This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

That was a question posed to me by a new analyst at a venture capital fund. Admittedly, I finished this person's sentence after their long pause. but the word "jerks" was agreed to as the direction they were taking the question. While there are lots and lots of really kind, generous people working in venture capital--the recently retired Howard Morgan, Hunter Walk, Brad Feld, and Karin Klein for example--it's really tough to argue that there isn't widespread jerkery.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2016

I know the title “I promise you one of the most meaningful days of your life” sounds grandiose but I mean it and I hope you’ll read through to the end and choose to take one small, totally free action, that will change your life and likely those of others. On September 10th of this year I spent an entire day in California State Prison with people who had committed felonies and worked with them on business plans to help them create legal enterprise upon their release as part of Defy Ventures 6-mo

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 28, 2016

In all corners of the world, entrepreneurs are playing an integral role in the development of communities, economies and industries. And it all starts with engagement. For Rosemary Tan , a member of EO Malaysia and EO’s former Global Chairman, the art of engaging has helped her find success and significance in business and beyond. In this featured interview, Rosemary shares the highs and lows of her entrepreneurial journey, the value of EO leadership and how through engagement, she continues to

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For Entrepreneurs

OCTOBER 17, 2016

For the fifth year in a row, we’re proud to work with Pacific Crest Securities, a SaaS-focused investment banking firm, to share results from a survey of 336 SaaS companies. The survey represents deep benchmarking data and insights on growth and operation of SaaS companies. Many thanks to the readers of forEntrepreneurs who participated in the.

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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.

technology

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 20, 2016

Dave’s note: Here comes my favorite “tell-it-like-it-is” CEO, Kim Shepherd, with another of her pieces from her experience managing a completely virtual company with over one hundred employees located through the United States and beyond. . By Kim Shepherd. In 2006, I gave a keynote speech at the Newspaper Association of America’s national conference in Chicago.

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 19, 2016

It means a lot to me to find financial opportunities investing in companies that I can be really proud of--education companies like Tinybop and Tinkergarten , or companies at the forefront of fair labor practices like Homer Logistics. There are others that haven't launched that I'm equally as proud and excited about--and now one more has launched. I'm thrilled to be an investor in The Wing --a Home Base for Women on Their Way.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. I was mostly doing my job and trying to figure out how to be better every day. After a decade on the job I’ve started to speak more openly when newer industry colleagues now ask me what I’ve learned.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 12, 2016

Flow is being in the zone, the state of mind where you are effortlessly focused on what you’re doing. Everything else falls away, time stands still and all you hear is cowbell. Imagine if you could be in flow all the time? You can, and a great way to up your flow quotient is to make it part of your EO experience. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s famous book of the same name is a great intro to the subject.

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Unvalidated Learnings

OCTOBER 5, 2016

And what you can learn from it Can you imagine Nike was a startup once? A lone guy in his parents’ garage hustling his way through importing cheap running shoes from Japan and selling them door to door (or rather race track to race track). Such is the company’s current scale and standing in popular culture that it’s hard to imagine it once was nothing more than a scrappy upstart with chronic cash shortages.

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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.

development

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 27, 2016

A friend recently told me a story that had nothing to do with business, but unintentionally had a great lesson for all of us. He had asked his arborist if he could move a mature tree from one part of his property to another – to make room for an addition to his home. “Yes,” replied the professional. “And how much would it cost?” To which the arborist responded, “We’d charge $18,000 for that.”.

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Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 23, 2016

Startups fail when they run out of money. Startups run out of money when they lack focus. Without a maniacal focus on serving customer needs in a unique way, startups can flounder amidst competition. Without product market fit, the business is challenged to generate strong metrics and faces fundraising challenges. That’s why it’s critical to identify and focus on your startup’s competitive advantage. most of the time, start up competitive advantages fallen to five categories: p

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 17, 2016

This weekend, Heathens by Twenty One Pilots has been stuck in my head. It has such a great sound--and I wanted to figure out what else I could listen to that sounded like it. I don't mean bands that are liked by other people who like Twenty One Pilots. I literally mean songs that sound like it. or maybe just remixed versions of it. I wanted to engage with music, but I can't, because I don't have the ability to manipulate the "source code" of the song.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2016

I was asked to be the host at this year’s CoachArt Gala of Champions event on October 27th at the esteemed Beverly Hilton hotel. The goal is to raise money to help children with chronic illness get ongoing instruction in sports, art, music or whatever endeavor would help them get fulfillment in life. You can book tickets here (or make a donation if you can’t make the event) If you happen to live in LA (or in the Bay Area — we’re only an hour’s flight) I would love if you would consider attending

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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.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 3, 2016

By Dustin Puryear, Founder and CEO of Puryear. There is nothing more nerve-racking than firing somebody. Yet, here I was doing it. “Sorry, but you just don’t fit. You were great when you started in your role here, but now things have changed and sometimes that means hard choices have to be made.”. There may have been a little quiver in my hand as I started signing the pink slip.

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 28, 2016

I just read an article about Bonobos --or was it a press release. I'm not completely sure. If you've met Andy Dunn, you'll know why that's going to be a fine line for any reporter, because it's nearly impossible to have a conversation with him without getting wrapped up in a story optimized to share. And damn, does he have his story and the ability to perform inception with it down cold.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 31, 2016

Having a Type A personality has distinct benefits, including a competitive nature, a confident disposition and the drive to succeed – all of which are necessary for an ambitious entrepreneur and business owner. At that point, downtime wasn’t an option, but my inability to “switch off” began to beget consequences, starting with tiredness and escalating to mood swings, irritability and exhaustion.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 26, 2016

By Taylor Collison, Data Analytics Manager at the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. At this year’s Forbes Under 30 Summit, it was easy to see the impact the speakers have had in their respective areas. From US Olympic champions, such as Michael Phelps and Aly Raisman, to world-renowned chef Bobby Flay, the lineup was full of inspirational stories from varying backgrounds.

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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

OCTOBER 24, 2016

This article was originally published on Ashoka’s #LeadYoung webpage. It has been reprinted here with permission. A social entrepreneur known for building huge, global coalitions, Jeroo first started in Mumbai, working with street children. She gave them her private phone number in case of emergencies. Soon every night it was ringing. From that caring and then recognition of system need came Childline.

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Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 9, 2016

What are the attributes of the ideal SMB SaaS company, an entrepreneur asked me recently. It’s a good question. There are product, marketing, and sales attributes to that ideal company that successful SaaS business have exemplified in the past. Product. A beautifully designed, simple and elegant product is the first and most important thing. The product satisfies the top three priority for the software buyer and consequently the software buyer uses a software very frequently.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 5, 2016

By Glenn Bartlett, Head of Strategy at Step Change. 28 January 1986 completely changed the way NASA operates. Here’s why: That day marked the space shuttle Challenger ’s tenth mission. But the day before, the engineers had warned the mission control centre that the cold weather forecast on launch day would pose risks: They had not tested the O-ring seals below 53 degrees Fahrenheit (a critical part of the rocket).

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 20, 2016

This article was originally published on MinuteHack. By Richard Walton, EO Cape Town. When people ask me what it’s like being an entrepreneur, as stressful as it can be, I always find myself talking about how lucky I’ve been to travel and live around the world. I founded my first business, GVI , as a total rookie – aged 21 and fresh out of university.

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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

Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 7, 2016

By Caryn Kopp, Chief Door Opener at Kopp Consulting, LLC. Networking, whether it is in person, via LinkedIn or in another manner, can have a lasting effect on future referrals. This is your opportunity to deepen the relationship with centers of influence. If done properly and with sincerity, you can have a referral source forever; if done poorly, they may never help you again.

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 13, 2016

Sometimes a competitor is just too entrenched, too strong, too well equipped to directly face in battle. At least that is the conventional wisdom. Yet, there are constant examples of new entrants into a niche that grow, prosper and sometimes even become dominant. So when do we know which course to take? Quietly abandon a niche? Refuse to engage?

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Berkonomics

OCTOBER 6, 2016

Wouldn’t it be great if there were no more digital or printed reports to tell us what happened in the past? I know. We need financial data for comparison, and to a degree – for planning. But we should be thinking of finding ways to make data available to us much earlier, when it is more meaningful and actionable. Call it “pervasive access” or just–in–time reporting.

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development 90

Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 13, 2016

When it comes to running a business, there is no go-to manual for greatness or a secret recipe for success. There are, however, key ingredients that can contribute to entrepreneurial excellence. As EO Montréal’s Moranne Elarar and Marina Byezhanova can attest, it all starts with hustle and heart. In this special interview, the co-founders of Pronexia—a new generation recruitment firm—open up about their bootstrapping days, their unique hiring methodology, and the role authenticity plays when bui

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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