12/20/11

Good morning, All,

First, our next SOS+EW+ ER ROOTT breakfast is January 10^th, just for the record, and we do limit the number of attendees, so do sign up early. $25 includes breakfast and it’s $30 at the door. To RSVP: http://roottbreakfast3.eventbrite.com/

The internet is creating a star factor in our sector and fine, when it’s deserved, but there is an element out there who are becoming Media Stars by either jumping on an issue du jour but at the end of the day, seem little more than self-serving, or who are the recipients of Lucky Sperm. Having Fred Wilson blog about you helps as does having Business Insider refer to you as a ‘scenester.’ (Star-Studded Party Photos From The Fabulous Manhattan Home Of The Huffington Post Co-Founder: http://read.bi/uaioZH. By request, the raisecache video: http://raisecache.com/video/) In case you don’t know who she is, a couple of years back, Rachel Sklar decided it was time to change the ratio and “promote visibility, access and opportunity for women in tech”. She has mostly succeeded in promoting visibility, access and opportunity for… Rachel Sklar, who quickly became a Media Star. A scenester she is: you’ll often find her at events usually hanging with…the guys.No one expected her to single-handedly change the ratio, but from the feedback we get from women who meet up with her at events, she might at least consider changing the attitude. Just a thought. And when did BI decide to become the Vanity Fair of the tech press?

Next, a few weeks back, a certain accelerator held a well-attended hospitality event in NYC, the point of which was to attract early stage startups to apply to the program. Not unusual at all, save for the fact that the host/managing director spent the evening pretty much insulting the attendees, who’d ventured out on a cold and rainy night to be there. We were not in attendance, but were informed about it by a number of you, who were quite put off by all of this and rightly so. Note to the host: you need us as much as we need you. Lucky Sperm aside, you’re not a tech star, even if you do play one on TV and the idea is to win the room, not alienate it.

Ego is a dangerous thing or as Michael Arrington put it when he finally vented his anger over the whole TechCrunch/CrunchFund debacle this past Friday following Heather Harde’s announcement of her departure from TechCrunch: “AOL needs to decide whether it exists for the benefit of stockholders, users and employees, or whether it exists for the greater glorification of Arianna Huffington.” (http://uncrunched.com/) OK, no love lost between the two, but TC has lost a lot of talent since Arrington’s departure. Press is good for startups, absolutely, but creating Media Stars who’ve glommed on to an ‘issue’ in order to catapult themselves into the spotlight benefits no one. Oh, and just for the record, in case you missed it, from Penelope Trunk: “Stop Telling Women To Do Startups” http://tcrn.ch/sFWKfA – an excellent read. Speaking of Lucky Sperm, the Chelsea Factor refers to former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, who entered the spotlight this past week on NBC news with a segment entitled ‘Making a Difference.’ Interestingly, she chose for her subject a woman who is standing up for kids surrounded by poverty and crime in rural Arkansas (http://bit.ly/tUhGJd). Think Ms. Clinton knows anyone who, for years, had the opportunity to have made a difference in impoverished Arkansas? Just asking. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

NEW The @ShortyAwards for brands and agencies early submission has been extended to 12/22! Submit here: shortyawards.com/industry_awards

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

In SF: DEMO Enterprise Disruption: An Evening of Innovation & Change, January 5, 2012, DEMO and Fusion-io (DEMO alum) are joining forces to create a memorable event featuring enterprise product demonstrations; special Fusion-io demonstration featuring Fusion-io Chief Scientist Steve Wozniak and a New Year’s party open to the entire tech community of entrepreneurs, developers, press, investors and DEMO alumni. For more information: http://bit.ly/sos8Rt

Apply to demonstrate at the Enterprise Disruption event: Applications are currently being accepted for three student-run companies focused on the enterprise and three DEMO alumni with new enterprise products, to give product demonstrations at DEMO Enterprise. Apply today! (If accepted to demo at this event, fees are waived thanks to scholarship support from Fusion-io) To apply: http://bit.ly/tSD8AA
DEMO Enterprise Disruption Party: Join Fusion-io, DEMO and VentureBeat at Temple Nightclub on January 5 to welcome in the New Year with a rockin’ party for the entire Bay Area Tech Ecosystem! Complimentary Event! To attend: http://demopartysf2012.eventbrite.com/

NEW Rockstart Accelerator Amsteram, deadline January 6^th. Rockstart Accelerator is a new program that helps the most promising teams from around the world to launch their startups and break through on a global scale. We support 10 startups for 100 days, backed by 99 mentors in the main European startup hub: Amsterdam. You build in Amsterdam and pitch in the US. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/vhfgVu

NEW FinTech Innovation Labs, deadline January 18^th. This is an annual program run by the New York City Investment Fund and Accenture for early and growth companies that have developed cutting edge technology products targeted at financial services customers. There’s also an information day on January 10^th. For more information and to apply: http://www.fintechinnovationlab.com/

Mini Seedcamp London, January 31, 2012 is a one day event aiming to connect the 20 best web-tech, mobile and software talent with some of the leading entrepreneurs, developers, and experts from all across Europe and all over the world. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/rqgVQm

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/

NEW Startup Bootcamp Amsterdam, deadline February 12^th. We provide seed investment, 6-months of office space, 99 mentors, daily coaching by serial entrepreneurs in residence and a 3-week road-trip to Silicon Valley. Teams receive a maximum of €17,000 per team and 6 months of free office space in return for 8 percent of equity. The accelerator program operates for 3 months. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/vWpBqW

NEW NXTP LABS/TechStars Argentina deadline 13 de Febrero – and that’s the extent of our Spanish. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/rYcDfN

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/

Variations on a theme: Why You Can’t Get Funding: It’s Not Because You’re a Woman. Penelope Trunk set off a firestorm with her TC piece. Do female tech founders have less access to VC funding? Christina DesMarais points out the four mistakes that befuddle both genders when it comes to asking VCs for money. According to her, it’s not your gender; you’re just doing it wrong : http://bit.ly/vLBDtk

Just for fun, Andy Rooney on Women Over Forty: http://bit.ly/qFSTwW

Advice for 2012: Get Big or Get Bought. There are essentially three options for a tech venture outgrowing its startup days: Get big, get bought or go broke. Sensing hard times a-coming, a growing number of entrepreneurs are shooting for door #2. And remember: Google was founded during a down market and Larry Page famously tried to sell if for $1 million (Yahoo said no): http://cnnmon.ie/tH8xis

When Do You Throw in the Towel on Your Struggling Project? Yipit cofounder Vinicius Vacanti says that one of the hardest decisions you have to make, as an entrepreneur, is deciding when to give up on your current struggling project. It’s made especially difficult because you always seem to have an exciting new idea rattling in the back of your head. Oh, it’s also OK to start something new: http://bit.ly/uhnwpN

And if you are about to start something new, take a look at this: Clear, concise and to the point: Airbnb: A $1.3 Billion-Dollar Startup’s First-Ever Pitch Deck. http://read.bi/qaSVN8

Facebook Shareholders Suck…(Or, Why This Is Not Bubble 2.0). And according to James Altucher, sock puppets aside, there was never a bubble 1.0 either. And he makes a good argument. If only pigs could fly and pets could drive, eh?: http://tcrn.ch/tc0fbM

What kind of a world do we live in, where SOPA and PIPA, where the internet is legislated by congressmen who are basically clueless about technology (Dear Congress, It’s No Longer OK To Not Know How The Internet Works http://bit.ly/vDpZ1L)

Let Me Introduce Myself. Mark Suster has a pet peeve: when you bring your team to a meeting, let them introduce themselves. Why is it a pet peeve? For starters, if you bring people to the meeting with you they should all have a role in the presentation: http://bit.ly/vU4nit

The War on Christmas? Think Again. Yes, it’s that time of year and according to Mark Birch, it is definitively, unequivocally Christmas time in the US, so have a Very Merry Christmas and drink plenty of spiked eggnog (yes, recipe included): http://bit.ly/srkw3O

It’s Christmas and admittedly, we love snow, so just in case the flurries dont’ show up on the big day, you can always type “Let it Snow” on google, for a pleasant surprise, and our thanks to Mashable for pointing this out. For the wrapping-paper challenged out there: Here’s How to Wrap Your Holiday Gifts, Perfectly [video]: http://tnw.co/uy1MRN

Have a safe and a very happy holiday and until then, as always, help is on the way…

12/13/11

Good morning, All,

It’s the holidays, and one of our members turned us on to some free resources for entrepreneurs at our last SOS+EW+ ER ROOTT breakfast. Our next one is January 10^th, just for the record, and we do limit the number of attendees, so do sign up early. And who can turn down coffee, tea and – free. Advice, that is. $25 includes breakfast and it’s $30 at the door. To RSVP: http://roottbreakfast3.eventbrite.com/

The shot heard round the twitterverse. Last week, Twitter took aim at Facebook and Google+. (Twitter Just Fired A Cannonball At Facebook And Google+: http://read.bi/tYpnCB). Facebook may have 800+ million members, but Twitter wants all 7 billion on the planet. Heads up, Twitter and note to self: if you’re going to make changes, make sure it’s at least somewhat seamless/easy for your users to take on the world with you, but nooo and of course there was a backlash. Especially from iPhone users, which was good news for third party developers. Tapbots responded by putting Tweetbot, normally $2.99, on sale for a limited time. For your .99 download: http://bit.ly/kJnTTi Think Twitter will be making another acquisition soon, and just for fun, Five Things You Didn’t Know About Twitter: http://read.bi/uv4bMq. And one they missed: Library of Congress to collect Twitter data: http://bit.ly/tWP2i4 For a guide to what’s what with the new, new twitter: The New, New Twitter and What It Means to You and Your Business. Leave it to Brian Solis to explain it all for you: http://bit.ly/vl6Xr0 Onward and forward.

Christmas present: Free Resource, NYC!
NYC Business Solutions is a font of free services and information: http://on.nyc.gov/3eWk5V
For a catalog of free courses: http://on.nyc.gov/v0jNAz
FastTrac GrowthVentures helps you to grow your existing business, offers free classes on finance and quickbooks and HR laws and…they also have lawyers who will look at contracts for you and assist you through the process of getting a loan… http://on.nyc.gov/s0CK3A
There’s also the Columbia Business School’s Small Business Consulting Program. Deadline for the Spring session is January 10^th. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/vr7gSf.
Our thanks to Kathryn for sharing all of this, and always feel free to send us programs you find, no matter where in the world that happens to be.

Deadlines:

The 2011 New England Venture Summit is tomorrow, December 14^th, at the Hilton in Boston Dedham. If you’d like to meet over 450 of the top VCs, Corporate VCs Angels Investors, Investment Bankers and CEOs of early stage and emerging growth companies, all under one roof, then don’t miss the 2011 New England Venture Summit – attend! Whether you’re a savvy investor seeking new dealsor an innovative startup seeking funding, The 2011 New England Venture Summit is one event you can’t afford to miss! TO REGISTER NOW & SECURE YOUR PLACE http://bit.ly/poOfHn Discount code: SOS

Aetna Foundation Challenge deadline December 15^th The Aetna Foundation invites health services researchers, software developers, designers, clinicians and others to participate in an exciting project designed to make important data about obesity and related data sets available and accessible to health services researchers, public health officials, policy makers and similar stakeholders. The Challenge involves the creation of an interactive browser-based application with, at the developer’s discretion, additional platform capabilities that will take data and facilitate the following:
Basic data visualization
Predictive modeling and scenario analysis
Comparisons across various parameters
Output of key data/analyses into presentation formats such as, but not limited to, PowerPoint
Social networking, bookmarking and sharing
To apply: http://bit.ly/uvv43O

NEW NDRC Launchpad- Ireland’s first accelerator program – deadline December 16^th, focused on supporting the next generation of digital entrepreneurs to accelerate good ideas to sound start-ups. Location is Dublin and the program runs for 3 months. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/jhQQVR

AI Challenge, sponsored by Google, deadline December 18^th. The AI Challenge is all about creating artificial intelligence, whether you are a beginning programmer or an expert. Using one of the easy-to-use starter kits, you will create a computer program (in any language) that controls a colony of ants which fight against other colonies for domination. It only takes 5 minutes to submit one of the starter kits to the website and watch your ant colony fight for domination against colonies created by other people from around the world. From there check out the tutorials on how to locally run your bot and begin programming! To participate: http://aichallenge.org/

NEW Health Care Innovation Challenge, Letter of Intent Deadline December 19^th. Application deadline: January 27^th. The Health Care Innovation Challenge will award up $1 billion in grants to applicants who will implement the most compelling new ideas to deliver better health, improved care and lower costs to people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, particularly those with the highest health care needs. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/swdSTU

NEW In SF: DEMO Enterprise Disruption: An Evening of Innovation & Change, January 5, 2012, DEMO and Fusion-io (DEMO alum) are joining forces to create a memorable event featuring enterprise product demonstrations; special Fusion-io demonstration featuring Fusion-io Chief Scientist Steve Wozniak and a New Year’s party open to the entire tech community of entrepreneurs, developers, press, investors and DEMO alumni. For more information: http://bit.ly/sos8Rt

Apply to demonstrate at the Enterprise Disruption event: Applications are currently being accepted for three student-run companies focused on the enterprise and three DEMO alumni with new enterprise products, to give product demonstrations at DEMO Enterprise. Apply today! (If accepted to demo at this event, fees are waived thanks to scholarship support from Fusion-io) To apply: http://bit.ly/tSD8AA
DEMO Enterprise Disruption Party: Join Fusion-io, DEMO and VentureBeat at Temple Nightclub on January 5 to welcome in the New Year with a rockin’ party for the entire Bay Area Tech Ecosystem! Complimentary Event! To attend: http://demopartysf2012.eventbrite.com/

Mini Seedcamp London January 2012 is a one day event aiming to connect the 20 best web-tech, mobile and software talent with some of the leading entrepreneurs, developers, and experts from all across Europe and all over the world. Date to be announced soon. For more information: http://bit.ly/rqgVQm

Your SOLUTION is Not My PROBLEM, or How to Pitch to Investors. Remember folks: pitch the PROBLEM first, connect with your audience emotionally around the problem, and then — and ONLY then — offer your solution as the remedy to that problem. Oldie but goodie from Dave McClure: http://bit.ly/dtO29

Selling out: What Obligation (if any) Is Owed. Yes, Eric Wiesen (RRE) wrote this in light of the Gowalla acquisition, which was just the latest in a series of a company being bought for its team rather than what they built. Some good guidelines here for you and go, cows! http://wiesen.tumblr.com/

FAQ: What startups should know about the U.S. crowdfunding bill. It’s now in the Senate and changes are being made. ProFounder has already run into some problems. Here’s the latest. So far: http://bit.ly/smARep

The fox guarding the chicken coop: Shockingly Unshocking: Two Congressional Staffers Who Helped Write SOPA/PIPA Become Entertainment Industry Lobbyists Two high level Congressional staffers who have been instrumental in creating or moving forward both PROTECT IP (PIPA) and SOPA have taken jobs with two of the biggest entertainment industry lobbyists, who are working very hard to convince Congress to pass the legislation they just helped write. And people wonder why the American public looks on DC as being corrupt. http://bit.ly/uREG17 Then again, your tax dollars at work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHiicN0Kg10

Twelve Steps to Sucking Less. What we do is not easy, and we all have those times when we doubt ourselves. Finally, guidelines for those times: http://bit.ly/v0uLPF

Speaking of which: Why I’d Rather Err on the Side of Direct Feedback Than Pleasantries. Some of the pearls from Mark Suster: Don’t give people a free pass on feedback. Take the harder track. Have a point-of-view. State it. Defend it. Push your colleagues (or your boss!) to produce higher quality work by challenging assumptions. http://bit.ly/sBbCzr

7 Keys to Startup Survival in Today’s Now Economy. Changing the culture and mindset in an existing businesses is difficult and slow, so this becomes another “opportunity” for smart entrepreneurs and startups to excel. John M. Bernard does a great job outlining seven key steps to success today in his new book, “Business at the Speed of Now.” They apply to any business, but every startup better lead with these: http://bit.ly/uQNRNu

And from SOS member Frank Denbow: On Honesty in Startupland. “The issue of honesty does come up frequently in these discussions with New York tech entrepreneurs. Are we giving each other honest feedback on the projects and ideas we are working on? I’m worried that we aren’t. “ With you on that one, Frank: http://bit.ly/nKfy8H

How To Choose A Board Member . Entrepreneur Elad Gil spells out what board members do, what to look for – and, equally importantly, what to watch out for: http://bit.ly/u86WZh

The web is there for many things and many reason. Some things you just can’t make up – and someone did! http://youtu.be/WoxKaaWY9Y4 It is kind of cat-chy, though. And on that note, now, as always, help is on the way…

12/6/11

Good morning, All,

We’ve got a lot of new members and just to review, here’s how to post to the list: Easy: Go to http://startuponestop.com/ and follow the ‘Post to the list’ link. You’re free to post what you need, what you can offer, or even if you just have a or two question. And welcome!

It’s true that as of January 1st, you won’t be able to buy 100 watt incandescent light bulbs in the US, so stock up now and as a corollary to last week’s Networking 101, a lot of you are out there networking (we know; we’ve been meeting you!), and hopefully making connections. Here are a few more tips for you:

1. If you need something, ask for it. Don’t be shy and we know it’s not always easy. In fact, it’s part of your job. That’s why it’s called ‘working the room.’
2. Be specific. And clear. Tell the person precisely what you need. It might not be his or her exact sweet spot, but he or she may know someone who can help you – and are more likely to make an introduction if you ask. Take them up on it. And follow up. Reminders are good.
3. Don’t forget to say ‘thank you.’
4. Stay in touch. If that person came through for you, helped you move the needle in some way – or at least seemed receptive to what you’re doing – drop him or her a note and let them know. If you’ve made progress since last you met, share the information. Even if it happens to be a month later. If it happens to be an investor, congratulations – you might just have just made a dent on their radar.
5. Meetings at networking events flash by in a minute. And everyone’s meeting a lot of new people in a very short amount of time. Don’t assume that person will remember you forever, just because you talked to them for a few minutes, and don’t confuse taking someone’s business card with having made a connection. That comes later – once you follow up. That’s what might make you more memorable and may get you to that bona fide next meeting, where the work actually gets done.
6. It’s ok to meet someone twice. Maybe you didn’t hear back from them the first time. Go reintroduce yourself. Give them an update. You’ve got nothing to lose.
7. Never give up; never surrender. No matter whose list of advice to entrepreneurs we read, there’s always one point everyone mentions: Be Persistent. Again, that doesn’t mean stalking. It means keep going. Keep trying. Keep talking. And it’s not always them: sometimes it’s you. Yes, you’re looking for a $500k seed round. Do you have a business plan? A business model? A prototype you can show, or better yet, a product that has been gaining some traction? The more you have to offer, the more likely your persistence will pay off. in other words, help them help you. And not everyone says yes immediately. Remember: Fred Wilson turned Avner Ronen (boxee) down again and again. Avner sent him updates regularly for 18 months before Fred finally said yes.

We seem to love lists in this industry. A number of bloggers who get cited usually have their lists of things to do to be successful – or the landminds to watch for – but remember: they’re speaking their truth, and the true disruptors tend not to follow the rules at all. Except the Rules of Networking. Those, of course, are sacred, but as a general reminder: Must Watch: 46 seconds of Steve Jobs on changing the world – http://tnw.co/uAnUB4 Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

4 Reasons Why You Should Apply To Women 2.0 PITCH, deadline December 7th. Forbes did a piece on it. Link to apply is there as well: http://onforb.es/tnj94Y

NEW Heads up, SoCal: Collective Inspiration Holiday Party/Digital Family Reunion, December 8^th. 6 pm – 11, Wocano Restaurant, Santa Monica. RSVP: http://bit.ly/trANDN

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 AngelPad application deadline December 11th(11:59 PM PST)
AngelPad is a mentorship program founded by a team of ex-Googlers to help web-technology startups build better products, attract additional funding and ultimately grow more successful businesses. It’s based in SF and goes for 10 weeks. Companies typically receive $20,000 in exchange for a small amount of common shares. To apply: http://bit.ly/kRrZF2

NEW Aetna Foundation Challenge deadline December 15^th The Aetna Foundation invites health services researchers, software developers, designers, clinicians and others to participate in an exciting project designed to make important data about obesity and related data sets available and accessible to health services researchers, public health officials, policy makers and similar stakeholders. The Challenge involves the creation of an interactive browser-based application with, at the developer’s discretion, additional platform capabilities that will take data and facilitate the following:
Basic data visualization
Predictive modeling and scenario analysis
Comparisons across various parameters
Output of key data/analyses into presentation formats such as, but not limited to, PowerPoint
Social networking, bookmarking and sharing
To apply: http://bit.ly/uvv43O

NEW AI Challenge, sponsored by Google, deadline December 18^th. The AI Challenge is all about creating artificial intelligence, whether you are a beginning programmer or an expert. Using one of the easy-to-use starter kits, you will create a computer program (in any language) that controls a colony of ants which fight against other colonies for domination. It only takes 5 minutes to submit one of the starter kits to the website and watch your ant colony fight for domination against colonies created by other people from around the world. From there check out the tutorials on how to locally run your bot and begin programming! To participate: http://aichallenge.org/

NEW Mini Seedcamp London January 2012 is a one day event aiming to connect the 20 best web-tech, mobile and software talent with some of the leading entrepreneurs, developers, and experts from all across Europe and all over the world. Date to be announced soon. For more information: http://bit.ly/rqgVQm

Carrier IQ: How To Find It, And How To Deal With It. By now, you’ve probably heard all about Carrier IQ, the mobile logging software that an intrepid researcher named Trevor Eckhart found lurking on a number smartphones from multiple manufacturers and carriers. According to Eckhart’s research, Carrier IQ is capable of tracking what apps you’re running to where your phone is to what buttons are being pressed — it sounds scary, but Carrier IQ claims that collecting that information ultimately helps end-users. Read on. There are instructions on how to uninstall it: http://tcrn.ch/sYCoqv There is a Senate investigation, but why all guns pointed at Carrier IQ? HTC said publicly that the carriers mandated that they install this. Why isn’t anyone questioning why Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T and (potentially) Verizon, mandated that this be added by the hardware manufacturers? Why isn’t anyone asking the carriers what their action plan is to ensure it is removed from the millions of existing smartphones that have it? Was the cost of the data stream packet throughput passed on to consumers? If yes, can you say ‘class action lawsuit’? Just saying.

With the announcement on Friday that Facebook is opening an engineering office in NYC, we thought this might be helpful to those of you thinking of applying: Ace this test and get a job interview with Facebook http://bit.ly/vPy3XY

Are you fundable? So you say. Take this simple test and find out: http://bit.ly/iI0Fj6

Speaking of which, from our friend Howard Greenstein at inc. magazine: Tool to Predict Tech Start-up Success: http://bit.ly/pzVtY2

How to Make Your Startup Go Viral The Pinterest Way. Some startups go crazy with hype and users right after launch. And some don’t. Pinterest was not an overnight success. But slow and steady – and sometimes viral – wins the race: http://tcrn.ch/tTyxC2

Steve Case Launches $450 Million East Coast Venture Fund. AOL co-founder and former CEO Steve Case announced on Thursday that he and two former AOL colleagues, Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis, have raised a $450 million venture capital fund that will focus on startups outside of Silicon Valley. The Revolution Growth fund will operate under Case’s private holding company, Revolution, which is an investor in LivingSocial and Zipcar, among others. The fund will make just 10 or 12 investments over the next five years, and it expects each investment to be in the $25 million to $50 million range. For more information: http://on.mash.to/s6VSR1

Mark Suster: The End is Near for Angel Investors. The entrepreneur turned VC warns that there is too much money chasing too few marketable ideas. The crash, he says, is coming next year. Can you say ‘Groupon IPO?’ http://bit.ly/ucTqi9

You can only work just so far from ShakeShack: Return of the Diaspora: After a Taste of the Valley, New York Techies are Coming Home. That seems to be the consensus among a contingent of New York founders who made the pilgrimage to Silicon Valley but have returned to be part of an up-and-coming scene, as well as for the nightlife, the restaurants, and the higher baseline average peer attractiveness. http://bit.ly/vq2yb

McDonald’s is a different story: The farthest spot from any McDonald’s is in the Nevada desert. Yes, someone actually charted this: goo.gl/awRWe

Christmas is coming and a lot of you are probably making your lists of what to get. Well, to make it just a bit easier, here’s list of what not to get: 10 Stupid Gadgets That We Can’t Believe Exist http://read.bi/tlQDPb. That’s it from us and now, as always, help is on the way…

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Monthly Archives: December 2011