Both Sides of the Table
MAY 19, 2019
My Commencement Speech?—?Life at Your Crossroads Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash Crossroads Cal Poly Pomona! What’s up!?! I’m so grateful to be up here addressing you today. Today you’re either here to graduate or support somebody graduating. A graduate is at his or her first major crossroad in life. You are faced with decisions about which road to take.
Dream It
MAY 29, 2019
Startup pitch meetings are pretty predictable. You walk into a venture fund’s conference room or Zoom room (if they’re progressive), pitch the partners, offer to answer their questions, maybe ask them a bland question or two, and then leave the meeting to await a response. Here’s the thing: asking a VC a couple of easy questions at the end of a pitch doesn’t get you any closer to receiving a term sheet.
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500
MAY 21, 2019
Its been one week since the Misk 500 Batch 1 Demo Day and we’re still smiling. The energy in the room in Riyadh, on May 13th, was palpable. The 19 companies were on FIRE and rose to the occasion to give the best versions of their pitches. Due to the observance of Ramadan in the region, the event began at 10 PM and concluded at 3 AM. While originally planned to be an event for an audience of 200, the final attendance at the KAFD Conference Center included over 300 investors and guests.¹ Also in a
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
MAY 30, 2019
I was reminded yesterday how much of a s**t show raising seed capital via SAFE notes is. I can’t and won’t get into why I was reminded of that, but let’s just say nobody wants to go there. So I thought I’d repost the important parts of a post I wrote on this topic a couple years ago. I have never been a fan of convertible notes.
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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 The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.
Venture Well
MAY 21, 2019
Khanjan Mehta from Lehigh University is working to transform entrepreneurship education to focus on executing ideas, not just ideation. The post Faculty Spotlight: Khanjan Mehta from Lehigh University appeared first on VentureWell.
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 22, 2019
Craig Hall, the writer of Boom: Bridging the Opportunity Gap to Reignite Startups , shares his view on the current state of entrepreneurship in the U.S. . What prompted you to write Boom ? In 2011, I heard a speech by Mark Zandi [chief economist of Moody’s Analytics] revealing that entrepreneurship in the U.S. was in trouble. I couldn’t believe it at first, but after beginning my own research, I became very concerned.
Dream It
MAY 13, 2019
Under lean startup methodology , founders attempt to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible to create some order out of the chaos involved in starting a company. Failures are inevitable; but, great founders know how to fail quickly and cheaply, rather than trying to take on boatloads of venture capital funding to solve a problem with an approach that doesn’t scale or, even worse, to solve a problem that does not exist or is not that painful.
500
MAY 31, 2019
Guest Post: Justin McLoughlin is the Founder of airCFO. Under no circumstances should any of the below content be construed as legal, tax or investment advice from 500 Startups or any of its affiliates. The early days of any company are all about resource management. Life as a startup is perilous. The companies who survive and thrive are usually the ones who find ways to do more with less.
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
MAY 28, 2019
Over the last year, the SEC has been investigating a significant number of token offerings that took place in 2017. While some of those offerings were scams or worse , many of the ones that are being investigated by the SEC are serious projects, started by some of the top cryptographers and computer scientists in the world, and backed by the leading token funds and venture capital firms in the US and around the world.
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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.
Venture Well
MAY 7, 2019
Julie Bliss Mullen of ASPIRE team Aclarity has learned that it takes a team to make an impact through innovation and entrepreneurship. The post Innovator Spotlight: Julie Bliss Mullen of Aclarity appeared first on VentureWell.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 20, 2019
How many times a day do you check your phone? If you’re anything like the average millennial, you might be checking your social media feeds as often as 150 times per day. If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, this statistic works in your favor. With a little bit of social media savvy and your own smartphone, you can sell more products and reach a wider audience of potential customers.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 10, 2019
Sleepless nights, assessing (and reassessing), pivoting, negotiating, anticipating, spending … Are these keywords describing entrepreneurship or parenting? For all the parents who are entrepreneurs out there, you probably know these endeavors run in parallel. If parenting is akin to entrepreneurship, what entrepreneurial lessons have you learned from your kids ?
UBI Global
MAY 27, 2019
Why Focus on Innovation We know that corporations are increasingly hunting for new ideas to stay current and even gain an edge on the competition. We discuss this throughout our latest edition of our Insight Series: Lessons in Corporate Innovation – 7 Case Studies in Activation. The in-depth report is available cost-free for download. What […].
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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.
500
MAY 22, 2019
500 Startups is excited to announce the latest batch from our Seed Accelerator based in Mexico City. The Mexico City program focuses on providing a mentorship program for Spanish-speaking early-stage companies based in Latin America. Our latest batch consists of founders from all over Latin America including 6 companies from Mexico, 2 from Chile, 2 from Colombia, and 1 from Argentina.
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
MAY 29, 2019
A few months ago I posted some data on this blog that showed the growth of homeschooling in the US with almost 5% of K12 students being schooled at home. I wrote at the end of that post: This is a trend to watch and, possibly, to invest in. Well, invest in it we did. Yesterday Rebecca posted our investment rationale for Outschool , a company that offers real time group classes taught largely by very experienced K12 teachers over live video.
Venture Well
MAY 28, 2019
In this article, we explore the types of support early-stage innovators need most, and highlight tools to assess the impact of resources. The post 4 Ways to Support Early-Stage Innovators Beyond the Classroom appeared first on VentureWell.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 29, 2019
An entrepreneur needs a network of supportive people and resources to maximize his or her chances of success, because there will always be fires to put out. While entrepreneurs can be found everywhere, some startup ecosystems are thriving more than others. Building a startup community, or startup ecosystem, is no easy task and requires a lot of intentional work.
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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
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 17, 2019
The concept of “practicing mindfulness” has grown in popularity in the last decade. Mindfulness for kids, mindfulness to quit smoking, mindful eating, mindfulness at the office—it’s become a catch-all buzzword. With claims that mindfulness can cure everything from addiction to anxiety, it’s no surprise that people from all walks of life are becoming students of mindfulness.
Revolution
MAY 21, 2019
Meet the five winning founders from Rise of the Rest 8.0 Earlier this month, Steve Case and the Revolution team hit the road for the eighth Rise of the Rest Road Trip, bringing the bus to Orlando, Florida’s Space Coast, Tampa Bay, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the end of each tour day, we hosted a pitch competition where a local startup received a $100,000 investment from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
UBI Global
MAY 20, 2019
Activate Your Innovation with the World Incubation Summit 2019 (WIS19) Attending a conference, symposium, or industry event is exciting on a personal and professional level. The networking and experience are invaluable for your program, but you need to justify the time away from daily responsibilities and the cost, which is easy with a quality event […].
Paul G. Silva
MAY 24, 2019
Western Mass Demo Day Connects Local Startups to Investors. This is an invite-only event for active & accredited investors to hear pitches from startups with a connection to Western Massachusetts. Startups get an optimized way to meet a room full of different investors, many with a strong interest in companies connected to the region. Investors get a first look at the startups, meet the founders, and network with other investors.
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
Venture Well
MAY 23, 2019
What if everyone had access to low-cost, high-quality, and easy-to-use tools for scientific discovery? Tom Kalil from Schmidt Futures is trying to find out. The post Access to Low-Cost Tools for Scientific Discovery: A Conversation with Schmidt Futures’ Tom Kalil appeared first on VentureWell.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 26, 2019
Establishing a brand identity is a critical element of your business success. In order to stand out to customers, business leaders should practice telling the story of their brands in a way that connects with their audiences. To help YLAI Network members strengthen their own brands, here are a few tips from the 2019 SXSW conference. Building emotional connections.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 3, 2019
In their book Cracking Complexity , David Komlos and David Benjamin share the steps to working through any complex business problem—both quickly and using existing talent, not consultants. When asked how they developed this groundbreaking formula, they say, “We didn’t create the formula out of whole cloth; we stood on the shoulders of both obscure and mainstream luminaries like Warren McCulloch, W.
500
MAY 22, 2019
Guest Post: Justin McLoughlin, Founder of AirCFO. Under no circumstances should any of the below content be construed as legal, tax or investment advice from 500 Startups or any of its affiliates. Taxes. They’re a constant presence for any startup. No matter whether you just started earning revenue or you’re a mature veteran, taxes are an important expense item that can be a drag on your bottom line.
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.
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