3/19/13

3/19/13

Good morning, All,

Short and sweet today. We read a lot of blog posts and articles, many of which offer advice to entrepreneurs and we’ve boiled it down to 5 simple points. It’s a short list and alliteration always makes it easier to remember:

1. Passion: you’ve got to have that fire in the belly – that thing that keeps you up at night. Starting a venture is hard. Having that passion for what you’re doing is what helps to keep you going.
2. Purpose/Problem. It’s that thing that you’ve set about to solve. That void you’re trying to fill; that pain point that you’re attempting to eliminate. That’s also four P words, which shows you how critical this point is.
3. People: your team, your mentors, your advisors, your investors. Having the wrong people on your team can bring everything to a grinding halt. Trust me on this one.
4. Process/Plan. To get from point A to point B, you need a plan. One foot in front of the other: figure out your roadmap before you set out on your journey. Of course you’ll hit some bumps in the road. Have a backup plan/alternative route.
5. Profits. There used to be a panel series called ‘Show Me the Money,’ where startups would pitch to investors in hopes of getting funded. Remember: works both ways. Have a path or profitability.

Like we said: short and sweet. Onward and phorward.

Deadlines:

The list of Startup Weekend Upcoming Events

NEW  Brad Feld’s KC Fiber House Competition, deadline March 25th. “I’m putting the thesis of my book into action by directly supporting a startup community that sees endless opportunities ahead,” Feld says. “The winners will have access to Google Fiber and a neighborhood and city brimming with startup activity. They can take advantage of the many entrepreneurial programs and events offered by the Kauffman Foundation. And, lastly, I commit to take a personal interest in the entrepreneurs selected to live in my KC Fiberhouse and will do what I can to provide feedback and advice.” For more information and to apply, go here.

YCombinator, deadline March 29th. How do we choose who to fund? The people in your group are what matter most to us. We look for brains, motivation, and a sense of design. Experience is helpful but not critical. The ideal company would have two or three founders. We’ll consider those with four or five. We’re reluctant to accept one-person companies, though we have funded a couple. You do need to be in the Bay area (or be willing to move there).

NEW  Behind the Pitch, deadline to pitch: March 31st. Apply to pitch! Event: April 22nd. Behind The Pitch is a market-focused event for startups, providing quarterly data on fund raising and financing of early-stage ventures, as well as the status of VC/Angel funding and quarterly funding trends by region and sector. Behind The Pitch is an opportunity to hear from founders who have successfully raised funding for their ventures and to gain insights from our Pitch Pit of investors (VCs, angels, brands and institutions). And an opportunity for you to pitch your startup!

NEW  Mobile Monday Silicon Valley Launches Accelerator Program – “Momentum,” deadline March 31st. The Mobile Monday Accelerator Program is a twelve week program that helps entrepreneurs accelerate their businesses, spur innovation in the mobile space, and develop deeper relationships with the mobile industry. For more information and to apply, go here.

NEW  New York Venture Summit: Apply to present/early bird registration now open.  The 13th annual New York Venture Summit, presented by youngStartup Ventures, is the premier industry gathering connecting venture capitalists, corporate VCs, angel investors, technology transfer professionals, senior executives of early stage and emerging growth companies, university researchers, incubators and premier service providers. Whether you are an investor seeking access to new early stage deals, or a CEO or Founder of a new venture looking for funding, visibility and growth, New York Venture Summit is one event you won’t want to miss. To be considered for one of the Top Innovator slots, please e-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for an application.

Mass Challenge, deadline, April 3rd.  The overall focus of the application process is impact. MassChallenge does not define impact, but leaves that up to the applicants. Impact for one company might mean improving lives or curing a disease, while for another it might be generating an enormous amount of revenue.

NEW  The NYC Department of Education is challenging software developers to submit apps and games that enhance math teaching and learning, and engagement for our middle schools, deadline April 10th. For more information and to submit, go here.

NEW  2013 UX Awards,  submissions deadline April 15th. For more information and to apply, go here.

ER Accelerator now accepting applications for Summer 2013. Final deadline: April 19th. $40,000 investment 4-month program. Follow-on investment in future rounds. 200+ awesome mentors, including yours truly. Apply now.

Global Apps to Empower Competition Seeks Apps to Educate and Empower Women Everywhere, deadline April 30th. Applications that best satisfy the competition criteria will receive cash prizes and the opportunity to have their apps featured on Datawind’s $40 Ubislate educational tablet. That’s potentially a lot of computers – and a big win for the winning app! The UN is involved and the winning apps will be receive cash prizes, recognition (judges for the contest include Joanne Wilson, Vivek Wadhwa, Geena Davis. For more information and to apply: http://appstoempower.org/

Startup Institute, deadline May 5th. SI works with professionals, career changers, and dynamic individuals to equip them with the skills needed to have an immediate impact on the startup company they join. The primary objective is to align passion with profession, and usher students into a life they love. This is a full-time, immersive, eight-week experience that will catapult you into your city’s technology ecosystem in the areas of web development, product & design, technical marketing, or sales & business development. Apply here and heads up: apply now: as soon as the class is full, applications close, too.

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For you edification this week:

30 Must Read Blogs for Entrepreneurs.

How Crowdfunding Fills Gaps Created by the Venture Capital Industry. Stop asking us for the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Waiting for the Accelerator Bubble to Pop. They’re not all the same, that’s for sure. Did you know that there’s even an accelerator in San Quentin prison?

Former Google Reader product manager confirms our suspicions: Its demise is all about Google+. Suspected as much. The news of the demise of the service upset quite a few people. Reaction was strong..

VC Asshat Move #1.  Not giving it away, but always do your diligence on specific VCs that you’re dealing with (the partners, not the whole firm)

Want to run a successful high-tech company? Don’t drop out of college.  Of the 50 highest paid and most powerful CEOs in the U.S. tech industry, only three of them — Michael Dell of Dell Computers, Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, and Larry Ellison at Oracle – are college dropouts. Cc @peterthiel

Speaking of which: Nearly $13 billion worth of investment went to graduates from six schools. Can you name them? (The universities, not the graduates.)

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!

Congrats this week go to two SOS members:

AMZER ANNOUNCES OVER 50 NEW ACCESSORIES FOR THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 and congrats to Nishant Gambhir.

Also, congratulations to Jeremy Kagan and the pricing engine team, who officially launched at the START conference this past Friday: Pricing Engine Launches the First Solution for Small Businesses to Create, Manage and Optimize Online Advertising from a Single Platform.

That’s it from us for now. Remember: Spring starts this week, and our thanks to everyone who ventured out in the rain for our Accelerator panel this past Tuesday, and we are planning the next one, where we’ll be featuring angel investors. More info to come. And now, as always, help is on the way…

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