May, 2021

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Playing the Long Game in Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

Silicon Valley and the media industry that surrounds it values youth. The culture is driven by the 20-something irreverent founder with huge technical chops who in a “David vs. Goliath” mythology take on the titans of industry and wins. It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales.

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Why Creativity is Essential for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs' Organization

Contributed to EO by B. Jeffrey Madoff. When the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the US in January of 2020, the situation demanded a rapid response. A new, highly contagious virus posed an imminent threat to the world. This situation kicked off a chain reaction of events, including: Scientists began experimenting to create vaccines to combat the virus.

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How To Answer What's Your Valuation?

Dream It

The "What’s your valuation?" question is a common component of investor Q/A. You need to be aware of and ready for this tough question from investors. Seasoned founders have a particular way of framing their answer to this question. In this Dreamit Dose, Managing Director Adam Dakin reveals the right approach on how to answer the valuation question when pitching VCs.

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Finding your brand identity in 4 steps

Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative

By Bryce Kelly. In an era where an endless number of apps, news stories, social media posts, and products are all competing for attention, it can be difficult to distinguish yourself from the crowd. Developing your brand means deciding how you distinguish yourself to your audience, and it determines how many people will interact with your organization and what the world knows you stand for.

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From Curiosity to Competitive Edge: How Mid-Market CEOs Are Using AI to Scale Smarter

Speaker: Lee Andrews, Founder at LJA New Media & Tony Karrer, Founder and CTO at Aggregage

This session will walk you through how one CEO used generative AI, workflow automation, and sales personalization to transform an entire security company—then built the Zero to Strategy framework that other mid-market leaders are now using to unlock 3.5x ROI. As a business executive, you’ll learn how to assess AI opportunities in your business, drive adoption across teams, and overcome internal resource constraints—without hiring a single data scientist.

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Out There Bets and Insider Games: The Social Barriers to Funding Big Ideas

This is going to be BIG.

In June of 2019, I got a cold e-mail with a single link: “My name is Braeden Kelekona and I’m the founder of Kelekona, a drone service for passengers and cargo. Below is a link to the pitch video. I look forward to hearing back from you and hopefully scheduling a meeting here in the city.” I don’t have the original video, but from what I remember it was just an animation of what looked like a flying bus.

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More Trending

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How to engage resource partners: continuing the conversation

Source Link

During our March Quarterly Conversation, affiliates discussed the challenges moving from individual entrepreneur support organizations to a collaborative, community-based model. The affiliates that joined the conversation in March wanted to learn more about engaging with the resource partners in their network, so SourceLink® set aside time in April to continue the conversation and address unanswered questions.

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The Last Gameboard raises $4M to ship its digital tabletop gaming platform

TechCrunch

The tabletop gaming industry has exploded over the last few years as millions discovered or rediscovered its joys, but it too is evolving — and The Last Gameboard hopes to be the venue for that evolution. The digital tabletop platform has progressed from crowdfunding to $4 million seed round, and having partnered with some of the biggest names in the industry, plans to ship by the end of the year.

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These 3 Entrepreneurs Share Tips for Overcoming E-Commerce Product Launch Obstacles

StartupNation

With consumers spending more than ever online, it’s no wonder why so many entrepreneurs are joining e-commerce marketplaces in droves. Consumers around the world spent $900 billion at online retailers in 2020, according to report from the Mastercard Economics Institute. Up to 30% of that shift is expected to be permanent, too. This growth, regardless of sales channel, has been massively powered by startups and small businesses.

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News – Mailchimp Curates Small Business Films To Celebrate Small Business Week

Smart Hustle Magazine

In celebration of Small Business Week, Mailchimp and Oscilloscope Laboratories are announcing a specially curated lineup of films available to stream on Mailchimp Presents , Mailchimp’s global streaming platform. Editor’s Note – Huge props to Mailchimp for always INNOVATING. Via their Mailchimp Presents production studio, Mailchimp continues to innovate and be creative in how they spotlight and showcase creators, entrepreneurs and small business owners.

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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How do you attract family offices and other large investors to your direct investing platform?

David Teten VC

One of the best business models ever is creating a marketplace between investors and investment opportunities. However, the challenge with this two-sided market is: how do you get the investors to show up? It’s hard enough to get the retail investors, but the family offices and other large check writers are even more challenging. I’ve been meeting lately with more and more family offices interested in investing directly into companies, in lieu of via funds.

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Cultivating a Practice of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Ecosystem Building Programs

Ecosystem Builder Hub

Cultivating a culture and practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a core principle for entrepreneurial ecosystem builders. As part of the Insights from the Field campaign, I wanted to hear from other ecosystem builders in the field about their approaches to DEI, and hopefully identify specific techniques that they’ve incorporated in their communities.

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5 brand positioning strategies to help set your business apart

Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative

By Jewelle Saunders. There are definite benefits to focusing on your branding efforts for your business or organization. According to HubSpot , “Successful branding yields benefits such as increased customer loyalty, an improved image, and a relatable identity.” Brand positioning is the process of putting your brand in the mind of your customers and organization supporters.

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In the race for tech talent, the US should look to Mexico

TechCrunch

Gustavo Parés. Contributor. Share on Twitter. Gustavo Parés is CEO of NDS Cognitive Labs , a leader in cognitive computing and AI business solutions. A professor at Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), he's partnered with Microsoft, IBM and Google to deliver digital transformation and cognitive technology services. More posts by this contributor.

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15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?

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4 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Boost Their Mental Health

StartupNation

Starting and building a business is outrageously difficult. It demands long hours, deep research and analysis, and more blood, sweat and tears than a body should ever be capable of. One moment, you’re riding high on your latest successful breakthrough. The next, you’re plunged into the psychic underworld of failure. StartupNation exclusive discounts and savings on Dell products and accessories: Learn more here.

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systems change: strategies to engage university stakeholders for ecosystem transformation

Venture Well

Systems change can help university innovation ecosystems address challenges embedded into their structural foundations and shift to more positively impactful models. The post systems change: strategies to engage university stakeholders for ecosystem transformation appeared first on VentureWell.

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In-Person vs On-Screen

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

Last week I spent three hours with my six partners in a conference room talking through what we are investing in and why. It was a terrific session and I had more “ahas” in those three hours than I have had in many many months. There really is no substitute for sitting together with your colleagues working things out face to face. This week our team met with a founder in Singapore via Zoom.

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NEWS – Intuit QuickBooks Report Shows Small Businesses on Road to Financial Recovery

Smart Hustle Magazine

U.S. small businesses are on the road to recovery from the financial losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by Intuit QuickBooks. The report, Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Recovery, published today by Intuit, uncovers the varied impact the pandemic has had on small businesses across different industries and geographies since March 2020, when COVID-19 caused many business owners to temporarily shut their doors.

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How Top Tech CFOs Solve Annual Planning’s Biggest Challenges

Gearing up for 2025 annual planning? Our latest eBook from the Operators Guild is your ultimate guide. Discover real-world solutions and best practices shared by top CFOs, drawn directly from discussions within OG’s vibrant online community. Learn from senior executives at high-growth tech startups as they outline financial planning strategies, align CEO and board goals, and coordinate budgets across departments.

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A Tool for Consistent and Sustainable Startup Growth

Paul G. Silva

This is a repost from the Launch413 blog. Effective Tools Used By Launch413: A Case Study. When we created Launch413 in 2018, we had no idea what was just around the corner. We already knew entrepreneurs were one of the best ways to create prosperity in our communities and we knew how to help them. We also knew entrepreneurs were one of the most powerful forces for good in the world.

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How a bot-fighting test turned into edtech’s most iconic brand, Duolingo

TechCrunch

Luis von Ahn, an entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to scaling free education, has probably annoyed you more than once. In fact, you’ve likely been annoyed by his work dozens and maybe hundreds of times over the years. A decade before he co-founded the whimsical and language-learning app Duolingo , one of the most popular education apps in the world with over 500 million downloads and 40 million active users, he was building the technology that would become CAPTCHA, those human-annoying b

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How to Crack Your Life’s Purpose and Unlock Your True Calling

StartupNation

Inspiration is everywhere. The business of personal development coaching and live or virtual events that “transform your life and 10X your revenue” has exploded in the last 10 years or so. But is the proliferation of these events achieving the goal of helping people align with their life’s purpose? My business partner, Patrick Combs, and I run a transformational company called Bliss Champions and recently published a book called “Purpose Code.

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reimagining chemical engineering education: q&a with Dr. Pedro Arce of Tennessee Tech University

Venture Well

Faculty grantee, Pedro Arce, designed courses that tasked chemical engineering students with developing innovative, nature-inspired solutions to societal challenges. The post reimagining chemical engineering education: q&a with Dr. Pedro Arce of Tennessee Tech University appeared first on VentureWell.

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Your Fractional Finance and Accounting Team

Mighty Financial specializes in supporting the financial aspirations of small businesses and entrepreneurs. With our comprehensive bookkeeping and precise accounting expertise with decades of experience across diverse financial roles, our team offers tailor-made services ranging from essential bookkeeping to strategic fractional CFO support, catered specifically to the unique challenges of technology companies, startups, and SMEs.

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The BEST Answer to ‘How Much Are You Raising?’

Dream It

The ‘How much are you raising?’ question is a common and important component of investor Q&A. Seasoned founders have a particular way of answering this question. In this Dreamit Dose, Managing Director Adam Dakin presents his view on the right way to answer it after hearing hundreds, if not thousands, of founder pitches. Make the specific amount you are raising and corresponding milestones clear at the beginning of the pitch, and do not give a range.

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Standing Out in a Saturated Market: Business Tips from Sheets & Giggle

Smart Hustle Magazine

Sheets & Giggles creates sustainable bedding and other home textiles out of eucalyptus trees. (Soo cool!) And this kind of bedding uses up to 96% less water than cotton sheets to make them. They also use energy, no insecticides, and no pesticides. (Cotton can use up to 24% of the world’s insecticides on any given year.) These sheets are also more breathable, so if you’re a hot sleeper, they distribute moisture perfectly across the filaments, keeping you cooler.

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Decentralized Media

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

Back in the early 2000s, it was exciting to blog and use social networks to create our own media and move away from the traditional media outlets. That was the pull that got me into blogging and got me investing in Twitter. It was a powerful feeling. But a decade and a half later, it is obvious that we just replaced one type of media company for another and that we don’t really control our own media yet.

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Cisco to acquire Indy startup Socio to bring hybrid events to Webex

TechCrunch

Cisco announced this morning that it intends to acquire Indianapolis-based startup Socio , which helps plan hybrid in-person and virtual events. The two companies did not share the purchase price. Socio provides a missing hybrid event management component for the company to add to its Webex platform. The goal appears to be to combine this with the recent purchase of Slido and transform Webex from an application mostly for video meetings into a more comprehensive event platform. “As part of

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Digitalization: 5 Tech Updates That Will Help You Survive The Recession & Thrive

Lack of digitalization decreases business competitiveness. To thrive, embracing modern solutions becomes essential. The approach to digitalization often aligns with a company's business model. This shift not only boosts productivity but also automates processes and improves security. The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.