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Fundraising sucks. No one likes it. Founders don't start companies so they can spend half their time asking people for money and VCs don't love the dance either. However, it's a necessary animal, so the least everyone can do is act professionally, and most of all value each other's time. That's what I'm most frustrated by--the lack of respect for other people's time.
Brad Stevens is an EO Atlanta member, Chair of that chapter’s Accelerator program, and founder and CEO of Outsource Access , which helps companies grow by providing highly skilled virtual assistants. We asked Brad about his history as an entrepreneur, below. In part 2 of this article , he explains how he helped grow EO Atlanta’s Accelerator program.
Most offices, whether at a big company or at a startup, allow employees to work at home from time to time. It's not exactly a perk, but it does allow people to better manage work and their lives, as neither of those things adhere to perfect forms of time or place. Some studies, including one carried out by Nicholas Bloom at Stanford, suggest that letting employees work from home is not only a sellable benefit when recruiting, but it also leads to higher productivity for most people.
Last week, I wrote about the decline of investments in San Francisco startups. On Hacker News, this post engendered a lengthy conversation on the challenges facing founders and start-up employees in San Francisco. In short, the cost of living in San Francisco and the Bay Area has reached untenable and unacceptable heights for many. The average one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco costs $3500 per month.
AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.
Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. I love absolutes – statements with no wiggle room for gray-area responses. Well, here is one of those, and it deals with market research first and foremost. Close. Let me tell you a short story at my own expense. In 1994, (I know a long time ago), I invested over a million dollars into a company whose entrepreneurs had a vision that I bought into for many reasons, not the least of which was that I had industry experience
Like many people these days, I spent much of my 20’s and early 30’s thinking about work & fun and not too much about “the future.” Like characters from one of my favorite novels “ The Unbearable Lightness of Being ” life seemed very light. My first son was born the day before my 35th birthday so the decade that followed was very heavy and consequential.
Like many people these days, I spent much of my 20’s and early 30’s thinking about work & fun and not too much about “the future.” Like characters from one of my favorite novels “ The Unbearable Lightness of Being ” life seemed very light. My first son was born the day before my 35th birthday so the decade that followed was very heavy and consequential.
In reading the NYT piece about the negative experiences of female founders raising, one quote stuck out to me: "They put up with the comments, Ms. Renock said, because they “couldn’t imagine a world in which that $500,000 wasn’t on the table anymore.” If you've ever had to fundraise, you can understand this. It's an extremely vulnerable time where you're getting a lot of rejection.
It’s a shocking statistic: In Africa, where nearly 50% of the population is under age 15, seven out of 10 rural children have never set foot in a school?nor will they ever do so. In the West African country of Mali, 69% of children are enrolled in primary school. However, only 34% continue to secondary school. Reasons for this steep drop in attendance include an inability to pay school fees, a lack of middle schools accessible to rural populations and gender inequity.
This week, the FundersClub community celebrates its 5th year anniversary. We are deeply grateful for the support of so many incredible startup founders, investors, VCs, and other community members since our inception. We've put together a visual to help you explore our community's progress and story to date. View the interactive infographic.
Just where is the US venture market relative to the rest of the world? After most US analyses I publish, a few founders in other geographies ask questions about their own. These inquiries made me wonder, how has the global market evolved? The chart above shows the compound annual growth rate of venture investment rounds A through D in ten fastest growing venture markets plus the US from 2010-2016.
Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?
Your customers know what they want more than you do. Find one to teach you. Close. This week’s insight came from personal experience and from a good friend who advanced the notion of the “teacher-customer” years ago. I internalized this phrase, recalling the many times I had partnered with customers to design new feature-functionality into my hotel computer system back when such systems were brand new to the industry.
As an India-based startup, closing on U.S. venture capital is similar to doing so if your company was completely US-based, with a few notable differences. In the past several years, I’ve represented several India-based startups through venture capital financings. To name just a few, clients have included Freshworks (formerly FreshDesk), WizRocket, and Shopalyst.
This is the worst question a VC can ask. It presupposes that the only good deals are the ones they can't get into--which is an odd way to think about the world. I suppose the only club deal they would want to get into is the one that doesn't want them as a member. There are lots of examples of huge deals that could have been had by anyone early on--Airbnb, Casper, Uber, etc.
By William Lieberman, member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization New York and founder and CEO of The CEO’s Right Hand, Inc. In the first part of this blog , William shared how to assess your needs for capital and explains potential sources for raising it. Below, in part two, he explores the characteristics of debt and equity investments, ways to figure out which might work best for you and your business, and the importance of investor “fit.”.
Gearing up for 2025 annual planning? Our latest eBook from the Operators Guild is your ultimate guide. Discover real-world solutions and best practices shared by top CFOs, drawn directly from discussions within OG’s vibrant online community. Learn from senior executives at high-growth tech startups as they outline financial planning strategies, align CEO and board goals, and coordinate budgets across departments.
Three true stories: In 1992, in Tokyo, I dated a girl named Masako. After our month together, she moved to London. We lost touch. In 2008, I was in London for a few days. I wondered if Masako still lived there, sixteen years later. A minute later, she walked by. “Masako!”. “Derek?!”. In 1993, I had a pen-pal from Argentina named Lucia. She was studying Norwegian and planned to move to Oslo, Norway, some day.
Bloomberg published a post this weekend called San Francisco’s VC Boom is Over. The article pointed to the seeming collapse in the amount of venture capital raised by San Francisco startups relative to other regions. The slowing of venture investment more broadly across the US serves as a backdrop to San Francisco’s particularly strong correction.
Close. You can take this headline as a rule, not an exception. You’ll recognize the truism, “No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy” first stated by German Field Marshall von Moltke way back in the 19 th century. Our variant of the “battle plan” truism is important to internalize. A product at the concept stage contains feature-functionality that customers may not want or be willing to pay for, or which just might not work well enough for release to the public.
Mighty Financial specializes in supporting the financial aspirations of small businesses and entrepreneurs. With our comprehensive bookkeeping and precise accounting expertise with decades of experience across diverse financial roles, our team offers tailor-made services ranging from essential bookkeeping to strategic fractional CFO support, catered specifically to the unique challenges of technology companies, startups, and SMEs.
FundersClub Portfolio News. OnboardIQ makes applying for hourly work easier, and raises $9.1 million to expand their product and customer reach in " OnboardIQ raises $9.1 million to automate hiring for hourly workers. " LedgerX is granted the status of a swap execution facility (SEF) by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), making it "the first federally regulated bitcoin options exchange and clearing house to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled
Vethan Law Firm P.C. for Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Are you an entrepreneur or startup founder who is starting to hire employees? Then it’s critical to be aware of the legal considerations of hiring. The Federal Department of Labor enforces legal policies for employment and is the organization responsible for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), which oversees the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Starting back in 2015 and throughout much of 2016 people started commenting that my blog had become a lot more political. I guess I didn’t see it quite that way. My blog has always been a mixture of what was on my mind and a blend of venture, startup life, tech views and current society events that related to my interests: Venture, startup & tech.
Michael Porter wrote the seminal book on strategy in the early 1980s. Called Competitive Strategy, I think it should be required for anyone starting a company. Strategy is a seemingly murky amorphous intangible concept, but Porter brilliantly prescribes the five questions strategy should answer. What are the answers for your business? What is your distinctive value proposition?
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.
So, you have a great new product or service that you and your associates love. Early adopters should climb all over each other for a look. But what have you done to test the concept against the realities of the marketplace? Have you developed a prototype, alternate pricing schemes, even a PowerPoint mock-up to show to potential buyers? I would be very, very nervous without testing the product in the market as early as possible, ready to make changes and enhancements before committing to prod
By Ashton Bishop, CEO at Step Change. Recall the last time you conducted strategic planning with your team. Did your plans turn out to be successful? Or were you frustrated that last year’s SWOT analysis proved to be lacking? In this blog post, I’d like to reveal the four reasons why you need to rethink using the SWOT tool —the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis—for your next strategic planning, and I’d like to share with you the tool I’ve been using. 1.
Brad Stevens is an EO Atlanta member, Chair of that chapter’s Accelerator program, and founder and CEO of Outsource Access , which helps companies grow by providing highly skilled virtual assistants. In part I of our interview , we asked Brad about his journey as an entrepreneur. Here, he shares his experience and insights for growing Atlanta’s Accelerator program.
Communicating poorly, overworking your team, micromanaging, showing no appreciation—these are classic bad boss behaviors that could be costing you great employees. . These days, it isn’t uncommon for workers to jump ship every two to three years, and some younger millennials have no qualms about finding better work after just a few months under your roof.
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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