11/29/11

Good morning, All,

Our next EW+SOS+ER breakfast will be December 6th, and it’s the Midtown Edition, centrally located at Wichcraft at 555 Fifth Avenue. Yes, we do keep them intime so that everyone is able to participate and tell us what you’re up to – and what you need. RSVP here: http://roottbreakfast2.eventbrite.com/

It’s December. Holiday music is in the air and early stage investors are pretty much in the wind. Or will be soon enough. Many of them will be at the many parties/events that are happening around the world this time of year. To help you make the most of it: The Basic Rules of Networking – in no particular order.

Rule #1: Show up! Tell yourself you’ll go for an hour. A good ice breaker? Try, ‘hello,’ and take it from there. The important thing is to put one foot in front of the other, and go. You might want to bring a wingman and work the room together, or divide and conquer. But make sure you don’t talk to just each other. That’s not helpful.
Rule #2: Check out who else will be there before you go. Most events list the attendees. Target those people you want to talk to. Go up and introduce yourself. If you happen to be at one of those rare events where people are not wearing name badges, find the organizer and ask if he or she can make an introduction, or at least identify that person to you. Don’t be shy: it’s part of a good host’s – or an assistant’s – job. If the host blows you off, think twice about registering for one of his/her events in future, and make sure your host isn’t busy with someone else at the time.
Rule #3: Bring business cards. Ask for business cards, when appropriate, and follow up. Download the linkedin app that let’s you capture someone’s information and send that person a linkedin invite. Ask first. Make sure they want to connect with you.
Rule #4: Don’t just look for investors – look for mentors as well. At our last networking event two weeks ago, yes, we had very helpful and active early stage investors who spoke to everyone who requested their ear. We also received a number of thank you notes from attendees who’d met – or to whom we’d introduced – entrepreneurs who worked in their vertical, or who had had successful exits in their vertical. Be open: one never knows…
Rule #5: Meet at least one new person at each event. Not just the speakers, but the rank and file as well. You may not get to talk to the CEO, and chances are, one of his or her associates, who is no doubt also there, will be much easier to approach – and will more likely take a follow up meeting.
Rule #6: Meet other attendees as well. They’re there for the same reason you are: to network. And you don’t know whom they might know who could possibly help you. You might know someone/have talked to someone in the room who could possibly help that person, too. Play it forward.
Rule #7: If it’s an event with a panel discussion and you want to meet one of the speakers, ask a question – the more informed, the better.Do your homework: read some of his/her most recent blog posts before you go. Introduce yourself afterwards. If you didn’t have a question to ask but have something that might interest that speaker, still introduce yourself afterwards; speak to him/her briefly; ask for a business card and offer to follow up. Oh, and follow up. Same holds true if you meet this person at a networking event/party. Speak to him/her – briefly – and offer to follow up. And follow up
Rule #8: DO NOT STALK. DO NOT ENGAGE IN A MONOLOGUE. You already know what you have to say – listen to what others have to say – and what they might have to offer.
Rule #9: Work the room. Don’t sit/stand in one spot all evening. I call it doing a lap.
Rule #10: Follow up with an email in the next day or two. Remind that person where you met – in the subject line – and if you’d like to get together, suggest coffee and ask when they might be available.

I know this sounds simple and straightforward. You’d be surprised how many events we attend where people do not have business cards. Or they sit in one spot all night, usually at the bar. Not helpful. Unless you’re there with a completely different agenda. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

Samsung’s $100k Challenge to Developers, deadline November 29^th. Samsung is offering $225,000 in cash and prizes for the most innovative converged apps that enable an interactive home entertainment experience between Samsung TVs and other devices. The 2011 Samsung Free the TV Challenge invites software developers to create compelling converged apps that offer seamless user interaction between a Samsung Smart TV and at least one other screen, such as a phone, tablet or computer. Last year, we released the first-ever Samsung TV App SDK and launched the 2010 Free the TV Challenge to develop native apps on our line of Smart TVs and Blu-ray devices. This year we take another leap forward to free the TV with “converged apps” — multi-screen apps that offer immersive, interactive home entertainment experiences. For more information and to apply: http://www.freethetvchallenge.com/

4 Reasons Why You Should Apply To Women 2.0 PITCH, deadline November 30th. Forbes did a piece on it. Link to apply is there as well: http://onforb.es/tnj94Y

LaunchpadLA, deadline: December 5^th. To apply: http://bit.ly/lf8k3J. The good news: Launchpad LA Receives VC Funding: $50,000 Per Startup: http://tcrn.ch/tAoyCQ

Thiel Fellowship, Deadline December 31^st. Yes, it’s Peter Thiel. An ideal candidate is 19 years old or younger as of December 31, 2011 and has ideas that simply cannot wait. She or he wants to change the world and has already started to do it in some fashion. We want fellows who dream big and have clear plans, who take risks and learn from mistakes, who think long-term and like to tinker. Inspire us. To apply: http://bit.ly/sf9t4p

TechStars NYC, early appliction deadline: January 10^th. Final deadline: January 23^rd. Time for the Spring session. To apply: http://apply.techstars.com/ For more information: http://www.techstars.com/

NYC Big App Awards – New York City is challenging software developers to create apps that use city data to make NYC better. $50k in cash and prizes! You have from now until January 25^th to enter. For more information and to apply: http://2011.nycbigapps.com/

The Appy Awards – enter once and you could win twice. Deadline March 21, 2012 but any entry you submit today may also be selected as our “Featured App of the Week“, scoring you some seriously instant gratification. And we doesn’t love that? For more information and to enter – any time – http://appyawards.net/

An Interactive Map Of The New York City Startup Ecosystem. Startups are popping up all over New York City and Business Insider has compiled a list of nearly 100 companies, accelerators and work spaces and their locations. If your startup isn’t listed, send an email to zlichaa@businessinsider.com and they’ll add it: http://read.bi/uqpykl

7 Tips For Getting Acquired. Note that the second tip is to start early, meaning, target and network. Did we not just say that? Also note, as the writer says, the key is to focus on growth and creating value for your users or customers, not (build) a company to get bought. http://bit.ly/vSkeZh

Here’s Why I’m Treating Startups More Critically Lately. According to Robert Scoble, “The marketplace is far harsher than I am and I’ve seen signals from the marketplace that entrepreneurs better heed: there are too many startups, too many things to try, too many apps that really don’t do much more than Google.” Why is he being so harsh? “I want better technology to use.” Good enough: http://read.bi/vF9ry5

How startups get connected with investors on AngelList. As the writer says, the best way to be seen is to stand out. http://bit.ly/rA5yAF Again, angellist’s url: http://angel.co/

Patience and hard work. If you build it, congratulations, but don’t expect too much. If you build it, market it, support it, monitor its publicity, and keep improving it, then they will come, slowly, in fives and tens. Each new subscription is proof that you’re getting somewhere. The trick is ensuring constant growth, and that takes hard work. http://bit.ly/5nL8Y

The Real London Tech Startup Scene. TechHub and Duedil identify hard-core tech startups in London, and since we know we have a number of members in the UK, we thought this might be helpful. Note: Active VC investors are also identified: http://bit.ly/w3GTIH

Speaking of Europe: EU Court of Justice: Censorship in Name of Copyright Violates Fundamental Rights. The Belgian judge devolved the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), asking EU judges the following question: “Does EU law allow a national judge to give an injunction for an ISP to filter all the electronic communications passing through its network?” Point taken: http://bit.ly/uv8CGc From RWW and the issue from this side of the pond: Legal Analysis of SOPA/PROTECT-IP: No, It’s Not Censorship. Of course, the analysis comes from a practicing attorney, who leaves us with, “I have confidence in the structure of our court system, that the prosecutors and the courts are held to certain standards that should not allow a statute such as this to be manipulated.” Hmmm: http://rww.to/s4djhp

In honor of EW coming up: What Is An Entrepreneur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZKhZmvJuZY

Steve Jobs Explains the Rules for Success: http://youtu.be/KuNQgln6TL0

One of our members recently commented to us that we’re always upbeat and positive. Guilty. He wants dirt – and knows that yours truly is a former gossip columnist. Well, we have been making a list – and checking it twice – and it’s coming. Christmas present and it’ll be all about The Things That No One Says Out Loud. For now, looking forward to seeing some of you at breakfast next week and until then, as always, help is on the way…

11/22/11

Good morning, All,

Our next EW+SOS+ER breakfast will be December 6th, centrally located at Wichcraft at 555 Fifth Avenue. We keep it to a small group; everyone introduces him or herself, and everyone has the opportunity to talk about what they’re doing – and what they need to get to the next level. Hope to see you there! RSVP here: http://roottbreakfast2.eventbrite.com/

Cross one off the bucket list: last week we met one of our personal favorites – Mark Suster – who spoke at the Vator VentureShift conference and stated unequivocally that the current tech bubble will burst next year – 2013 at the latest. His recommendation: take as much money as you can – NOW – and since there are a number of people out there who are suddenly ‘investors,’ he also warned about inexperience/newly minted investors, and we’d like to share an excellent blog post Mark Birch on this very subject not too long ago: (The Trouble with Non-Investor Investors. “You can file this under investors to avoid,” states Birch, and to read on: http://bit.ly/vZRaFH). Suster also said that there’s no such thing as superangels, and mentioned the barbell, which, if you haven’t been paying attention, is the industry term du jour. ‘Barbell’ refers to that investment no man’s land between early stage and serious VC money, where the investment landscape almost literally flatlines. It’s also the place that separates out the serious companies: where you literally have to make it on your own petard or close up shop. You’d better have something no one can live without – and are willing to pay for – or has made a dramatic change in the landscape, and no one can live without, like twitter. Just something to think about. That said, the angels are out there, but spend your money and build your product wisely and yes, Virginia, you do need a business model.

The demons. Two troublesome pieces of legislation before Congress. First the Entrepreneurs Access to Capital Act, or ‘Crowdfunding’ bill would expose investors to swindles http://bsun.md/tYijgE It passed in the House by a vote of 407-17, but as written, it offers zero protection for investors and at the end of the day, may well hurt us all. Second is SOPA, which stands for the Stop Online Piracy Act, or as TheNextWeb so accurately states: SOPA Is An Easy No: These Idiots Are Coming For Your Internet (http://tnw.co/tuuAOr). There was an online protest this past week, but far from over. The EFF has tool for you http://bit.ly/ufie58) This is an issue that requires our attention, and action, and thank you, Iggy, for reminding us about the urgency of this matter. And just to remind you who’s making these decision/voting on these measures: CBS 60 Minutes : Congress Trading Stocks on Inside Info (Boehner, Pelosi,Bachus) Part 1 of 2 (http://youtu.be/n-uefCvtp24) Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

4 Reasons Why You Should Apply To Women 2.0 PITCH, deadline November 30th. Forbes did a piece on it. Link to apply is there as well: http://onforb.es/tnj94Y

LaunchpadLA, deadline: December 5^th. To apply: http://bit.ly/lf8k3J. The good news: Launchpad LA Receives VC Funding: $50,000 Per Startup: http://tcrn.ch/tAoyCQ

NEW Thiel Fellowship, Deadline December 31^st. Yes, it’s Peter Thiel. An ideal candidate is 19 years old or younger as of December 31, 2011 and has ideas that simply cannot wait. She or he wants to change the world and has already started to do it in some fashion. We want fellows who dream big and have clear plans, who take risks and learn from mistakes, who think long-term and like to tinker. Inspire us. To apply: http://bit.ly/sf9t4p

NEW TechStars NYC, early appliction deadline: January 10^th. Final deadline: January 23^rd. Time for the Spring session. To apply: http://apply.techstars.com/ For more information: http://www.techstars.com/

Peter Shankman was one of our guest entrepreneurs this past week at our SOS+ER+EW event, and generously spent most of the evening meeting one-on-one with startups. And gave sage advice when he stood up for a few minutes to speak publicly: Investor Peter Shankman’s Advice: Don’t Ask for Money, which includes six very helpful tips: http://bit.ly/vDGL3n

Don’t Forget to Bootstrap. Speaking of spending wisely – or not taking investment money at all: http://bit.ly/sOxwMs

Brad Harrison from BHV also spoke at the event, and made five very different and equally important points: Investor Brad Harrison’s Event Advice: Focus on Social and Business: http://bit.ly/sB6L8h

The Brilliant Way To Negotiate In Three Easy Lessons. “Negotiation is almost as important as sales,” writes James Altucher. “By the way, it’s not as important. Much more important to get the foot in the door (the first “yes”) then have the door slammed in your face. But once the foot is in the door you have to make sure it’s not chopped off. This is negotiation:” http://tcrn.ch/vxdvLm

The Market Size Fallacy. How does one measure the market size of a company creating a completely new market? http://bit.ly/sxofGZ

And speaking of the crowdfunding bill, again from Mark Birch: Gambling, Investing and Startups: “We should be cautious about jumping head first into opening up startup investing to all. In theory, it sounds like an excellent idea to help even more entrepreneurs fund even more innovative ideas that could spur job creation. It is the unintended consequences however that could come back to harm a lot of people that are ill-equipped to handle the roller-coaster ride of private market investing..” And as an early stage investor himself, Birch knows of what he speaks: http://bit.ly/rw7mcv

Crowdfunding: Where it has been and where the new bill is taking it (infographic). The positives and negatives: http://bit.ly/vY7C8d

For UK-based startups looking towards crowdfunding: Crowfunding gold rush as London Group raises record 1 million pounds on Crowdcube: http://bit.ly/uPIYYk

Heads up, India: Top Angel Investors To Attend VCCircle’s 2nd Angel Investor Summit, December 1^st. Angel investment in Indian continues to see a lot of traction, with an increasing interest from large, successful entrepreneurs and existing institutional investors. We have no personal experience or member feedback from this group, but here’s the information, if you’re interested in attending: http://bit.ly/uKTlGq

Your requests for cookies. Some of you have asked me about them this week and yes, they are available and yes, they’re wheat-free, dairy free, egg-free, naturally sweetened, contain no artificial ingredients – and they’re unbelievably good! My Type 2 diabetic other half can safely eat them, too, btw. Here’s the deal: they come in three varieties: chocolate chip, chocolate chocolate chip (which taste like brownies) and peanut butter and yes, we can make them nut-free – except for the peanut butter. If you want to order some, email hello@startuponestop.com.

In honor of Thanksgiving and it being not only a short week, but one of the biggest travel weekends of the year, we’re not including the usual I Need Help/I Can Help, as we don’t want to shortchange anyone. But we’ll be back next week, so feel free to post, if you need help or have help to offer. If you’re new to the list, simply go to startuponestop.com and follow the link. In the meantime, have a safe and wonderful holiday and help will be on the way soon enough…

Elevator Pitch/Member News

When you have good news to share – let us know and we’re happy to spread the word!

HPVP Invests In PublicStuff (with Lerer Ventures & First Round Capital). Congratulations to ER Accelerator graduate publicstuff (Need Your Street Plowed Or A Pothole Filled? File A Ticket On PublicStuff, A Community Help Line In The Cloud: http://read.bi/vLGJFg). PublicStuff helps towns discover issues and proactively address them. You can check out the company here: http://www.publicstuff.com/ More about the investment here: http://bit.ly/v1i10J

11/15/11

Good morning, All,

Long one this week, but next week’s a holiday, and we’ll keep that one short and pithy. First, our rooftop event is tonight and we’ve got some new investors for you to meet so register now and don’t miss out: http://terraceparty5-auto.eventbrite.com/. NOTE: the address is 121 West 45th Street, 3rd Floor. Our next EW+SOS+ER breakfast will be December 6th, centrally located at Wichcraft at 555 Fifth Avenue, RSVP here: http://roottbreakfast2.eventbrite.com/

We ran into an old friend not too long ago – a former VC who decided to return to his entrepreneurial roots. We noted that funding shouldn’t be a problem for him, given his success record and the fact that he knows a number of prominent VCs personally. “That’s the last money I’d take,” he noted. “Too expensive.” Entrepreneurs are a scrappy lot and there’s always another way, and lo and behold, look what we found, from BI: The Way Companies Are Getting Financed Is Completely Changing (http://read.bi/u7bIve). The article goes into the alternate means to funding – crowdfunding, accelerators, superangels, et al, and good timing, but wait, there’s more! It mentions a few from each category, but for more complete information worldwide, knock yourselves out:

Crowdfunding:
13 Crowdfunding Websites to Fund Your Business http://bit.ly/lSyaXU
For more intel – Infographic: The Crowdfunding Landscape (including pros/cons of different crowdfunding sites): http://rww.to/sP2pjG

Incubators and Accelerators:
List of Tech Incubators and Accelerators Worldwide: http://bit.ly/rUvM5U
Help for Startups! – A semi-complete list of (wordwide) startup accelerator programs http://bit.ly/aSjtsh
Top 15 US Incubators and Accelerators Ranked. Note, this article is from 5/11. Many more have launched in the interim, but it’s a list, nonetheless: http://bit.ly/tiobAf
Mark Birch’s Complete List of NYC Tech Incubators, Accelerators and Workspaces. “As I always explain to start-up founders, such programs are not necessary,” Birch writes. “If you get in and use the program to its fullest advantage however, they can clearly provide a leg up. The mentors, connections and resources are invaluable especially when tough times arise.” http://bit.ly/nCQV8b
Google is launching its second incubator, this time in Israel. The incubator will be in Tel Aviv in August and initially host about 20 pre-seed stage start-ups that are developing open code technologies. http://bit.ly/vDL49D

Early Stage Investors, Angels and Superangels:
David Lerner’s Map of Silicon Alley’s Early-Stage Tech Investor Ecosystem (updated) http://bit.ly/czshFG
What are all the early-stage startup funds world-wide? For Quora’s answer: http://b.qr.ae/rSCyIr
To find an angel anywhere in the world: http://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.net/
Complete list of angel investors- http://angel.co/

We’ll post more as we find them, but for now, onward and forward.

Deadlines:

SXSW Accelerator, deadline November 18^th. Do you have a tech startup that began after SXSW last year? Will your product or service be ready to show off at SXSW this year? Does your product or service totally rock? The fourth annual SXSW Accelerator will take place March 12-14 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Show off your innovative web, social media, mobile, web entertainment, health or news technology startup in front of an audience and top judges. (One of last year’s winners was Storify, to give you a point of reference.) Think your company can compete with the best of the best? There’s a $175 fee to apply but if you don’t get in, you still get a great rate on a badge for SXSW. Head over to http://sxsw.com/interactive/startupvillage/accelerator/enter.

ER Accelerator winter session: Deadine November 20th. You don’t have to be NYC based, but you will have to move here during the program – and it is worth your while: each company gets $25,000 in seed funding and three months of:
Free collaborative office space in the heart of New York City
Best-of-class one-on-one mentoring from 140+ of industry’s best experts (both during and after the three month session)
Access to experienced technologists, UI gurus and other product experts
Free legal and other services
Hands-on help from inSITE business interns and engineering interns
Exposure to dozens of leading seed investors and VCs during the Accelerator
At the end of the session, startups will pitch to hundreds of angel investors and venture capitalists and continue to utilize the ER Accelerator network indefinitely! So get those applications in. http://eranyc.com/apply/

Women 2.0 Startup Weekend in SF, November 18^th- 20^th. We provide the co-working space and brain fuel, and you bring the energy and innovation to build something big over the weekend. Both men and women are invited to get your ticket for Women 2.0 Startup Weekend now! To register: http://w2.startupweekend.org/tickets/

4 Reasons Why You Should Apply To Women 2.0 PITCH, deadline November 30th. Forbes did a piece on it. Link to apply is there as well: http://onforb.es/tnj94Y

NEW LaunchpadLA, deadline: December 5^th. To apply: http://bit.ly/lf8k3J. The good news: Launchpad LA Receives VC Funding: $50,000 Per Startup: http://tcrn.ch/tAoyCQ

Speaking of serial entrepreneurs having an easier time of raising money, remember Color? Raised $60 million in VC money pre-launch – for a complete flop. “Bill Nguyen launches startups with haste, never researches the competition, and makes the same mistakes again and again. So why do people keep giving him so much money?” wrote Fast Company, who explains how/why this happened in Bill Nguyen: The Boy In The Bubble: http://bit.ly/nvKZis

This past week, Zynga ‘leaned’ on some of its early employees to surrender portions of their equity (http://on.wsj.com/vxOj7L). The press was up in arms, but there are two sides to every story. Well, three, actually. His side, her side, and the truth: http://bit.ly/vMoC1O

How To Fund A Startup. An oldie by goodie, from Paul Graham. http://bit.ly/6E6efW

How To Raise Money with No Lead. Also from Paul Graham, who spells it all out for you. AKA, the party round: http://venturehacks.com/articles/no-lead

Long Roadmaps: here’s a lesson in having vision for you, and what separates the winners, courtesy of Fred Wilson – and Dennis Crowley: http://bit.ly/vq10Tz

Ever Wonder What It’s Like Inside a VC Pitch Meeting? You Can Be a Fly on the Wall Here, courtesy of Mark Suster, and you might get there eventually, so best to be prepared: http://bit.ly/ttqQtW

November 16^th – National Censorship Day. On 11/16, Congress holds hearings on the first American Internet censorship system. This bill can pass. If it does the Internet and free speech will never be the same: http://www.americancensorship.org/

An SOS member asked us to post this: Bloomberg’s Fraud: Signing a Dead Man’s Name. Freeland Borough, PA’s Mayor Tim Martin died of cancer on September 2, 2010? Yet, one of the New York City mayor’s coalitions still claims him as a member on their website – and signs his name to petitions to this day: http://bit.ly/vL1JbJ

Your requests for cookies. As many of you know, we’ve been bringing our special cookies to events for the last few months. They’re not just any cookies: they’re gluten-free, dairy free, egg-free, naturally sweetened, contain no artificial ingredients – and they’re unbelievably good! My Type 2 diabetic other half can safely eat them, too, btw. So, we’ve actually gotten orders for them from some of you, for Thanksgiving, and happy to share, so here’s the deal: they come in three varieties: chocolate chip, chocolate chocolate chip (which taste like brownies) and peanut butter and yes, we can make them nut-free, if you’re also nut-intolerant – except for the peanut butter, of course. If you want to order some, email hello@startuponestop.com. It would help if you’re NYC based. They’re $9.95 a pound, and you can pick them up, or pay S/H. Let me know by this Saturday.

If you’ve ever wondered where you really stand in the scheme of things you are here: Earth | Time Lapse View from Space | Fly Over | Nasa, ISS. The lightning storms and Aurora Borealis alone are worth a look: http://bit.ly/vq10Tz That’s it from us for now. Looking forward to seeing you on this evening and now, help is on the way…

11/8/11

Good morning, All,

First, our thanks to those who came to our first EW+SOS+ER breakfast last week. We really enjoyed meeting you in a more intime setting for a change and we promise the next one is more geographically desirable/accessible to public transportation – Wichcraft at 555 Fifth Avenue, on December 6. RSVP here: http://roottbreakfast2.eventbrite.com/ and looking forward to seeing you there! In the meantime, our next rooftop event is coming up November 15^th, and make sure to register now: http://terraceparty5-auto.eventbrite.com/ And note: in keeping with the theme of the newsletter – we’ve got some new investors for you to meet, and this time, we’ll be conveniently located in midtown!

We’re getting to that time of year again: holiday season, when people start to take off for points unknown, hit the party re: networking’circuit (as if we’re not out networking every night, anyway – or potentially can be) – and the flow of investment money into startups start to slow down. But tech never rests, and it’s not over yet. For inspiration this week: the angels are out there, and here’s how to find them, no matter where in the world you happen to be:

To find an angel anywhere in the world: http://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.net/
Closer to home: Complete list of angel investors- http://angel.co/ – PS: AngelList has opened up shop at Dogpatch Labs: http://read.bi/pRyRgU
Angel investors on twitter and FB. One of the best ways to develop a relationship with an angel investor is to follow them on Twitter, their blogs and on Facebook. Before contacting an angel, you should read everything they’ve written, tweeted, blogged or said (publicly)–that’s just startup 101. Here’s a lists of some of the world’s most notable angel investors (sorted by location), their Twitter handles, Facebook pages and links to a sampling of their investments. Focus: http://bit.ly/mGLKcD
Indian Angel Network to fund about two dozen start-ups with $150K each. Full story is here, and they’re still looking for more companies: http://bit.ly/tXSNhV
Awesome Foundation Grants Need some funding for your crazy brilliant idea? We award $1,000 grants every month. No strings attached. Your idea is yours alone. We don’t want a stake in it. We just want to help you make it happen. Apply now: http://awesomefoundation.org/submissions/new We started in Boston, but chapters are sprouting up around the world, including Providence, New York City and San Francisco. Want to help start one in your city? See how: http://awesomefoundation.org/chapters/
State governments also have programs to help fund entrepreneurs, so check there as well, and as always – there are the accelerators, including the list from our friends at chubbybrain: http://bit.ly/hTNLSN and while we’re on the subject, chubbybrain has also put together the list of Top 20 NYC Startup Lawyers – and a few of them are SOS members: http://bit.ly/lKqdIi

Deadlines:

A quick reminder that WEDNESDAY, November 9th, is the deadline to both submit your plan to apply to present at the 6th Annual New England Venture Summit being held on December 14th, 2011 at the Hilton in Boston/Dedham MA, as well as the deadline to take advantage of the “early bird” registration savings discount of 50% off. If you are a startup seeking capital and/or partnerships, submit your plan for the opportunity to present at the premier venue connecting emerging growth companies with active Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Corporate VCs and Investment Firms. A select group of 50 Top Innovators from the technology, life sciences and Clean-tech sectors will be chosen to present their breakthrough investment opportunities to an exclusive audience of investors.. E-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for more details and an application. To nominate a company please forward: company name, main contact at firm, contact details and why you think they should present to nominations@youngstartup.com. To register: http://bit.ly/nCkYN6 For a further discount, the code is: sos.

ER Accelerator is now accepting applications for its winter session: Deadine November 19th. You don’t have to be NYC based, but you will have to move here during the program – and it is worth your while: each company gets $25,000 in seed funding and three months of:
Free collaborative office space in the heart of New York City
Best-of-class one-on-one mentoring from 140+ of industry’s best experts (both during and after the three month session)
Access to experienced technologists, UI gurus and other product experts
Free legal and other services
Hands-on help from inSITE business interns and engineering interns
Exposure to dozens of leading seed investors and VCs during the Accelerator
At the end of the session, startups will pitch to hundreds of angel investors and venture capitalists and continue to utilize the ER Accelerator network indefinitely! So get those applications in. http://eranyc.com/apply/

Startup Colorado to launch in November. Silicon Flatirons, a program of the University of Colorado Law School, announced Thursday the creation of Startup Colorado, a program that will attempt to expand the breadth and depth of entrepreneurial networks throughout the state. Program kicks off November 9^th. For more information: http://bit.ly/qTjkc4

6^th Annual New England Venture Summit – Call for Top Innovators and an SOS discount! The early deadline for presenting company applications is October 26^thIf you are a Startup seeking capital and/or partnerships, submit your plan for the opportunity to present at the premier venue connecting emerging growth companies with active Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Corporate VCs and Investment Firms. A select group of 50 Top Innovators from the technology, life sciences and Clean-tech sectors will be chosen to present their breakthrough investment opportunities to an exclusive audience of investors.. E-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for more details and an application. To nominate a company please forward: company name, main contact at firm, contact details and why you think they should present to nominations@youngstartup.com. The event happens December 14^th; 50% off if you register by November 9^th: http://bit.ly/nCkYN6For a further discount, the code is: sos.

Finishweekend, Holland, MI November 12-13. Starting isn’t difficult, but finishing certainly is and we LOVE this concept. Members in Michigan, lucky you. Organizers elsewhere, take note: http://finishweekend.com/

Blueprint Health, Deadline November 13^th. Blueprint Health is a startup accelerator based in New York City that helps entrepreneurs improve the health and wellness industry. We offer an intensive three-month program and provide $20,000 of seed capital, extensive mentorship and a shared work environment to help entrepreneurs go from idea to prototype and provide access to angel and venture capital investors. To apply: http://bit.ly/qzwW7K

4 Reasons Why You Should Apply To Women 2.0 PITCH, deadline November 30th. Forbes did a piece on it. Link to apply is there as well: http://onforb.es/tnj94Y

The Appy Awards – enter once and you could win twice. Deadline March 21, 2012 but any entry you submit today may also be selected as our “Featured App of the Week“, scoring you some seriously instant gratification. And we doesn’t love that? For more information and to enter – any time – http://appyawards.net/

Peter Thiel launches Breakout Labs to fund bold early-stage research. Breakout Labs is aimed at funding cutting-edge, early-stage science and technology research ideas. For more information: http://bit.ly/t9wGSi

4 Start-ups Help Entrepreneurs Get Cash. Lighter Capital, Rebirth Financial, Weemba, and Kabbage are four start-ups on a mission to connect you with cash. http://bit.ly/qM30nS

9 Tips for Raising Startup Funds on AngelList: http://on.mash.to/sYmxSK

Legal checklist for Startups. “I’ve been a corporate lawyer for 17+ years,” writes Scott Edward Walker, “and there are certain fundamental legal mistakes that I’ve seen startups repeatedly make.” Accordingly, he has provided this helpful checklist and we thought we’d share: http://bit.ly/rCTFRk Now that you know what you need, here’s how to create some of those documents you may need: http://www.lawdepot.com/

A lesson for you: If you believe that first mover advantage is everything, think again. Klout changed their algorithm and pissed off more than a few people, and lo and behold: 17 Alternatives to Klout. What goes up, must come down, and thank you, Tom Lehrer: http://rww.to/w3cjWO

Too Many Startups or Too Few Venture Dollars? Starting a company has never been easier. Which doesn’t mean that every idea is a good one. More sound advice from Roger Ehrenberg: http://bit.ly/ruMK7C

100 Must See Interviews with the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs. Don’t let the number scare you. 100 is a lot and honestly? They’re not all ‘must sees.’ Choose wisely: http://bit.ly/tJ5uoe

How Entrepreneurs Can Create Their Own Luck: http://tcrn.ch/vS7012 James Altucher, who wrote this piece, has been lucky and unlucky. He sold his first company. His second company started on a napkin and immediately raised $100MM. He had a great apartment, a family and $15MM in the bank. Then he lost it all. And he started over – successfully. Note: And he’ll be in NYC in December, if you’re in town: http://winningatyourgame.eventbrite.com/

Accelerator deadlines are coming up all the time. We’ve already told you about the 7 Common Mistakes Startups Make on Accelerator Applications (http://on.mash.to/er9xJQ). Now, the other side of the coin, 8 reasons why we think we got in: http://bit.ly/tWtz1D

Chuckle of the week and from the Ain’t It the Truth Department: how users see programmers – and vice versa: http://bit.ly/vGxYOC. And, OK, we’re not at all happy that it’s getting darker so much earlier, now that some of us had to turn our clocks back, and we thought we’d share this with you, in case you’re wondering how it all came about: Daylight Savings Time Explained: http://youtu.be/84aWtseb2-4 That’s it from us for now. Hope to see you on the 15^th and until then, help is on the way…

11/1/11

Good morning, All,

Mark your calendars: November 15^th, the early bird rate is available, so make sure to register now: http://terraceparty5-auto.eventbrite.com/ We’ll have a new crew of investors on hand, and we’ve moved the venue to Hubitat, a new space that’s opening for entrepreneurs on 26^th Street, and it features excellent amenities, associated corporate services – and it’s backed by a team of mentors, including serial entrepreneurs and angel investors to help members where and when they need it. It seems to us a cross between an accelerator and an incubator/shared office space, with mentors in residence. The best of all worlds, and Neil Anderson, who has organized the space and who is himself an angel investor, will be on hand to tell you all about it – and to talk to early stage startups, so be there, and our thanks to Neil and Hubitat for hosting.

We’re also starting our EW+SOS+ER breakfast series – Rock Out For Breakfast - this Thursday, and here’s the drill: $25 includes breakfast at Wichcraft, and your chance to have intime conversations with fellow entrepreneurs, possible mentors, and angel and VC investors. ONLY 30 TIX available for each breakfast, which starts at 8.30 am; personal introductions around the table at 9; and networking until 10. A great way to start the day and it kicks off this Thursday, November 3^rd. You don’t really have to rock. Just be there, and we’ll be kicking off a lunch series, too, for those of you who like to sleep in. To register: http://breakfastevent1.eventbrite.com/

Having a mentor who can help you with your startup is important. Accelerators have them, and how many articles have we cited here about that. So, this could help: it’s a teleclass for startup entrepreneurs, and this one is being conducted by one of our partners and a trusted source. And the topic is so timely for small business owners: funding.
Stefan Doering has owned 7 companies over the past 30 years and raised millions and has helped many others do the same.
On Thursday, November 3^rd, at 12noon PST, 3PM EST, he’s holding a free teleseminar Smart Funding– Entrepreneurs Don’t Need Wall Street!
On this call you will learn:
●      Why Wall Street and banks are not equipped to fund small businesses
●      What are the five crucial components that do into a smart capital raise
●      How entrepreneurs can take matters into their own hands for getting funded
●      What are the key stumbling blocks to raising capital and how to avoid them
●      What goes into an action plan for raising smart capital
●      Tips to keep focused and held accountable to raising capital while running your business
Looking forward to being on the call with you. To register: http://bit.ly/t0INKT

Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins reported on internet trends for 2011 at the Web 2.0 Summit a few weeks back. It’s worth a look at her presentation – and interesting to see where the US is falling in the internet pecking order these days: http://www.kpcb.com/internettrends2011 What we also found even more interesting is that the fastest-growing competitors to the US in technology are countries to which many a US corporation – startup, too – outsources development. It’s cheaper – or so they say. Note: there’s a huge market in secondary IP and you may well be outsourcing to countries where they do not recognize US IP laws. Oh, wait! Those countries don’t recognize IP laws. At all. We’re not saying that all outsourcing is evil or that there are not serious entrepreneurs in those countries who have indeed built outstanding products. Of course there are. We’re just suggesting that, when in doubt, you might want to protect your braintrust. Lean startup concept aside, it still takes money to start a company, and key players, especially good programmers, can be a major cost factor. Which is why – might we suggest insourcing? Just last week we reported on the rise of the South as a tech center. Cost of living is considerably lower than it is in other parts of the country. Maybe not as cheap as China, but the time difference is also a lot easier to deal with and you may actually be able to sleep at night. And for more reasons than just the time difference. Just a thought. Maybe even a caviat.

OK, we can’t resist: Groupon – that classic study in what not to do – is going pubic this week, If you want to know why we spotlight the company so often and so vocally – listen and learn: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/79161022/ Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

Anna Curran is the New York Co-Founder of The Startup Foundation (a Kauffman Foundation project). It takes a lot for a startup to get noticed in this town. Lack of visibility is one of the many a major challenges facing an entrepreneur who is on the path to growing and scaling their businesses. To answer the call, the Startup Foundation NYC will be hosting press events where journalists will have the opportunity connect with several startups curated by theme. The goal is to reveal early stage startups to journalists and help them gain traction. If you’d like a shot at some great press for your startup, here’s a start: http://bit.ly/qsyWz4 Winners will be notified November 2^nd.

NEW AppCircus the open global app showcase platform. – coming to London, deadline November 2^nd. For more information and to enter: http://appcircus.com/

NEW SXSW Accelerator, deadline November 18^th. Do you have a tech startup that began after SXSW last year? Will your product or service be ready to show off at SXSW this year? Does your product or service totally rock? The fourth annual SXSW Accelerator will take place March 12-14 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Show off your innovative web, social media, mobile, web entertainment, health or news technology startup in front of an audience and top judges. (One of last year’s winners was Storify, to give you a point of reference.) Think your company can compete with the best of the best? There’s a $175 fee to apply but if you don’t get in, you still get a great rate on a badge for SXSW. Head over to http://sxsw.com/interactive/startupvillage/accelerator/enter.

The 5th Annual PITCH: Women 2.0 Startup Competition, deadline November 30^th. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/pVlwCg The competition is open to early-stage ventures around the world, from high growth business ventures in web to mobile, from cleantech to gaming. Applying companies must have a female in the founding team, be in beta stage, and have received less than 3 million in funding.

Since we’re on the subject of angels: How 7 Top Angels Do Business. Author Bill Clark is the CEO of Microventures, a startup fundraising platform that uses crowdfunding to allow investors to invest between $1,000 to $10,000 in startups. He also manages the venture capital firm MicroAngel Capital Partners. You can follow him on Twitter @austinbillc. Here, he summarize the strategies of some of the most successful angel investors. http://on.mash.to/vBTI62

Dave McClure’s 10 tips for the perfect investment pitch. “If you’re constructing a way to present your story, you should be aware that most investors have small attention spans”, says McClure. “They may be late to the meeting, they may be reading other stuff on their iPhone. So you want to organize your information in a way that allows them to process it more efficiently.” As a general rule of thumb, the more time you spend speaking, the less time they spend listening. And yes, it is about money, sex and power. The more things change… http://tnw.co/swHuHc

What can an entrepreneur say in an investor meeting that instantly marks them as an amateur? Venture capitalists and angels all have an internal switch that can flip in a meeting with an entrepreneur. Something gets said that marks the entrepreneur as simply too green to invest in. It can be anything. Here’s what some investors who were queried said: http://bo.st/u6sxa7

The Most Effective Habit For Entrepreneurs. James Altucher is an investor, programmer, author, and entrepreneur. He is Managing Director of Formula Capital and has written 6 books on investing, but this advice comes from Steven Covey’s book. Still, all good, and the best advice: be proactive: http://tcrn.ch/u5s6Kf

PETER SCHIFF: In Defense Of The 1%. We’ve heard a lot from the other side, and since the theme today is investors: http://read.bi/rz1NIv

Mentors: an essential engine for growth, lest we forget. How should one best engage a mentor and secure their support? Roger Ehrenberg spells it out: http://bit.ly/pfiUjy

As we said, the first Internet message sent 40 years ago today. Ok, so it crashed the computer. But, gotta start somewhere: http://usat.ly/vkwRVT

Just for fun this week: 7 billion people and you: What’s your number? The world’s population is expected to hit seven billion in the next few weeks. After growing very slowly for most of human history, the number of people on Earth has more than doubled in the last 50 years. Where do you fit into this story of human life? http://bbc.in/uvNabZ That’s it from us this week and hope to see you at the breakfast on Thursday, and don’t forget to turn your clocks back this weekend!. Unti then, as always, help is on the way…

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Monthly Archives: November 2011