12/11/12

Good morning, All,

Some of you know that I’m a recruiter by trade and now, our recruiter hat is on. I’ve gotten quite a few calls lately from clients, and inquiries from some of you whom I’ve run into at the numerous events we attend – all wondering why they can’t find midlevel talent. First, a few points of clarifications:

1. No, they’re not in hiding;
2. No, they haven’t been shipped off to a gulag in some unknown part of the world.
3. No, not all of them have gone the entrepreneurial route and are off the job market.

The truth is that for the past few years, when you’ve called with a position to fill, I’d asked you if you were open to bringing on someone who was entry level as well. Answer: no – you didn’t want to/have the time to train someone. Fast forward to present day: it’s hard to find midlevel talent in NYC – and that’s not limited to technical talent, for those of us playing the home version. It’s because you wouldn’t hire them when they were entry level a few years ago. They do exist, but there is consequently a shortage of them, and they’re in high demand. Speaking of present day, I still ask if you’re open to bringing on someone entry level as well. Answer: again, no, you don’t want to/have time to train someone, so when you call in a few years and again ask where all of the midlevel people are: do not pass go; do not collect $200.

Contrary to popular misconception, there is no shortage of talent in New York and we have a sneaking suspicion that this problem is not limited to New York. There is a shortage of companies willing/able to pay people for their experience, or companies send a wish list of skills that is the equivalent of hiring three employees. Be realistic in your expectations/wants/needs/desires. And remember that midlevel people start as entry level people – unless they’re starting their own companies, and our suggestion to those of you out there who fall into that category: good for you – make sure you have a business model. You know: that boring ‘path to revenue’ thing, or you might soon have to take a job and no one’s going to hire you as a CEO or even VP of anything, despite the fact that you were CEO/VP of your own (failed) company. Back to our story.

Many of you are happy to hire interns. In fact, you’re always posting for them. We understand that you’re a startup and have limited funds. Fair enough, but for the record: interns are people without hands-on experience in their chosen professions. They’re usually recent grads or people who are changing careers, and are happy to work for the experience, so don’t ask for 4 years of coding experience, or social media experience – unless having a facebook page counts – and no, they’re not also going to also have expert level front end coding skills.

If you can’t afford entry level, you might try offering a paid internship, even if the payment is more or less a stipend. It fosters good will, and seeing ‘paid internship’ as opposed to ‘internship’ sends the message that someone saw value in what that person was doing. You might also want to consider: that intern that you’ve had working for you for the past year or three, unpaid? They’re their next employer’s junior/mid-level hire. And thanks for playing!

We recently worked with a newly-minted computer science graduate from a top engineering school, who had won or placed second in the numerous hackathon/startup weekend in which he had participated. Passed every coding test every client had given him – and all were happy to hire him. As an unpaid intern. After an exhaustive search here, he sent his resume out to a handful of companies in Silicon Valley, and was snapped up immediately. In fact, he had his pick of offers, and there was nary an internship in the lot.

So you see, New York does not lack talent: it lacks vision and foresight. Maybe Silicon Valley learned that lesson of hiring entry level people long ago. Time for us in other parts of the world to do the same. Don’t turn someone down because they lack on-the-job experience: train them. And if you’re willing to offer them an internship instead, kick in a few bucks – if only for good will. They have rents to pay, too. Those people you see on park benches? No rents to pay – but we doubt that they’d be willing to pick up HTML any time soon. Next: don’t turn someone down because they have more experience than you were looking for, either. It’s a tough market out there: that person needs a job, too, and he or she may bring experience you didn’t even suspect that you needed. And might teach you a thing or two, too, as an added bonus. Everyone, yea, even the lowly intern, potentially brings something to the table, so also make sure to teach them something, and treat them like you need them. They want the experience – give it to them and make sure it’s something beyond doing your grunt work. If they prove to be invaluable, find the money and/or the equity or both to compensate them. If you think that they’re going to stick around and continue to work for you, for free, while you’re pursuing your dream, well, in the words of Judy Holliday (Born Yesterday, 1950):” I might have been born yesterday, but I’ve been up all night thinking.” So have they,so dream on. And onward and forward.

Deadlines:

The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events

The Awesome Foundation wants to give you $1000 for your best idea – almost anywhere in the world. We give micro-grants each month to projects that are inspiring, delightful, and elegant: in a word, Awesome. To apply in NYC: http://bit.ly/NWueRO For more information and the complete list of chapters all over the world: http://www.awesomefoundation.org/

NEW FinTech Innovation Lab, deadline December 19^th. This is 12-week accelerator program run by the Partnership for New York City Fund and Accenture for early and growth stage companies that have developed cutting edge technology products targeted at financial services customers. For more information and to apply: http://www.fintechinnovationlab.com/

NEW ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge, deadline: December 27^th. NYC challenges small businesses to compete for high-speed broadband at their location. Winners receive free fiber build-out to their business, an overall value of up to $7M for all winning businesses. For more information and to apply: http://nycfiberchallenge.com/

DEMO Mobile: The Future Is In Your Hands. Scholarship deadline: January 17^th. Standard deadline, February 15^th. Apply to launch or pitch: http://bit.ly/QjQQvE

Techstars NYC, deadline January 18^th. We invest $118K in each company we fund through $18K in seed funding and an optional $100K convertible debt note. TechStars itself is backed by over 75 different venture capital firms and angel investors. We also provide three months of intensive top-notch mentorship, incredible perks, and the chance to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program. Our companies average over $1M in outside venture capital raised after leaving TechStars. To more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/TNP5Cz

NEW LLGA | Cities Pilot the Future: Global Cities invite urban & social innovators to pilot their solutions. Deadline: January 31^st. 21 cities are participating, each with their own pitch to companies, entrepreneurs, innovators, consortia, research centers, organizations and experts. For more information: http://bit.ly/tm2hxS

NEW DreamIt Health, deadline February 8th. This is the first-ever Philadelphia-based health care accelerator. Powered by IBC and Penn Medicine, this collaboration marks the first time a leading health insurer and a leading health care provider have come together in an accelerator to deliver the resources entrepreneurs need to capitalize on emerging health care opportunities. DreamIt Health’s 4-month program provides selected companies with a stipend up to $50,000 and office space, plus in-depth mentoring (which are uniquely assigned in a one-to-one fashion to each company), coaching from industry experts, and access to other critical health care-specific resources to rapidly develop and test its product. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/RQRqTc

12 Quotes That Reveal How Larry Page Built Google Into The World’s Most Important Internet Company: http://read.bi/TLUj3o

Sell First, Market Later. Gary Gaessler explains why he believes nothing happens until sales are made, and why founders should consider putting marketing on the back burner until revenue begins rolling in: http://fi.co/posts/856

The Best Feedback for a First Time Entrepreneur. Rajesh Setty also includes the feedback that won’t help you at all – and all good to know: http://bit.ly/XGj5rP

Google stops offering Google Apps for free to focus on providing a paid-for experience. The Wall Street Journal reports that subscriptions to Google Apps and its mapping service for businesses and governments have netted the company some $1 billion over the last year, so, sure, makes sense, and pay attention: http://tnw.co/XGeN3G

Facebook Privacy. Yes, we know it’s something of an oxymoron and careful of likes and comments. They’re suddenly viewable by everyone. Here’s how to change that: http://bit.ly/y4EwwT

Two pieces, just for the fun it:

North Korea ‘s Kim Jong-un Launches a Fragrance instead of a rocket. It’s one of those stories you just can’t make up and of course it’s called Number Un: http://nyr.kr/SywzRB

Former Microsoft Exec Decides to Just Sell Weed Instead. After a particularly rigorous code review or boring business meeting, who among us hasn’t considered just quitting our day jobs and drifting into the drug trade? And it’s now legal in Washington State: http://bit.ly/XGg3ne

Holiday prezzie – 6 Ways to Save Money Shopping on Amazon. Not everything is the bargain it appears to be. Just as in the offline world, doing a little research pays: http://bit.ly/XGi573

Elevator Pitch/Member News
Hint, hint: Feel free to tell us what you’re working on, or if you’ve been featured in the press…Share, and we will, too!

Congratulations this week go to our friends at DreamIt Ventures, who graduated yet another class of startups this past week: DreamIt Ventures graduates 15 startups in its 2012 Philadelphia class: http://bit.ly/RQR92I

Two things last things: starting January, we’re going to resume regular networking events and will feature a speaker at them. Also, if you hear of any deadlines for accelerators, contests, whatever – please do let us know. We’re always happy to spread the word. That’s it from us this week. Hope to see you around town at some of the events this week. It’ll just be another week or two, so get out there and make the most of it. You can do it and remember to bring lots of business cards – and don’t give out your last one. Smartphone, baby. Let them take a picture. And now, as always, help is on the way…

12/4/12

Good morning, All,

Consider this your annual reminder. We know it’s your year-end crunch and that you need to get your holiday shopping done. Let’s face it, you’re going to be doing the latter online anyway (and here’s a little something for you to make it easier: 5 unconventional places to shop for your holiday gifts: http://tnw.co/TuUznl). This is also the time to get out there and meet people – a mentor, a coach, a potential co-founder and maybe even a technical one: lots of open bars and techies will kick back for a free drink or two, too. Here are the rules, which don’t necessarily apply to just the holiday networking/eggnog circuit season, and we’ve expanded on one or two of them:

Rule #1: Show up! Getting there is easier than you think: just put one foot in front of the other, and go. If networking doesn’t come naturally to you, bring a wingman and work the room together, or divide and conquer. But don’t talk to just each other. That’s not helpful. If having a drink will help to relax you, go for it, but don’t down it: pace yourself. You want to be relaxed, not inebriated. Again, not helpful. To anyone in the room.

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 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 to 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. If you’re low on business cards, don’t give out your last one. Everyone carries a smartphone and they all have cameras. Have them take a picture or if you encounter someone with their last card, do the same. Or make sure you have cardmunch downloaded on your phone. It works.

Rule #4: Don’t just look for investors, be open. You never know who’s in the room – your next cofounder, client, coworker, coach or mentor. Yes, investors are there, too, and usually with an associate or friend. It’ll be much easier to talk to that person, who may just do an introduction for you at a later date, in a much less crowded venue. Like, the investor’s office maybe?

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. Remember: ‘tis also the season for good will. And peace on earth, so of course, no fighting or elbowing to get front and center with someone you want to talk to. Wait your turn.

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. If it’s a potential investor, don’t give them your entire pitch: just give them enough to get them intrigued to the point where they’ll want to take a meeting.

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 ask when they might be available. If you don’t receive a response immediately, don’t take it personally: that person met a lot of people the day/night before, and he or she may have been swamped with emails. Follow up again, a few days or a week later.

Rule #11: We’re all exhausted, and your point is? We all put in long hours, there are a number of industry events/parties every single night this time of year, and we know you’d much rather meet up with friends. Networking is part of your job, if you’re working on launching a business. If you only meet that one person who can help to get you to the next level: job well done! Your friends will be there in January, when there is usually very little else going on. As for using the exhaustion excuse: things quiet down that last week or two in December: gather ye poinsettia while ye may and catch up on sleep over the holidays.

If you do see us at one of the events, say hello and introduce yourself. We’re always happy to meet you. And while we know that being there is part of your job, it’s also a party. Do remember to smile and show some holiday cheer. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events

DEADLINE THIS WEEK AWS Global Startup Challenge, deadline, December 5^th. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Start-Up Challenge is a way for promising start-ups to get noticed and compete for an opportunity to win some great rewards. This year’s challenge offers prizes such as $100K in combined cash and credits for multiple winners, VC introductions, PR support, and more. If your start-up is built using AWS, we want you to apply!
Meet Tier One Investors: Finalists will be flown to San Francisco where they will meet 1:1 with top VCs
More Winners, More Prizes: This year we will award winners in four categories, and award each of the four winners $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in AWS credits
Press and Attention for Your Start-Up: Past winners have been covered by top tech news outlets, and AWS offers other free promotion to top teams as part of the contest. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/OwE8ny

NEW The 6^th Annual Crunchie Awards, deadline for nominations: December 6^th. The 2012 Crunchies will be our sixth annual competition and award ceremony to recognize and celebrate the most compelling startups, internet and technology innovations of the year. For more information and to submit your nominations: http://techcrunch.com/events/crunchies-2012/

DEMO Mobile: The Future Is In Your Hands. Scholarship deadline: January 17^th. Standard deadline, February 15^th. Apply to launch or pitch: http://bit.ly/QjQQvE

NEW Techstars NYC, deadline January 18^th. We invest $118K in each company we fund through $18K in seed funding and an optional $100K convertible debt note. TechStars itself is backed by over 75 different venture capital firms and angel investors. We also provide three months of intensive top-notch mentorship, incredible perks, and the chance to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program. Our companies average over $1M in outside venture capital raised after leaving TechStars. To more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/TNP5Cz

What happens after you win a big startup competition? We asked 7 champions from major events. And not everyone had the same answers: http://tnw.co/WAzd8X

Cracking the Code: How Successful Entrepreneurs Build High-Growth Companies. Ernst & Young and the Kauffman Foundation looked at the cadre of 636 E&Y Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists from 2012 to see what makes them tick: http://bit.ly/SmKdad

If you hate trying to get press, read this. Now. This company’s launch ended up being covered by over 20 major tech publications, including TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and Cult of Mac: http://bit.ly/SzWrO8

Plan well, execute the plan. A new market entrant. A competitor that gets a bunch of great press. The external environment presents myriad distractions that can cause founders and their teams to “freak out” and deviate from their established game plans. In IA Ventures’ Roger Ehrenberg’s experience, when plans and behaviors are quickly adjusted in response to short-term exogenous events, bad things happen. Well-conceived strategies and plans get tossed on the trash heap. So how can founders steel themselves against the noise and focus on executing their own plans with confidence and consistency? Ehrenberg suggest a very straight-forward 10-step process: http://bit.ly/TajmMR

How to lose at meetings. And how to win, too: http://bit.ly/SzXTQK

Elevator Pitch/Member News
Hint, hint: Feel free to tell us what you’re working on, or if you’ve been featured in the press…Share, and we will, too!

Congratulations this week go to our friends (and ER Accelerator alums) StrayBoots.com, who just raised their Series A and way to go! Location-Based Tour Guide App Stray Boots Raises $2M As It Looks To Expand Mobile Reach: http://tcrn.ch/SzVrtB

That’s it from us this week. Hope to see you around town at some of the events this week and remember: pace yourself, bring lots of business cards – and make sure you get out there. And now, as always, help is on the way…

11/26/12

Good morning, All,

Investors care about one thing. Wait: two. Ok, three: your market size, revenue model, and your team – not necessarily in that order. Still, at the end of the day, it still boils down to one thing: money, so we were right: investor care about one thing. And you need to look at your business the way they do. Seriously.

The Wall Street Journal noted that VC funding of consumer web and mobile companies is down 42% in this first nine months of 2012 (versus the first nine months of 2011). And the big falloff was not in seed but rather in follow-on rounds (VCs Still Chasing Web Companies, But With Less Cash: http://on.wsj.com/RaBjPX). What Has Changed (http://bit.ly/Tk5YXj)? That was the title of one of Fred Wilson’s recent blog posts, and he feels that the consumer internet has run its course; and that mobile and enterprise are the new focuses. Howard Lindzen chimed in as well and concluded that “a great product and brilliant use of the tools of the new social trade are still not enough in November 2011 to guarantee success” (The Stock Market, Venture Capital and Angel Investing…All Connected: http://bit.ly/RaHpQn). Actually, it never should have.

Web 1.0 was about getting eyeballs, and you’d think that investors would have learned something when the bubble burst. “I am more concerned about the angel investors and venture capitalists than I am the entrepreneurs in reading all these tea leaves, but as an entrepreneur it is your job to factor in their blindness or lack of expertise,” Lindzen also said. And therein lies the problem.

By the consumer internet, Wilson means companies like facebook/instagram, amazon, ebay, yahoogle. The usual suspects. Forest through the trees: during the last few years, when investors had the internet winds at their back, the facebooks, groupons, twitters and instagrams of the world took off quickly and huge fortune were created overnight. But this was ‘internet money,’ meaning riches begotten by a company without a sustainable business model to support it – web 1.0 revisited. It was basically living on fumes with a lot of money in the bank. Again. Investors had learned nothing. We personally spend less and less time on facebook, which is free, and more on linkedin, for which we pay. And which has been profitable since way before its IPO. It offers a value proposition. Amazon? Ebay? They’re real companies, who’ve always gotten their vig on each and every transaction. We know that it isn’t cool to ask companies who present at the New York Tech Meetup what their revenue model is. In fact, anyone from the audience who asks the question gets booed. Newsflash: it’s hard for companies who’ve gotten seed rounds to get to that next stage, because at some point, you need to show revenue. Sell something. Charge something. White label something. Change something. If people don’t want to pay for it – add something that would move them put down a charge card. Show that you have a business, because that’s what business is all about: again, the bottom line is still the bottom line.

What has changed? Nothing, really. Investors are still looking for their Next Big Cash Out, and companies based on Internet Money have a sell-by date.The consumer internet is far from over – it’s just that a few new screens have been added to deceive the clueless. It’s time to call a spade a spade, your startup a business and to depend on something other than investor money as a revenue model. No doubt that young companies and investors still need each other. But symbiotic relationships are far preferable to parasitic ones, which face it, seem to be far more common in our industry and has been for a very long time. Build a sustainable business and when you need the cash to grow it, the investors will come to you. Eyeballs are important, but more importantly, those eyeballs need to gravitate to their wallet pockets at some point: then you have a business. Then the money will come to you, whether you’re looking for it or not. And wouldn’t that be nice – for a change. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events

ER Accelerator Winter Session, deadline November 30^th. ERA one of the top accelerators in the country, if not the world. Get $40k in funding; free office space in the heart of NYC; access to 200+ amazing mentors (http://eranyc.com/mentors/ and yes, Yours Truly happens to be one of them). For more information: http://eranyc.com/ To apply: http://eranyc.com/apply/

DEADINE THIS WEEK The Europas, deadline November 30^th. Here is a chance for you and your team to celebrate the best of European tech start ups as voted for by a panel of the most acclaimed investors, entrepreneurs and tech veterans, serving as a platform for these start-ups to access funding and recognition on a global scale. The Awards celebrate the most forward thinking, progressive and innovative tech companies across over 20 categories. This year the Europas take place in the Postbahnhof in Berlin on Tuesday 22nd January 2013. Tickets are available here. For more information and to apply, or nominate a company: http://theeuropas.com/

DEADINE THIS WEEK Take the HELM, deadline November 30^th. The Take the HELM (Hire & Expand in Lower Manhattan) Competition will select up to 20 finalists that best meet the goals of the competition and seek to open an office in Lower Manhattan. Finalists will each receive a $10,000 cash grant, an opportunity to interview with the distinguished Take the HELM Selection Committee, and will participate in two days of exclusive business development programs in Lower Manhattan. Up to four Take the HELM winners will receive an additional $250,000. At least one $250,000 prize will be reserved for startup applicants. For more information and to apply: http://www.takethehelmnyc.com/

AWS Global Startup Challenge, deadline, December 5^th. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Start-Up Challenge is a way for promising start-ups to get noticed and compete for an opportunity to win some great rewards. This year’s challenge offers prizes such as $100K in combined cash and credits for multiple winners, VC introductions, PR support, and more. If your start-up is built using AWS, we want you to apply!
Meet Tier One Investors: Finalists will be flown to San Francisco where they will meet 1:1 with top VCs
More Winners, More Prizes: This year we will award winners in four categories, and award each of the four winners $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in AWS credits
Press and Attention for Your Start-Up: Past winners have been covered by top tech news outlets, and AWS offers other free promotion to top teams as part of the contest. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/OwE8ny

THE NEW ENGLAND VENTURE SUMMIT Call for Top Innovators, and it’s not too late to apply to present. http://bit.ly/OVZQBF. The New England Venture Summit provides an unparalleled opportunity for startups to meet, network and showcase their innovative investment opportunities to a leading group of investors. This exclusive venture summit will feature over 40 leading VCs on timely panel discussions; presentations by 50 cutting edge companies and high-level networking opportunities. It happens in Boston on December 5^th. If you plan on attending, register now and save 50%: http://bit.ly/LjlttK

NEW DEMO Mobile: The Future Is In Your Hands. Scholarship deadline: January 17^th. Standard deadline, February 15^th. Apply to launch or pitch: http://bit.ly/QjQQvE

What Hasn’t Changed: The Internet Keeps Getting Bigger. “There is no better time than the present to build cheap & scalable software-based businesses that make money,” says Dave McClure in his rebuttal to Fred Wilson: http://bit.ly/UVfvmZ

And Now We’re At The Point Where Startups Are Running Out Of Cash. As we were saying, it seems the fiscal cliff for startups funded in the recent explosion of seed-stage deals has arrived. Which, according to BI, may be good news: http://read.bi/QjQi8Y

Silicon Valley, New York, Tel Aviv: Here’s the World’s Start-up Hubs A new report reveals that Silicon Valley outpaces all other start-up ecosystems but cities around the world are catching up: http://bit.ly/UH7D8r

How Do I Get In Touch With a VC? Some advice, from the horse’s mouth: http://bit.ly/QjR0mL

The Truth About How Startup Investors Keep Secrets from Their Entrepreneurs. As told by an anonymous angel: http://bit.ly/QjRl8P

Some Advice for Celebrities and Startups Seeking Their Endorsements. For the most part, Mark Suster’s advice is simple, “don’t bother:” http://bit.ly/QjRCIR. Oh, and be especially careful if you decide to tap Oprah to hawk your product – Oprah’s attempt to promote Microsoft Surface backfires: iPad used to send tweet (and guess who really needs an iPad – see I NEED HELP – ed.): http://tnw.co/QjRUj3

What you should know before you launch your product. The common refrain “We don’t know anything until we launch” is completely false. Here’s why: http://bit.ly/Pll8gU

The Two or Three Things You Need to Raise Capital: http://bit.ly/QjONre

Entrepreneurs, investors and a choir of angels. A must read, from an entrepreneur-turned-angel: http://bit.ly/V7Uawv

Real. Honest. Fear. How many times has a founder told that to a board or to his management team? Rarely, if ever. How often does a founder feel that way? Plenty. When you need help, ask for it. (And I really do need an iPad, ed.): http://bit.ly/SznYN7

Elevator Pitch/Member News
Hint, hint: Feel free to tell us what you’re working on, or if you’ve been featured in the press…Share, and we will, too!

That’s it from us this week. You might have notices that there are a lot of events this week, and with the Egg Nog circuit heating up, it’s just going to get more insane, so pace yourself – and always bring lots of business cards. And now, as always, help is on the way…

11/13/12

Good morning, All,

Yes, our next gathering is tomorrow, November 14^th. We know that most of you wait till the last minute to register anyway. RSVP here: https://sosoctobermixer.eventbrite.com/# Stop by! We’d love to see you!

Show of hands: how many of you use twitter and facebook as a marketing vehicle? (I just purchased Aluminum Tri Wallet Yellow Red from HuMn on Fab … via @Fab.) When one is selling something or promoting a business – preferably your own – it can be an effective vehicle, especially if it’s a customer who’s selling it for you. Preferably a happy one. (Mia Krautplezer suggested you like Mia Pain Management.) We might like Mia, were she not a figment of our imagination, and happy to do her the favor of liking her endeavor – but employers, insurers, credit department – a whole host of third parties also check FB for information about you, and pain management is not one of our issues, and what kind of message does that send? They’re not looking through our timeline with Mia. They’re looking at the bottom line: theirs. And they’re looking at everything, going to show you, once again, that nothing’s free: How A Simple Gmail Search Could Lead To An Invasion Of Your Privacy: http://read.bi/Zu8tKJ. (My weight: 165.3 lb. My @WiThings scale auto-tweets my weight once a week. It’s the future! withings.com. I walked 12.4 miles this week. Company auto-tweets once a week. It’s the future!) How does this move the human race forward or improve life as we know it? It’s often twitterati who include such information, along with where they’re dining or hanging (@AceHotel w/23 others 4sq.com). Is this information that will help someone, with the possible exception of their doctor (whom we are sure is not following them on twitter), insurer (who’s checking), a stalker (no doubt), or is some part of them still stuck in 10^th grade AP English and passing notes around? Only the medium has changed to exposed the guilty. It can be bloody annoying, too. Unfollow. (I’m at Heartland Brewery (New York, NY) 4sq.com). One of our members only tweets when he’s out at a pub. The tweets come days apart, and presumably he wasn’t at that same pub the whole time. He doesn’t work there and well, it could easily send the wrong message, to a potential employer et al and hopefully his mom’s not following him.

What’s next? No place good, at present (Clicking ‘Like’ on Facebook Is Not Protected Speech, Judge Rules. http://nyti.ms/ISQ5R8). Not to paint any 1984 scenarios, and lest we forget facebook: App Publicly Humiliates Bad Drivers: It’s called parkingdouche a mobile app created to highlight poor parking practices in Russia. Cell phone users take a picture of the car, type in the license plate number, and send it to the paper, which posts it as a pop-up advertisement on their webpage. The pop-up will only be posted for people who are reading within the immediate vicinity. The reader won’t be able to finish the article until they re-post the car on their Facebook page, effectively spreading the info to others who might know the driver. http://on.mash.to/RUNN9L Try to remember to use your powers for good, young Jedis (remember: Disney owns you now).

Twitter can also be quite the disseminator of misleading information (Twitter: The future of journalism or only the bad kind? http://tnw.co/Q7Pqp9) Right now, the twitter stream is somewhat self-correcting, but still and especially when using the medium to promote yourself or your business, careful what you tweet. Morgan Freeman is dead! Sharks seen in the NYC subway system! Turns out the actor is not dead but rather alive and presumably well and still making meh movies, so that tweet might have been some wag’s reference to his career, and while many parts of the city are still suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, most of the subway lines are running and as for the sharks: they’re back at the courthouse, where they belong. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events

NYU-Poly Incubator Accepting Fall Applications, deadline unknown. At the NYU-Poly Incubator we understand the needs of early-stage startups. We focus on providing our startups with the key resources that they need to be successful. This fall, we are excited to accept a few more startups at our DUMBO location in Brooklyn. Our incubator is looking for energetic and innovative startups that want to be apart of the bigger NYC Tech Community. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/Q85fbI

Vator is bringing its popular evening event and competition back to NYC! Deadline: November 14^th. 15% SOS discount code: SOS15. What do the top 10 finalists win? The opportunity to give a three-minute presentation onstage to some of the top investors in the industry, here in NYC on December 5^th.
Vator, one of the largest business networks dedicated to high-tech entrepreneurs and investors, is looking to recognize 10 promising startups across technology, including digital media, social media, consumer Internet, software, SaaS, iPhone apps, and mobile.
Who should apply? Entrepreneurs with seed- to early-stage startups that have raised no more than $1.5 million.
What should you submit? Submissions are in the form of a Vator company profile. We encourage video as it gives us a better sense of who’s behind the company. But you don’t need one.
For more information: http://bit.ly/OVVrPl To apply for the competition: http://vator.tv/registration

BlueprintHealth Accelerator, deadline November 19^th. The program is geared towards healthcare companies that want an intensive three-month program to help find customers and capital. Selected companies range from two founders with an idea to businesses that have customers, investors and are generating significant revenue. The foundation of the program is a community of over 150 healthcare entrepreneurs, investors and industry executives that are committed to helping you build and grow your business. We have the largest network of mentors with healthcare expertise of any accelerator, which can provide you with warm introductions and the strategic and tactile advice you need. If you are accepted to the accelerator program, you will receive $20,000 in cash, over $50,000 in perks, office space at our SoHo office, and a community that is dedicated to seeing you succeed. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/Q926Y5

NEW The Europas, deadline November 30^th. Here is a chance for you and your team to celebrate the best of European tech start ups as voted for by a panel of the most acclaimed investors, entrepreneurs and tech veterans, serving as a platform for these start-ups to access funding and recognition on a global scale. The Awards celebrate the most forward thinking, progressive and innovative tech companies across over 20 categories. This year the Europas take place in the Postbahnhof in Berlin on Tuesday 22nd January 2013. Tickets are available here. For more information and to apply, or nominate a company: http://theeuropas.com/

Take the HELM, deadline November 30^th. The Take the HELM (Hire & Expand in Lower Manhattan) Competition will select up to 20 finalists that best meet the goals of the competition and seek to open an office in Lower Manhattan. Finalists will each receive a $10,000 cash grant, an opportunity to interview with the distinguished Take the HELM Selection Committee, and will participate in two days of exclusive business development programs in Lower Manhattan. Up to four Take the HELM winners will receive an additional $250,000. At least one $250,000 prize will be reserved for startup applicants. For more information and to apply: http://www.takethehelmnyc.com/

The VC Term Sheet Decoded. Yes, the Rosetta Stone has been discovered and put to good use: http://bit.ly/Rxb9DT

Reaching the Startup Holy Grail: Product-Market Fit. All the basic rules are here, and and remember – you have to find them for them to find you: http://bit.ly/QoQuox

Free Mobile Apps Every Entrepreneur Should Use. Entrepreneurs work 24/7, or so the story goes. Even if you don’t, here are a few apps that helps you manage whatever it is you need to manage. Maybe not these in particular, but you get the idea: http://onforb.es/WRmaWi

10 things entrepreneurs should do in the first 100 days of getting funding. Most CEOs and founders already know how this new capital will be used. Here are some other high-level action items that should be on every to-do list in those crucial first three months: http://bit.ly/TnFuom

When Kickstarters Fail. As in all things investor-related, not everyone’s an overnight gazillionaire. Or even makes it through the kickstarter round:
http://bit.ly/TAZUrJ

The non-developer’s guide to hiring software developers. We posted the wrong link last week and apologies: http://tnw.co/VWft3O

Elevator Pitch/Member News
Hint, hint: Feel free to tell us what you’re working on, or if you’ve been featured in the press…Share, and we will, too!

That’s it from us this week. Hope to see you tomorrow night at our event and I will try to bring along some of my new bonniefoods cookie snouts. Your in for a treat! RSVP here: https://sosoctobermixer.eventbrite.com/# Or feel free to order some at boniefoods.com. And now, as always, help is on the way…

11/6/12

Good morning, All, and happy to see that you weathered the storm!

Last year, Hurricane Irene hit the Eastern Seaboard. New York dodged a bullet on that one, but it was a wake-up call. When Sandy plunged downtown Manhattan into darkness, Goldman Sachs, located at the epicenter of the maelstrom, was fully lit up and functional. They’d obviously heeded the lessons of Irene (actually, they were prepared even before that), while our Mayor Bloomberg, a huge advocate of global warming, turned his attention to – pressing hard for a ban on oversized softdrinks. The New York Times did a piece in September criticizing the mayor for moving too slowly in addressing potential flooding and worse: New York Is Lagging as Seas and Risks Rise, Critics Warn: http://nyti.ms/SIYNbA. “Planning to be flooded” is no replacement for investing in protection. Consequently, lives were lost: let’s not forget that NY is second only to New Orleans in the number of people living less than four feet above high tide. New York was a Tale of Two Cities: uptown, which was not affected by the storm at all, and downtown/the outer boroughs/low lying areas, which were in the dark and parts of which – and still do – looked like downtown Beirut. Moreover, it was a Tale of Two Realities: what we were told by our elected officials, and the reality of the situation/news that was streaming through social media, more specifically, via Facebook and twitter (Disconnect Between What We’re Told And Aid People Are Receiving: http://youtu.be/65hk_PoWMwc, while a friend posted: PLEASE HELP AND MAKE CALLS. Island Park was devastated this week. FEMA and the Red Cross have relocated to where there is MEDIA COVERAGE). Most people were turning to social media for help and or/information. Variations on a line from ‘Alien,’ and take note, elected officials: in cyberspace, everyone can hear you scream.

In the midst of all of this, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the NYC Marathon would not be cancelled. After all, we are a resilient bunch, and power was restored to much of Manhattan (note: the race goes through all five boroughs). New York was back to normal, in Mayor Mike’s reality. (In New York’s Public Housing, Fear Creeps In With the Dark: http://nyti.ms/X8DXXV; Queens residents arm themselves in the post-storm blackout from looters: Residents feel isolated and some use guns, baseball bats, booby traps — even a bow and arrow — to defend themselves. http://nydn.us/VLkpns). The reality was: the city that never sleeps had become the city that would only sleep with one eye opened.

The Marathon nightmare started when Gothamist ran this: Food Trucks, Generators To The Rescue For… Sunday’s Marathon? http://bit.ly/SBhFKT. In Bloomberg’s New York, there are cameras everywhere and someone is always watching. Those generators had been sitting on the unaffected Upper West Side since before Sandy hit and stayed there, while hospital emergency generators were failing and patients had to be moved to other hospitals, in the dark, under dangerous conditions. The race always starts in Staten Island – one of the worst-hit boroughs – and rest stations were being set up alongside people who were homeless and or/had been without power/heat/hot water/food for days. While Bloomberg insisted that police would not be diverted to focus on the marathon, NYPD Captains Endowment President Roy Richter said that, in a normal year, the marathon “is a tremendous tax on the resources on the Police Department” (Marathon Canceled for Sunday Despite Bloomberg’s Insistence: http://bit.ly/QZGsXB; Marathon organizers blame race cancellation on media, not killer storm: http://nydn.us/VLkpns). The cancellation of the race cost the city millions. If the mayor had simply announced that this year’s race would go on as a fundraiser for Sandy relief, he might have gotten even more sponsors to sign on, not to mention the donations that would have come from the viewing public. Take note, entrepreneurs: that’s a pivot, and pivots can often create win-win scenarios.

Social has become the go-to media in extraordinary times. The power may be out at home, but there’s always somewhere to charge your smartphone. And social wrought a change: where it might once have been true that you can’t fight City Hall, with social shining a spotlight where there has never been one before, and reporting your every move and announcement, you can’t fight, City Hall. Anymore than you can ignore Mother Nature, and yes, we are expecting a Nor’eastern tomorrow, so keep those hatches battened down. Let’s not forget, Manhattan: we’re not just a city: we’re also, in the words of Spaulding Gray, an island off the coast of America. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events

NYC Next Idea, deadline November 9^th. NYC Next Idea is back and better than ever for its fourth iteration! With newly expanded eligibility rules that permit a much larger cross-section of US-based teams to participate, this year’s competition promises to bring the best business ideas from all around the globe to NYC for a chance to pitch to seasoned investors and win $35,000 to get their business off the ground. Registration is open now via this link. For more information: http://bit.ly/IIFg3G

NYC SeedStart Enterprise-Focused Accelerator, deadline November 9^th. NYC SeedStart: Enterprise is looking for software and web-based teams with technical co-founders launching companies in the enterprise software area. The program will take place in New York City from January to March 2013. Particular areas of interest are SaaS, Real-time Analytics, Security, Cloud Services and Consumer-enabled Enterprise Products. Up to ten teams will be selected to participate, with each company receiving $20,000 in funding in exchange for a 5% equity stake in the business. For more information and to apply: http://www.nycseedstart.com/Or contact us @ info@nycseedstart.com

AWS Global Startup Challenge, deadline November 9^th. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Start-Up Challenge is a way for promising start-ups to get noticed and compete for an opportunity to win some great rewards. This year’s challenge offers prizes such as $100K in combined cash and credits for multiple winners, VC introductions, PR support, and more. If your start-up is built using AWS, we want you to apply!
Meet Tier One Investors: Finalists will be flown to San Francisco where they will meet 1:1 with top VCs
More Winners, More Prizes: This year we will award winners in four categories, and award each of the four winners $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in AWS credits
Press and Attention for Your Start-Up: Past winners have been covered by top tech news outlets, and AWS offers other free promotion to top teams as part of the contest. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/OwE8ny

“Who Would You Fund” TechStartup Challenge 2012, deadline November 11^th. Think your startup has what it takes? Prove it! Submit your startup promotional vidle and you just might win the opportunity to make a live pitch to the ARC Angel Fund. For more information and to enter: https://vidle.me/competition/whowouldyoufund

ER Accelerator Winter Session, deadline November 30^th. ERA one of the top accelerators in the country, if not the world. Get $25k in funding; free office space in the heart of NYC; access to 200+ amazing mentors (http://eranyc.com/mentors/ and yes, Yours Truly happens to be one of them). For more information: http://eranyc.com/ To apply: http://eranyc.com/apply/

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Volunteering & Donations Guide: http://garysguide.com/sandy
And let’s not forget New Jersey: http://www.healhoboken.org/
Post Hurricane Sandy Tech Volunteer Sign-Up: http://bit.ly/VBZ2F1

New York City Marathon canceled but still has generators and supplies unused in park in spite of Hurricane Sandy recovery needs. You can’t make this stuff up: http://bit.ly/U3U1DM

Mayor Bloomberg’s Deft Climate Politics. While some will continue to link Sandy with energy policy decisions, important questions will have to be asked about why NYC was not better prepared, and what can be done before the next storm comes barreling up the coast: http://bit.ly/U2KQUi

Media Myth Alert. Social-media triumphalism and its myth-busting limits: http://bit.ly/UtK4Qw

New York’s Wet Future: How the City Could Live With the Sea Rather Than Fighting It. Like most cities, New York is built to beat back the sea’s spasms of violence, not to absorb them. Might be time to roll with the tides: http://bit.ly/RAqT8Y

Netherlands Highways Will Glow in the Dark Starting Mid-2013 The idea is to not only use more sustainable methods of illuminating major roads, thus making them safer and more efficient, but to rethink the design of highways at the same time as we continue to rethink vehicular design: http://bit.ly/Sc5wKa

Why Startup Entrepreneurs Need to Communicate More Like George Bush Than Al Gore. Flubs aside, Bush kept it real and spoke in plain language, according to Mark Suster: http://tcrn.ch/SKQAWT

Why Silicon Valley and Hollywood Don’t Get Each Other and Who Will Win the Future. Says Mark Suster, “For the past three years I have been pounding the table as loud as I can about the future opportunities in digital video. The concise guide is here.” More here: http://bit.ly/RcHYWF

How to pitch your startup… Just in case you haven’t worked it out already, the brochure is you and the audience is potential investors: http://bit.ly/PQ5H1P

The Intrapreneur’s Playbook. Startups get all the glory when it comes to innovation, but intrapreneurship–or, creating from within an established company–is much trickier. Here’s the 4-step playbook for making it work. Some of the rules hold for entrepreneurs, too, so read on: http://bit.ly/T5C09L

The non-developer’s guide to hiring software developers: http://tcrn.ch/SKQAWT

Why startups are hard. Everything you need to know: http://bit.ly/WnbIFL

Elevator Pitch/Member News
Hint, hint: Feel free to tell us what you’re working on, or if you’ve been featured in the press…Share, and we will, too!

From SOS member Linnette Attai: In the spirit of sharing what I’ve been working on, after 12 years at Nickelodeon, I’ve left to launch PlayWell, LLC, a multimedia compliance consulting firm. PlayWell is focused on providing compliance solutions to regulatory and self-regulatory issues for media and marketing intended for children and teens. Think: privacy, safety, advertising, marketing, content. You can find out more at http://www.playwell-llc.com/.

One last thing: can we please stop changing the names of bridges, tunnels, etc? It’s very confusing, especially in an emergency and we still haven’t figured out where the Ed Koch Bridge (or is it a tunnel?) is. Just for the record: everyone still calls it 6^th Avenue and it’s been how many years since it was renamed Avenue of the Americas? Just saying…That’s it from us this week, except to remind you that it is Election Day, so don’t forget to vote. And now, as always, help is on the way…

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Yearly Archives: 2012