12/14/10

12/14/10

Good morning, All,

In Boston: Over 40 VCs will gather for The New England Venture Summit,™ dedicated to showcasing early stage VCs, corporate investors, and angel investors committed to funding early stage and emerging companies. Good time and place to get on their radar! More than 50 top innovators will be presenting, and whether you’re a startup seeking capital and exposure or aninvestor seeking new deals, this is one event you won’t want to miss, and it’s happening tomorrow, December 15, in Boston, presented by youngStartup Ventures. Register online now and take advantage of the special $100 SOS discount. Click on http://www.youngstartup.com/newengland2010/overview.php and enter discount code “sos”. To register by phone or inquire about group rates, call Rivka at 718.447.0009 and mention “sos”.

Tomorrow in NYC: Vator Splash NY. Vator (short for ‘innovator), will spotlight 10 promising startups across New York City’s hotbed of emerging technology companies – and we have an SOS discount! Go to: http://vatorsplashny.eventbrite.com/, enter the discount code: “SOS25”. In addition to general admission tickets, 25% discounted demo tables (including 3 admission tickets) are available to startups who missed the competition deadline. Enter code “Vator25” when registering. Avner Ronen, CEO of Boxee. will be there to talk about launching in the highly competitive set-top box space and Blip.tv co-founder and CEO, Mike Hudack, will talk about how his attempt at knowledge management software resulted in Blip.tv. Keynoting will be Henry Blodget, Founder and CEO of Business Insider, an up-and-coming business news site. Doors open at 5:00pm, Program begins at 6:00pm.

VatorSplash is also looking for some volunteers to help out – good way to meet investors for free, which is worth the price of admission. Oh, wait, that is the price of admission. The evening also ends with a great party, so if you’d like to volunteer, email lauren@perksconsulting.com ASAP and thanks! Remember: the event is tomorrow and should be good fun!

Speaking of which: our thanks to those who responded to our request to participate in a press opportunity. We know at least two SOS startups will be featured and, provided that we’re kept in the loop, we will let you know when the pieces do appear in Fast Company.

Ok, so since we’re getting to that time again, when everyone does their year in reviews, we’ve decided not to do that. Instead, a few interesting pieces that take a look at the entrepreneurial landscape to give you something to think about – and hopefully help you to move forward:

A Look at the Demographic Data for Who’s Seeking Startup Funding. Interesting results from chubbybrain.com’s early beta Funding Referral Engine data. http://rww.to/bwG6as

Which U.S. States Are the Most Entrepreneurial? http://rww.to/eg14oe You might be surprised. Maybe not.

Entrepreneur DNA (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/entrepreneur-dna/). Mark Shuster’s Top Twelve most important attributes of the entrepreneur. He places tenacity first and foremost. Integrity was dead last, but happy to see that it made the list. Whew!

Accelerate Your Startup: Get the Right Product/Market Fit. First, what is a PMF?
A set of customers excited enough about your product to pay for it. Usually, that payment is cash, but sometimes it’s time. As Facebook, Twitter and Google have proven, if you can get enough customers spending time with your product, there’s usually a way to monetize it.
A customer base large enough to create a viable business. Here’s a VC and five-time entrepreneur’s take on the subject, including, two common mistakes being made by startups: Companies spend too much attempting to grow the business when it’s not ready for such growth; or companies don’t spend enough money when the business is ready to scale. Full story is here: http://bit.ly/hf1pkP

And in that same vein and to help the process along: A Basic Primer for Product-Market Fit: http://slidesha.re/ecNFAS

Finally, yes, Virginia, there is another war for talent (10% Unemployment, Yet Every Startup in NYC is Struggling to Hire: http://bit.ly/evMLPb) and it’s been going on for quite some time. In fact, that’s what inspired us to start this newsletter in the first place, over a year ago. On that front, we will have some big news to share with you in the new year (we have a feeling you’re going to like it!) and our next Find A Cofounder is being scheduled for January. Patience: it’s not that far off.

The chuckle of the day has nothing to do with technology, although we did find it on wikiquote.org and wondered how this one got by the censors. Season 1 ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ Ted just told Natalie – on her birthday – that he wants to break up with her…again:
Natalie: It’s my birthday, and you’re telling me I’m not the one for you?
Ted: It’s no big deal. It’s odd, like you lost the lottery-
Natalie: Oh, so dating you’s like winning the lottery? [Ted stammers] So what’s the problem?
Ted: I can’t explain.
Natalie: Try!
Ted: Well, it’s just ineffable.
Natalie: Oh, so I’m not ‘F-able’?

Gotta love the English language. Speaking of which, time for communications from you and yes, help is on the way…

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