11/13/12
Good morning, All,
Yes, our next gathering is tomorrow, November 14th. 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 10th 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
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/
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 14th. 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 5th.
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 19th. 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
ER Accelerator Winter Session, deadline November 30th. 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/
NEW The Europas, deadline November 30th. 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 30th. 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 5th. 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 5th. If you plan on attending, register now and save 50%: http://bit.ly/LjlttK
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For you edification this week:
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…