Both Sides of the Table
MAY 19, 2019
My Commencement Speech?—?Life at Your Crossroads Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash Crossroads Cal Poly Pomona! What’s up!?! I’m so grateful to be up here addressing you today. Today you’re either here to graduate or support somebody graduating. A graduate is at his or her first major crossroad in life. You are faced with decisions about which road to take.
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 13, 2019
Using the proliferation of newly GPS-enabled mobile devices to enable taxi hailing and beat out stagnant incumbent providers was always going to be a big win for consumers. It provided a better service than existing cabs were going to be able to do for at least several years—cutting out lots of unnecessary overhead in the system. Had it been built differently, it could have been a better company and honestly I’d like to believe maybe even a more valuable one in the long term.
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Dream It
MAY 29, 2019
Startup pitch meetings are pretty predictable. You walk into a venture fund’s conference room or Zoom room (if they’re progressive), pitch the partners, offer to answer their questions, maybe ask them a bland question or two, and then leave the meeting to await a response. Here’s the thing: asking a VC a couple of easy questions at the end of a pitch doesn’t get you any closer to receiving a term sheet.
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
MAY 30, 2019
I was reminded yesterday how much of a s**t show raising seed capital via SAFE notes is. I can’t and won’t get into why I was reminded of that, but let’s just say nobody wants to go there. So I thought I’d repost the important parts of a post I wrote on this topic a couple years ago. I have never been a fan of convertible notes.
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500
MAY 21, 2019
Its been one week since the Misk 500 Batch 1 Demo Day and we’re still smiling. The energy in the room in Riyadh, on May 13th, was palpable. The 19 companies were on FIRE and rose to the occasion to give the best versions of their pitches. Due to the observance of Ramadan in the region, the event began at 10 PM and concluded at 3 AM. While originally planned to be an event for an audience of 200, the final attendance at the KAFD Conference Center included over 300 investors and guests.¹ Also in a
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 20, 2019
Growing up in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Rafael López enjoyed, among other pastimes, hiding his money in his grandmother’s closet. “She told me I would be successful because I took care of my money,” Rafael says. Rafael, a 2018 YLAI Fellow and an entrepreneur in Honduras, saw years later a need for his skills in the country’s cultural heritage sector. “My sister, who had been working at the United Nations, noticed that ethnic groups in Honduras were particularly disadvantaged, many with limited acce
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 7, 2019
When I was growing up, I watched Seinfeld religiously—literally every single Thursday night from the premiere to the end without missing a single one. Not only did I really love the show, but I was that committed to it because of the reinforcement I experienced by being part of a community that also watched when I did. The next day, I couldn’t wait to see my classmates and repeat whatever the key line from the episode was.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 10, 2019
Sleepless nights, assessing (and reassessing), pivoting, negotiating, anticipating, spending … Are these keywords describing entrepreneurship or parenting? For all the parents who are entrepreneurs out there, you probably know these endeavors run in parallel. If parenting is akin to entrepreneurship, what entrepreneurial lessons have you learned from your kids ?
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
MAY 28, 2019
Over the last year, the SEC has been investigating a significant number of token offerings that took place in 2017. While some of those offerings were scams or worse , many of the ones that are being investigated by the SEC are serious projects, started by some of the top cryptographers and computer scientists in the world, and backed by the leading token funds and venture capital firms in the US and around the world.
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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?
500
MAY 31, 2019
Guest Post: Justin McLoughlin is the Founder of airCFO. Under no circumstances should any of the below content be construed as legal, tax or investment advice from 500 Startups or any of its affiliates. The early days of any company are all about resource management. Life as a startup is perilous. The companies who survive and thrive are usually the ones who find ways to do more with less.
Venture Well
MAY 7, 2019
Julie Bliss Mullen of ASPIRE team Aclarity has learned that it takes a team to make an impact through innovation and entrepreneurship. The post Innovator Spotlight: Julie Bliss Mullen of Aclarity appeared first on VentureWell.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 20, 2019
How many times a day do you check your phone? If you’re anything like the average millennial, you might be checking your social media feeds as often as 150 times per day. If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, this statistic works in your favor. With a little bit of social media savvy and your own smartphone, you can sell more products and reach a wider audience of potential customers.
Dream It
MAY 13, 2019
Under lean startup methodology , founders attempt to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible to create some order out of the chaos involved in starting a company. Failures are inevitable; but, great founders know how to fail quickly and cheaply, rather than trying to take on boatloads of venture capital funding to solve a problem with an approach that doesn’t scale or, even worse, to solve a problem that does not exist or is not that painful.
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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.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 22, 2019
Craig Hall, the writer of Boom: Bridging the Opportunity Gap to Reignite Startups , shares his view on the current state of entrepreneurship in the U.S. . What prompted you to write Boom ? In 2011, I heard a speech by Mark Zandi [chief economist of Moody’s Analytics] revealing that entrepreneurship in the U.S. was in trouble. I couldn’t believe it at first, but after beginning my own research, I became very concerned.
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
MAY 29, 2019
A few months ago I posted some data on this blog that showed the growth of homeschooling in the US with almost 5% of K12 students being schooled at home. I wrote at the end of that post: This is a trend to watch and, possibly, to invest in. Well, invest in it we did. Yesterday Rebecca posted our investment rationale for Outschool , a company that offers real time group classes taught largely by very experienced K12 teachers over live video.
500
MAY 22, 2019
500 Startups is excited to announce the latest batch from our Seed Accelerator based in Mexico City. The Mexico City program focuses on providing a mentorship program for Spanish-speaking early-stage companies based in Latin America. Our latest batch consists of founders from all over Latin America including 6 companies from Mexico, 2 from Chile, 2 from Colombia, and 1 from Argentina.
Venture Well
MAY 28, 2019
In this article, we explore the types of support early-stage innovators need most, and highlight tools to assess the impact of resources. The post 4 Ways to Support Early-Stage Innovators Beyond the Classroom appeared first on VentureWell.
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Tomasz Tunguz
MAY 13, 2019
In a recent meeting, a founder asked me what I thought of the fundraising environment. My answer was: it’s become incredibly sophisticated along three dimensions: diversity of product offering, pricing sophistication, and efficiency of investment processes. If you read eBoys or Done Deals or Creative Capital, you’ll get a sense of the early days of the venture industry.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 29, 2019
An entrepreneur needs a network of supportive people and resources to maximize his or her chances of success, because there will always be fires to put out. While entrepreneurs can be found everywhere, some startup ecosystems are thriving more than others. Building a startup community, or startup ecosystem, is no easy task and requires a lot of intentional work.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 17, 2019
The concept of “practicing mindfulness” has grown in popularity in the last decade. Mindfulness for kids, mindfulness to quit smoking, mindful eating, mindfulness at the office—it’s become a catch-all buzzword. With claims that mindfulness can cure everything from addiction to anxiety, it’s no surprise that people from all walks of life are becoming students of mindfulness.
UBI Global
MAY 27, 2019
Why Focus on Innovation We know that corporations are increasingly hunting for new ideas to stay current and even gain an edge on the competition. We discuss this throughout our latest edition of our Insight Series: Lessons in Corporate Innovation – 7 Case Studies in Activation. The in-depth report is available cost-free for download. What […].
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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.
Revolution
MAY 21, 2019
Meet the five winning founders from Rise of the Rest 8.0 Earlier this month, Steve Case and the Revolution team hit the road for the eighth Rise of the Rest Road Trip, bringing the bus to Orlando, Florida’s Space Coast, Tampa Bay, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the end of each tour day, we hosted a pitch competition where a local startup received a $100,000 investment from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
Venture Well
MAY 23, 2019
What if everyone had access to low-cost, high-quality, and easy-to-use tools for scientific discovery? Tom Kalil from Schmidt Futures is trying to find out. The post Access to Low-Cost Tools for Scientific Discovery: A Conversation with Schmidt Futures’ Tom Kalil appeared first on VentureWell.
Paul G. Silva
MAY 24, 2019
Western Mass Demo Day Connects Local Startups to Investors. This is an invite-only event for active & accredited investors to hear pitches from startups with a connection to Western Massachusetts. Startups get an optimized way to meet a room full of different investors, many with a strong interest in companies connected to the region. Investors get a first look at the startups, meet the founders, and network with other investors.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 26, 2019
Establishing a brand identity is a critical element of your business success. In order to stand out to customers, business leaders should practice telling the story of their brands in a way that connects with their audiences. To help YLAI Network members strengthen their own brands, here are a few tips from the 2019 SXSW conference. Building emotional connections.
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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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