Good morning, All, and just wanted to have a little fun today.

First, next week is the last full week of Daylight Savings Time, so enjoy!

Second: Did you know that there’s a free work space for designers in NYC? It’s true: it’s called wix lounge and while we haven’t been there, nor have we heard any reports about it, here’s more information for the designers on the list: http://bit.ly/bZQSqA

Third: did you know that 1500 entrepreneurs and 100 investors from across the nation have already registered for New York Entrepreneur Week? Which November 8-14, and the first week of EST, for those of us playing the home version. Come mix and mingle and save 75% with your SOS discount code: SOS345: http://www.nyew.org/

Next, did you know that last year the Wall Street Journal reported that email no longer rules, and has been usurped by social media (http://bit.ly/Eszk1), which was seconded by Sheryl Sandberg this summer at a Nielsen Consumer 360 conference (http://bit.ly/cL63s1) – of course, she is COO of FB. The Journal said that while email continues the grow, “other types of communication services are growing far faster. In August 2009, 276.9 million people used email across the U.S., several European countries, Australia and Brazil, according to Nielsen Co., up 21% from 229.2 million in August 2008. But the number of users on social-networking and other community sites jumped 31% to 301.5 million people.” So, is email no longer the killer app? Fine, but in order to sign up for any social network, you still need an email address.

Just saying.

Graham Lawlor’s next Ultra Light Startup panel is The Email Mafia ( Thursday, November 4, 6.30 – 9 : http://bit.ly/a35kyK) And another fun fact:
In the past year, many of the best-known people in the startup tech scene have abandoned blogging in favor of email (Jason Calacanis, Sam Lessin, Charlie O’Donnell). At the same time, email based startups have been setting records for high growth, lean profitability, and big exits (Daily Candy sold for $125 million, HARO sold for $20 million, Thrillist making millions a year). And they’re all NYC-based. Should be a good one and guess it’s not time to eulogize email yet, eh, readers?

Last fun fact: Business Insider this week released their list of The Silicon Alley 100: New York’s Coolest Tech People In 2010: http://read.bi/apvE3v Last year, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the #1 spot but this year he was bumped to #5 and in the #1 Spot: Yes, those mayor-makers themselves, foursquare co-founders Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program. Thanks for playing and, as always, help is on the way…

Good morning, All, and good one, eh? Here’s the deal:

They’re still in closed beta, and have limited it to the first 200 startups/entrepreneurs who want to use it. To try the Funding Recommendation Engine:
1. Visit ChubbyBrain @ http://www.chubbybrain.com
2. In the invite code box, enter “startup1stop” (no quotes) and click the green button (Free! Get Started)
3. The Funding Recommendation Engine will then start

How the FRE works?
Investors often talk about “pattern matching” when they talk about assessing investments. The FRE is pattern matching in reverse. The reality is that past investment behavior is the best indicator of future behavior and so the FRE takes inputs about an entrepreneur’s business (industry, funding required, location, stage, experience of entrepreneur, etc) and then algorithmically matches those inputs with investors/funding institutions based on the investors’ actual investment history (not what their website says). The FRE uses data from CB Insights and culls through 8000 investors (VCs, angels, gov’t grant programs, family offices, pvt/growth equity, banks, etc) who’ve made at least one investment in a private company in the last 2 years to algorithmically assess fit with an entrepreneur’s venture.

Primary Benefits to Entrepreneurs
• Investor serendipity – Use FRE to uncover investors that entrepreneurs may have never have heard of or discovered. With 8000 investors in our database who’ve made at least one investment in the last 2 years, it’s fair to say that there are many new investors the FRE can uncover for an entrepreneur.
• Reverse due diligence – Arm entrepreneurs with information on investors so they can determine if that investor is suitable for them, i.e. have they invested in a competitor for example? Reducing the information asymmetry which currently exists is good for both entrepreneurs and investors as the right entrepreneurs pitching the right investors is a win for both sides.
• Efficiency – The FRE does the work of identifying investors that would otherwise take days/weeks and does it in 5 minutes

Don’t say we never gave you anything. (Who said that?)

Congratulations to openinvo.com who just got a great review on killerstartups.com. Here’s the write-up: http://bit.ly/bOOpmN. Make sure you check it out and vote early and often! Actually, we happen to like the idea personally and even wrote something for submission.

Lest the Californians feel forgotten – we’d never do that and there is useful info in here for all startups. It’s a blog written by a California-based startup/employment lawyer, and some of the entries cite California law. But we felt you all might find “Employment Law Tips for Start-Ups” helpful (submitted by one of our Cali-based members, and thanks for sharing), and, well, we’re here to help: http://bit.ly/d68kSh

We post industry events to this list and we realize that some are better than others. Some are even recurring. And – LOVE you people! – some of you have sent us emails sharing your experiences with various events, seminars, courses for budding entrepreneurs – both good and bad. We’re happy to share the feedback (and will, as more of you respond) – so keep those cards and letters coming in as your honestly is welcomed and appreciated – with the group at large. And happy to keep your reviews anonymous, if you prefer.

In the meantime, you’re always welcome to post your wants/needs/elevator pitches/questions on startuponestop.com and for those of you who did just that this week, help is on the way…

Good morning, All, and we did have quite a turn-out on Tuesday evening for FAC3. We did try to have you all meet as many potential co-founders as possible and were happy to see that a lot of you left smiling. We did have about a hundred techs show up, but you know how it goes: never enough of them! Working on it! We know you still have follow-up to do: remember, it starts with speed dating. Up to you to make the next move, and if all goes well, we want to hear from some of you at FAC4 . There were even techs there looking for business co-founders (that’s a note to self – and you all – for the FAC4.) And yes, we will do another one – mark your calendars – on November 30, before the holiday party. Yes, there will be an SOS holiday party, and that’s all we can say about it for now, since we’re only just starting to organize it. If you’d like to sponsor, let us know!

In the meantime, if it goes really well with your new potential cofounder, don’t forget the list of NYC’s most active early stage internet and mobile VCs (http://bit.ly/bkXY7d), which we’re reposting since we heard that a few of you received an empty newsletter on Tuesday and we promised that there was information in there).

If you’re not quite at that stage yet, or need help mapping out your startup, you might also want to consider wickedstart.com. It’s an online guide to help you launch your startup. With a roadmap of concrete action items that’s customized for your idea, along with access to a community of experts and resources for obtaining business planning guidance, funding, legal guidance, low cost marketing strategies, this is the only online tool that helps you manage the entire startup process, each step of the way. There’s a free 7-day trial and because StartupOneStop is a startup community, wickedstart is offering us a 20% off the subscription price of $10/month. Go to www.WickedStart.com. Discount code: SOS001 Our thanks to Howard for bringing it to our attention, and discounts – and help – are always welcomed and appreciated.

For your amusement, Economist did a story on the New York Tech Meetup, which is the grandaddy of all New York tech community events – and it’s monthly. “Startups: Don’t Mention The Money” – and it’s true. Back in the early days of the NYTM, once the 5-minute presentation was over and the audience Q&A started, there was invariably that question: how do you plan on making money? Which 9 times out of 10 was a showstopper, so the question was eventually banned. If only investors made it that easy. Oh, wait! They did! We now refer to it as Web 1.0. Ok, here’s the link, in case you missed the piece: http://bit.ly/bOMdJt

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, don’t forget that Founders Block is doing a video contest that just might win you a complimentary conference pass to New York Entrepreneur Week (valued at $874.12). Just let the world know – in 60 seconds or less – “What is an Entrepreneur?” The deadline is October 24, and a winner will be chosen on October 25th. For details: http://bit.ly/9adKf6. Or, if you just want to sit back and watch the winning entry, NYEW is offering a 66% off discount to SOS members! Use code SOS345

So, it must be going well out there in startupland, as we’re getting more and more requests. If you’d like to post something and wonder how to do it, just go to www.startuponestop.com and post away! You’re alway welcome to keep them coming, because, as always, help is on the way…

Good morning, All, and guess which venture capital firms are writing checks to early-stage internet and mobile companies in NYC?

You don’t really have to guess, because chubbybrain.com put the list together for us. Mind you, the rankings are not of the top NYC-based venture firms, but rather, who’s providing funding to NYC-based startups. But do you really care where the investors have their offices? Of course not, and the winner is…Lerer Media Ventures! For the full article and the whole list: http://bit.ly/bkXY7d

Which brings us to “Find-A-CoFounder3” taking place this evening at the Hudson Hotel and we’ve gotten a huge response from developers, who’ve already registered to be there. Hey, we read the post – we know that a lot of you are looking for developers and technical co-founders. Here’s your chance! We’ll even have past attendees speak for a few minutes about how they successfully found their co-founders at previous FAC events. So come, find your co-founder, then get busy and refer to the chubbybrain.com list of who to go for early-stage funding. Sounds like a plan to me!

Our VC/entrepreneur panel will feature Silicon Valley VC Vishal Shah with GGV Capital, who recently relocated to NYC and has a different take on what investors look for. We’ll also have serial entrepreneurs Joe Chin (sourcepad.com, Guidester – now Searchandise Commerce – et al) and Beth Schoenfeldt (co-founder, Collective-e and Ladies Who Launch). Next up: a speed-dating session to make it easier for you to partner up. And our thanks to HodgsonRuss for sponsoring. FAC is brought to you by Entrepreneurs Roundtable, StartupOneStop and cozywallet.com. To register: http://fac3.eventbrite.com. And we hope to see you this evening!

Speaking of wake up calls, Zazu would like to treat you to coffee! Well, not ALL of you. They’re a startup, after all. Zaza is now officially published on the Android marketplace and available for free and additional features such as calendar integration, advanced RSS controls, better voices, and more will be released shortly. To celebrate, they’re giving away free coffee to users who wake up with Zazu! Random users who set an alarm on Zazu will wake up to a gift card to Dunkin or Starbucks! Why? Of the 1200 beta testers we signed up, an overwhelming majority of sign ups indicated coffee was part of their morning, so they figured why not give away a cuppa?! For details: http://bit.ly/a01qQ2.

Speaking of free, don’t forget that if you want to attend New York Entrepreneur Week for free, Founders Block is launching a video contest for you to share your entrepreneurial story. Tell us “What is an Entrepreneur?” in 60 seconds or less and you can win a complimentary conference pass, valued at $874.12. The deadline is next week – October 24, and a winner will be chosen on October 25th. Click here for entry details. If you decide not to put your creative juices to work but want to attend anyway, NYEW is offering a 66% off discount to SOS members! But, we also have a ONE TIME SPECIAL – Save 75% (more than $650) on a full week pass – only 20 tickets available! Use code SOS345

The event takes place November 8-12 here in NYC and is the premier movement dedicated to promoting a single belief: entrepreneurs change the world. With over 100 speakers from 40 cities, 15 states and 3 continents, NYEW unites the state’s diverse entrepreneurial community, giving you the opportunity to connect with and learn from New York’s best and brightest entrepreneurs who are relentless, driven and dedicated to improving your business and the economy. For more information and to register: http://www.nyew.org/ SOS discount code: SOS345

Finally, we leave you – for now – with this: Groupon founder Andrew Mason on how to get super-rich. Mason’s first startup – thepoint, and yes, you’ve never heard of it – was not exactly a raging success, but he did learn something from it and here are six points are his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs trying to build businesses (full story here: http://on.mash.to/bUz1j2):
• 1. You’re building a tool, not a piece of art. Mason suggests that you don’t get blinded by vision, as he was with ThePoint. Groupon has been the total opposite, very focused on hooking the customer within the first few seconds.
• 2. Recognize and embrace your constraints.
• 3. Have a growth plan.
• 4. The best tools aren’t always that cool. Groupon chose e-mail because it’s simple and universal.
• 5. You’ll probably fail. Mason suggests that you have the fear of failure in the back of your mind because it’ll help you confront reality and shape your decisions towards building a viable product.
• 6. Quit now. Sometimes you have to let an idea go.

BTW, we got an ovewhelming response for Hashable invites and not to worry – we will get to everyone. Working on it…

For now, on with the show. Hope to see you all this evening at the Hudson Hotel and in the meantime, help is on the way…

Good morning, All, and yes, it’s in private beta and in case you’ve been under a rock or heads down – heaven forfend! – hard at work on your own startup, it’s the connections engine that’s charting the social media landscape and is being written up everywhere – based right here in NYC. http://www.observer.com/2010/media/why-21-year-old-kid-most-powerful-networker-silicon-alley. The official launch is November 1, but if you want an invite or a hookup, email hello@startuponestop.com. Happy to oblige.

Want to attend New York Entrepreneur Week for free? Founders Block is launching a video contest for you to share your entrepreneurial story. Tell us “What is an Entrepreneur?” in 60 seconds or less and you can win a complimentary conference pass, valued at $874.12. Winner is chosen on October 25th. Click here for entry details. Winner is determined by public voting – and frankly, sounds like good fun all around!

Want to attend ‘Find-A-Cofounder 3’ for free? Well, you should have taken a few computer sciences courses. If you did and you are a developer, you get in for free! As it is extremely important for ventures to have an experienced technical Co-Founder, can we do ask that you please forward your resume for to findacofounder@gmail.com. Once it has been reviewed, you will receive a confirmation email of your complimentary ticket. ‘Find A Co-Founder3′ is next week – Tuesday, October 19, and over 50 developers have already registered! Our VC/entrepreneur panel will featureSilicon Valley VC Vishal Shah with GGV Capital, who recently relocated to NYC and has a different take on what investors look for. We’ll also have serial entrepreneurs Joe Chin (sourcepad.com, Guidester – now Searchandise Commerce – et al) and Beth Schoenfeldt (co-founder, Collective-e and Ladies Who Launch). Next up: a speed-dating session to make it easier for you to partner up. And our thanks to HodgsonRuss for sponsoring. To register: http://fac3.eventbrite.com.

In case you’re thinking about starting a startup and don’t know where to start, this piece we found “On building awesome business applications” might give you a bit of inspiration: http://bit.ly/ccxzfl – and hope to see you Tuesday evening!

Need more inspiration? Tomorrow is the TEDxGotham: inaugural event. Registration opens at noon, and the program runs from 1 pm – 6.30 at Cooper Union Great Hall, 51 Astor Place. This inaugural event- “Collaborate, Experiment, Inspire”, will examine new models of collaboration that are building communities, businesses, and a better world. Come hear how the New York community, through its willingness to experiment and stumble, is coming together to inspire a new wave of innovation in design, social media, architecture, government, science and education in New York City. See some of the talks you’ll hear below and view our great lineup of speakers for the event. RSVP: tedxgotham.org/events/

Finally, you guessed it: help is on the way…