashion. We should think about where we want to be in 5 years, and see if any of the tasks we are doing today are moving us closer to our goals. Our entire day doesn’t have to be filled with task that lead to achieving long term objectives, but there should be ‘direction evidence’. If there isn’t any directional evidence of where we and any business we are involved in wants…

Springwise
Online shopping meets curbside pickup at French E.Leclerc

Springwise

2 Jul 2009 | 1:47 am

Earlier this year we wrote about Sears' MyGofer experiment blending online shopping with curbside pickup, and recently one of our spotters alerted us to a like-minded effort that's already well underway across the ocean. At French hypermarket chain E.Leclerc, customers can order online and have their purchases loaded into their car two hours later at no extra charge. Leclerc's initiative began in late 2007, when it opened its first Express Drive in Roques sur Garonne near Toulouse. With a selection of nearly 3,000 available products, customers then could place their orders online—or via…
Open restaurant night showcases aspiring chefs

Springwise

1 Jul 2009 | 6:38 am

Photos by philafoodie If the underground restaurant known as Charlie's Burgers departs from the norm in part through its secrecy and its constantly changing venue, Open ChefAMe is in some ways its opposite, featuring instead the creations of different aspiring chefs at each of its well-publicized monthly events. Through the participation of a few Philadelphia restaurants, Open ChefAMe offers what it calls an "open mic night" for local aspiring chefs on one Monday each month. The chosen culinary talents for each event get to pick the menu for a three-course meal, take over the kitchen at the…
Pop-up cabins designed for stargazing

Springwise

1 Jul 2009 | 5:19 am

Pop-up hotel rooms and luxury camping are both concepts we've written about on numerous occasions, but it wasn't until recently that we had seen a variation on the theme designed specifically for stargazing. Sure enough, French tourism company Bocages has created a pop-up cabin for four that features a transparent dome in the roof, a telescope and a sky observation kit. Carré d'étoiles are portable and reversible cube-shaped structures crafted with recyclable wood. Included in each parquet-floored cabin are a double cabin bed, a sofa bed for two, a kitchenette with refrigerator and hot…
Leather jackets remade into designer bags

Springwise

1 Jul 2009 | 5:05 am

Durable and malleable, leather is an ideal material for reusing and upcycling. Seizing that potential, reMade USA just launched a line of stylish handbags made from used and scrap leather. reMade's bags were initially made from leather jackets found in charity stores, with details based on the original garments. The company now also gets cast-offs from the furniture and automotive industries. reMade has around 10–15 different bags available for order on its website at any time, currently ranging in price from USD 125–365. If they'd like to breathe new life into a garment they no longer…
Bumper stickers recruit Twitter followers in traffic

Springwise

1 Jul 2009 | 1:41 am

If a Twitter user tweets, but no one is following them, do they really tweet at all? Aiming to make such philosophical gymnastics less necessary, Tweet My Bumper helps Twitterers recruit new followers by targeting one of life's few remaining captive audiences: drivers in traffic. Twitterers seeking followers need only visit Tweet My Bumper, enter their Twitter user name along with the usual other basic information, and Tweet My Bumper will print and ship them a bumper sticker that shows their Twitter name along with the tag line, "Follow me in traffic. Follow me on Twitter." A standard bumper…

StartUpArabia
Beeyoot, A New UAE Real Estate Property Listing Portal

Mohamed Marwen Meddah

2 Jul 2009 | 4:14 am

Beeyoot is a new real estate listings website for the UAE, that was just launched into public beta, and which aims to connect property sellers directly to buyers and renters. With the current downturn in the real estate market in the country, you’d think this wouldn’t really be best of times to launch a new real estate portal; but Beeyoot believes otherwise and are sure that their model putting property owners and buyers or sellers directly in touch with each other, without any intermediaries, creates room for a new momentum in the distressed real estate industry. Beeyoot’s…
Microsoft Maren: A New Windows Arabic Transliteration Tool

Mohamed Marwen Meddah

1 Jul 2009 | 6:51 am

Microsoft has gone on and launched a new application called ‘Maren‘, making its entrance into the Arabic transliteration space. Microsoft Maren was developed to be a Windows extension that allows you to type Arabic in Roman characters (Romanized Arabic, Arabizi, Arabish or Franco-Arabic) and have it converted on the fly to Arabic script. Maren integrates seamlessly with Windows and works in most Windows applications and websites. Users around the Arab world widely use romanized Arabic in instant messaging and on social networking sites, and Microsoft’s Maren is following in…
Carlog.com, Egyptian Web 2.0 Automotive Portal

Mohamed Marwen Meddah

1 Jul 2009 | 12:32 am

Carlog.com is an online automotive portal, that aims to offer its users a complete and comprehensive web experience that enables them to manage all tasks related to their car and speed up all related processes for buying, selling or simply maintaining a car. Through the portal, users can add and list their cars in the system and keep track of their maintenance history, having the service remind them of upcoming maintenance tasks they have to do for their car. The site also enables people to search for cars to buy, or on the other hand, create ads to sell their own cars; making it an online…
MENA 100 Business Plan Competition: A Call For Arab Innovative Entrepreneurs

Mohamed Marwen Meddah

27 Jun 2009 | 6:38 am

The MENA 100 Business Plan Competition, which is organized by the MENA-OECD Enterprise Financing Network, in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank and the MENA Center for Investment, has just been launched. The primary objective of the MENA 100 business plan competition is to encourage existing and inspire potential entrepreneurs and connect the 100 best of them in the Middle East and North Africa region with potential sources of finance to generate business transactions. The MENA 100 Competition addresses innovative entrepreneurs, from the 18 Arab countries participating in the MENA…
Folowen Releases Public Beta With New Features

Mohamed Marwen Meddah

23 Jun 2009 | 5:08 am

Folowen, the social media search tool that aggregates social profiles of people and organization’s on several social media sites into one search result, and that was previously covered here, has just gone into public beta. The tool makes it easier for users to follow a person or organization’s social web; be it a Facebook profile, page, group, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn profile, a YouTube channel …etc. Currently, folowen uses Google AJAX Search API to find user profiles in 20 social media sites. A number of new features have been introduced with this public beta, based on the…

Home Office Warrior
Virtual Assistants, Are Your Rates Set Correctly?

Tina Hilton

8 Jun 2009 | 8:30 am

A while ago I did a post concerning whether or not a new VA should charge less. Regardless of whether they should have to or not, many of them do. But unfortunately they are doing so out of a lack of understanding about setting their business rates, rather than because they feel being new means costing less. What do I mean by that? I’ve notice that many new VA’s are charging in the $20 to $25 per hour range. When I see this, I wonder just what formula they used to determine that. Sadly, I think few of them actually use any type of formula. I believe that they look at $20 or…
Why VA’s Should Read Jobsite Listings Carefully

Tina Hilton

1 Jun 2009 | 11:37 am

I’ve written this post especially for virtual assistants looking for clients, but those of you trying to determine if a virtual assistant is the right choice for you will find some words of wisdom here too. I know it seems like I’ve done the ‘definition of a virtual assistant’ thing to death, but too many new VA’s are so desperate to find clients that they may eventually find themselves in a situation far removed from their dream of being a successful virtual assistant. Like many virtual assistants, I have a Google alert set up to bring me news from the VA…
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Virtual Assistant?

Tina Hilton

19 May 2009 | 3:45 pm

Starting your own virtual assistant business requires more than just a desire to make money working from home. Ask yourself the following questions and answer honestly. Too many individuals look at becoming a VA as a way to make easy money from home, but the truth is, running your own business is anything but easy. Your honest answers to these questions will give you a clearer idea of what it takes to become and succeed as a virtual assistant. Do I work well independently without the need to be told what to do or when to do it? Am I able to get along well with all different types of…
Virtual Assistants-7 Red Flags That Say You’re in Over Your Head

Tina Hilton

5 May 2009 | 12:45 pm

(Listen to the Podcast: 7 Virtual Assistant Red Flags ) I tend to get quite a few inquiries from new virtual assistants looking to ‘hire on’ with my company or perhaps ’sub-contract’. Honestly, I’m not at a point where I am comfortable sub-contracting work to another VA, but I have been known to send clients who need services which I don’t provide to another virtual assistant. That said, I make it a policy not to send them to just any VA. I want to be sure that they will be as committed to providing the same high level of service that I am…
S.E.E. Your Way to Clearer Communication with your VA

Tina Hilton

30 Apr 2009 | 7:39 am

In my last post here I gave people who work with virtual assistants six tips. My third tip was to communicate clearly. But just what constitutes clear communication in a collaboration with a virtual assistant? How do you know that you’re giving your VA the information they need to do the job? One way is to apply the S.E.E method as you’re composing your instructions. S.E.E is an acronym for Specify, Elaborate, and Example and should be applied as follows; Specify- This refers to being specific about the task or project. This includes time constraints,background and other…

The Women Entrepreneurs Blog @ Simon
What You Should Know Before Applying for a Loan

Victoria Reynolds

2 Jul 2009 | 12:08 pm

Borrowing money is one of the most common sources of funding for a small business, but obtaining a loan isn't always easy. Before you approach your banker for a loan, it is a good idea to understand as much as you can about the factors the bank will evaluate when they consider your request. Show me the money… Ability to Repay/Capacity The ability to repay must be justified in your loan package. Banks want to see two sources of repayment -- cash flow from the business, plus a secondary source such as collateral. In order to analyze the cash flow of the business, the lender will review…
Being an Entrepreneur Is For Sissies

Charla Kucko

30 Jun 2009 | 12:56 pm

That's right, it's for sissies. By that, I mean...it's a great career move for women. Sisters or Moms, or even Grandmoms. The whole world is touting the positive aspects of being your own boss by taking the entrepreneur's route, so I won't go on and on about why you should step off that corporate track and follow your own path. Instead, I'm going to talk a bit about why it's a good idea for women, especially. Just the other day I received an email from Josephine Nicholas who is the "Chief Operating Officer of Published Daily, a technology company that…
Make Security a Top Priority

Charla Kucko

27 Jun 2009 | 1:25 pm

One of the classes I took at the Simon School was called Marketing on the Internet. Studying online marketing was extremely interesting, and it helped me improve my job performance for my work with Glenn and Rebecca. Marketing KVI products well means that everyone wins - the company grows and our suppliers are able to earn a decent living; our success is their success. A key thing I learned in class is that security is one of the most important factors customers consider when choosing to purchase from a retailer. This includes both payment security and personal information security. To…
Tip of the Week: Stay Focused

Charla Kucko

24 Jun 2009 | 10:46 am

by Jane Glazer Stay Focused. It probably sounds like a mundane statement, but it is filled with enormous pressure- especially for an entrepreneur. Being in charge is a huge responsibility that can certainly be overwhelming when everyone and anyone needs "just a moment" of your time. It may be impossible to get it all done, for there are only so many hours in the day. How can you remain focused on your set priorities and determine what tasks require immediate attention? Let's say you are working on an assignment that must be finished today, and you are starting to get antsy and…
A Newly Minted MBA Learns about Viral Marketing

Charla Kucko

22 Jun 2009 | 5:13 pm

by Marita GreenidgeThat’s it! I’ve done it! I am officially Marita L. Greenidge, MBA. It feels wonderful to type those words. I graduated on June 14 2009 and am now ready to begin a new chapter in my life. (Look out world!) Prior to completing school, I worked feverishly with Glenn and Rebecca to redevelop the KVI (Kingdom Ventures Inc.) website that is currently up and running. I did tons of research on optimal ways to market our business online. After all, an amazing website that sells amazing products has little value if no one knows about it. In my research, I came across an e-book by…

entrepreMusings
How Do You Know When You’ve Made The Right Decision?

Aruni

29 Jun 2009 | 7:23 pm

I don’t usually know if I’ve made the right decision (business, personal, kids, etc.) until after I’ve made it. And then even after making it, I sometimes wonder if it was the right one. But usually I feel a huge sense of relief for some time until, of course, the details have to be worked out. But life is a series of decisions. Some are small ones like when to do the laundry, what clothes to wear, what to eat for dinner, etc. Some are big ones like what house to buy, whether to sell your company, who to marry, whether to have kids or not, how many kids to have,…
In A Music State of Mind

Aruni

28 Jun 2009 | 7:03 pm

The entrepreneurial journey is full of interesting twists and turns. Even the most successful entrepreneurs I know struggle with what success means. I was recently meeting with a two time successful (multi-million dollar exits) entrepreneur, and he said after a few months we’re all back to our miserable selves and looking for the next thing to do. It’s funny how many people I interviewed for the Success Profiles sort of said the same thing. They would achieve or fail in one thing and then it was on to the next with something to prove. Are we ever content? I’m not…
The Impact of Michael Jackson

Aruni

25 Jun 2009 | 8:41 pm

I debated whether to write this post tonight since it’s late and I’m kind of tired after a long day of telling people about finding a new home for Babble Soft. I still have many more people and twitter friends to tell. It was a weird, weird day for me today. I was extra sensitive with many things happening at once. I came home after hanging out with a girlfriend of mine to find out Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett had both died today - June 25, 2009. I’m not sure yet if I’m ashamed to admit this or not, but I was a BIG Michael Jackson fan. I even had his Off…
Babble Soft Looking For A New Home

Aruni

22 Jun 2009 | 5:48 pm

This is a hard post for me to write, but there are times in life when the best way to handle hard things is to just deal with it head on. I had some time and space to reflect during my recent beach vacation. Babble Soft, an idea that I started tinkering around with after my first baby was born in 2003 (our first beta web app release was in 2007 and iPhone app in 2009), has reached a point where my partner, Nicole Johnson, and I can’t do it justice and build it to the company it could be. We just don’t have the monetary and time resources that a consumer web and mobile (iPhone)…
The Waves of Life

Aruni

21 Jun 2009 | 3:06 pm

The kids and I just got back from a fabulous beach vacation in South Padre, TX with some friends of mine. This was the first time I had ever been to a Texas beach and I’ve lived in Texas for a very, very long time. It was a really nice beach…certainly not better than the beaches I’ve seen in Cancun or Cozumel but perfect nonetheless for this week long trip. We had a blast! We even made it to the small Schlitterbahn park there. I’ve mentioned Sandy Blanchard in several of my posts in the past. She’s the one that takes those fabulous nature/flower…

FT.com - Entrepreneurship
Accounting for good taste

30 Jun 2009 | 2:54 pm

Robyn Jones never intended to run a large catering company with 150 contracts serving a range of people from blue-collar workers to leading City of London lawyers. It has branched out into corporate events and public catering
Muscial eminence grise

30 Jun 2009 | 2:54 pm

Nashville's Vector Management has made a name for nurturing musicians from Herbie Hancock to Kid Rock
Letting go can cut both ways

29 Jun 2009 | 4:07 am

A sad by-product of any recession is the painful process of having to let people go. This should always combine the realities of the company's performance with an assessment of an individual's contribution
Go the distance with a one-trick pony

29 Jun 2009 | 4:00 am

If you are trying to launch a new product-based business your most difficult task is likely to be finding a buyer. If you already have an established business, your most difficult task is probably getting paid by customers
Failed firm causes tax backlog

29 Jun 2009 | 3:52 am

A number of small business owners have been hit with bills for tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax and National Insurance, after the collapse of an alternative finance start-up that provided unsecured loans based on payroll funds

TheNextWeb.com
The future is here: FriendFeed launches realtime search

Martin Bryant

2 Jul 2009 | 12:45 pm

FriendFeed has completed its conversion to an entirely realtime service by launching Realtime search. As of now you can type in a search query and see results from right across FriendFeed stream down in realtime. When FriendFeed moved to a realtime feed in April some users resisted the change. Keeping track of incoming items can be much harder as they stream down your screen. Difficult, that is, until you get used to using the handy ‘Pause’ button. However, few could fail to see the value of realtime search results. Want to monitor what people are saying about anything, as they…
Spotify releases its first audio book

Zee

2 Jul 2009 | 6:38 am

Spotify, the online media player, has announced the release of the first audio book – tts free and its by Wired Editor Chris Anderson. The company are reportedly big fans of the Wired chief and his previous book, The Long Tail. Today however they help him market his new one, Free: The Future of a Radical Place, narrated by the man himself. Chris Anderson struck up a bit of controversy recently when he was caught plagiarizing Wikipedia for a section of the book. The plagiarism was discovered by Virginia Quarterly Review who found a number of passages that seemed to be copied from various…
I ‘killed’ Jeff Goldblum, confesses blogger

Martin Bryant

2 Jul 2009 | 5:10 am

Amidst the shock and grief amongst Twitterers in reaction to Michael Jackson’s death last week, a number of fake celebrity deaths started trending. One of the main victims of the rumours was Jeff Goldblum. Now that the dust has settled and the rumours have been debunked, a Scottish blogger has stepped forward to confess that he was the one that ‘killed’ Jeff Goldblum. In a lengthy ‘confession’, John Skelton details how the prank started. “As rumours began to spread that (Michael Jackson) might be dead I saw the opportunity to prank two of my friends… The original idea of the…
Michael Jackson is the First to Sell 1 Million Downloads in a Week

Zee

2 Jul 2009 | 4:46 am

So not only is the music icon breaking records alive, but he’s doing it from the grave too. Michael Jackson has become the first artist to sell 1 million downloads in a single week according to Billboard’s latest sales chart. Fans bought a record-breaking 2.6 million Jackson solo recordings and Jackson Five songs, according to Nielsen SoundScan data for the week ending June 28. Jackson also dominated Billboard’s “Comprehensive Album Chart,” which tracks both new albums and older catalog albums — the first time a catalog album has ever scanned more sales than any new album.
Life with First-Person Shooter Disease

Zee

2 Jul 2009 | 3:09 am

This man has a disease you may have not heard of, its called Duke Nukem’s disease. Gene Simkins brings you the story what life is like with what has come to be known as First-Person Shooter Disease… Tweet This!Digg this!Share this on del.icio.usShare this on RedditStumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUponAdd this to Google BookmarksShare this on FacebookEmail this to a friend?Buzz up!Share this on Mixx

Startup Africa
Events in Johannesburg - July 2009

Ismail Dhorat

2 Jul 2009 | 2:06 am

Netweb July The netweb event in july will feature speaker Howard Mann, on Brick Yard your business based on a book by the same name. In his book he notes that uniqueness accounts for only, if not less than, 15% of what makes your company. All businesses are kept alive and thrive if the 85% is in place and done effectively. That 85% is: • Returning calls on time. • Paying suppliers and employees when you should. • Offering your product and service as best you can. • Over delivering on expectations. Fortunately, that is not all his talk is about. It is a call to action that leaves you…
Open Call for Knowledge Exchange Visit to Finland

Ismail Dhorat

1 Jul 2009 | 1:37 am

The Governments of Finland and South Africa have been working together in the fields of Science, Technology and Innovation, as part of that mandate SAFIPA is planning a knowledge exchange visit for South African entrepreneurs and other relevant people. Having attended several talks and met the previous finish minister that was based here, i can say the trip should be very useful. Finland has a unique history, in 1990-1992, the country was in a deep recession which they were struggling to get out off. The economy was largely farming but less then a decade later the economy had been transformed…
Bootstrapping, Working with investors & Building a team

Ismail Dhorat

25 Jun 2009 | 12:58 am

These are session notes from Gareth’s session at Geek Retreat. Image credit to The Scott, view the full image gallery Embrace your fears. They are only fears. It’s the only way to start and make progress. Jump off the cliff. There’s never a “right” time to get started, so just do it and work things out as you go. Don’t let other people impose their fears into your thinking, it will only muddle you further. Cashflow is King, always, without exception. You should always always always have an eye on your cashflow, which literally means how much cash you have in the…
Follow whats goingon at Geek Retreat

Ismail Dhorat

18 Jun 2009 | 2:42 am

This weekend will be the first South African Geek Retreat, and you can follow the events from any of the links below. Search Twitter for Hashtag #GeekRetreat Or View it on Scribble Live Or On Twubs
Fundman - Find funding in South Africa

Ismail Dhorat

9 Jun 2009 | 2:42 am

I am currently attending the SAFIPA conference, and i have found it incredibly useful. The sessions yesterday on ICT in education was interesting. The number of projects that are on going here in South Africa has me very excited, and my prediction is in 10-15 years time South Africa will be transformed into a knowledge economy. A project that i found out about here is Fundman, which is supported by SEDA (Small Enterprise development agency). What is Fundman? There are tons of Grants, Venture Capital funds & Institutions that assist innovators with funding and assistance. One of the main…

Pop17
artpixie: Tunes on vi.sualize.us

sarah

1 Jul 2009 | 6:38 pm

artpixie: Tunes on vi.sualize.us
florencio: homenaje

sarah

1 Jul 2009 | 6:37 pm

florencio: homenaje
Tuesday June 30th, 2009

sarah

30 Jun 2009 | 11:17 am

The Meredith Broadcasting Group announced today that it will transfer current Meredith Video...
innonate: soupsoup: How your CNN news sausage gets made. (via…

sarah

29 Jun 2009 | 3:02 pm

innonate: soupsoup: How your CNN news sausage gets made. (via @mpoppel)
God’s Love We Deliver Lifecast

sarah

29 Jun 2009 | 2:51 pm

Download: mov | wmv | 3gp | m4v One of Joan Rivers favorite charities, God’s Love We Deliver, helps people in NYC who are living with HIV/AIDS and cancer. We prepared nutritious meals and delivered them across the city and we lifecasted along the way! Music by Samantha James Photos by Marla Shulman

The Product Guy
UPDATE: Pogby Renewed

Jeremy Horn

29 Jun 2009 | 6:20 am

Quick-UX provides for the rapid, simple and quantifiable assessment of a product’s User Experience (UX). In answering the question of Usefulness, "Should I use it?" the sub-category of Credibility is one in the frequent discussion of cautious engagement, especially in the ever increasing, in both frequency and size, waves of introductions of online products. Quick-UX is a method that I have developed and refined over time and frequently utilize when quick assessments are best suited to the task. Quick Indeed In this latest series on Credibility, 2 products were chosen as worthy…
The Product Guy’s Weekend Reading (June 26, 2009)

Jeremy Horn

26 Jun 2009 | 4:10 am

Every week I read tens of thousands of blog posts. Here, for your weekend enjoyment, are some highlights from my recent reading, for you. On Starting Up… Stifling startups and healthy competition with noncompetes. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/06/21/start_ups_stifled_by_noncompetes/ On Design & Product Experience… On the challenges facing the future of web product testing. http://javascriptchicago.com/?p=91 On Modular Innovation… The everyware perspective of Modular Innovation.
Convincing GigaOM

Jeremy Horn

22 Jun 2009 | 9:13 am

The Credibility of a product is absolutely critical, whether it is coming from a brand-new startup, or an established corporation. There is a great deal that goes into the Credibility of a product, from the people that hype it, to its visual presentation. However, there are a few basic elements that go directly to the foundational aspects of product Credibility upon which the rest of the product’s truthfulness is built. Quick-UX provides for the rapid, simple and quantifiable assessment of a product’s User Experience (UX). In answering the question of Usefulness, "Should I use…
The Product Guy’s Weekend Reading (June 19, 2009)

Jeremy Horn

19 Jun 2009 | 3:37 am

Every week I read tens of thousands of blog posts. Here, for your weekend enjoyment, are some highlights from my recent reading, for you. On Starting Up… On the government regulation of venture capital. http://www.pehub.com/42323/private-equity-and-venture-capital-to-be-regulated/ On Design & Product Experience… http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/15/take-your-design-to-the-next-level-with-css3/ An interesting perspective on taking design to the next level by shirking web standards. On Modular Innovation……
Credibly Mashable

Jeremy Horn

15 Jun 2009 | 2:09 pm

The Credibility of a product is absolutely critical, whether it is coming from a brand-new startup, or an established corporation. There is a great deal that goes into the Credibility of a product, from the people that hype it, to its visual presentation. However, there are a few basic elements that go directly to the foundational aspects of product Credibility upon which the rest of the product’s truthfulness is built. Quick-UX provides for the rapid, simple and quantifiable assessment of a product’s User Experience (UX). In answering the question of Usefulness, "Should I use…

Ben Casnocha: The Blog
Book Review and Essay: Create Your Own Economy and Internet Info Culture

Ben Casnocha

1 Jul 2009 | 9:07 am

I have ~4,000 word essay up at the American Enterprise Institute reviewing Tyler Cowen's new book Create Your Own Economy and presenting my perspective on the ongoing debates around internet information culture, whether we are more distracted, whether bits from blogs cohere into knowledge, the importance of un-focus to creativity, and related issues. It is also the most detailed explanation yet of how I think about my information diet at a high level. Do read the whole thing. On the intellectual and emotional stimulation we experience by assembling a custom stream of bits: Cowen refers to…
Cater to Your Inner-Completionist

Ben Casnocha

30 Jun 2009 | 2:51 pm

Today while making lunch I realized that when I cut my sandwich into two halves it tastes better overall than when I eat it in one piece. Why? When I eat two halves of one sandwich, it feels like I am "completing" two things, not one. It's the same reason why we'd prefer to read two short books instead of one long book. Total number of pages read might be the same, but we feel more accomplished having completed two whole books. It's the same reason why breaking tasks into bits (and then checking off each bit on our to-do list) makes us feel more accomplished and energized than leaving one,…
Priestly Believed in Randomness and Side Projects

Ben Casnocha

29 Jun 2009 | 9:29 am

Joseph Priestly, the 18th century theologian, philosopher, and inventor, embraced three concepts I've written about at length: He exposed himself to randomness: try more stuff than the next guy; law of large numbers; insight at the intersection of seemingly unrelated ideas. He maintained side projects: hedge bets; humility around being able to predict which particular project will be the big win; stay intellectually stimulated. He experimented and iterated: many little bets over few big bets; learn by doing; adapt rapidly to changing conditions. Priestly was never one for the grand…
Links from Around the Web

Ben Casnocha

26 Jun 2009 | 10:16 pm

Much original, exciting content will grace this blog in the month of July. Meanwhile, for those of you who do not follow my delicious tags, I must dump upon you some favorite links:Your job description, via Eric Reis: "Every person in the company has this job description: in any situation it is your responsibility, using your best judgment, to do what you think is in the best interests of the company. That's it. Everything else is only marketing.""I'm astounded by how far one can get in life with by just (a) getting stuff done, (b) having a sense of humor and (c) being a non-asshole." - Colin…
Ignorance is a Precious Resource

Ben Casnocha

25 Jun 2009 | 4:22 pm

The value of what you don't know:Little attention has been paid to ignorance as a precious resource. Unlike knowledge, which is infinitely reusable, ignorance is a one-shot deal: Once it has been displaced by knowledge, it can be hard to get back. And after it’s gone, we are more apt to follow well-worn paths to find answers than to exert our sense of what we don’t know in order to probe new options. Knowledge can stand in the way of innovation. Solved problems tend to stay solved—sometimes disastrously so.The author goes on to recommend four ways to cultivate healthy ignorance in your…

infoChachkie
Roping in the Legal Eagles

Uncle Saul

25 Jun 2009 | 1:58 pm

This is a reposting of a ‘classic’ popular post. Johnnie Cochran was an effective, albeit smarmy, defense lawyer who would say or do anything to defend his clients (anyone up for a glass of OJ?). He was a master at encouraging jurors to disregard facts and base their legal verdicts on emotions and conjecture. Yet, despite his exceptional courtroom theatrics, you would be foolhardy to hire good old Johnnie to review your software cross-licensing agreement. A startup-oriented lawyer may not be able to convince a jury of a guilty man’s innocence, but they can guide your adVenture…
How Much For A Rib? Pricing Should Be Based On The Value You Deliver – Period

Uncle Saul

16 Jun 2009 | 1:43 pm

In his premier film appearance in the blaxploitation send-up “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” Chris Rock inadvertently illustrates a key pricing issue faced by most entrepreneurs when they initially launch a new product or service. Watch this 93-second clip and see if you can identify the pricing pitfall addressed in this humorous clip. Caution: the clip contains a bit of profanity. It is Chris Rock, after all. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! A recurring entrepreneurial challenge is to determine the optimal price of a new…
InfoChachkie Nuggets #2 – June 05 2009

Tom Sawyer

5 Jun 2009 | 3:38 pm

Title/Summary: Entrepreneurs can change the world Video Author: Grasshopper.com infoChachkie Nuggets: A beautiful inspirational entrepreneurial video that clocks in at just 2 minutes, 19 seconds. Link: <Click Here> If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! Title/Summary: The Psychology of Being Scammed Author: Vaughan infoChachkie Nuggets: A lot of marketing/selling tips can be derived from hustlers and scams: People respond to authority, creating brand awareness and trust in your product Create companies which solve problems…
Fast Followers II: What Color Are Your Elephant’s Sunglasses?

Uncle Saul

3 Jun 2009 | 11:32 am

Note: This is Part II in a three-part series on Fast Followers. Click here for Part I and Part III When Superman was introduced in 1939, he was truly a breakthrough comic book character. At the time, most comic heroes were very human, such as Dick Tracy, The Lone Ranger and Tarzan. The very attributes which caused Superman to be unlike anything that came before subsequently became clichéd conventions, which makes it difficult for modern audiences to appreciate just how startlingly different Superman was at the time of his debut. His super powers, costume, dual identity and crime-fighting…
Fast Followers I: Beat The Market Leaders At Their Own Game

Uncle Saul

26 May 2009 | 1:44 pm

Note: This is Part I in a three-part series on Fast Followers. Click here for Part II and Part III Lou Pearlman, owner of Trans Continental Airlines, watched five teenagers crowd into one of his private planes. He asked himself, “How the hell can these kids afford to charter a private plane?” The answer surprised him. The “kids” were the pop singing group “New Kids on the Block” (New Kids or NKOTB), which at the time was one of the most successful musical acts in the world. Pearlman was unimpressed with the group, but his chance meeting with them sparked an entrepreneurial…

The Eco-Capitalist
Go Big or Go Home?

10 Jun 2009 | 12:16 pm

As entrepreneurs, we all know the value and necessity of forming partnerships. Little would get done in the business world without a solid network to help grow our companies. Form an alliance with the right organization and your impact is amplified exponentially. But that begs a tough entrepreneurial question: Should a younger, cutting-edge company join forces with an established, more conventional company? It can be a slippery slope. Will the former company's values be in line with those of the latter? Whose mission and ideals will win out? TerraCycle has recently wrestled with that problem,…
Revolution in a Bottle

31 Mar 2009 | 3:51 pm

My book, Revolution in a Bottle, hit the streets this week. It is a quick read that is meant to flow more like a novel, less like a business book. It follows the story of TerraCycle from our beginnings in my dorm room, shoveling maggot filled organic waste, to creating products we sold to Wal-Mart and other major big box retailers, getting sued by Scotts, and creating "sponsored waste" programs to upcycle branded waste. It also offers insights on how we approach media and pursue new opportunities. Here's are two excerpts from the introduction: TerraCycle would never have succeeded if we had…
Would You Pay More to Go Green?

17 Mar 2009 | 7:32 pm

As I’ve written in this blog previously, I believe the "green premium" works against green businesses, limiting their growth and thus their collective impact on sustainability. I think that all green producers should cut costs and focus on volume to offset their lower margins. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone citing marketing research that concludes consumers are willing to pay more for a green product. Clearly, people are wiling to pay more for what they perceive as a better product (people pay more for luxury cars, nicer homes, better wine, and organics). Many companies…
Will the Down Economy Hurt Quality?

4 Feb 2009 | 1:17 pm

I'm noticing a recurring direction of today's retailers in light of the economic downturn we currently find ourselves in. People are addicted to consumption, but have less money to spend. The solution that most big-box stores are adopting is to reduce the prices of the products they sell. In order to accommodate, manufacturers have to reduce the quality of their products. The net effect is that we, as consumers, are being given lower quality products that will not last as long, or be as effective. Why not take the stand and say, "We will still spend the same reduced amount, but we'll buy…
Will the Recession Kill Green Business?

16 Jan 2009 | 12:20 pm

We are arguably in the midst of the biggest boom the green-business movement has ever seen, with all those who have been paving the way for more than two decades saying that we are truly at the turning point. So what will happen now that we are mired the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression? The recycling industry has already been hit hard. With low gas prices, the cost of plastic has taken a nose dive, and manufacturers are not ordering recycled plastic at the record levels they were a few months ago when prices at the pump hovered around $4. Also, and perhaps most importantly,…

The Entrepreneurial Agenda
Senators Tell -- Ahem, Ask -- IRS To Ease Up On Small Biz

16 Jun 2009 | 3:06 pm

A bipartisan quartet of leading Congressmen and Senators has called on the IRS to stop collecting stiff penalties from small firms investing in illegal tax shelters, when those investments generated only "modest" tax benefits. The lawmakers say they hope to write new legislation that would ease the penalty schedule these small firms would face. The penalties stem from a 2004 law that requires companies and individuals to disclose on their tax return any tax shelters that the IRS has listed as abusive. For individuals, the penalty is $100,000, for corporations, it's $200,000.
Chamber Girds Itself To Defend The "Free Market"

10 Jun 2009 | 10:39 am

Having concluded that free enterprise, such as it is, is under siege -- with the government seemingly ready to capitulate to "many union leaders, some environmentalists, and a growing force of anti-business activists" -- the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for a multi-million dollar defense. "Dire economic circumstances have certainly justified some out-of-the-ordinary remedial actions by government," said Tom Donohue, the Chamber's president and CEO, in a statement. "But enough is enough. If we don’t stop the rapidly growing influence of government over private sector activity, we…
When Entrepreneurship Hurts Health Care

8 Jun 2009 | 2:08 pm

McAllen, Texas, and El Paso have a lot in common. Both are poor, both are 80 percent Hispanic, and both metropolitan areas are home to just over 700,000 people. But they are separated by nearly 800 miles of blacktop, and by one other very important measure: McAllen is the second-most expensive city for medicine in the United States, trailing only Miami in costs. Medicare spent $15,000 per McAllen enrollee in 2006 -- $3,000 more than the average personal income there. In El Paso, by contrast, Medicare spends just $7,500, slightly less than the national average. These statistics come courtesy…
Health Insurers: No Reform For Small Group Market

4 Jun 2009 | 9:27 am

We've heard much noise from the health care industry lately that sounds a lot like Kumbaya -- everyone, it seems is on-board with reform. Even insurers support market reforms that will limit their ability to rate potential customers on the basis of their health. Except, that is, when it comes to small business. The New York Times pointed out the inconsistency in an article published in yesterday's paper. While the insurance industry has agreed to regulation in the individual insurance market, it is apparently divided when it comes to the small group health market. The Times reports that Aetna…
The SBA Lends A Helping Hand To Car Dealers, Again

28 May 2009 | 4:01 pm

The Obama Small Business Administration today promised to deploy yet another tool in its economic recovery "toolbox" to help beleaguered car dealers. Beginning in July, the SBA will allow its 7(a) program to back "floor plan" financing. Small-firm car dealers will be able to borrow up to $2 million to finance inventory; banks that make the loans will be able get a 75 percent government guaranty. Previously, 7(a) loans excluded this kind of inventory financing, which until recently was widely available elsewhere. On top of that, more dealerships will be eligible for the loans, thanks to…

Fresh Inc.: The Staff Blog
Landing a Spot in Starbucks; A New Boston-Area Booze Biz

2 Jul 2009 | 10:01 am

Life at Silicon Valley’s most famous research center: A tech geek's uptopia. BoingBoing looks as the painstakingly cultivated culture of the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). In the 14-acre facility, every employee has his or her own office with a view of the courtyard or the Palo Alto Hills. Privacy in the common areas was also ensured with the entire building divided into pods, each with its own feel. Biz dev director YF Juan tells BoingBoing that the PARC inhabitants are divided into “celebrity geeks” like Van Jacobsen who wrote the TCP stack for the internet protocol and the…
Battle of the Browsers; Stick a Fork in Joost

1 Jul 2009 | 9:48 am

Battle of the web browsers After its debut in 2004, non-profit run, open-source Web browser Firefox captured almost a quarter of the market with its speed, stability, and customizability. But lately users had been complaining that Firefox had gotten slow and prone to crashing, says Slate’s Farhad Manjoo. In the meantime, Apple and Google came out with Safari and Chrome. And in March, Microsoft debuted Internet Explorer 8, which Manjoo calls “a pleasure to use.” This week, Mozilla finally released Firefox 3.5 and it was worth the wait, boasting new features and a boost in speed. Better…
Avoiding a Twitter Faux Pas; Ex-Jocks Face Trouble

30 Jun 2009 | 9:15 am

Top 10 places to spend your golden years. As U.S. News and World Report puts it, entrepreneurs never really retire, they just move on to their next project. In fact, according to a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation, people between the ages of 55 and 64 had the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity over the past decade. With that in mind, the magazine recently put together their list of the Top 10 Places for Entrepreneurs to Retire. So what makes a good retirement locale for entrepreneurs? US News searched for places with strong job growth, low unemployment rate, low business tax…
Probing the Financial Crisis; Billy Mays Dies

29 Jun 2009 | 9:02 am

Pecora Hearings: the redux. Like the famous hearings led by Ferdinand Pecora in the early 1930s to investigate the cause of the Wall Street crash of 1929, Congress is developing the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, an investigative body that will examine the causes behind our current economic woes. The Pecora Commission produced the information and impetus for many of the financial reforms of the New Deal. According to the Huffington Post, the nominees for the commission, which will have six Democrats and four Republicans, will be finalized over the next few days. Of the names leaked by…
VC Money Heads East; The Bar Code Turns 35

26 Jun 2009 | 9:14 am

A dozen cleantech IPOs That’s what we’ll see over the next year, according to the fervently bullish Steve Westly, former eBay marketing director and California comptroller, now head of the Silicon Valley VC, the Westly Group. It’s an incredibly optimistic outlook considering that there have been only 13 U.S. IPOs (and only 12 new filings) this year in any industry, says peHUB. VCs want to see a Netscape-esque IPO to kickstart an era of cleantech riches. Westly pegs Silver Spring Network’s smartgrid technology and Solyndra’s photovoltaic systems for commercial rooftops as possible…

The Kiva Connection
Microloans for All?

10 Jun 2009 | 4:29 pm

The microfinance world is abuzz today after online microlending site Kiva.org kicked off an expansion program that will allow individuals to make loans to entrepreneurs in the United States. This is particularly newsworthy for the organization because it has been focused on facilitating loans in developing countries since its launch in 2005. For the last year and a half, I have been writing about a select group of entrepreneurs around the world who have received microloans through Kiva, and I have been amazed by the impact of its online lending model. I have no doubt it will have the same…
Kiva Borrower Phun Them, Live from Cambodia

28 Apr 2009 | 3:20 pm

A little over a year ago, Inc. connected with Kiva.org, a website that facilitates microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Inc.’s staff made $25 loans to a diverse group of nine entrepreneurs across the globe. Among the entrepreneurs we selected: We loaned money to the owner of a small retail store in Tajikistan that sells consumer electronics; we funded a rice winemaker in Cambodia and learned about the primitive but intricate brewing process that was this entrepreneur’s livelihood; and we funded a group loan that was disbursed to five women living in the same village in…
Kiva and "30 Under 30"

31 Oct 2008 | 4:00 pm

Big things are happening at Kiva.org. Not only does the organization’s day-to-day impact continue to grow virally, but it just won $300,000 from American Express for placing third in the company’s annual Members Project competition. The contest invites individuals and organizations to submit their ideas for a project that will help change the world. The idea is to get AmEx card members to vote on what they think are the most worthy projects and then AmEx doles out $2.5 million in total to fund the top five vote-getters. (The grand prize was $1.5 million). Kiva’s project was all about…
Microfinance Goes Back to Its Roots?

1 Aug 2008 | 5:05 pm

Major leaders of the global microfinance movement gathered this week at the Microcredit Summit Campaign in Bali, Indonesia to discuss some of the pressing issues that have affected the microfinance sector over the past year. A major issue of debate among Summit participants, which included Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of microcredit, Muhammad Yunus, was what to do about the growing commercialization of microfinance. If you have been following any of the news on microfinance lately, you know that there has been a lot of attention paid -- both good and bad -- to the movement in the past…
Small Loans, Big Results

2 Jun 2008 | 3:10 pm

Thanks to a microloan from half a world away, a Cambodian rice winemaker named Phal An is ready to expand her growing business. On the day that Phal An is interviewed about her business, her modest home in the village of Damnak Sankae, Cambodia, is crowded with excited family members. Phal An is a rice winemaker in her late 50s -- and one of thousands of entrepreneurs listed on Kiva.org, a website that facilitates microloans to entrepreneurs in developing nations all over the world. This past December, Inc.com embarked on an editorial project to cover the rapidly growing phenomenon of…

Start-Up Toolkit
Make Money by Giving Your Product Away?

1 Jul 2009 | 2:05 pm

One would think Bill Jelen is crazy. As “Mr.Excel” (www.MrExcel.com) he’s an expert in using a spreadsheet to figure things out – so how does one write the formula for Free? Bill has some very specific advice for consultants and service providers on how Free=3*x or more. Jelen has written about 25 computer books, many for Que imprint publishing, some are self-published. He tells me in the computer book field, selling 10,000 books is considered a best seller. His first book took almost 3 years to reach that mark. For his next book, he set up a system where people could give him their…
One Million Reasons to Backup

24 Jun 2009 | 2:07 pm

At a recent event I was talking with the director of a 10 person non-profit, and she mentioned an important database she was trying to convert to a newer format. “Where is it kept?” I asked. “On my computer” she said. “Where else?” And then I got that look – the look that says “what do you mean – where else?” Ah. How much would it cost to replace that data? Perhaps a million dollars, which is her approximate annual fundraising income. So one more time, for you folks who have not done so – Back up your work. Please. Google engineers did a scientific study (it's a PDF) of…
Does your Small Biz Site show on the Mobile Web?

18 Jun 2009 | 2:00 pm

Tomorrow’s launch of the iPhone 3GS and last week’s launch of the PalmPre focused my attention on the way people are doing more search and research on products and services while on the go. US consumers are the top group in the world for mobile browsing and spending according to mobile development house Bango, exceeding UK customers. (Not surprisingly, Bango offers tools that allow companies to track mobile website usage.) Site LocalMobileSearch.net notes that 13-14% of US consumers have smartphones, but cites survey data pointing towards 25% penetration in the next few years. So, people…
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