5/8/12
Good morning, All,
Our next SOS 1-on-1 with an investor is coming up and we have a direct pipeline to a group of serious angels whose representative will be at the event. Caveat: you must send us your deck in advance, and you can submit from anywhere in the world. The focus is on startups who are looking to get to the next level, which means, you need the money to get there, and they’re not focusing on any particular vertical. To clarify: You do not have to be at the event, but if you are in the NYC area, it’s recommended that you come and have face time, if they’ve asked to meet with you after having seen your deck. For every one else, well, there’s VOIP, so do feel free to send your deck to hello@startuponestop.com and we will pass it to investors’ rep. Good luck, And looking forward to seeing them! Apologies for the delay in getting back to you – decks are still being reviewed and we hope to have answers – and a meeting date – for you by next week.
The FB IPO. The speculation rages about who will make how much but the real question is: how will the IPO affect FB’s bottom line? The company earned $3.7 billion in 2011, but revenues are decelerating so far this year (Check Out How Weak Facebook’s Revenue Growth Is Compared To Google Pre-IPO: http://read.bi/IHo6bj). And they’re expected to be worth over $100 billion? It seems that investors are once again in the take-the-money-and-run mode, with Henry Blodget helping to lead the charge, and again, Blodget failed to disclose that BI and FB share investors. (Hype Man Henry Blodget Is At It Again, Profiling Mark Zuckerberg in New York Magazine: The man who helped usher in an Internet bubble thinks Zuck is a super swell CEO – http://bit.ly/J7wFe8) A must-read: Here’s Why Google and Facebook Might Completely Disappear in the Next 5 Years: http://onforb.es/IomHbv The systole and diastole of our industry has shown us that companies expand and contract and new ones rise. Yes, Yahoo is a shell of its former self, but it has never been dethroned when it comes to Yahoo Finance, so they’re still standing. At least for now. To paraphrase Woody Allen, a technology company is like a shark: it has to keep moving forward to survive. And a large part of the current change (we will not call it innovation – at least not yet) is the migration to social and to mobile. Concurrently. Google and FB have – and had – young founders without either a world vision nor a vision for the future. Google has (so far) failed miserably in social, and FB was late to the game and fragmented in mobile. And how will FB justify their wild valuation? There will be shareholders to answer to, Mark. Point to the story: have a plan. One for monetization, and make sure to hire managers who can help move your company into the future. If your current ones don’t get it, get ones who do, or its fast in, fast out (Groupon stock closes below $10: http://bit.ly/J0wn90). As the Forbes writer observes, “Those who own the future are going to be the ones who create it. Web monopolies are not as sticky as the monopolies of old.” Now, as always, the future belongs to those who can see it coming. Onward and forward.
Deadlines:
NEW New York Venture Summit Call for Top Innovators. The early deadline for presenting company applications is May 10th.If you are a Startup seeking capital and/or partnerships submit your plan for the opportunity to present at The 2012 New York Venture Summit, the premier venue connecting emerging growth companies with active Venture capitalists, Angel investors, Corporate VCs and Investment Firms. Presented by youngStartup Ventures, The 2012 New York Venture Summit provides an unparalleled opportunity for startups to meet, network and showcase their innovative investment opportunities to a leading group of investors. To Apply to Present.please e-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for an application.
NEW Founders Institute, deadline May 13th: Chili, Jakarta, San Juan, Viet Nam. The Founder Institute is a global network of startups and mentors that helps entrepreneurs launch meaningful and enduring technology companies. In under three years of operation, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 510 companies across 26 cities and five continents. Based on companies launched, we are the world’s largest idea-stage incubator. For more information and to apply: http://fi.co/about
NEW The Brandery, deadline May 15th, Cincinnati. This is a seed stage consumer marketing venture accelerator seeking startups on technology based in Consumer Internet, Marketing SaaS, Consumer Services and Products, Media and Entertainment. $20,000 and Over $175K in Free Benefits for 6% equity. Program runs 4 months. For more information and to apply: http://brandery.org/
Seedcamp Berlin, deadline May 15th. Seedcamp is an early stage mentoring and investment program that engages startups through our monthly Seedcamp Events, where entrepreneurs present their companies, network, receive mentoring, and compete for investment by Seedcamp. Yearly, we invest in about 20 companies. For more information and to apply: http://www.seedcamp.com/ Seedcamp NYC is coming up in June. Watch for it.
NEW New York Digital Health Accelerator, deadline June 1st. The program will provide up to $300,000 of funding per company from a syndicate of leading venture capital and strategic investors. In addition, winners will have the opportunity to meet other leading digital and tech entrepreneurs in the New York community. For more information and to apply: http://digitalhealthaccelerator.com/
Blueprint Health: Transform health & wellnesswith your startup, deadline June 8th. Blueprint Health is a startup accelerator based in New York City that helps entrepreneurs improve the health and wellness industry. We offer an intensive three-month program and provide $20,000 of seed capital, extensive mentorship and a shared work environment to help entrepreneurs go from idea to prototype and provide access to angel and venture capital investors. For more information and to apply: http://www.blueprinthealth.org/
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For you edification this week:
Nine Dangerous Things You Were Taught In School. Beware of the insidious and unspoken lessons you learned as a child. To thrive in the world outside the classroom, you’re going to have to unlearn them: onforb.es/JDLRRo http://onforb.es/JDLRRo
6 Startup Lessons From the Complexity of Cell Phones. Back when we first started using PCs, we all wished that they would become as easy to use as a telephone. Well, we got our wish, not because computers got easier to use but because phones are now so darn complicated. If we examine the process and story by which phones became so complex, we can uncover a variety of lessons that startups can learn – and hopefully avoid: http://rww.to/IETlDX
Startup Founders: Don’t Freak Out. We all have our bad days – and those panic moments when everything seems to be going south. One foot in front of the other – and don’t forget to breathe: http://bit.ly/IcKesq In a similar vein…Demoting a Loyal Friend. Some of us have to face it sooner or later. There’s no easy way to do it, but some approaches are better than others: http://bit.ly/IcGnOl
Activist Seeds – The Latest, Subtle Trend in Seed Investing. From the VCs perspective, an activist seed is when the firm commits the full time, resources, and energy into the investment that they would do with a Series A. But note: there are passive seed investments as well. Read on: http://bit.ly/JpgHuN
Entrepreneurs: Make Two Presentation Decks… one that is designed to be read, and one designed for the presentation meeting, where the presenter orally elaborates and explains the high-level talking points in the slide deck: http://bit.ly/KIa8mx
Like Hell It’s A Bubble [SLIDE DECK]. Ok, so BI is selling a new service, but do take a look at the deck. Some interesting intel here: http://read.bi/KAIYxM
WATCH (and learn from): The Awesome Pitch By SoMoLend That Won $75,000 At Startup 2012 – http://read.bi/J1MUtc
East Coast, West Coast: The Startup Difference: “Bottom of FormLast week I watched several dozen launch demos at the DEMO 2012 conference in Santa Clara,” writes the author. “Yesterday, I watched 10 startup pitches at the New York Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator’s Demo Day, and was struck by a dramatic difference in style and substance.” New York has stepped into its own, and we’re still definitely in two different places: http://bit.ly/INLzsx
8 angel investors that entrepreneurs should avoid. Many entrepreneurs believe all money is created equal. As long as somebody recognizes their million dollar idea and writes them a check, the source really doesn’t matter. Most angel investors are pure, but there are some exceptions to watch out for. Seriously: http://bit.ly/I9EJNG
Think You Deserve To Be Called a CEO? You’ve got a startup. It’s your company, all right, but that doesn’t necessarily make you a bona fide CEO, bitch, eh, Zuck? Stop pretending to have attained a title you didn’t earn and start doing what you need to do to get to where you want to be. Here’s how: http://tcrn.ch/KB3wWx
That’s it from us this week. Our thanks to 1099partners.com for hosting an AWESOME barbeque – and we will be planning another one soon. Our thanks also to the NYXPO – GREAT show and we were happy to see that a number of you were able to make it over to the Javits Center. Thank you for stopping by! Good luck to all of our friends at ER Accelerator, who will be doing a Demo Day on the West Coast this week. And finally, don’t forget that Mother’s Day is Sunday – and what mom wouldn’t appreciate some healthy bonniefoods.com truffles? Let us know if you’d like to order some, and yes, we can arrange delivery. And now, as always, help is on the way…