June, 2014

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The Business of Who Makes is Changing

This is going to be BIG.

'The 1970''s was a boom for minicomputers. Minicomputers were "midrange" machines that were used in all sorts of industrial applications--manufacturing process control, telephone switching and to control laboratory equipment. " In the 1970s, they were the hardware that was used to launch the computer-aided design (CAD) industry ," according to Wikipedia.

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How to Kick Start Your Community’s Startup Scene

Both Sides of the Table

'I just returned from 3 days in Cincinnati including attending the annual meeting of one of Upfront’s LPs – Cintrifuse. I have never been more optimistic about the impact that the tech startup community is having on cities in America or about the role that cities outside of San Francisco / Silicon Valley can play in our future. Cincinnati, like many startup communities in the US over the past 5 years, has revitalized important regions in its urban core, created accelerators, built co

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High Performing Virtual Teams Have 8 Key Attributes

Gust

'Virtual Team meeting image via Wikimedia blog. Almost every startup is a virtual team these days, since most don’t start out with dedicated office space, and some or all members of the team work part-time or out of their own home. It’s a small world, so these team members may not even be in the same town, or the same country. Outsourcing is just another extension of the virtual team concept to people you don’t even know.

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Turn the tables: What’s an angel look like?

Berkonomics

'Angel investors, particularly those in organized angel groups, are typically former entrepreneurs who have had successful liquidity events in their pasts, or executives of companies who’ve retired with the funds from their stock options. Occasionally, an angel is a member of a wealthy family, having little experience managing a business. But most often these angels are skilled at growing companies, calling on their past experience to evaluate and then help entrepreneurs in their early s

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15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

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?

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Disrupting Finance From Above: Wealthfront

abovethecrowd.com

'Many entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley believe that the financial services industry in the United States is “ripe for disruption. ” The basis of this argument is really two fold. First, they believe that the current offerings from the financial incumbents are lacking. They would argue that credit card fees are too high, that there is a lack of true competition amongst American financial institutions, and that the ACH process is borderline asinine.

More Trending

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The Strong Rejection

This is going to be BIG.

'When I turn down the opportunity to invest in a startup, I really turn it down. I try and say exactly what I don''t believe will happen, or why I don''t believe in what you''re doing. In essence, I''m setting myself up to either be spectacularly wrong or to be right. The last thing I want is to not have a view on the space. My job is to have views--because not making a bet is making a bet.

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Why I Doubled Down on YouTube Investments with MiTú

Both Sides of the Table

'Yesterday MiTú Networks announced that Upfront Ventures led a $10 million financing in what is now the largest producer of Latino online videos – primarily driven through YouTube. As you may know we co-lead the first round of financing of Maker Studios, the largest overall producer for online video content, along with Greycroft Partners. I was an early and tireless advocate for the growth of the Internet video ecosystem and as virtually every article I wrote made clear I believe the 800-

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How True Entrepreneurs Make Themselves Accountable

Gust

'Image via Wikipedia. Everyone seems to like the aspect of being an entrepreneur that goes with “being your own boss” and “able to do things my way.” But sometimes they forget that this kind of freedom comes with a price of personal accountability. Accountability means “the buck stops here,” and “all the failures are mine.”. Too many people seem to do whatever it takes to avoid accountability, both before and after the fact.

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Hugh opportunities do NOT command amazing pre-money valuations.

Berkonomics

'Dave’s note: Popular Bill Payne returns this week with a thoughtful take on valuations. By Bill Payne. One entrepreneur has a company which appears to be scalable to a $30 million exit value in five to eight years, and a second entrepreneur’s venture seems to be scalable to $200 million in exit value in the same time frame. Yet, at the pre-revenue stage of development, angel investors price both companies at a pre-money valuation of $1.5 million.

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How Top Tech CFOs Solve Annual Planning’s Biggest Challenges

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.

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Welcoming Jason Kilar, Richard Tom and the Vessel team to the Benchmark family

abovethecrowd.com

'Today Benchmark is excited to announce that we will be partners with Jason Kilar and Richard Tom on their next exciting project — Vessel. Working with amazing entrepreneurs is the number one reason we enjoy venture capital, and rarely do you have the opportunity to work with a team that has a track record like these two. While they are not planning to disclose any specifics today about the company, you can rest assured that they plan to bring their amazing product instincts and cultural leaders

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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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How early should you connect to a VC? Here's some data.

This is going to be BIG.

'How long does it take from first meeting a VC to getting cash in the bank? That''s an interesting question. Theoretically, someone could meet you, sign your document, and write you a check for deposit that day, but that''s not how it usually works. It''s also not the best way to create a helpful syndicate of investors that share the founder''s vision for the company.

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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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Your Fractional Finance and Accounting Team

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.

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How To Turn Friction Into Value In Your Startup

Gust

'Image via Wikipedia. Entrepreneurship is not a job for the Lone Ranger. Every startup requires building and maintaining effective relationships with people, including partners, team members, customers, and investors. That means giving and asking for feedback, and learning from it, especially negative feedback. “Friction” is feedback mixed with emotion or drama, making it all the more difficult to sort out the value.

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The Rule of Thirds

Berkonomics

'It is rare when one person starts a company, supplies all the funding, and shares no management tasks or equity with others, and still grows the company to any significant size, worthy of a multi-million dollar opportunity to cash out at exit. We should think of the creation and growth of a high valued company as the sum of three parts, with three distinct classes of participants helping to make real value out of a raw start-up.

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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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How Much Should Your Startup Spend to Grow?

Tomasz Tunguz

Several weeks ago, I wrote a post about the Optimal Contract Value for a SaaS company. I wondered whether startups serving enterprises might be more or less valuable than those serving small-to-medium businesses (SMBs). Interestingly, the data showed there was no optimal customer value to build a publicly traded SaaS company. Having written that post, I began to wonder about other differences between different types of SaaS companies.

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Digitalization: 5 Tech Updates That Will Help You Survive The Recession & Thrive

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.

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Brooklyn Bridge Ventures invested in Ringly because being present is fashionable

This is going to be BIG.

'A year ago, I wrote a post about how I was trying to keep my phone away during meals-- No Phone with Food. These days, we''ve got so much that can distract us, being present has become a rare feat. I''ve tried to stick to it, but it''s hard. I run my own business and I try and make myself available whenever my entrepreneurs need me. I also have a lot of family responsibility--with parents getting older and my grandmother making her way ever closer to 100, there are a few important folks I alway

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The Power of Getting the Band Back Together

Both Sides of the Table

'Startups are hard. You’ve heard that a million times. Those that we survive with become family. It’s something you can’t know unless you’ve ever been in the trenches. Working hard together at a big company just isn’t the same. The truth is you really don’t know how your teammates or your bosses will perform in good times and bad.

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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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Find your champion.

Berkonomics

'If you seek funds from an organized investment group such as an angel fund, venture capital entity, or even an investment club, the first thing you want to do is to find one person to buy into your vision, become excited by your enthusiasm and be willing to become the internal champion for your fund-raising effort. In some groups, if you cannot find such a person, you cannot even find the way to apply for funding, as some groups make it imperative that any introductions come from the inside, fr

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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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Using Outbound Prospecting to reach highly targeted prospects

For Entrepreneurs

'As most of my readers know, I am a big fan of Inbound Marketing. However there are times when inbound leads aren’t either enough, or the right kinds of leads needed to reach your best potential customers. In those situations, one tool worth considering is the use of a dedicated sales team to do outbound […].

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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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A Sign of the Times: Why Saving the Kentile Sign is Important #savekentile

This is going to be BIG.

'There''s a 60+ year old sign in Brooklyn leftover from a company that went bankrupt years ago. The current owner of the property wants to take it down and has every right to do so. So what''s the big deal? The Kentile Floors sign has become a mainstay of the Gowanus area. F train riders pass by it everyday on the way to and from work. It has its own Twitter personality.

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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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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