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Trying to build a sales funnel for a SaaS business?  You’ve come to the right place!  Who better to teach you about building a sales funnel for your SaaS business than a successful SaaS business that helps its members build sales funnels?  That’s what we do at ClickFunnels!
Finally a QR Scanner App that rewards you for scanning qr codes from any (nearby) merchants. Its really that simple.
Guy Kawasaki shares the layout for a perfect pitch. Pitching your startup to investors just might be the most nerve-wracking aspect of starting your new business — well, besides the prospect of losing your shirt. I get it. The last thing you want to do when you’re sleep-deprived and edgy and suffering startup angst is pitch it over… and over… and over again. It’s actually a pretty helpless feeling, asking strangers to decide on the fate of your new venture. If it’s your first or second venture, there can be a real learning curve, too. It takes time and feedback to get it right. Presentation guru Guy Kawasaki has put together an infographic that can help make your pitch both more effective and less painful....
Via Jeff Domansky, Andreas Christodoulou
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Cloud services can save you time and money and can make your statup more responsive to the needs. Here are the basic considerations to back that argument.
Via Pascale_Masson
http://snip.ly/2alS
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroVentures, an online investment platform, announced today the creation of a "500 Startups Fund" open to accredited investors. The Fund provides investors access to startups fostered by the well-known, Mountain View based, accelerator by way of a unique position in three 500 Startups' Funds for as little as $10,000. Investors not utilizing the MicroVentures' platform would need to invest at least $400,000to create a similar diversified portfolio. As of January 2015, MicroVentures and its 25,000 global investors have deployed over $60MM to approximately 100 companies. With offices in Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA, the FINRA registered platform provides exclusive access to curated startup investment deal flow, allowing investors to review due diligence and speak with experienced licensed financial professionals prior to making an investment. "Over the years, MicroVentures has built a platform that gives investors the ability to diversify investments in early to late stage opportunities. Read more: http://snip.ly/2alS
Get your Free Business Plan Template here: http://bit.ly/1aKy7km
Via Marc Kneepkens
The top 10 best state tax rates for small businesses and the 10 worst state tax rates for small businesses.
In 1999 my colleagues and I led a research initiative, the Diana Project, that examined venture capital funding in women entrepreneurs. We found that approximately 5% of all US businesses receiving venture capital had a woman on the management team. This finding was surprising given the large number of businesses owned by women and the huge amounts of money being raised for venture capital at the time. Today my colleagues and I from Babson College, released a new report that updates this earlier study. Our report, sponsored by Ernst & Young, is the first comprehensive analysis of funding of companies with a woman on the team in more than a decade. Have women entrepreneurs made progress in attracting venture capital? Yes and no. On the positive side – we see progress in that the number of early stage companies that have a woman on the executive team has tripled from 5% to 15% in the past decade. This is good news! But on the other hand, we found that 85% of the 6,793 businesses funded by venture capital between 2011-2013 venture capital funded businesses had no women on the executive team at all. Further, only 2.7% of these companies had a woman CEO. Statistics show that women entrepreneurs are a significant force in the US Economy, majority owners of 36% of all US businesses. The fact women CEO’s comprise such a tiny percentage of venture capital funded companies is very puzzling. So why do companies with a woman on the team comprise such a small percentage of investments by venture capitalists? One argument suggested is that businesses with women don’t perform as well. But, our data shows the opposite– we found that business with women entrepreneurs on the executive team perform just as well or better than those companies led by all males! Another reason offered is that women entrepreneurs are not well connected to the venture capital industry. Our data does show this to be the case. In fact, the number of women partners in US venture capital firms has declined over the past three years from 10% to 8.5%. Based on the argument that women investors would be more likely to invest in women entrepreneurs, the declining number of women investors is a concern. However, another important finding is that venture capital firms with a woman partner are more than twice as likely to invest in companies with a woman on the team, and more than three times more likely to invest in companies with women CEO’s (58% of the firms with women partners versus 15% of the firms without women partners). These key findings suggest that there is a huge opportunity for venture capital firms to create and capture more value if they seek and promote women partners who can connect them to qualified women entrepreneurs. Investing in companies with a woman CEO or woman entrepreneur on the team is a good investment!
Via Marc Kneepkens
Some startups that fail initially look like they'll be giant successes. That's because they're able to drum up a ton of traffic or users very quickly, and early adoption can be a sign of a lasting product.
Via TechinBiz
We caught up with the CEO of a budding Dublin-based tech startup to discuss the stages of a new business, incentivising users and the importance of h...
Via TechinBiz
So, you are a budding entrepreneur with the next great idea and you are looking for money. The seat cushions have been searched, the empties taken back, and all immediate contacts have been tapped....
Via Martin (Marty) Smith
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Funzi, a Finnish EdTech startup, recently announced that it has raised 3 million Euros (MEUR) in a funding round led by Finnish and European institutional investors, with participation from existing shareholders.
Via EdTechReview.in
Hot Startups This Year We're half-way through 2017 and its time to showcase some startup stars. We chose a metric called a "valuation step up" to select this list.
Via Martin (Marty) Smith, Andreas Christodoulou
Investment decisions are supposed to be based on rational analysis. But don't discount the power of a compelling narrative to engage a funder emotionally.
http://snip.ly/Jdd8 Xiaomi Inc., headquartered in Beijing, China, may not be the most easily recognizable brand in the US, but it is the world's 3rd largest smartphone OEM aftter Apple and Samsung, and the biggest in China, having recently surpassed Samsung in that market. For the uninitiated, Xiaomi designs, develops and sells not only smartphones, but mobile apps, accessories and smart consumer electronics. It was only last year, that they ventured out of their home base in China and immediately proved to be a big hitin other Asian markets most notably, in India. Last December, Xiaomi became the world’s most valuable technology start-up after it received US$1.1 billion funding from investors, making it a $46 billion company. US-China investment firm GGV Capital has also invested in three different Xiaomi-backed companies since and is actively funding Xiaomi-backed firms as part of its Internet-of-Things bet. However, Xiaomi has no plans to sit on its laurels and plans to move full steam ahead in its quest to become what their CEO Lei Jun calls an “ecosystem empire”. But even though they’ve grown exponentially over the past few years, they are increasingly facing challenges on their home turf from domestic technology companies like LeTV, that are betting big in the smart devices business. Earlier this week, when Xiaomi backed robotics company Ninebot who acquired Segway in an acquisition, it was a big step for Xiaomi because it marked the first time one of their group companies had bought a globally recognized brand. Talking about that acquisition and his plans for Xiaomi going forward, the company CEO Mr. Lei Jun, while interacting with reporters, said that Xiaomi wasn’t concerned about challenges coming from their hardware competitors. Its strategy, he said, is to grow the company into an “ecosystem empire” with the focus being on software that can link up anything, anywhere. The company already offers smart products including, but not limited to smart bulbs, smart air purifiers, smart televisions etc. Now with new-found financial muscle, Xiaomi can radically increase its already burgeoning product portfolio simply by investing in new partners in all corners of the Internet-of-Things industry. With a view to achieving those goals, Xiaomi he says, has already invested in more than 20 startups and plans to invest in a hundred more and help them achieve growth, said Mr. Lei Jun. By Kishalaya KunduIntern Writer
Get your Free Business Plan Template here: http://bit.l/1aKy7km Rather than the typical client/vendor relationship I'm used to, Growthink has been more like a strategic partner and trusted advisor. Not only did they provide me with a dynamic business plan but they have given me invaluable advice and feedback along the way. They have exceeded my expectations in every way possible during this exciting but uncertain time of starting & ultimately growing my business. - Jerry D. Erickson, President/CEO
Via Marc Kneepkens
http://snip.ly/Y1Xg “I’ve probably revised this investor pitch deck 200 times,” a founder told me recently. She’d met with more than 50 potential investors before closing a seed round last month. This might sound excessive to some, but her experience is not unusual. Entrepreneurs often spend hundreds of hours raising funds from angel and venture capital investors. While these activities are clearly important, analysis of new data on startups suggests that founders should also dedicate significant time to something that many people overlook: recruiting great mentors. This simple strategy can increase a company’s odds of success more than almost anything else. Discovering the secrets of the best founders Our team studied thousands of tech businesses last year. We looked specifically at companies in New York City’s tech sector, which was the fastest-growing tech sector from 2003-2013 and is now the second largest tech hub in the world. The goal of this research was to investigate how local tech firms had become so successful. Our analysts combined data from CrunchBase, AngelList and LinkedIn, and interviewed nearly 700 founders. (In total, New York tech founders dedicated more than a month of time to this project.) These sources enabled us to create the world’s largest database of a single entrepreneurship community. We found that a number of characteristics that are often highlighted as predictors of success for startups – such as starting a company while in college – don’t actually make much of a difference. While these conclusions on traditional startup myths were interesting, we uncovered several other intriguing findings by examining the habits of the best firms and founders. Read more here: http://snip.ly/Y1Xg
Get your Free Business Plan Template here: http://bit.ly/1aKy7km With Growthink on your side, you are in a win-win situation. They placed themselves in my situation and analyzed my business as if it were their own business. I could never recommend any firm but Growthink to provide business planning services at this level of quality. Prem K. Kapani, CEO
Via Marc Kneepkens
http://snip.ly/3Zk0 Success requires the confidence to begin and the humilty to listen when trustworthy people tell you what isn't working. No one is born equipped with the skills to start and run a business. It takes hundreds of misses and trials in order to get to somewhere close to the initial idea that you have envisioned. Understanding the “why” of your idea is necessary and the “how” to go about it is penultimate. Keeping that in mind, here is a little cheat-sheet on five things that you should absolutely consider while you start a company. 1. Write a business plan. Your business plan is a formal document that lays the foundation of who, what and why your company is. It is a step-by-step guide that will include your company goals, business model, product cycle and the marketing strategies you will use to achieve traction. It is also a window through which your business is shown to investors and financial institutions to raise funds. However, an overlooked benefit of developing a business plan is that it gives ‘you’: clarity of thought and vision, more than anyone. Before convincing others, you have to convince yourself about the validity of your company and its raison d'être. Only then can you hope to encourage people to help you, work with you and fund you. Once you have a well thought out business plan it is time to… Read more: http://snip.ly/3Zk0
Get your Free Business Plan Template here: http://bit.ly/1aKy7km "The team at Growthink delivered exceptional quality service in every aspect of their client services. Their staff of professionals were extremely instrumental in fine tuning my creative vision into a well developed business plan." James E. Spence, Jr, Founder & CEO At Bread Boutique
Via Marc Kneepkens
Want to start a small business? Learn about the key principles that will help your startup move faster and more effectively.
Business management magazine, blogs, case studies, articles, books, and webinars from Harvard Business Review, addressing today's topics and challenges in business management.
Via Martin (Marty) Smith
So you have a new business or startup idea and based on your analysis and research you have conducted, your confident that there is a market for it. Ok, now what?
Via TechinBiz
5 Common Ecom SEO Mistakes
Clothing Startup Everlane Opens A Pop-Up Store In New York, Now Has 400000 ...TechCrunchClothing startup Everlane has opened a pop-up store in New York for the holidays.
Via Martin (Marty) Smith
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Respect!