In this video, Jesper Sørensen reveals the competitive advantages and disadvantages that startups and established companies can exploit as they compete for customers in new markets. He is the Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Crush Your Startup’s Next PR Inteview
Over at the Silicon Florist, book author Sean Blanda writes that there’s a reason why charismatic entrepreneurs seem to pop up in every magazine and blog; if you are a friendly source, the media will be calling you much more often.
If you watch sports, you know how useless a bad interview is. Most athletes have never interacted with the media and have an interest in ducking any media coverage so they can remain focused on the game and skirt controversy. Politicians, on the other hand, have an interest in getting a message out in a concise and memorable way. You want to be more Obama than Greg Popovich. You should structure your answers in response to your talking points: Talking point → Possible anecdote.
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Video: Why Blog and Content Marketing Matters to your Startup
In this video, Dainis Graveris from 1stwebdesigner discusses the many reasons Startups should blog and do content marketing.
The Primary Reason Startups Fail
Why do most Startups fail? Over at, Martin C. Zwilling writes that the number one reason is the founder up and quits.
Overall, my view is that starting a business is just like everything else. Nothing important is all that easy, and all of us stumble a few times and pivot along the way as we learn. There is a real difference between cashing in your cards for a new hand, in the face of unbeatable odds, versus quitting and walking away from the challenge. You don’t learn any lessons by walking away.
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Why “Better” Needs to be in Your Startup Culture
Over at the Not Only Luck blog, John Melonakos writes that the notion to “Be Better” is a reminder that wherever we are today is not as important as where we are headed. To be pointed in the right direction is something everyone can individually control through choices each day.
The goal to “be better” can be used to spur frequent introspection and stave off complacency in areas that are going well.
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Video: Greg Kidd on the Insights Behind Killer Startups
In this video, Greg Kidd from 3Taps discusses observations about the path to success for some of the most valuable Startups in and outside of Silicon Valley. He describes why setting out to solve big problems rather than make money has the potential to yield the most amazing outcomes & remarkably short time frames.
Video: Finding the Right Hire for your Startup
In this video, One Minute MBA describes best practices for finding the right hire for your Startup.
When is Making the Move to an Office Life Right for a Startup?
In this special guest feature, Peter Ames writes about when it’s time to move your Startup to an office.
When you take your first tentative steps as a new business owner, working from the comfort of home can be a great option; it’s a cheap, comfortable and familiar environment in which you can build your fledgling business at your own pace. However, if the incidents below sound familiar, it may be time to upgrade your business to a professional office space.
If the distractions begin to take hold
One of the greatest fears of the homeworker is beginning to topple down the slippery slope that is the distractions of the home. You may have set upon the road to startup glory with the best of intentions, but when the workload begins to build up it can be all too easy to abandon work altogether and give into distractions.
The home is an environment that can really encourage these bad habits. A recent Citrix report revealed a whopping 43% of home workers had given into the draw of the television. If you find yourself joining their ranks it may be worth looking into moving to an office!
When you need to impress clients
As your business grows and you look to build a network of contacts, you may increasingly find your home office could have an effect upon the impression you and your business have upon potential clients.
If this is beginning to become a worry then it might be time to consider moving your business into an office. You may well find that simply moving to a professional address in a desirable location, or being able to access meeting rooms, has a really positive effect on your business’ image.
And if they do…
You may find there is an office space solution out there that is really quite affordable. Why not consider renting a desk in a shared office, where you can pay for a desk on a rolling month-to-month basis and enjoy the buzz of office life?
One great reason to do so is that all your utilities and broadband fees will be included in the monthly rent. They are more expensive than a traditional rented office, but the lack of administrative hassle having to sort utility and maintenance bills can really make them worth the cost! When you’re a small business time really is money and you don’t want to be wasting it having to spend time on the phone any time your network goes down or a heater breaks.
In fact shared offices can be a really great way to enjoy office life for any small business that doesn’t really have any specific need for control over things such as broadband and security. Flexible month-to-month contracts should allow you to move in and out quickly if you need to. Desks are usually available to rent straight away, so what are you waiting for?
Peter Ames writes on behalf of Office Genie, the UK’s first proper marketplace for shared desk space.
How to Get Funded in 10 Minutes
Over at the Up and Running blog, Caroline Cummings writes that you can pitch and get funded in 10 minutes if you do the right preparation.
If there’s one thing I can’t stress enough, it’s the importance of rehearsing your pitch. I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs think, “oh, I know my business inside and out – pitching will be a breeze!” Good luck! I’ve also seen many entrepreneurs crash and burn when delivering their investor pitch – and ramble on and on. There’s nothing more frustrating then telling someone “I only need 10 minutes of your time,” and 20 minutes later you’re still on slide #5.
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Success Equals Small Experiments, Often
Brad Feld from the Foundry Group writes that every successful business was a continuous process of small experiments that operated in the context of a long-term vision.
I was once on the board of a company that was cash-flow positive early in its life. The entrepreneur decided to raise more money, even though he didn’t need to. I was perplexed and asked him why he was raising the amount of money he had decided to raise. His answer was that when he had no cash in the bank, he was willing to run $1,000 experiments. When the company was cash-flow positive, he was comfortable running $10,000 experiments. He now wanted to feel comfortable running $100,000 experiments, and this financing enabled him to do this. If he ran a $100,000 experiment and it failed, it wouldn’t tank the business.
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Tip: Practice Pitches on Fellow Entrepreneurs
In this story from VatorNews, Hardeep Walia from Motif discusses lessons learned in Startup fundraising. He suggests practicing your fundraising pitches with other entrepreneurs before going to investors. Read the Full Story.
Beating Expectations – Consistent and Regular Outperformance
Over at the 500 Hats blog, Dave McClure writes that Failure is hardly the worst thing that can happen to you in Silicon Valley.
To all of us who strive for unlikely outcomes, it is this dual challenge of consistent and regular outperformance which is our real nightmare. In fact, it’s almost certifiably insane to sign up for such a goal – like agreeing to break a world record, and then keep breaking it over and over again, while maintaining perspective and focus, as well as the emotional stability necessary to lead and grow your team. Who the hell believes they can do that? Who the hell isn’t afraid they’ll falter, somewhere along the way?
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