2/28/12

Good morning, All,

First, happy Leap Year Day (tomorrow), which is also Sadie Hawkins Day, and it’s just a couple of weeks until our next SOS+ER+Hubitat breakfast March 15 at Hubitat on 26th Street. It’s March 15^th, 8.30 am – 10. $20 with an RSVP or $25 at the door, and hope to see you there! To RSVP: http://erasosbreakfast2.eventbrite.com/

As many of you know, we are a compulsive networker. It’s part of our job. We meet a lot of you at the various functions we attend, and a number of you have asked us for introductions to people who could potentially help you to move the needle forward. And we’re happy to do so, when appropriate. But we’ve noticed that some of you never follow up with us, so guess what the subject is this week? Right:

The Rules of Networking, Part 2: Follow up

1.     Follow up is as important as having met the person in the first place, so stay focused or stay home.
2.     When you take someone’s business card, write a note on the back: where you met; what you discussed; whatever is pertinent to that particular person
3.     Have a business card. A real one. Yes, beaming is fine. Sending an on-the-spot linkedin invite is fine. An actual card is a physical reminder to follow up – and those notes you took should help, too.
4.     Mini cards. Really? They don’t exactly rise to the top of the pile. Small and easy to misplace and after a big networking event, easily lost in the literal shuffle. And where do you take notes? Eco-conscious? Recycled paper, baby.
5.     Always bring your business cards with you, and make sure to bring more than you think you’ll need. Better to carry a few home than to run out. Trust me. Been there, done that. But never twice.
6.     Follow up with people you already know as well. If you run into someone you haven’t seen in a while and it seems they can help you, follow up. Don’t wait for them to contact you as a test to see whether or not they were serious. That follow up is your job: they’re potentially doing you a favor. This is not the time to be shy.
7.     Follow up isn’t always about sending an email or note later. If you run into someone you’ve met before, go up to them and say hello and remind them that you’ve met before. You know – the tipping point and all that.
8.     Follow up, even if you didn’t attend the event. Seriously. Believe it or not and as much as we do try, we can’t be everywhere and all things to all people, so when we can’t event, we call or ping a friend/associate who did manage to go and ask them if there was anyone present we needed to have met. When the answer is yes, ask for an introduction – and follow up. And always remember to say ‘thank you.’

Admittedly, and as some of you on the list know, we don’t always follow up, and please do feel free to send us a subtle reminder. We’re all busy, and sometimes that reminder can make all the difference; we certainly have no time to be shy. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

StartupOneStop is pleased to invite you to attend the Seventh Annual Small Business Summit - http://www.smallbiztechsumimt.com on March 6th, in New York City.
The Summit is NY’s premier event for small business owners, entrepreneurs and business professionals looking to network (500 attendees), learn from experts, meet with exhibitors and win great prizes.
At the Summit you’ll learn how Orabrush used creativity and low cost video to boost sales of their tongue cleaners.
Hear from Dell how the power of online software can help you grow your business.
Listen how Bonobos’ customer service ninja works to please customers and sell more pants!
Our luncheon keynote by John “ColderICE” Lawson will have you laughing, crying and inspired
Scott Hintz, Founder of Tripit will share his success in building and selling two businesses – powerful lessons for EVERY business owner
We’ve got a guru of sales to give you her (shhhhhh) secrets to getting the customer to say YES!
Enjoy breakfast, lunch and LOTS MORE…

YetiZen Get-In-The-Pitch Competition, deadline February 28^th. This is your chance to present to our incredible audience of investors, notable game industry CEOs, and entrepreneurs to jumpstart your fundraising and business development efforts. Showcase your creative juices to some of the most prolific people in the game industry! Entrants must be a startup company in the mobile or social game space. So get your game on: Competition takes place March 8^th in SF. For more information and to apply: http://yetizen.com/competition/

Angel Investment Network Pitching Event, London, February 29^th. These are a great opportunity for you to meet investors, discuss your business and hopefully take some steps towards getting the funding your company needs. Business is done when people meet face to face and our fun and relaxed formats can create a real buzz about you and your business. To apply: http://bit.ly/xhdEwO

TNW Startup Rally, deadline March 1^st. TNW2012 is where you do deals, launch, get coverage, feedback from the brightest, find your next round of funding and meet new friends for life. In the last 3 editions more than 25 startups raised a total of 50 million+ in funding during or right after their launch at The Next Web Conference. The conference takes place in Amsterdam, April 25-27. For more information: http://tnw.co/clCmyg

Extreme Startups, Toronto, deadline March 1^st. Extreme Startups provide a collaborative environment, and deep access with companies such to key industry partners so that accepted startups can integrate the tools they need from the ground up. We offer a 12-week program and provide up to $200,000 per company, a collaborative environment, and deep access with companies such to key industry partners (more information coming soon) so that accepted startups can integrate the tools they need from the ground up. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/Agqmkf

Mobile Merit Awards, deadline for nominations open March 1^st, final deadline: April 1^st. The Mobile Merit Awards recognizes companies, individuals and technologies that have shaped the way in which the world communicates today. Through nominations the Mobile Merit Awards notes the excellence achieved in the global mobile industry. These awards will be presented to outstanding companies, individuals and technologies from each sector within the mobile arena for work of the greatest likely impact on the market. The Awards will be announced on May 19, 2012 with each category winner receiving a plaque as well as a digital graphic ribbon. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/AxHzJF

ERA is now accepting applications for Summer 2012! Application deadline: April 29th Yes, it’s here in NYC, with access to world-class mentors, office space, and more. Each company receives $25,000/8% equity. For more information and to apply: http://eranyc.com/apply/

NEW GigTank, Chattanooga, TN deadline March 1^st. The Gig Tank is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs with the ambition to build disruptive businesses that utilize and take advantage of the country’s first and largest gigabit fiber optic network. The Gig Tank is powered by CO.STARTERS, Chattanooga’s start-up accelerator — the only one in the nation today that offers companies access to gigabit bandwidth speeds together with a live test market of residential customers and businesses on the same 1Gig fiber network. It runs for 14 weeks; 7% equity is taken for up to $100k in investment. We are looking for business ideas that couldn’t be built anywhere else without the Gig. Specifically there are 7 sectors we are hoping to disrupt: Cloud Computing, Advanced Manufacturing, Digital Media, Healthcare, Education, Energy, and Public Safety & Emergency Response. But if you have a business idea that doesn’t perfectly fit into one of these sectors, we would still love to hear it. To apply: http://bit.ly/xf6plU

MassChallenge, applications open March 1^st. Deadline April 11^th. This is the largest-ever startup accelerator and competition, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strongs attached.
3 month accelerator program. World-class mentorship and training, free office space, access to funding, media and more.
$1M in cash awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
Open to all. Any startup can enter, from anywhere, in any industry.
No equity taken. No restrictions applied.
$1M in cash awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
Open to all. Any startup can enter, from anywhere, in any industry.
For more information and to apply: http://masschallenge.org/

angelHack National Hackathon on March 3-5^th Big News. The AngelHack national hackathon has arrived and they are giving free tickets to members of developers in this newsletter! There is over $75,000 in prizes to be won, including trips to San Francisco, Cash, and meeting’s with top investors like 500 Startups’ Dave McClure, AngelList’s Naval Ravikant, and AngelPad’s Thomas Korte. Over 500 people have already signed up. One caveat…angleHack currently only takes place in San Francisco and Boston. But there’s good news! You can bus over with 150 other hackers leaving from General Assembly on March 2nd. Round trip tickets (along with food / drinks for 3 days) run less then $20 with your discount code below. Read on.
Prizes Include:
Top teams: Meals with investors, startup documents, hosting credits
1 ^st Place College West Coast: $1000 or flights to San Francisco and lodging at TheGlint Mansion (max 3) compliments of Summer@highland
1 ^{st, 2nd, 3rd} Boston Teams: Advancement to 2nd round of MassChallenge (live demo)
1 ^st Place Gaming: Acceptance into Yetizen Gaming Accelerator (avg. graduate raises $500k)
1 ^st Place Social Impact: Advanced Acceptance to Hub Ventures and funding (conditions apply)
And tickets and airfare to Startup Workaway Thailand, along with $50,000 in API prizes
Boston: -http://angelhackbo2.eventbrite.com/
New York: - http://angelhacknyc2.eventbrite.com/

Hub Ventures helps high caliber entrepreneurs build their world-changing startups better and faster. Deadline March 5^th. We operate 12-week cohort cycles at Hub Bay Area, during which participating companies receive seed funding and engage in best-in-class mentorship, collaborative sessions with program peers, and workshops and speaker events on topics relevant to impact oriented startups. We also connect companies with our extensive network of investors during the program and at Investor Day, an opportunity to pitch to hundreds of Bay Area investors. 3-7% equity stake taken; $10,000-$20,000 in funding. To apply: http://hub-ventures.com/apply/

NEW StartFast! Software, Internet & Mobile Venture Accelerator, early deadline March 6^th, Final deadline March 23^rd. One hundred days to get focused, get feedback, and get funded. We’ll give you enough money to pursue your software/internet startup full-time, co-working space, resources to work with, and continuous feedback on your progress from mentors who’ve done it before. Post-program, our mission is to help you get the funding and resources needed to scale and achieve a successful exit. Apply Now for this summer’s program (shortcut for TechStars applicants) or contact us to be a StartFast mentor, sponsor, investor or volunteer.StartFast welcomes applicants from all over the United States and around the world. In addition to exceptional mentors and program leaders, we offer our teams:
Up to $18,000 in cash and another $85,000 in perks
Access to high quality, affordable talent;
Ability to achieve your goals not just faster, but with an ultra low burn rate;
Our successful track record of getting companies funded;
Support from an emerging, globally connected entrepreneurial community
For more information and to apply: http://startfast.net/

NEW UpTech deadline, March 9^th. As an UpTech company you will be able to engage in applied research, develop the intellectual property, and collaborate with faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduates. This is a formal arrangement; each company will receive two student interns, plus a graduate assistant for each five companies. Also, companies will have access to an UpTech lab at Northern Kentucky University’s College of informatics and access to the state of the art facilities. This partnership is a first in Business Acceleration programs. For more information and to apply: http://www.uptechideas.org/

NEW First Floor Labs, Palo Alto, deadline March 9^th. First Floor Labs is a vibrant community of startups working out of the AOL building in Palo Alto. In general, we’re looking for companies in the consumer internet/mobile space. After that, we’ll base our decision on 1. team (brains, drive, product sense, background, etc), 2. idea (market size, use cases, competitive advantage, etc) and 3. progress. To apply: http://bit.ly/z8jLIP

NEW Huge Thing, Poland deadline March 9rh. Huge Thing is a 6 months two-phase business acceleration program. During first 3 months we get you through intense entrepreneurship training. The training pillars are Entrepreneurship, Strategy, People, Money, Sales and Marketing. With help of our great mentors you will validate your business model and create Minimum Viable Product. Huge Thing is located in Poznan (Poland), less than 3 hours drive from Berlin (240 km) and Warsaw. For more information and to apply (cute website, btw): http://www.hugething.org/about/

The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, deadline March 13^th. It’s an international business plan competition for women entrepreneurs who are in the initial stages of development, in any country, of any nationality and operating in any industry. Since its inception five years ago, it has provided support, visibility and coaching to 76 women heading businesses in countries across the globe. There’s mentorship, $20k US and a trip to France for the presentation Finale. For more information and to apply: http://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com/

NEW 3 Day Startup NYC, deadline March 15^th. 3 Day Startup is an entrepreneurship education program designed for university students with an emphasis on learning by doing. The idea is simple: start tech companies over the course of three days. To apply: http://nyc.3daystartup.org/

Applications for the DreamIt NYC Summer 2012 program are now open. Final deadline: March 16^th, but note: there is a definite advantage to applying early, as it results in the application getting more attention (and possibly early admittance).
-the program runs from May-August 2012 in NYC
-accepted companies get seed money (typically $20-25,000), office space, free legal and accounting services, and access to a who’s who list of advisors and mentors (http://www.dreamitventures.com/team/advisors.php)
For more information and to apply: http://www.dreamitventures.com/apply/.

The Appy Awards – enter once and you could win twice. Deadline March 21, 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/

Crain’s New York Business is now accepting nominations for its annual Top Entrepreneurs competition, deadline March 23^rd. It is open to businesses located in the five boroughs of New York City. Businesses must be 3 years old or more to enter and can have revenues up to $100 million. You can enter and get more information here:http://bit.ly/AdFq9t Winners will be featured in the May 29 issue of Crain’s. You can enter yourself or nominate someone else. Contact: Elaine Pofeldt,epofeldt@yahoo.com

How to Remove Your Google Search History Before Google’s New Privacy Policy Takes Effect. It goes into effect on March 1^st, and unless you want everything you do online using GOOG to be disseminated however google seems fit, ignore this. Or get rid of your search history now: http://bit.ly/A7fney

Ten Lessons I Learned from Shark Tank. We’ve watched the show. Not our favorite. The panel is nasty, but then, we suppose that deals do get done, and it is called ‘Shark Tank,’ after all. Something for everyone in this piece and worth the read: http://tcrn.ch/ykDXeF

Speaking of scrappy lots, How This Entrepreneur Raised $28,000 Using Airbnb to Fund Her Startup. Good read here, as Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical startup founder – but she did make all of the right moves, which of course makes her the prototypical entrepreneurs: http://bit.ly/Aj3qgu

To raise or not to raise. That’s always the question and Joe Stump points out that there are pluses and pitfalls to raising a round, so read on and don’t forget to follow your instincts: http://bit.ly/zzPnkh

Making America A Better Place For Start-Ups. SOPA, PIPA, ACTA… “What if we combined a liberal approach toward mitigating risk for startups with a conservative approach toward taxing and regulating established corporations?” Derek asks. “The result might be more people playing the entrepreneur’s game, more entrepreneurs winning the game and ramping up their companies, and more companies to hire more workers.” There’s a thought: http://onforb.es/w4rJW5

There’s an app for everything these days. Well, except for the one you happen to be working on, of course. But money is money, no? So you’d think, but if you’re considering going the paid app route, make sure you read on: How to Evaluate a (paid) iPhone App Idea: http://bit.ly/wtBQ5O

13 Reasons Why Your Startup Will Fail. Leave it to a 5x entrepreneur and VC to lay out the problems you might encounter. David Feinleib gives a cheat sheet and told us 13 things startups do that make them fail: http://read.bi/AeUrxF

Finally, 5 Pitfalls to Understand about Non Disclosure Agreements. Oh, those NDAs. We’ve all seen them. Many of us have them. And many more have no doubt had to sign one or two. VCs never sign them, and they’re nasty little things, after all, as the writer points out. Yes, there are pitfall, so read before you sign on the dotted line: http://bit.ly/zDW5sh

For your amusement this week, we love truth in advertising, and yes, we actually found two for you – and really, wait for the end, on both:http://youtu.be/uCKgCkubGc0 and http://youtu.be/Fitxofd7kOA. That’s it from us for now, and until next week, as usual, help is on the way…

2/21/12

Good morning, All, and for today, a Missive to Social Media Week:

First, yes, we are planning our next SOS+ER+Hubitat breakfast March 15 at Hubitat on 26th Street – we love the breakfasts: they give you a chance to really get to know each other, and offer help/advice one-on-one. The larger networking events have their place, too, don’t get us wrong, but nothing wrong with having something for everyone. It’s March 15^th, 8.30 am – 10. $20 with an RSVP or $25 at the door. To RSVP: http://erasosbreakfast2.eventbrite.com/ And now…

Dear Social Media Week organizers,

Yes, we realize that this is not a curated conference , but we were personally a bit disappointed. Here we are, sitting at the center of one of the most powerful tools on the internet – a tool that was crucial in helping to bring about Arab Spring and massive Anti-ACTA protests all over Europe, and yet on this very subject, hardly a shot was fired (Tens of Thousands Across Europe Protest Against ACTA http://bit.ly/A3iT58, which not only brought the issue to international attention; it also went so far as to move some nations who had not yet signed on, to reconsider signing at all. ) All of this, on the very eve of Global Social Media Week: #smw, you buried the lead. Rather than any focus on the power and the pitfalls of the medium, the focus seemed to be primarily on Social for Doing Good, Healthcare and Education. The theme, Change through Collaboration – good topic and some very good panels, but what we mostly heard was how to monetize the medium, or retrofit social into what we’ve always done. In our humble opinion, an opportunity was missed here, and part of the problem may be that very word – Social – which, if you look at the strict definition, really does not capture all that the medium is capable of. In a networked world, what we currently call social is frankly more a ‘networked’ media, especially considering all of the texting, tweeting, emailing we saw transpiring during the panels – and during the breaks. That’s not being social: that’s being dialed in to the planet at large and may be the very definition of a truly and globally networked medium. Which is why governments monitor tweets so closely. (Be Careful What You Tweet. You have a new reason for thinking twice before tweeting or posting on a social network. The US government does not have a sense of humor when it comes to posts that appear to threaten the security of the country, even if those posts were made in jest or the posters meant something different. http://bit.ly/wSs4R2)

Oh, and your website sucks. Poor dissemination of information. Next year, do try to make it a bit more, well, social. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

NEW StartupOneStop is pleased to invite you to attend the Seventh Annual Small Business Summit - http://www.smallbiztechsumimt.com on March 6th, in New York City, and The first 5 people to register can attend for free using this discount code link http://smallbiztechsummit.eventbrite.com/?discount=startuponestop-comp. The next 50 people to register can attend for only $49 (until Feb 24th) using the discount code:
http://smallbiztechsummit.eventbrite.com/?discount=startuponestop-100
The Summit is NY’s premier event for small business owners, entrepreneurs and business professionals looking to network (500 attendees), learn from experts, meet with exhibitors and win great prizes.
At the Summit you’ll learn how Orabrush used creativity and low cost video to boost sales of their tongue cleaners.
Hear from Dell how the power of online software can help you grow your business.
Listen how Bonobos’ customer service ninja works to please customers and sell more pants!
Our luncheon keynote by John “ColderICE” Lawson will have you laughing, crying and inspired
Scott Hintz, Founder of Tripit will share his success in building and selling two businesses – powerful lessons for EVERY business owner
We’ve got a guru of sales to give you her (shhhhhh) secrets to getting the customer to say YES!
Enjoy breakfast, lunch and LOTS MORE…
Tickets are $149 until Feb 24th, then they go to $199.

Nextperience Labs is a Buenos Aires-based accelerator seed fund and the #1 accelerator in Latin America, deadline February 21^st. .We seek to invest and provide hands-on support and community to entrepreneurs with passion for starting up and growing their companies. Lenght of program: 4 months in Buenos Aires. Equity stake taken / Investment : 5-10% / $10,000 per startup, plus $5,000 per founder.For more information and to apply: http://nxtplabs.net/

DreamIt Israel, deadline February 22^nd. DreamIt is only interested in ideas that can turn into a product in three months. DreamIt Ventures will take a 6% passive equity stake in the companies in exchange for up to $25,000 in funding, mentorship, and access to early-stage capital. For more information and to apply: http://www.dreamitventures.com/apply/ There’s also a piece on the program in the press section below.

LeanStartupMachine, February 22-24^th, SOS discount 10offpartner. For more information and to register: http://bit.ly/xdwuf7

Win a VIP Trip to SXSW, deadline February 24^th. Yeah, thought you’d like this one: http://bit.ly/wTXVdT

NEW bitcrowd CampChamp 2012, deadline February 27^th. This is the pitch competition of Startup Camp Berlin 2012.Submit your idea and win an incredible:
1. 40 days of development time for your prototype or minimum viable product by Berlin’s best agile software agency bitcrowd
2. 16 hours of first-class legal advice by the Berlin based legal firm lindenpartners
3. 6 months of office space for 3 team-members at Humboldt Innovation, the technology transfer office of Humboldt University.
The prize: 40.000 €, and no equity taken. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/yJiUX1

NEW YetiZen Get-In-The-Pitch Competition, deadline February 28^th. This is your chance to present to our incredible audience of investors, notable game industry CEOs, and entrepreneurs to jumpstart your fundraising and business development efforts. Showcase your creative juices to some of the most prolific people in the game industry! Entrants must be a startup company in the mobile or social game space. So get your game on: Competition takes place March 8^th in SF. For more information and to apply: http://yetizen.com/competition/

NEW Angel Investment Network Pitching Event, London, February 29^th. These are a great opportunity for you to meet investors, discuss your business and hopefully take some steps towards getting the funding your company needs. Business is done when people meet face to face and our fun and relaxed formats can create a real buzz about you and your business. To apply: http://bit.ly/xhdEwO

NEW TNW Startup Rally, deadline March 1^st. TNW2012 is where you do deals, launch, get coverage, feedback from the brightest, find your next round of funding and meet new friends for life. In the last 3 editions more than 25 startups raised a total of 50 million+ in funding during or right after their launch at The Next Web Conference. The conference takes place in Amsterdam, April 25-27. For more information: http://tnw.co/clCmyg

NEW Extreme Startups, Toronto, deadline March 1^st. Extreme Startups provide a collaborative environment, and deep access with companies such to key industry partners so that accepted startups can integrate the tools they need from the ground up. We offer a 12-week program and provide up to $200,000 per company, a collaborative environment, and deep access with companies such to key industry partners (more information coming soon) so that accepted startups can integrate the tools they need from the ground up. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/Agqmkf

NEW Mobile Merit Awards, deadline for nominations open March 1^st, final deadline: April 1^st. The Mobile Merit Awards recognizes companies, individuals and technologies that have shaped the way in which the world communicates today. Through nominations the Mobile Merit Awards notes the excellence achieved in the global mobile industry. These awards will be presented to outstanding companies, individuals and technologies from each sector within the mobile arena for work of the greatest likely impact on the market. The Awards will be announced on May 19, 2012 with each category winner receiving a plaque as well as a digital graphic ribbon. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/AxHzJF

NEW ERA is now accepting applications for Summer 2012! Application deadline: April 29th Yes, it’s here in NYC, with access to world-class mentors, office space, and more. Each company receives $25,000/8% equity. For more information and to apply: http://eranyc.com/apply/

angelHack National Hackathon on March 3-5^th, deadline February 20^th Big News. The AngelHack national hackathon has arrived and they are giving free tickets to members of developers in this newsletter! There is over $75,000 in prizes to be won, including trips to San Francisco, Cash, and meeting’s with top investors like 500 Startups’ Dave McClure, AngelList’s Naval Ravikant, and AngelPad’s Thomas Korte. Over 500 people have already signed up. One caveat…angleHack currently only takes place in San Francisco and Boston. But there’s good news! You can bus over with 150 other hackers leaving from General Assembly on March 2nd. Round trip tickets (along with food / drinks for 3 days) run less then $20 with your discount code below. Read on.
Prizes Include:
Top teams: Meals with investors, startup documents, hosting credits
1 ^st Place College West Coast: $1000 or flights to San Francisco and lodging at TheGlint Mansion (max 3) compliments of Summer@highland
1 ^{st, 2nd, 3rd} Boston Teams: Advancement to 2nd round of MassChallenge (live demo)
1 ^st Place Gaming: Acceptance into Yetizen Gaming Accelerator (avg. graduate raises $500k)
1 ^st Place Social Impact: Advanced Acceptance to Hub Ventures and funding (conditions apply)
And tickets and airfare to Startup Workaway Thailand, along with $50,000 in API prizes
Boston: -http://angelhackbo2.eventbrite.com/
New York: - http://angelhacknyc2.eventbrite.com/

Vimeo Festival and Awards, deadline February 20^th. Category Prizes: $5,000 (there are quite a few). Grand Prize: $25,000. For more information and to enter: https://vimeo.com/awards

NEW Angel Investment Network Pitching Event, London, February 29^th. These are a great opportunity for you to meet investors, discuss your business and hopefully take some steps towards getting the funding your company needs. This is similar to a trade fair. No scary pitches – just chat to investors at your table. We will include a synopsis of your company in the event brochure and investors who are interested in your proposal summary can come and discuss your proposal face to face. This will give them the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about your project. For more information and to attend: http://bit.ly/dNVrng

NEW Hub Ventures helps high caliber entrepreneurs build their world-changing startups better and faster. Deadline March 5^th. We operate 12-week cohort cycles at Hub Bay Area, during which participating companies receive seed funding and engage in best-in-class mentorship, collaborative sessions with program peers, and workshops and speaker events on topics relevant to impact oriented startups. We also connect companies with our extensive network of investors during the program and at Investor Day, an opportunity to pitch to hundreds of Bay Area investors. 3-7% equity stake taken; $10,000-$20,000 in funding. To apply: http://hub-ventures.com/apply/

Speaking of social media, no, we didn’t start the fire: Social media in the 16th Century: How Luther went viral Social media is the continuation of a long tradition. Modern digital networks may be able to do it more quickly, but even 500 years ago the sharing of media could play a supporting role in perculating a revolution. Today’s social-media systems do not just connect us to each other: they also link us to the past. http://econ.st/urnfGW

Beyond Facebook: The Rise Of Interest-Based Social Networks. Pinterest, Thumb, Instagram, Foodspotting. Personal relationships v interests and which will win? There’s room for both and while Facebook may be the biggest IPO in internet history, as we’ve said, it’s never game over: http://tcrn.ch/xE7uin

Validate your startup by asking three simple questions. Many entrepreneurs experience doubts in their initial stages. If you are feeling doubtful about your startup, ask these 3 questions to yourself (and your co-founder). If the answers aren’t ‘yes,’ reconsider. Or pivot: http://bit.ly/ycrPDo

Starting Over. Sometimes, the best way to improve something is to begin again from scratch. Even if it’s your top-selling product, and this from the founder of 37signals, no less: http://bit.ly/zBWrml

Venture Capital, Disrupted. We’re always asked if we feel that being part of an accelerator is worth it or not. Startup-incubator program now put founders through a kind of tech-industry boot camp in exchange for a small stake in their company. For many, the next stop is AngelList, and AngelList’s cofounder Naval Ravikant explained to Technology Review‘s IT editor Tom Simonite how the next generation of Silicon Valley CEOs is getting a business education on the fly: http://bit.ly/xuOHwu

The Evolution and Rise of Garbage Apps. There are a lot of apps out there, but how many are really useful? Back in the day, we called it shovelware. As Mark Birch notes, garbage apps however are not the basis for an actual business: http://bit.ly/A10kcK

Google defensive after fresh privacy breach. Yup, once again, Google is violating your privacy. But of course, it was inadvertent. Again… http://on.ft.com/wMo8Mu

One last thing: some of you have growing companies, and we know that HR is an expense you don’t need to incur full time. If you’re looking for an HR solution, please do let us know. Email us at hello@startuponestop.com and happy to help! That’s it from us for now and hope to see you at our next breakfast – and at ER44 on Thursday, and yes, we will have the healthy gluten-free cookies and truffles with us. Until then, as always, help is on the way…

2/14/12

Good morning, All, and happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s Social Media Week and SOS, ER and Hubitat are hosting a Startup Breakfast on Thursday, February 16th. $15 includes breakfast, and be prepared to tell us what you need, what you’re doing, or how you can help! It’ll be at Hubitat – and many of you have been curious to see the offices, so come! 31 West 26th Street. RSVP here, and it’s $20 at the door: http://erasosbreakfast1.eventbrite.com/ Join us – a good healthy breakfast is a great way to start your day!

If yoIu believe that reinventing the wheel is a waste of time, you are sadly misinformed, unless you can somehow convince us that the guy who invented the very first one somehow managed to chisel a steel belted radial out of solid rock. Privacy is going the way of the dinosaur, thanks to Big Data – and so has trying to get meaningful search results using google. It has gotten so bad, we personally now google someone on linkedin – and we’re sure that there is at least one or two of you out there who does the same, and GOOG, thanks for the verb. This is not a diatribe: this is a cautionary tale:

As many of you know, we are in the process of launching a new company, and no, this is not about self-promotion. When our other half was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, we had to figure out how to feed him, get him off the meds, lose weight and help him to restore his health while leaving some semblance of the foods in his comfort zone – all in one breath. Or rather, as quickly as possible. It was never our intention to reinvent cookies, muffins, truffles, pasta or pizza, nor did we ever consider that type 2 diabetes would be a mainstay in our lives and that he would have to lose, well, about as much as we’ve weighed most of our life. There you have it. Get lemons: make lemonade. Hold the sugar.

The point of this: if we can reinvent cookies and muffins using NONE of the traditional ingredients AND still come out with a great product, you can reinvent the wheel and figure out a way to monetize your sites/technologies without having to alienate and lose your audience/users/customers. And still provide a meaningful service, which Google and FB seem to have lost sight of. Who needs the baby – that bath water has GOT to go! You can reinvent the wheel, but you’ve got to start thinking outside of the box. It can be done. The only question is: will you be the one to do it. Here are some basic rules, which you’ve no doubt heard before in some form, or rather, yes, we know that we’re not exactly reinventing the wheel here…

1. You’d better have a strong motivator to do what you’re doing, or it won’t work. We don’t think Mark Zuckerberg was thinking about taking at least one last class in economics before dropping out of Harvard, because someday he’d have to figure out how to shelter the billions of dollars he’d be making eight years later. And myspace was already out there and growing, FYI. And Yahoo owned search long before Google was launched. You do what you do, because you’re driven to do it.

2. Make sure there’s a market for your product. Yes, that. It’s the first thing you consider, once you’ve come up with the idea, if your intention is to build a business.

3. It doesn’t matter if someone so-called ‘owns the space.’ If there’s a pain point, there’s a problem.

4. Talk to everyone you meet about what you’re doing. Eventually, you will find help/an advocate/an investor. You can’t be the only one who sees the problem and if you are, you’re either prescient beyond belief or the medications stopped working, in which case – seek professional help.

5. If your energy/resolves starts to flag, do an impromptu focus group. We attended a breakfast recently and put our our muffins and cookies, just for the reaction. Then noticed people started gravitating towards our products – and finished them. Build a better mousetrap.

6. Be your own best advocate. Always be selling. Always be marketing.

7. Lean is fine at first, if your intention is to stay boutique. You want to get big – go big. Find an investor and start blanketing the market. Network – and always have marketing/sales material/products with you, and remember: the goal is to go home lighter than you arrived – but not quite empty-handed, if you catch our drift.

Our last bit of inspiration on this topic, from Mad Men and one of the most brilliantly written segments in all of television. This should be required viewing in any business course or MBA Program. In the words of Don Draper (John Hamm), “technology is a glittering lure – but there is the rare occasion when the public can be engaged beyond flash.. “ Without further ado: “The Carousel,” aka Don Draper Reinvents the Wheel. Do yourself a favor and watch it in its entirety: http://youtu.be/suRDUFpsHus. Oh, and good luck at your next meeting. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

Women2.0 Conference & Competition 2012, February 14^th, Mountainview. For your 10% discount: STARUPONESTOP: http://women2.org/conference2012

NEW youngStartup Ventures will be hosting VC Outlook NYC|2012 on February 16th, and 10% discount with the code “sos.” There’s an exclusive cocktail reception which will be a gathering of cutting edge startups with active VCs, Private Investors, Corporate VCs and Strategic Service Firms. This unique forum will feature Entrepreneur & Investor Face 2 Face “speed pitch” meetings, a VC panel discussion as well as high-level networking opportunities. And the investor world is pretty well represented here. For more information and to register: http://www.youngstartup.com/VCO12/overview.php

Heads up, Australia and NZ:UK Trade and Investment Go UK business competition with over 100k in prizes, deadline February 17^th. For more information: http://bit.ly/w3rBWk. To enter: http://bit.ly/AvYVfZ

DEMO Spring 2012, application deadline February 17^th. DEMO Spring 2012, the launchpad for emerging technology and trends, is returning to Silicon Valley April 17-19, 2012 and we have many exciting new reasons to attend and launch! www.demo.com
DEMO Innovation Tour- Announcing Dates/Locations:
DEMO comes to Palo Alto, Boulder, Boston and Austin in February and March in search of the best innovation to showcase at DEMO Spring 2012, April 17-19, Hyatt Regency Silicon Valley. Apply today for a meeting spot and you or your client will have an opportunity to meet with Matt Marshall, DEMO Executive Producer, members from the DEMO and VCs to get candid feedback on your pitch and make investment connections.
DEMO and Foundry Group – February 8, 2012- Boulder, CO
DEMO Meet-up- February 8, 2012 in Boulder, CO at T-Zero Lounge, 6-8 p.m.
DEMO and Kleiner Perkins- February 9, 2012- Palo Alto, CA
DEMO and Atlas Venture- February 14, 2012- Boston, MA
DEMO and SXSW- March 11, 2012- Austin, TX
DEMO Innovation Tour- www.demo.com/innovationtour
No Barrier to Entry: Apply to Launch or Pitch at DEMO Spring 2012 and take advantage of our new pricing and scholarship program opportunities. Application Deadline: February 17, 2012.Over the next few months, we’ll be in touch with conference updates, speakers and more! To apply to Launch or Register to Attend: www.demo.com

NEW MassChallenge, applications open March 1^st. Deadline April 11^th. This is the largest-ever startup accelerator and competition, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strongs attached.
3 month accelerator program. World-class mentorship and training, free office space, access to funding, media and more.
$1M in cash awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
Open to all. Any startup can enter, from anywhere, in any industry.
No equity taken. No restrictions applied.
$1M in cash awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
Open to all. Any startup can enter, from anywhere, in any industry.
For more information and to apply: http://masschallenge.org/

NEW angelHack National Hackathon on March 3-5^th, deadline February 20^th Big News. The AngelHack national hackathon has arrived and they are giving free tickets to members of developers in this newsletter! There is over $75,000 in prizes to be won, including trips to San Francisco, Cash, and meeting’s with top investors like 500 Startups’ Dave McClure, AngelList’s Naval Ravikant, and AngelPad’s Thomas Korte. Over 500 people have already signed up. One caveat…angleHack currently only takes place in San Francisco and Boston. But there’s good news! You can bus over with 150 other hackers leaving from General Assembly on March 2nd. Round trip tickets (along with food / drinks for 3 days) run less then $20 with your discount code below. Read on.
Prizes Include:
Top teams: Meals with investors, startup documents, hosting credits
1 ^st Place College West Coast: $1000 or flights to San Francisco and lodging at TheGlint Mansion (max 3) compliments of Summer@highland
1 ^{st, 2nd, 3rd} Boston Teams: Advancement to 2nd round of MassChallenge (live demo)
1 ^st Place Gaming: Acceptance into Yetizen Gaming Accelerator (avg. graduate raises $500k)
1 ^st Place Social Impact: Advanced Acceptance to Hub Ventures and funding (conditions apply)
And tickets and airfare to Startup Workaway Thailand, along with $50,000 in API prizes
100% off if you’re Boston-based -http://angelhackbo2.eventbrite.com/
80% off New York-based - http://angelhacknyc2.eventbrite.com/
Code for both is Bonnie – and good until February 20th.

Vimeo Festival and Awards, deadline February 20^th. Category Prizes: $5,000 (there are quite a few). Grand Prize: $25,000. For more information and to enter: https://vimeo.com/awards

NEW Nextperience Labs is a Buenos Aires-based accelerator seed fund and the #1 accelerator in Latin America, deadline February 21^st. .We seek to invest and provide hands-on support and community to entrepreneurs with passion for starting up and growing their companies. Lenght of program: 4 months in Buenos Aires. Equity stake taken / Investment : 5-10% / $10,000 per startup, plus $5,000 per founder.For more information and to apply: http://nxtplabs.net/

Win a VIP Trip to SXSW, deadline February 24^th. Yeah, thought you’d like this one: http://bit.ly/wTXVdT

LeanStartupMachine, February 22-24^th, SOS discount 10offpartner. For more information and to register: http://bit.ly/xdwuf7

NEW Angel Investment Network Pitching Event, London, February 29^th. These are a great opportunity for you to meet investors, discuss your business and hopefully take some steps towards getting the funding your company needs. This is similar to a trade fair. No scary pitches – just chat to investors at your table. We will include a synopsis of your company in the event brochure and investors who are interested in your proposal summary can come and discuss your proposal face to face. This will give them the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about your project. For more information and to attend: http://bit.ly/dNVrng

NEW Crain’s New York Business is now accepting nominations for its annual Top Entrepreneurs competition, deadline March 23^rd. It is open to businesses located in the five boroughs of New York City. Businesses must be 3 years old or more to enter and can have revenues up to $100 million. You can enter and get more information here:http://bit.ly/AdFq9t Winners will be featured in the May 29 issue of Crain’s. You can enter yourself or nominate someone else. Contact: Elaine Pofeldt,epofeldt@yahoo.com

NEW ERA is now accepting applications for Summer 2012! Application deadline: April 29th To apply: http://eranyc.com/apply/

The End of the Mexican Road. From Mark Suster: Negotiations. We all think we’re good at them. Most people aren’t that good. And do you really need that blanket, after all? http://bit.ly/yxYtzB

Understanding Kickstarter, from Fred Wilson’s blog and yes, he is an investors. That said, as one said in the comments, “The era of the empowered individual creating wealth is upon us, and kickstarter is one of a growing few forging the way.” http://bit.ly/wfjZ6n

JACK DORSEY: I’m Proud Of All We Decided Not To Do. Dorsey’s tweet on Square’s 3^rd annivesary is a pertinent reminder that sometimes the most important choices are the choices where we decide not to do something: http://read.bi/w7U9yd

Which is less expensive: Amazon or self-hosted? The cloud is out there, but is it for everyone and all things? http://bit.ly/xtnyZb

Speaking of reinventing the wheel… Trends: Follow or flee? How much should you care about trends? Are they worth following – or striking off on your own path? http://bit.ly/z9dBRJ

Derisking Buckets: How to identify and deal with investor hesitations. All startups are risky, let’s face it. So, here are the risks, all spelled out – and hopefully it’ll come in handy as you’re crafting your next investor pitch: http://bit.ly/yzZOE7

What Makes An Awesome Board Member. We all need them, but how do you determine who is the right one? Well, here’s a checklist to make it just that much easier. Hopefully: http://bit.ly/yvbxm2

Rising Role for Angel Investors. A study finds that outside the U.S., these seed-funding contributors are outspending VCs: http://bit.ly/xX23yB

Five Myths About Venture Capital. Speaks for itself: http://vc-brazil.com/blog/

Finally, for your amusement this week, the Verizon 3G/4G network ‘explained,’ courtesy of SNL: http://bit.ly/wkV1s7 That’s it from us for now and hope to see you at breakfast on Thursday: http://erasosbreakfast1.eventbrite.com/ Until then, enjoy your Valentine’s Day and as always, help is on the way…

2/7/12

Good morning, All,

First, next week is Social Media Week and SOS, ER and Hubitat are hosting a Startup Breakfast on Thursday, February 16th. Hopefully, some of you will be in from out of town, so join us and introduce yourselves. $15 includes breakfast, and be prepared to tell us what you need, what you’re doing, or how you can help! It’ll be at Hubitat – and many of you have been curious to see the offices, so come! 31 West 26th Street. RSVP here, and it’s $20 at the door: http://erasosbreakfast1.eventbrite.com/ And our thanks to everyone who attended our Find A Cofounder last night. Great event and we will schedule another one soon, not to worry!

There certainly have been more IPO’s of late than we’ve seen in recent years. Facebook’s has been a long time coming, but forest through the trees: the company’s S-1 filing was announced almost in the same breath as director James Cameron’s leaving the US and moving to a farm in New Zealand (ok, he’ll be filming Avatar 2 as well), and it gives one pause: he’s not the only one percenter whose leaving (Cameron Feeling America To Escape Collapse? http://bit.ly/A8PDkF) As the article says, growing concern that economic stagnation could lead to widespread civil unrest, allied to crippling tax hikes, is causing many members of the super-rich to abandon the US – or purchase land in more remote areas – and in record numbers, in pursuit of more stable countries with friendlier financial conditions for those with wealth. Hmmm.

Back to our story: Zuckerberg stated that FB is going public “for no real reason.” Well, Zuck doesn’t do anything for no real reason. Facebook is certainly decelerating (Here’s The Real Problem For Facebook’s Stock Valuation http://read.bi/z73WT2), and why not git while the gitting’s good? Timeline. Likes. Subscribes. And a growing online advertising market. With Google’s big push into social, the war for eyeballs – and ad dollars – is on and FB needs a war chest to build up its advertising infrastruction. Interestingly, Steve Case, AOL founder and yes, an early Living Social investor, says that we’re only at the early stages of the social ecommerce revolution (LivingSocial lost $558M in 2011: http://bit.ly/wxc7hE) Facebook seems to be following the path of online advertising, which certainly is a growing segment, last quarter aside, when revenues were way down. The company has the data to go in either direction – or both. Social ecommerce is still the relative new kid on the block and we well remember web 1.0, when promising to build revenue through online advertising was pretty much a non-starter to investors, so don’t discount social ecommerce yet. If we are in a bubble (bubble, meltdown, tomato, tomahto) and FB is going public while the going’s good, well, like last time, there will be those who survive and those who will not. Bottom line always is: is this something I can’t live without? Amazon, eBay and the then-nascent Google are still with us, and twitter would be no doubt be fine after a bubble 2.0. Facebook certainly has challenges ahead of them and it’s still early days in the evolution of social platforms: they weren’t the first and they no doubt won’t be the last. Again, time will tell. And timeline? Why not just rename it Scrapbook? Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

Hacker School is a three-month, full-time school in New York for becoming a better programmer. We’re free as in beer, and provide space, a little structure, time to focus, and a friendly community of smart builders dedicated to self-improvement. We value free software, beautiful code, personal growth, and shipping. The third batch will take place from February 13th to May 3rd. For more information and to apply: http://www.hackerschool.com/

businessweek is looking for America’s most promising social entrepreneurs, deadline February 9^th. The idea is to find and report on business ventures that advance a social or environmental mission and aim to turn a profit. For more information and to apply: http://buswk.co/zWbf20

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

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

NEW youngStartup Ventures will be hosting VC Outlook NYC|2012on February 16th, an exclusive cocktail reception which will be a gathering of cutting edge startups with active VCs, Private Investors, Corporate VCs and Strategic Service Firms. This unique forum will feature Entrepreneur & Investor Face 2 Face “speed pitch” meetings, a VC panel discussion as well as high-level networking opportunities. And the investor world is pretty well represented here. For more information and to register: http://www.youngstartup.com/VCO12/overview.php

NEW Heads up, Australia and NZ:UK Trade and Investment Go UK business competition with over 100k in prizes, deadline February 17^th. For more information: http://bit.ly/w3rBWk. To enter: http://bit.ly/AvYVfZ

Vimeo Festival and Awards, deadline February 20^th. Category Prizes: $5,000 (there are quite a few). Grand Prize: $25,000. For more information and to enter: https://vimeo.com/awards

Win a VIP Trip to SXSW, deadline February 24^th. Yeah, thought you’d like this one: http://bit.ly/wTXVdT

NEW LeanStartupMachine, February 22-24^th, SOS discount 10offpartner. For more information and to register: http://bit.ly/xdwuf7

NEW The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, deadline March 13^th. It’s an international business plan competition for women entrepreneurs who are in the initial stages of development, in any country, of any nationality and operating in any industry. Since its inception five years ago, it has provided support, visibility and coaching to 76 women heading businesses in countries across the globe. There’s mentorship, $20k US and a trip to France for the presentation Finale. For more information and to apply: http://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com/

Companies that would do best without venture capital. If you want to build a profitable company, forget the VCs. Sounds counter-intuitive? Can you say ‘twitter’ and read on: http://bit.ly/ynME9F

Mark Zuckerberg’s 6 Ingredients For Success. Ambition is important, and #1 on the list. Mark launched Facebook (yes, we know all about the Winklevoss twins) to level the playing field at Harvard and to succeed at getting girls. The list is good, but frankly, we’d put motivation/strong motivator right up there: http://tcrn.ch/xOn3YV

Facebook: Here Are the 35 Things That Could Kill Our Company. Linkedin listed 42 risk factors, Zynga 44 and Groupon 55. Mashable bolded that ones that were particularly troubling to them. We might have highlighted a few more: http://on.mash.to/xroyrM

For fun: Facebook IPO Filing Reveals Its Stunning Size: A Private Jet, $1 Billion In Profits, And More http://huff.to/yjzghM

1,258 CEOs Share What’s Keeping Them Up At Night. Like Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. But wait! There’s more! http://read.bi/AiHn7X
On the Value of Partnerships. Most accelerators like it when there are two cofounders. Always good to have someone to bounce ideas off – and who hopefully has your back: http://bit.ly/yGlNz2

Not to rub it in, but from our friends at Chubby Brain: NY’s Tech Venture Capital Lead Over Boston Accelerates. If it makes you feel any better, “San Francisco suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Giants this football post-season as well.” But the west coast needn’t worry quite yet. Well, not when it comes to venture investing: http://bit.ly/ACFXlS

Early to bed… Why Morning People Rule the World. Morning people are more proactive – and therefore more successful in their professional lives — according to new research. And admittedly, we’re up by 6 every morning: http://bit.ly/w4Wqp1

14 Incredible Women To Watch In Silicon Valley. Note to self: pay attention to what the solo-founder women are doing. Airbnb, taskrabbit. Finding pain points and sticking to what the gender knows best. Want to change the ratio? Change the attitude: http://read.bi/wMOGHC

That’s it from us for now and hope to see you next week at our Social Media Week Startup Breakfast. Until then, as always, help is on the way…

Start Up One Stop

For Startups, By Startups

Monthly Archives: February 2012