Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 17, 2018

Written for EO by Megan Hottman. Megan, also known at The Cyclist Lawyer, formed her own law practice in 2010 at age 29. As part of her life’s mission to help lawyers and entrepreneurs become healthier and happier people who take care of themselves and remain fully optimized, Megan recently launched her latest venture, TrialAthlete.com. Megan recently shared this essay with Octane.

energy 152

energy real estate health coworking 152

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 23, 2018

I've seen this so many times over: A founder pitches a VC, or several of them, and then they come back from that process with all sorts of new strategy goals or worries that they need to be doing something differently. Nine times out of ten, if you're pitching more than one VC, the advice seems to conflict with itself, and the founder winds up playing Wack-a-Mole trying to figure out what to do next.

VC 153

VC advice pitching strategy 153

Paul G. Silva

JULY 16, 2018

When I talk about politics I am filled with sadness and a sense of near powerlessness to make the world a better place. But when I talk to entrepreneurs, I am filled with hope. Where most of us see problems, they imagine solutions… and solutions that scale. Here are just some of the companies blowing me away, all local/ VVM companies making the world a better place!

entrepreneurs 100

entrepreneurs education health accelerator 100

Haystack

JULY 8, 2018

I recently shared this article and tweeted this , and I was quite surprised by the thread it triggered and the reaction it generated. After reflecting on it for a day, I began to understand why — even though this topic has been written about many times, “technology” as a sector and industry now has gone from vertical to horizontal, entirely pervasive across industries, across sectors, across geographies and cultures.

financing 95

financing finance culture technology 95

Advertisement

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 The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.

technology

Deskmag

JULY 17, 2018

Have you ever wondered how coworking spaces maximize membership sales? Every space is unique but as with most competitive industries, there are multiple ways to accelerate the speed at which your space is filled to the brim with budding entrepreneurs. It’s rare for coworking spaces to come together and share advice like this, so we’ve chosen 5 valuable tips for everyone to enjoy, implement and ultimately reap the rewards.

coworking 75

coworking coworking spaces advice accelerator 75

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 30, 2018

What steps can you take to make your organization more inclusive and welcoming of diversity? This was a question posed at a networking event that EO DC recently participated in. . In early 2018, EO DC joined forces with the Employer Assistance Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) and DC Metro Business Leadership Network (DC Metro BLN) to host an event to educate entrepreneurs and small businesses on the value of hiring people with disabilities.

peer-to-peer 130

peer-to-peer networking culture creativity 130

Tomasz Tunguz

JULY 28, 2018

I met a seasoned executive recently. He made a bold claim. “Management is an art, and one that is overwhelmingly undervalued in Silicon Valley.” I wondered, are we investing enough in our managers? Talent is the largest investment of an early stage company. 80%+ of startup operating expense flows to compensation. Retaining these employees is good business.

investing 56

investing investment mentorship leadership 56

Paul G. Silva

JULY 11, 2018

Due diligence (AKA “doing your homework” on a startup to see if investing is the right call) should clearly take time… but how much? Marianne Hudson, executive director of the Angel Capital Association (the trade association for angel investors in the US) wrote an article on this topic. Her full article (with her permission) appears further below.

angel investing 100

angel investing angel capital entrepreneurs investing 100

Haystack

JULY 15, 2018

Recently on this blog, I’ve been attempting to unpack how an investor can sort through deal flow and potential investment opportunities. After writing about “ the quick kill ” to discard of inbound flow, next I wrote about what actually captures my attention and graduates to a meeting. So, now, what happens in the actual meeting? This is hard to explain, actually, because I can have a range of reactions to a meeting.

founder 60

founder transportation energy collaboration 60

Advertisement

Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business. That’s what drove the five companies in this e-book to change their approach to analytics. Download this e-book to learn about the unique problems each company faced and how they achieved huge returns beyond expectation by embedding analytics into applications.

development

FundersClub

JULY 20, 2018

We'd like to congratulate FundersClub portfolio companies on their ongoing progress, as well as to welcome aboard their new VC investor partners. Selected recent FundersClub portfolio company follow-on rounds: Embark Trucks announced its $30M Series B, led by Sequoia Capital, to commercialize its fleet of autonomous, 18-wheel, highway-traversing freight trucks.

VC 70

VC capital investing investment 70

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 9, 2018

The partners at Benchmark are pleased to announce Chetan Puttagunta has joined the firm as our newest General Partner. As early-stage investors, we are acutely aware of the work of other venture capitalists on the boards of the companies we serve. Nearly 15 years ago one of Benchmark’s founding partners, Kevin Harvey, saw the skills of a young Peter Fenton on a board they shared.

board 66

board energy culture advice 66

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 22, 2018

Alice Mann’s latest book, Future First: How Successful Leaders Turn Innovation Challenges into New Value Frontiers is an important read for any business leader or entrepreneur who wishes to embrace global challenges as innovation opportunities. Like the EO members who are making an #EOImpact in their support of United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , Alice believes that business leaders are in a position to solve the greatest problems facing our world today: climate change,

opportunity 130

opportunity energy innovation consulting 130

Tomasz Tunguz

JULY 19, 2018

There are three types of product features, a seasoned head of product told me recently. MMRs, neutralizers, and differentiators. MMRs are minimum market requirements; basic features that every customer expects and demands. Neutralizers mitigate competitive threat. Differentiators are your startup’s competitive advantage. As a product manager, I’d never thought about this type of roadmap segmentation before.

investing 84

investing investment startup sustainability 84

Advertisement

CAPTARGET presents a masterclass in M&A deal sourcing. Learn to cast a wide net, embracing seller self-identification. Consistency is the linchpin: keep the origination process steady for a reliable flow of opportunities. Diversify your tactics, employing various tools and vendors. Tech matters! Understand DNS settings, domain authority, and brand presence for optimal outreach.

opportunity

Paul G. Silva

JULY 25, 2018

[This is a part of a series on the KISS Canvas ]. What are the major cost centers of your business? When do you have to pay? Do you have any options to pay differently? What costs can kill you? All of this is covered in the Cost Structure section of the KISS Canvas. Here is each sub-lesson: Intro. Capital costs. Fixed & Variable costs. Example: a family.

capital 100

capital accelerator innovation 100

Haystack

JULY 13, 2018

About a month ago, I wrote a post about how the Bay Area seed ecosystem is generating deal flow levels that are nearly impossible to keep up with. In the post, titled “ Seed Deal Flow Tsunami And The Quick Kill ,” I attempted to explain how, in the face of the deal flow firehose, I get to a quick “no” which I hope is helpful for both sides.

pitching 60

pitching opportunity investing investment 60

NZ Entrepreneur

JULY 23, 2018

There is plenty of advice out there for employees about the importance of not mistaking good management for good leadership. But entrepreneurs also need to be reminded that good leadership is not the same as good management. Because while leadership may come naturally to many entrepreneurs, management is a completely different ball game. As an entrepreneur, the very act of starting a business or venture from scratch – grabbing the bull by the horns and getting on with making something happ

leadership 52

leadership disruption advice entrepreneurs 52

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 9, 2018

Recently, I helped one of my portfolio companies make a VP of Marketing hire. The founder asked me early in the process if I thought the candidate was good. Having not worked with her previously, I didn't know how talented she was firsthand, but what I did have confidence in was that her strategy would be well thought out, and if it wasn't working, she'd analyze why, proactively address it, and describe what steps she would take to find a solution.

media 215

media strategy communities founder 215

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

B2B marketing

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 24, 2018

Written by David Louden. Dave is a co-founder and partner at Fathom , a strategy and creative consultancy based in Connecticut. In the past 25-plus years, he has worked with leading companies and brands to design futures worth fighting for. Dave also conceived and developed the ubiquitous VeriSign Secure Site Seal and helped grow several start-ups to successful IPOs and acquisitions.

culture 130

culture investing investment consulting 130

Tomasz Tunguz

JULY 22, 2018

Jacob’s Ladder is a toy of thin wooden blocks attached by ribbon. If you hold it in your hand and rotate it to touch the second block, it seems to set off a cascade of blocks falling from the top. The blocks haven’t changed positions, though they do rotate. It’s a moving optical illusion. When I watch this toy, I’m reminded of the current state of the fundraising market.

startup 57

startup financing finance investing 57

Paul G. Silva

JULY 9, 2018

Launch413 is itself a startup, and like all startups has lots of hypothesis to test. I’m proud to share that we just completed Phase 1 and validated all of our core hypothesis: With our help startups accomplish in months what would have taken them years to do on their own. Our Venture Advisors can provide that help in a scalable-way. There are enough startups connected to our region that want our kind of investment.

investing 100

investing investment ventures startup 100

For Entrepreneurs

JULY 13, 2018

I have great pleasure in announcing a new program called Zero to 100 – The Growth Academy. This program is my response to what so many of you have been asking for: a detailed instruction manual for how to take your startup from zero to $100m, with a particular focus on the area of building.

SaaS 147

SaaS startup 147

Speaker: Wayne Spivak - President and Chief Financial Officer of SBA * Consulting LTD, Industry Writer, and Public Speaker

The old adages that "cash is king" and "you can’t spend profits" still hold true today. But however well-known these sayings might be, it requires a change in mindset to properly implement a cash flow management system that predicts your business's runaway as accurately as possible. Key to this new mindset is understanding the difference between the Statement of Cash Flows, a historical look at the source and uses of cash, and the Cash Flow Statement, which uses transaction history and forward-l

financing

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

What a powerful set of three questions. These are so succinct, so well defined, so precise that everyone in sales and everyone involved in marketing must be able to answer these three questions without pause, and convincingly. Turning these into statements instead of questions provides a framework for the sales presentation from the highest levels of collateral materials and marketing support, to the salesperson on the front line.

frameworks 90

frameworks energy support 90

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 31, 2018

Last September, I was introduced to Nicole Gibbons. She's the founder of Clare , a modern paint brand that launched today to completely reinvent the paint shopping experience. She came in and shared all of the hassles that make buying paint a terrible experience--the difficulty in picking colors that actually look good with microscopic swatches, the need to go to a store and crossfit your way home with heavy paint cans, not to mention the harmful chemicals that are in so many paint brands.

founder 153

founder pitching strategy support 153

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 4, 2018

When Wonder podcast host Kalika Yap sat down to speak with entrepreneur and startup studio founder Mike Jones , he shared his passion for helping others and how the value of learning from others has taken time to appreciate. . We asked Miranda Naiman , an entrepreneur in the field of talent acquisition in Tanzania, to listen to the Wonder podcast episode and share her learnings. .

startup 130

startup mentorship consulting energy 130

Tomasz Tunguz

JULY 9, 2018

Over the weekend, I read Tien Tzuo’s book, Subscribed. Tien is the founder and CEO of Zuora, and former CSO/CMO at Salesforce, where he started in 1999. He has been working in SaaS for nearly 20 years. He’s a thought leader in the world of subscriptions, and I learned a tremendous amount from his book. There were three key themes that resonated with me.

SaaS 45

SaaS strategy innovation founder 45

Speaker: P. Andrew Sjogren, Sr. Product Marketing Manager at Very Good Security, Matt Doka, Co-Founder and CTO of Fivestars, and Steve Andrews, President & CEO of the Western Bankers Association 

PCI compliance can feel challenging and sometimes the result feels like you are optimizing more for security and compliance than you are for business outcomes. The key is to take the right strategy to PCI compliance that gets you both. In this webinar, we have a great set of panelists who will take you through how Zero Data strategies can be used as part of a well-rounded compliance and security approach, and get you to market much sooner by also allowing for payment optimization.

strategy