2/21/12

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 15th, 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 21st. .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 22nd. 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 22-24th, SOS discount 10offpartner. For more information and to register: http://bit.ly/xdwuf7

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

NEW bitcrowd CampChamp 2012, deadline February 27th. 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 28th. 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 8th in SF. For more information and to apply: http://yetizen.com/competition/

NEW Angel Investment Network Pitching Event, London, February 29th. 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 1st. 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 1st. 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 1st, final deadline: April 1st. 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/

MassChallenge, applications open March 1st. Deadline April 11th. 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 3-5th, deadline February 20th  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 20th. 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 29th. 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 5th. 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/

The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, deadline March 13th. 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/

Applications for the DreamIt NYC Summer 2012 program are now open.  Final deadline: March 16th, 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 23rd.  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

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For you edification this week:

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…

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