Startup One Stop

Good morning, All,

We always see lists of the steps to take to succeed in technology. What about the things and people to avoid, sometimes at all costs. Starting with advice from the piece that inspired today’s newsletter: Why I got Fired from Facebook (a $100 Million dollar lesson): http://bit.ly/RqDgp1 Worth a read, and one of my favorites, yea, even as a networker. And blogger: “The BEST way to get famous is make amazing stuff. That’s it. Not blogging, networking, etc.” Make sure to read the note from Zuck – and see if you can find Waldo. Networking is important – but not to the exclusion of all else, or to validate your overwhelming desire to procrastinate. New rule: Check to see who’s going, or who’s hosting. Give yourself an hour to go and meet the people on your list. Also make sure to meet at least one new person. Once you get the feeling that your work there is done, leave. And don’t look back. One more lap around, just to be sure, is permissible, but just one, unless it was really worthwhile. After all, networking is part of your jobs, too (and yes, the next SOS networking event is October 18^th. RSVP now for the early bird rate: http://sosoctobermixer.eventbrite.com/

You’re not the star – your product is. What we mean by that, well, once again, there’s the lessons of Color (and just for the record, Elvis has left the room - Bye Bye, Bill: How Nguyen Doomed Color from the Start: http://bit.ly/P4tAC3). It was a startup without a product. Or a plan to capture users (yes, we know you need a product first, but when investors throw $41 million at you, guess you don’t sweat the details. Bill Nguyen: The Boy In The Bubble: http://bit.ly/UAkutF As the article says, Bill Nguyen launches startups with haste, never researches the competition, and makes the same mistakes "again and again." So why do people keep giving him so much money? Hope the investors on the list are paying attention to this one and yes, there is such a thing as Silicon Snake Oil Syndrome, which is the concept that if you’ve hit it once, whether by pluck or luck, you’re destined to be a Successful Serial Entrepreneur, which might help to explain The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail: http://on.wsj.com/PDkx7z Read More...

Good morning, All,

We got to a lot of pitch events – where investors are always present – as well as accelerator demo days – where there are even more investors present. Of course we always query them for their feedback post-event.  Most often we hear: ‘yes, interesting, but we’ve seen this before.’ Or, ‘they’re in a crowded space.’ Newsflash: libraries and bookstores – on and offline – are filled with books, and yet when you get down to it, there are only seven plots in all of literature, and actually, they can be boiled down to three: man v man; man v nature and man v himself. So any fiction writers on the list? Give it up: it’s been done and why the New York Times should even bother with a bestseller list is beyond us. To make matters worse, Mark Zuckerberg Says There Are Only ‘6 People In The World With Good Ideas’ (http://read.bi/QmXzDU) – himself included, of course, and let’s not forget that FB was far from being the world’s first social network. (Oh, and in case you missed it, and speaking of social networks, they’re back: https://new.myspace.com/play.) Remember: only seven plotlines.

Given all of this, what’s an entrepreneur to do? Answer: what you’ve always done. Keep building. Never give up on building the better mousetrap. Of course, Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, but that’s not what we’re talking about. As Erin Griffin notes in her pandodaily piece about ER Accelerator Demo Day which took place last week, “If Facebook has taught us anything it’s that an idea doesn’t have to be original or first to succeed. It just has to be executed the best.” (Politics, Planes and Paperwork: http://bit.ly/Q2cPpD). A fine point, that may well elude many an investor. (She also notes that conversely, the best execution doesn’t always win, either. Remember betamax?). Investors like founders with great backgrounds or track records. Look, they dumped millions into Color (Color.com Raises $41 Million For Building Location Photo- and Video-Sharing Social Network: http://bit.ly/SNchkr) yet a handful of unknowns founded instagram – an industry hit which left the Color investors waaay in the red. Pun intended. You’ve never heard of Sulia – but you someday may: This Tiny New York Startup Is Showing Facebook How It’s Done. http://read.bi/USQ87O. It’s the world’s first subject-based social network. They organize short-form content into channels. It’s free, and built in a way so that they can someday monetize their content. No brainer for advertisers:  here’s your dedicated audience. You don’t have to go looking for them. They’re right here in this channel. May be time to take a cue from companies like Sulia and don’t just make your focus to build lean, or do more faster. Build smart and build it your way. As Oscar Wilde said, be yourself… everyone else is already taken. End of story. Onward and forward. Read More...

Good morning, All,

The iPhone 5 was introduced last week and while it has made moves forward (Apple introduced iPhone 5, 4” screen, 7.6 mm thick, 112 grams, 4G LTE capable, A6 processor, Lightning dock connector: http://tnw.co/Raj50k) – and is the fastest-selling iPhone to date, the battery is still not removable, and we know that the FBI can listen in, even when the phone is turned off – which is true of all smartphones, just for the record. Still, supposedly forward technology moves. So quickly, in fact, that again, we don’t stop to consider the consequences. When gmail was first introduced in 2004, no less than 30 civil liberties groups were in court arguing that with their ad serving, GOOG was reading our email and targeting us – a clear invasion of privacy. Was then and still is, yet gmail has become part of the internet landscape and we have happily given up our privacy and lots of it for the sake of convenience (How Google products go from creepy to cool: http://cnet.co/LU15kA). If they can do it, so can the government. A precedent has been set. As the writer says, convenience trumps privacy – are you cool with that? Now with Google Glasses, the company literally wants to get inside your head – and that’s just not cool by any stretch of the imagination (Google’s Project Glass is cool, but it raises a number of privacy concerns: http://tnw.co/OulVHe). Technology and the internet have certainly sped things up – including the rate at which we get used to things, like the disappearance of our rights. We’re like children who’ve been distracted by the lollipop and don’t see that doctor (or worse) coming at us with the needle. Social media has only exacerbated the issue. We’ve said it before: with all of the information we readily share via facebook, twitter, foursquare and whatever other SM technologies you care to throw into the mix, there’s nothing that can’t be known, mined and discovered within a few simple keystrokes. We know that this isn’t news to you. Every now and again, we like to tap you on the shoulder as a gentle reminder, since we are the early adopters and more importantly, the creators of this brave new world. The so-called information highway is being charted, and moreso every day. Let’s be careful out there, and respectly of our users/customers. We live in a world where there are so many security cameras out there watching that we now have security cameras watching the security cameras (apologies: we can’t find the link to the article, which appeared last week). Remember the expression, ‘off the grid?’  We have seen the grid, and it is us.  Onward and forward.

Deadlines: Read More...

Good morning, All,

It’s 9/11, and maybe because it’s also a Tuesday, as it was on that 9/11 eleven years ago, it’s especially difficult for those of us who were in New York City that morning not to recall the events of that day. And to reflect on what we’ve lost since then.

We had quite a few friends who escaped from the fall of the towers and we’ve heard the stories, first hand, about how they made their way uptown, on foot, since public transportation had been shut down, and did it, exhausted, emotionally drained and covered in the remains of both the buildings and of the people who lost their lives in them. Read More...

Good morning, All,

We’ve always wondered what the tipping point is, when a startup goes from ‘startup’ to ‘company.’ We often wonder the same thing about Founder/CEO. Corporate paperwork aside, does founding a company make one a CEO? Having a great idea is one thing; knowing how to implement is quite another matter. Early stage companies may not have the juice or means to bring on a CEO who is a subject matter expert/can appeal to investors, so the founders often fill the role. Does that mean that the founder should keep the job, once the company is ready to moved to the next level? Not necessarily. A founder is a person who will sacrifice everything to build something out of nothing. A CEO is someone who takes care of the business end of the business and not uncommonly, someone the investors may bring in at some point to help take it to the next level. Not all founders like the idea of giving up the reigns – it’s their baby. Newsflash: always a good idea to play to your strengths – and to be aware of your shortcomings. Founder and CEO - not everyone is good at both, especially in an industry rife with youth, and with youth comes inexperience in business. Don’t be upset if/when it’s time for you to step aside, at least for the time being. Remember: a then young Larry Page and Sergei Brin gave up the reigns to Eric Schmidt, and Steve Jobs was much better suited to be Apple’s CEO the second time around. Mark Zuckerberg has long been the online media’s apotheosis of the startup CEO: young, brash – and he built a company with one of the largest populations on the planet. And like most countries right now, well, the economy isn’t doing very well. FB is working on a business model (Facebook’s New Retargeted Ads Performing “Very Well”, Adds Partners To Run Them: http://tcrn.ch/Og00p0) But targeting users – and having them actually click - are two different things, and do you go to FB to do your shopping? Know your audience – and decide whether or not you’re really up to the job of CEO. Having the passion doesn’t mean you have the skills to run a company. That’s what distinguishes a true leader: you know when to get out of your own way. Facebook has it’s place in the world – for now – until something else comes along, and maybe that’s why something else almost always comes along in the world of technology. Is it really the short attention span of users, or the person at the top's failure to innovate? Consider Amazon and Apple - companies that create new models and markets. Amazon started as a bookseller, grew to become an online shopping center - then changed the game with the Kindle. Apple, which nearly disappeared at one point, is now one of the most successful companies in the world. And there’s the lesson for you: know your users/customers/members and give them something they don’t even know that they need – yet. The true winners are the market-makers. They’re industry leaders that inspire Macolytes rather than follow the old models and devolve into just another company seemingly destined to dot come and go. Onward and forward.

Deadlines: Read More...

Good morning, All,

Our next SOS gathering is tonight, August 20^th, so don't forget to register and looking forward to seeing you there. To RSVP: http://sosaugust2012-zvents.eventbrite.com/ discount code: sos. It was another bad week for three Web 2.0 darlings: Facebook is at ½ its IPO value; Zynga is down 69% and Groupon is off by 82%. We're not saying it's a bubble: it was more a wakeup call. And it seems to have roused the sleeping giants, so in case you missed it: A massive partnership was just announced between some of the largest retailers and merchants in the US, including 7-Eleven, Best Buy, Sears, Walmart and Target, to name a few. The plan: to create a mobile wallet that would be honored at its members' retail locations (Tired of Being Cut Out of Mobile Payments, Major Retailers Strike Back: http://rww.to/SEg5oq). This comes on the heels of the NY Times' announcement that it is unloading about.com, which it bought from Primedia (who paid over $600 million for it) for $410 million in 2005, to answers.com, for $270 million (The New York Times Is About to Say Goodbye to About.com: http://dthin.gs/RAxCSy). So don't bank on starting a company called YouNeedToBuyUsBeforeGOOGDoes.com: You prove your worth, or you're off the island. We see this as a harbinger and our takeaway: we’re on the eve of Web 3.0 and it won’t be about the Rise of Mobile (which is part of it) or the Demise of Social (which needs to come to the realization that there’s no free lunch: eventually the waiter does comes around with the check). Amazon never concerned itself with its stock price: the online retailer was busy building a business, and customer service was always front and center: after all, it was the customers who were paying the bills. Does Walmart care how many likes they get on FB? Haven’t seen them post too many – or any – Groupon offers, either, for that matter. You might be a media darling for 5 hot minutes, but careful: the adults are now stepping into the room. It seems they weren’t asleep after all: they’ve quietly been watching from the sidelines and they’re getting ready to stake their own claims in our brave new world. That’s Web 3.0, in our humble opinion and you’d be better be prepared to play in the big leagues now, and maybe even do business with the big guys. They mean business – and always have. If you don’t realize that playtime’s over and that the game is changing, you may well find yourself in way over your hoodie. Onward and forward.

Deadlines: Read More...

Good morning, All,

Don't forget that our next SOS gathering is Monday, August 20^th and just under a week away, so don't forget to register and looking forward to seeing you there. To RSVP: http://sosaugust2012-zvents.eventbrite.com/ It’s August. Big vacation month – especially for investors. Since rust - and an entrepreneur - never sleeps, good time to work on your game face – and your pitch. Let’s face it: there’s nothing new under the sun. Facebook? Back in the day, there was sixdegrees.com. Amazon is an online store, albeit a successful one and expanding globally. We go to pitch events all the time. Nine times out of ten, we’ve heard it before. So, how do you get an investor’s attention? Here are some basic helpful hints/rules of thumb:

1. If you want investors’ attention, have a story that gets their attention. 2. If you plan on disrupting an industry, you’d damned well better have a pitch that wakes up the room. 3. Something compelled you to start this company. Share. Don’t keep it a secret. It may just be that pain point with which your potential investor can identify. 4. Speak from the heart. Keep it real. 5. Don’t be yet another concept on steroids. Heard it before – ad nauseam – and besides, steroids should only be administered under a doctor’s care and are illegal, if you happen to be participating in competitive sports. 6. Keep your message simple. And memorable. That way, it’s more likely to be remembered and hopefully, so will you. 7. An investor deck is also a business plan. Just remember that you’re building a business and make sure you have a pathway to profitability. 8. If you’re depending on an ad revenue model, ask yourself: when was the last time I clicked on an ad or a banner*? 9. *The SOS Donate button at the top of this page should be a notable exception, and do feel free to click. 10. Be able to describe your business in one sentence – sometimes, that’s all the time you have. Talking fast doesn’t count. 11. If you have a stellar background – or have unique personal experience having to do with your startup - spell it out. Front and center. It may be the thing that makes you uniquely qualified to do what you’re doing, and potential investors need to know that. 12. Don’t end your deck or presentation with contact information. It needs to be in there, but this is an advertisement for you and your company: leave them with a sound bite that they’ll remember. Read More...

Good morning, All,

The next SOS gathering is coming up on August 20^th and if your're in town, we'd love to see you. Details and RSVP are here: http://sosaugust2012-zvents.eventbrite.com/ and you know, you don't have to register at the last minute. How well we know you all!

It wasn’t a good week for FB, but then, the company hasn’t had a good week since it went public. Turns out the 6^th largest country in the world, by population, admitted that millions of accounts are fake (http://bit.ly/N1xqsQ); the company lost more than three-quarters of a billion dollars of market cap EACH DAY since it went public (Who To Blame For Failed IPOs: http://tcrn.ch/QC4SJQ); Randy Zuckerberg went to work for Google; and her brother is no longer a Top 10 Tech Billionaire (http://on.mash.to/NeAwGz). He’s fine, but with the stock plummeting, he is at risk of losing valuable employees (Facebook loses 2 more executives, after stock price hits low: http://bit.ly/Mecr6G). Zuckerberg never wanted FB to go public – ever – and with the company under constant scrutiny for some privacy issue or another (Facebook’s facial recognition gets probe from Norwegian officials: http://bit.ly/MecBuI), it’s no wonder. One of the valuable lessons we can learn from FB, from way the company/investors handled the IPO to its policies, to its seemingly ever changing look, is that actions have consequences, even when the service is free. Yes, new users subscribe daily, but FB is not monetizing the base in any meaningful way. We personally think twice when the ‘I’ll allow it’ button pops up and given the choice between FB and allowing it through another service, we opt for the alternative: after all, Zuckerberg and ethics are rarely ever used in the same sentence – in a good way. The trust is long gone. He was always a press darling and still gets a great deal of ink – again, these days, not in a good way. We menton this because it’s August, and investors have mostly checked out for the time being. A good time to work on your business and, if necessary, to retool your business plan, and to think long and hard about what you’re creating, how you’re monetizing and if you’re not, what or whom you’re selling. We work in technology and we’ve all come to learn that there’s no such thing as the free internet: someone always pays. Let’s take some responsibility for what we’re doing because what we’re building is the future – and we all have to live there. Onward and forward. Deadlines: Read More...

Good morning, All,
First, our next SOS gathering is coming up on August 20^th. Yes, it’s still three weeks away, but early bird rate is available now, and we always look forward to seeing you: http://sosaugust2012-zvents.eventbrite.com/

Deadlines:
The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events
Oxygen Accelerator, Birmingham, England, deadline July 31^st. A 13-week intensive mentor led bootcamp, followed by 13-weeks of incubation that culminates with a series of investor days where we will help you pitch to a large, carefully selected group of Angel investors, VCs and Private Equity groups for next stage funding. Up to €40,000 per team in exchange for 8%-10% equity, and much more, including relocation allowance:  http://www.oxygenaccelerator.com/ The Guardian Small Business Awards, 1^st deadline (Winning New Business) August 3^rd. All entries that meet the criteria will appear on the Small Business Network’s best practice exchange and the winning entries will be written up as a feature in the Guardian. For more information and to enter: http://bit.ly/QaTcw4
NEW  Design for Education with Udemy, deadline August 5^th. For its next social media project, Udemy is inviting YOU to submit your most DARING artwork on the themes of “Education” and “Lifelong Learning”. Grand prize: $1000, a framed copy of the design, 100 T-shirts featuring their design, feature in all of Udemy’s social media channels, $100 worth of Udemy courses, and more. For more information and to enter: http://bit.ly/Oy3CDY
NEW  Launchpad LA, deadline August 6^th. This startup accelerator and mentorship program combines the best VCs in Southern California, many experienced CEOs and a very select group of service providers who are committed to working with early-stage companies. It’s a 4-month Santa Monica-based program, giving $50k to companies in exchange for 6% equity. http://launchpad.la/apply NEW  Thrillist/Samsung Speed Dating for Startups, deadline August 6^th. Think you’ve got the perfect start-up idea on your hands? All entrepreneur’d up with nowhere to…entrepreneur? Then upload a 30-second video describing your brilliant start-up idea. Grand prize: the ultimate business launch package that’ll get your start-up all started up, including the chance to be showcased on Thrillist. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/NZkx2F NEW  VictorySpark, Milwaukee, WI, deadline August 22^nd. This is an exclusive program designed for innovative, high-growth, Veteran-initiated startups. $20K given for 6% equity: http://www.victoryspark.com/
Women 2.0 PITCH comes to NYC, deadline August 31^st. We are now accepting applications for PITCH NYC from early-stage ventures around the world with at least one female founder to apply to the startup competition.  PITCH NYC 2012 will provide entrepreneurs with a chance for fame and fortune: finalists present onstage at the conference, and prizes include $25k cash from L’Oreal, $24k worth of free hosting from Rackspace and a finalist interview with TechStars! Stay tuned for more awesome prizes to be announced. Early-stage ventures with under a million in funding and a product in the market (prototype OK) are invited to apply. We are looking to identify, recognize and reward the most disruptive women-led ventures globally – and invite them to pitch onstage for the PITCH NYC conference in November. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/K56mbS
NEW  WIBO 1^st Annual Executive Summary Competition, deadline September 7^th. A well developed Executive Summary can open the door and a great Pitch can help you seal the deal.  The purpose of this competition is to guide you through the process of getting your thoughts about your business out of your head and on to paper! http://bit.ly/OC9Oe0 THE NEW ENGLAND VENTURE SUMMIT Call for Top Innovators, early deadline September 12^th. If you are a Startup seeking capital and/or partnerships, submit your plan for the opportunity to present at The 7th Annual New England Venture Summit, the premier venue connecting emerging growth companies with active Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Corporate VCs and Investment Firms. A select group of 50 Top Innovators from the technology, life sciences and Clean-tech sectors will be chosen to present their breakthrough investment opportunities to an exclusive audience of Venture Capitalists, Private Investors, Investment Bankers, Corporate Investors, and Strategic Partners. To apply to present: e-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for an application.To nominate a company:please forward: company name, main contact at firm, contact details and why you think they should present to nominations@youngstartup.com. Early bird registration is now available. For more information: http://bit.ly/LjlttK
Battle of the Apps: become the Kick Apps Champion by creating software that helps small businesses. Contest now opened, deadline: December 31^st. Infusionsoft is offering$20,000 in cash and prizes for the best apps to help small business customers. Use the Infusionsoft API to create an app, integration, or plug-in that helps Infusionsoft customers grow their business! 1st through 4th place winners will receive ongoing marketing, plus stage time at InfusionCon 2013. 10 runners-up will receive InfusionCon boothspace and 2 tickets to the conference. Register to enter.
powered by Movable Ink For you edification this week:
12 Business Incubators Changing the World. Yes, article in Forbes – research from SOS members Chubby Brain: http://onforb.es/OaaGXQ Divorcing Your Cofounder: Sooner or later you are going to face the truth; the team you start with is not the team you end up with for the long haul.  Most founders tend to accept this fact when it comes to employees, but what if it happens to be the very person(s) you launched your startup with? http://bit.ly/MKiu0f Tech Reporter Contact List. From Brad Feld, and it includes the top tech blogs, tech blog reporter, top 100 newspapers (and reporters at those papers), and more: http://bit.ly/OBZuTw Growth Capitalism: How Accelerators Are Transforming the Start-Up Environment in Latin America. And if any of you have questions about the value of accelerators, read on: http://bit.ly/O0EFAI The perils of aiming too big too early. Niche to win, baby: http://bit.ly/N7K5ag
Pitch the future, build for now. You know how it works – one step at a time: http://bit.ly/NJNC2L Building All Star Teams. Putting together an A+ great team is worth 100x more than any “rockstar” individual, or as Kayak founder Paul English put it, The difference between an A team and an A+ team is the difference between a million in revenue and a billion in revenue: http://bit.ly/M2S0bR You for Sale: Mapping, and Sharing, the Consumer Genome. It knows who you are. It knows where you live. It knows what you do. It peers deeper into American life than does the F.B.I. or the I.R.S., or those prying digital eyes at Facebook and Google. And it’s a database marketing company: http://nyti.ms/L0DQ60
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!
Free work space for SOS members worldwide, from our friends at loosecubes: Loosecubes is a private workspace sharing community where you can find and book a free place to work for the day in over 40 countries around the world. This week we transitioned to an invite-only model, whereby all ‘cubes (1,000+ worldwide & over 150 in NYC) are completely free to book by our members on a daily basis. And any SOS member can get immediate access as a subscriber to Startup One Stop with this link:  https://www.loosecubes.com/startuponestop. When they join via our link, you’ll be able to sign up immediately and find a place to work. SOS member Ilana Eberson was Nominated for the 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards in Experts. Make sure to vote for her, she’s awesome: http://bit.ly/M4Y9k1
That’s it from us this week. Your turn and now, as always, help is on the way…

Good morning, All,
The long-overdue and highly underreported Kayak IPO finally happened last week (http://bloom.bg/M54bqK). The stock jumped from its initial offering – and rose steadily throughout the day, adding $91 million to the company’s coffers. The founders are not twenty-somethings or media darlings; the company is profitable – and has been for some time. They do face their challenges. Still, the initial investors did not cash out at the IPO. They’re in it for the long haul, as are the founders.
With tech stocks essentially dead after the Facebook IPO debacle, the Kayak IPO should have been bigger news, or should have gotten more ink than did the demise of Digg, whose founder walked away with millions, despite the fact that the $164 million company was sold off for $16M. Is that success? Nick Bilton wrote an excellent piece describing his move to Silicon Valley and its bifurcated culture (Disruptions: Looking Beyond Silicon Valley’s Bubble: http://nyti.ms/QobVUU) “This belief that everyone is an entrepreneur has a stultifying effect. It can drive founders to seek an easy acquisition instead of a quest for true innovation and a sustainable, profitable business — a truly entrepreneurial challenge.” Kevin Rose (named a “Top 25 Angel Investors (#14)” by Bloomberg, “Top 25 Web Celebrities” by Forbes, “Top 25 Most Influential People on the Web” by Time and BusinessWeek magazines, and one of MITs “Top 35 Innovators under 35”) is at Google Ventures, since Google bought his next company, Milk (now defunct. Too. Why Google or Facebook Buying Your Favorite Startup Means It’s Probably Toast: http://ti.me/LEijWz). He has made some good investments (http://about.me/kevinrose) – from the money he made off investors who didn’t fare as well by investing in him.  Video killed the radio star – and the adoration of youth over substance is certainly not doing much for online. If you’re going to start a company, do it because of that fire in the belly; that passion to somehow move the needle, even if it’s just in some small way. And have a path to monetization. Media attention is fine, but don’t forget your investors. Be a Kayak and in it for the long haul, because unless you’re suddenly made one of the anointed, you might otherwise just some day find yourself up the creek without a paddle. Onward and forward. Deadlines:
The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events
Amplify.la – deadline unknown. Our accelerator program is four months of intense collaboration designed to help entrepreneurs amplify their business far beyond where it is today. We provide up to $50,000 in seed funding, free workspace at our Venice campus and hands‐on mentorship. Our companies also benefit from a variety of free or highly discounted services including hosting, legal, banking and more. For more information and to apply: http://amplify.la/
Oxygen Accelerator, Birmingham, England, deadline July 31^st. A 13-week intensive mentor led bootcamp, followed by 13-weeks of incubation that culminates with a series of investor days where we will help you pitch to a large, carefully selected group of Angel investors, VCs and Private Equity groups for next stage funding. Up to €40,000 per team in exchange for 8%-10% equity, and much more, including relocation allowance:  http://www.oxygenaccelerator.com/ NEW  The Guardian Small Business Awards, 1^st deadline (Winning New Business) August 3^rd. All entries that meet the criteria will appear on the Small Business Network’s best practice exchange and the winning entries will be written up as a feature in the Guardian. For more information and to enter: http://bit.ly/QaTcw4
Women 2.0 PITCH comes to NYC, deadline August 31^st. We are now accepting applications for PITCH NYC from early-stage ventures around the world with at least one female founder to apply to the startup competition.  PITCH NYC 2012 will provide entrepreneurs with a chance for fame and fortune: finalists present onstage at the conference, and prizes include $25k cash from L’Oreal, $24k worth of free hosting from Rackspace and a finalist interview with TechStars! Stay tuned for more awesome prizes to be announced. Early-stage ventures with under a million in funding and a product in the market (prototype OK) are invited to apply. We are looking to identify, recognize and reward the most disruptive women-led ventures globally – and invite them to pitch onstage for the PITCH NYC conference in November for top prize. Got a startup idea but no team, or got an idea but don’t know how to build it? You have at least THREE MONTHS starting today to emblazen the deadline of August 31 into your head and make it happen. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/K56mbS
THE NEW ENGLAND VENTURE SUMMIT Call for Top Innovators, early deadline September 12^th. If you are a Startup seeking capital and/or partnerships, submit your plan for the opportunity to present at The 7th Annual New England Venture Summit, the premier venue connecting emerging growth companies with active Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Corporate VCs and Investment Firms. A select group of 50 Top Innovators from the technology, life sciences and Clean-tech sectors will be chosen to present their breakthrough investment opportunities to an exclusive audience of Venture Capitalists, Private Investors, Investment Bankers, Corporate Investors, and Strategic Partners. To apply to present: e-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for an application. To nominate a company:please forward: company name, main contact at firm, contact details and why you think they should present to nominations@youngstartup.com. Early bird registration is now available. For more information: http://bit.ly/LjlttK
Battle of the Apps: become the Kick Apps Champion by creating software that helps small businesses. Contest now opened, deadline: December 31^st. Infusionsoft is offering$20,000 in cash and prizes for the best apps to help small business customers. Use the Infusionsoft API to create an app, integration, or plug-in that helps Infusionsoft customers grow their business! 1st through 4th place winners will receive ongoing marketing, plus stage time at InfusionCon 2013. 10 runners-up will receive InfusionCon boothspace and 2 tickets to the conference. Register to enter.
powered by Movable Ink For you edification this week:
How To Score A Meeting With An Angel Investor. David Rose told people on Quora exactly how to score a meeting with him: http://read.bi/NDXpFx Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25. Of course, the piece should be entitled, If You’ve Never Encountered Millenial Entitlement Before, Read On:  http://bit.ly/Q9fO1a
15 Dumb Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Investors. Pitching venture capitalists or angel investors is nerve-racking. Young entrepreneurs explain trip-ups you should avoid at all costs. http://bit.ly/N6o6oO
What we should have said to Paul Graham. Remember: if you don’t take the lead, the scenery never changes: http://bit.ly/PNGnHZ   What Founders Wish They Knew Before Starting Companies. 1 in 12 startups do succeed, but that’s not to say there weren’t bumps in the road. http://on.mash.to/NPcp1N
Everything Americans Hate About the Internet in One Chart. File this under ‘know your audience’: http://bit.ly/PdzQkY
How the BlackBerry Died: The Five Mistakes That Killed a Once-Great Device. http://bit.ly/M55DJM Moving the needle. As you get bigger, what moves the needle changes dramatically: http://bit.ly/LTb6MX
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!
In honor of the Summer Olympics, Entrepreneur Week is throwing an Olympic-Size networking event, including a free drink and an opportunity to win four Yankees tix! It happens August 9^th, but early bird ticket sales end July 27^th. To RSVP: http://bit.ly/M5dCqi We’ll also be hosting another SOS gathering later in August. Details to come – soon – and until then, as always, help is on the way…