Sat.Jun 28, 2014 - Fri.Jul 04, 2014

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Why Venture Capital is So Much More Compelling Now

Both Sides of the Table

'It’s not hard to find people willing to write the narrative that “venture capital is not an asset class” or “venture capital has performed terribly.” The most recent was 18 months ago or so called The Kauffman Report. It had an influence on the people who fund our industry in a negative way as many asset managers who fund our industry read this flawed report.

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What are key issues for companies to keep in mind when obtaining investment from an Angel group?

Gust

'The main one is simultaneously obvious and under-estimated in both directions: you are likely getting a bunch of small-ish investors at once. This might typically be anywhere from five to twenty-five investors each putting in somewhere between $10,00 and $100,000 (depending on the group.). The good side is that you now have 5-25 smart, connected people rooting for you.

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The Marketing Math Behind Scaling a SaaS Salesforce

Tomasz Tunguz

A terrific SaaS VP of Marketing once told me, “If the sales team is focused on hitting this quarter’s revenue target, then the marketing team ought to be focused on next quarter and the following quarter.” In SaaS companies, one of the marketing department’s primary responsibilities is generating sufficient customer interest to enable the company to achieve their revenue targets.

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Customer service is everything

Derek Sivers

I was honestly surprised that CD Baby was such a runaway success. But I was even more surprised to find out why. Whenever I was out at events, I’d listen as musicians would tell other musicians why they chose CD Baby. Was it the pricing? The features? Nope. The top reason, by far, was this: “They pick up the phone! They reply to my emails! You can talk to a real person!”.

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The Big Payoff of Application Analytics

Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business.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.

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Joe Perez, Founder of @tastemade, On What Makes a Great Product Manager & More

Both Sides of the Table

'Update : Bothsides TV is now available on iTunes , Soundcloud , Stitcher , or any RSS podcast player you use, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube. I also added a little Soundcloud widget on the sidebar (if you’re viewing on web – not on mobile or RSS reader) that you can listen to each episode with. In the most recent episode, I interviewed Joe Perez , Founder of Tastemade.

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The Importance of Hometown Investors for Startups

Tomasz Tunguz

I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand. Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man. I’d sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town. He’d tousle my hair and say son take a good look around. This is your hometown. My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen. Hometown investors, the local group of angels and VCs within a startup community, are an essential part of startup ecosystems.

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Don’t over-estimate the knowledge of your audience.

Berkonomics

'When making a presentation to a new audience, the smart thing to do, if there is an opportunity, is to ask your audience by show of hands, if they have some knowledge of your industry or space. If you are making a one-to-one presentation, don’t start without a conversation about the other person’s knowledge of your space. With that conversation, you create an immediate connection with your audience even before beginning to present, and you know better how much explanation you will need to accom

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The philosophy of great customer service

Derek Sivers

I was honestly surprised that my company, CD Baby, was such a runaway success. But I was even more surprised to find out why. CD Baby had lots of powerful well-funded competitors, but after a few years they were all but gone, and we dominated our niche of selling independent music. 150,000 musicians, 2 million music-buying customers, $139 million in revenue, $83 million paid directly to musicians.

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Where Is Your Technology In The Gartner Hype Cycle?

Gust

'Image via Wikipedia. The Hype Cycle was a concept put forward by Gartner, Inc. back in 1995 meant to apply to technology product evolution and acceptance. As I was reading about it a while back, it occurred to me that the concept relates directly to how investors see startup opportunities and potential success as well, at least those with technology in their offerings.

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PE Mastery: CAPTARGET's Playbook for Quality Lead Flow

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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Want to Know What Marc Andreessen’s Magic on Twitter is? Hint: It’s Not Tweetstorming

Both Sides of the Table

'By now almost everybody knows that Marc Andreessen has taken Twitter by storm. By Tweetstorm, that is. Marc seems to single handedly have changed all conventions in Tweeting by dropping 7-10 rapid Tweets in a related stream-of-consciousness labeling each Tweet with a number and a slash before it. Fred Wilson wrote a Tweetstorm and then did a blog post on the topic.

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An Exceptional Story with Exceptional Data

Tomasz Tunguz

Benjamin Morris, a writer for arguably the best computational journalism publication, fivethirtyeight , published “Lionel Messi is Impossible” which describes in words, statistics and charts why Lionel Messi is one of the greatest players in the world. Even if you’re not a soccer/football fan, the article is worth reading because it’s one of the finest examples of synthesizing data and a story to convey a point I’ve read in a very long time.

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You can afford to be generous

Derek Sivers

Your business is secure. Even if it’s not, you have to feel that it is. Money is coming your way. You are doing well. You are one of the lucky ones. Most are not so fortunate. You can afford to be generous. All great service comes from this feeling of generosity and abundance. Think of all the examples of great service you’ve encountered: free refills of coffee, letting you use the toilets even if you’re not a customer, extra milk and sugar if you need it, and an employee that spends a whole hou

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What is the best advice a boss/supervisor ever gave you?

Gust

'Make a decision. This one I learned in reverse from watching my very first boss, who would not/could not make a decision to save his life. The result was an office that descended nearly into paralysis, before everyone else (including me) started making decisions around him. Keep in mind that not making a decision IS making one, because something is ultimately going to happen, but now it won’t be under your control.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

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

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Lose every fight

Derek Sivers

Customer service often starts when someone has a problem, and is upset. When you feel attacked, it’s hard not to fight back, especially when you know they’re wrong. But the best thing to do is to lose the fight. Let them know that they were right, and the company was wrong. Tell them you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to make them happy again. If you catch yourself about to say or write something that’s even the slightest bit aggressive, stop and replace it with something humble and generou

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Every interaction is your moment to shine

Derek Sivers

Probably only 1% of your potential customers ever bother to contact you. So when they do, it’s your time to shine. Three minutes spent talking with them is going to shape their impression of your company more than your name, price, design, or features all combined. This is your shining moment to be the best you can be — to blow them away with how cool it was to contact you.

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