8/30/11

8/30/11

Good morning, All,

Yes, the SOS Labor Day Weekend barbeque is on, barring earthquakes and hurricanes. But that was sooo last week. Anyway, please do sign up so we know how much food/and beverage to get. We know a lot of you like to show up at the last minute, and you’re always more than welcome, but a little advance notice is always nice, too:  http://soslabordaybbq.eventbrite.com
Next, the final EW+SOS+ER Rocking Out on the Terrace of the season is September 12th  and we’ll have investors on hand who’ll introduce themselves at 6.30, then will make themselves available to you. To register: http://terraceparty3.eventbrite.com/
The list of investors who’ve RSVP’d so far:
– Jay Levy, Zelkova Ventures
– Matt Turck, Bloomberg Ventures
– John Frankel, ff Venture Capital
– Edlyn Yuen, StarVest Partners
– Nathan Suh, Comcast Capital
– Charlie O’ Donnell, First Round Capital
– Aaron Price, DFJGotham

Mission Fifty: Coworking Open House is this week and it’s free! Free passes are available tomorrow through Friday so go check it out. It’s hosted by Aaron Price of NJ Tech Meetup fame, so go and introduce yourself, grab a desk, make a friend, get work done!
50 Harrison St., Penthouse
Hoboken, NJ 07030
The space will be open from 9am – 6pm Monday-Friday.  For your free pass: http://bit.ly/nf2yrg
To signup as a member and to get 50% off your 1st month and avoid an application go to: https://mission50.cobot.me/

It was quite a week last week! In case you hadn’t heard, New York – and much of the East Coast – had an earthquake (which, honestly, was more a hiccup than a quake, eh, California? http://bit.ly/pFVfJy), followed a few days later by a hurricane (in Manhattan itself: some rain and a lot of hot air; we had more rain and winds during the two hour rain storm the week before – and the trains still pretty much ran on time). In the midst of it all – Steve Jobs resigned from Apple, and that was certainly felt around the world.

We mention these events because, as we are on the eve of an election year, it’s worthy to note that, as he proved time and again, Steve Jobs was anything but a politician: no, he was a true leader, steering Apple not only back to solvency, but on to become the second largest company in the world. For those of us who were in the tri-state area this past week for the so-called apocalyptic hurricane that was going to devastate the area to the point where the Governor of New Jersey ordered the mandatory evacuation of Atlantic City (many residents ignored him, especially the elderly, who’ve been there, done that) and the Mayor of New York shut down the entire subway system for the first time in its history, due to weather, and ordered the mandatory evacuation of downtown Manhattan, take note: New York was devastated and the effects on the local economy cataclysmic. We do realize that there were parts of the eastern seaboard that were battered by Irene, but honestly? By the time it reached NYC, it was a rainstorm at best, and we had some strong winds on Sunday (Perfect Storm of Hype: Politicians, the media and the Hurricane Irene apocalypse that never was http://tgr.ph/qki802. And because this is just too priceless: http://youtu.be/8slEPV9LyS0). And yet, stores and restaurants were closed and museums, galleries and Broadway dark, for the most part – the city shut down during one of the biggest tourist – and back to school shopping – weekends of the year. Yes, many people had floods and power outages to contend with (http://bit.ly/oIn2bj), but we had nothing like that in NYC and the twitter wags were out in force. In fact, there were more accurate – and far more irreverent – local reports from Dennis Crowley’s tweets than there were on the national or local news. With world economies in dire straits, we don’t need manufactured news events or posturing from elected officials. We need honest reporting and more people like Steve Jobs: real leaders who are ready to show their balls rather than their bats.  Alan Kay said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Steve Jobs lived it. Didn’t work out that well this past week for newscasters and politicians. Onward and forward.

Deadlines!

Hack for Good, September 06 – September 30, 2011 (but feel free to start working on your project when you register; we’ll give you access to all available documentation). LetGive’s first annual “Hack-for-Good” (HFG) contest! LetGive has created an API that allows anyone to include a charitable giving component within their application. Applications built on our platform are transformed into powerful fundraising vehicles for Nonprofits and Charities. Prize: $1000 for the winning app. To register: http://www.letgive.com/hackforgood/

Apply to speak at Ignite NYC 13, deadline September 8th. Think you can enlighten and entertain a room full (1500+) of New York’s brightest geeks? Know anyone who could? Then apply to be a speaker: http://bit.ly/oIxxPN. The event itself is October 10th, but tickets go fast, so get yours now: http://bit.ly/qYPsf4

Silicon Valley Immersion Week + DEMO is September 12-16 and we have a 15% discount for you. Code is SOS. This intensive 5-day program brings together leading experts in legal, finance, sales, marketing and PR, and investment to provide you with the information and best practices required to ensure a successful US market entry and a sustainable business.  Silicon Valley Immersion Week includes 2 full days at the DEMO Conference, Silicon Valley’s premier technology event.  DEMO can help you quickly assess the competitive environment of the US market while making valuable contacts that can become the foundation of your Silicon Valley business network.
5-day program includes:

  • DEMO conference ticket  ($1,795 value)
  • 2+  days of essential information presented in working session format
  • Lunch each day
  • Two evening networking events
  • Private hosted dinner
  • Google & Computer History Museum visits
  • Coach transportation to and from Guidewire and corporate site visits

For the full schedule and to RSVP: http://bit.ly/nYdJgu

College students! Moverandchangers.com is all set to launch its third nationwide challenge to uncover the country’s next young entrepreneurs who want to make it big with their innovative ideas for a new business. The contest is open to 16-28 year old college students to develop and produce a compelling business proposal. Ideas must be original, feasible, scalable and practical. More information on the site, which features a video with Dennis Crowley, who, just for the record, wouldn’t qualify for the contest now, nor would he when he first started foursquare.  Deadline is October. Information is here: http://bit.ly/EvBLZ

Global Amazon Web Services Start-up Challenge is on! Deadline: October 2nd. This year, AWS will select 15 regional semi-finalists: 5 each from the Americas, Asia Pacific (including Japan), and EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), respectively, who will each receive $2,500 in AWS credits. From these, they will select a minimum of 6 finalists to be awarded a package of $10,000 in AWS credits and a trip to Palo Alto, California, to attend the final round of judging. Then, after a day of meetings with the judges, they will announce one grand prize winner at a public event for start-ups and investors. The winner will receive a package that includes $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in AWS credits. To enter: http://aws.amazon.com/startupchallenge/
Y Combinator now accepting applications for Winter 2012. Deadline: October 10th. 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. For those of you interested in applying now or finding out more about the process: http://bit.ly/nUYxNY
6th Annual New England Venture Summit  – Call for Top Innovators and an SOS discount! If you are a Startup seeking capital and/or partnerships, submit your plan for the opportunity to present at 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 investors.The early deadline for presenting company applications is October 26th. E-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for more details and 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. The event happens December 14th; 50% off if you register by November 9th: http://bit.ly/nCkYN6 For a further discount, the code is: sos.

The Appy Awards – enter once and you could win twice. Deadline March 21, 2012 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/

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For your edification this week:

Integrating Ethics Into The Core Of Your Startups: Why And How. Once you start compromising your values for short-term gains, there is no turning back, Vivek Wadhwa writes. Business ethics are not something you need to start worrying about when your company reaches a certain size; they need to be sewn into the fabric of your startup from the get-go. The lessons are the same for tech businesses as they are for investment banks and for third-world economies. Seemed particularly appropriate for this week. http://bit.ly/kz21eg

25 Reasons Why Hurricane Irene Is Great for New York City. Because there’s a silver lining in every cloud – no matter how big or full of hot air that cloud might be: http://bit.ly/oQD4QE

Why Do VC’s Invest in Companies with No Business Model? In the New York startup community, the first words out of every local investor’s mouth is: what’s the business model? Good question, read on and hint: twitter was the best entertainment in town this past Saturday night in NYC: http://bit.ly/o8Q55W

Gone In 30 Seconds – How VCs Screen Your Business Plan. You actually only have 22 seconds, so don’t underestimate the one-line pitch. Go! http://bit.ly/oXCn0n

Pitch perfect: A startup’s guide to getting coverage. Most young startup’s needs three things: Money, a good idea and a dogged determination to see that idea through to completion. But what about publicity? Ok, so make that four things: http://tnw.co/pND6Cr

There’s Always a Plan B: One of the key distinctions between an entrepreneur and an operating executive is an entrepreneur’s almost seamless agility in the face of changing circumstances versus an operating executive’s intense execution focus on a plan. World-class entrepreneurs learn how to combine both. Great entrepreneurs have Plans B through infinity: http://bit.ly/qh4KxL

9 Reasons Why Failure is not Fatal. Fear of it is universal, experiencing it is inevitable, and running from it is dependably routine. Sir James Dyson of vacuum cleaner fame failed 5,126 before he succeeded.Hopefully there’s some inspiration here for you: http://bit.ly/n8UHvg

For your amusement this week: The Greatest Farewell Email We’ve Seen…EVER. Names have been changed – not by us – to protect the guilty, but never a good idea to start a resignation letter with Dear MF. And it just gets better from there: http://bit.ly/rmFY8C See you in September and now, as always, help is on the way…

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