Startup One Stop

Good morning, All,

OK, so Larry Page took over the reigns at Google last week and the story that got the industry up in arms was his announcement that employee bonuses would be tied to GOOG’s success in social (Dear Google: You Can’t Threaten People Into Being Social http://bit.ly/e18aup) Did we miss the forest through the trees? Google also announced that they’re planning a $100 million overhaul of YouTube, which will include 20 premium channels (YouTube Recasts for New Viewers http://on.wsj.com/fBdOKS). Between that and Netflix and Hulu ordering original programming, are we seeing the convergence of the web and the small screen? Or is television simply surrendering the space? Do we care who’s dancing with the stars?  The Firm was rebroadcast, ad nauseam, on Starz last week. The Firm? Really, pay cable? Newsflash: Tom Cruise isn’t even firm anymore! During web 1.0 the matra was: Content Is King. Of course, content was free and the king couldn’t afford the price of admission. How things have changed and who the hell has been making decisions on the broadcast side for the last few years? The bean counters, of course, and television seems to be going the way of the music business, where it was the same scenario. Just our .02, and Eric Hippeau, who just left The HuffPo to return to the VC world, mentioned last night at the Digital Media MBA event that one of his focuses for investment is the video space. Note: he mentioned that first, and he’s not alone, so head’s up, entrepreneurs and remember: both film and televison got their starts in – New York.

The hour doth draw on apace – Deadlines! Read More...

Good morning, All,

Ok, so it’s been raining. It’s April! That’s what it’s supposed to do. Still, it’s a good time for startups and here’s what you should be doing:

This week, you can learn more about ER Accelerator ER Accelerator Happy Hour. Come, grab some free beer, network – and meet some ER
Accelerator mentors. And don’t forget: ER Accelerator is now accepting applications for its inaugural June 2011 program: http://eranyc.com Apply to work with an amazing team of partners, sponsors, interns, resident technologists, resident designers and 150+ mentors including Fred Wilson, Howard Morgan, Esther Dyson, Jeff Stewart, David Pakman, Brian Cohen, John Frankel, Anil Dash and more. Application deadline is April 30^th: http//eranyc.com/apply. Also, the next Entrepreneurs Roundtable, which will be on April 20^th. Guest VC: Esther Dyson, so sign up now: http://bit.ly/erg5JO Read More...

Good morning, All,

It’s Tuesday, April 26^th and yes, it’s (finally) another SOS gathering. We wish it could be a barbeque in the backyard, but, well, soon enough and in the meantime, blame it on the groundhog. On Digital Media will be there to interview some of you – and they’ll memorialize your elevator pitches on video, so bring your best face. Details to come next week. Oh, and then you can post your elevator pitches in the newsletter. We love it when a plan comes together!

We have a lot of new members today, so welcome, and brief intro for you: the newsletter is here to help – you. Feel free to post what you need, be it people, office space, legal advice, hosting suggestions, beta testers – go for it. You’re also welcome to post what you have to offer: services, for example, or if you’re organizing an event. Finally, you can do your elevator pitch. Keep it brief and whether you’re looking for funding or feedback – let us know. Read More...

Good morning, All,

What a week, eh? The supermoon on Saturday evening (http://bit.ly/gXsVP8) and if you missed it, you won’t be able to see it again until 2029; war #3 in Libya and the battle between Michael Yavonditte (hashable) and the press (How Not to Interact with the Press: http://bit.ly/ii7oWi). Onward and forward:

Deadlines! Read More...

Good morning, All, and a very happy St. Patrick’s Day to you this week as well.

So, have you noticed how nice and quiet it is in town this week with the kids all away at South By? If you’re in town tonight, stop in for the Third Annual NxNYC at the Empire Room, Empire State Building – and there will be free appetizers. Did you notice how many South By tweets were free-food related? The ones that weren’t drinking related of course, and having dutifully followed our buds – via twitter, of course – since their arrivals at AUS, and despite the fact that we’ve never been there, we now know Austin party location like the back of our hand and will not be ordering Tex-Mex again any time soon. But hope to see you tonight at NxNYC:  7 pm – 10. http://nxnyc2011.eventbrite.com

Tick tick tick: Applications for the DreamIt Ventures Summer Program are due tomorrow! Where does the time go? Oh, that’s right, we just lost an hour:
Up to $25,000 of seed funding per company. ($5,000 plus $5,000 for each founding team member (up to four) who will be onsite for the program).
Introductions to VCs and angel investors and an opportunity to pitch to dozens of them at Demo Day
A weekly Speaker Series and regular check-ins with your Mentors and the DreamIt Managing Partners
Apply as a company or as an individual: http://www.dreamitventures.com/apply/ Read More...

Good morning, All, and speaking of carnivals, yes, SXSW does start this week and wondering what you to do, if you’re not Austin-bound? NxNYC! It’s the Third Annual, and not only does it take place in the Empire Room in the Empire State Building – you also have a much better shot at grabbing the new iPad, since almost all of the other early adopters will be in Austin, tweeting, drunk and looking like ridiculous in cowboy boots. It happens Tuesday, March 15, 7 pm – 10. Free appetizers, drink specials. http://nxnyc2011.eventbrite.com/

For those of you who are going: Top 10 questions (and answers) on how Startups should navigate SXSW: http://on.mash.to/ihNUjh And an Austinpreneur’s Guide for you: http://bit.ly/h1wsIQ For the rest of us, from Doctor Disruptive, The Top 10 Reasons I’m NOT Going to SXSW http://bit.ly/frKans

If you want to wait a couple of weeks and head a bit farther North: AccelerateMTL (yes, that’s Montreal) on bringing together C100, iNovia Capital, Real Ventures and BDC Venture Capital, not to mention Brad Feld, Dave McClure, Howard Lindzon on March 31^st – with skiing to follow on April 1^st. Really. http://bit.ly/fGjMR3 And it is drivable. Done it. More than once. Read More...

Good morning, All, and thank you for coming out for our Find A Cofounder – and for drinks afterwards. We always love to see you!

First, the SXSW party list, for those of you who’ll be there, which unfortunately, we won’t be. As far as we know: http://www.eventbrite.com/sxsw

Next, an important message/reminder: You all are allowed to post elevator pitches, you know. Just keep it short and sweet. We’ll leave a section there – even if there are no pitches that week, just as a heads up. We mention this because as many of you know, I’m a constant if not compulsive networker and often meet investors – many of whom join or are already on this very list – who ask me to point them towards startups in specific verticals – including some of thing this you all are doing. Since you aren’t saying anything, and why not? Happened again just this past week, and yes, we do intend to make the introduction, Jesse, and you’re welcome. So, please, do feel free to share what you’re doing, since we don’t know what everyone on the list is up to. Happy to help and happy days! You can also post for beta testers. We do get a number of those requests, usually off list, and again, feel free to share. Read More...

Good morning, All, and we did suggest you register early – and we will do another one soon enough. Since we hate to see anyone left out – you’re all invited for drinks afterwards.

Details: The Celsius Bar in Bryant Park – 43 West 42^nd across the street and just inside Bryant Park. We should be there by 8.30 or 9, so meet us there!

For those of us who remember, long before The Social Network, there was Startup.com.  From the Oscar-nominated creators of The War Room and Bob Dylan’s Don’t Look Back, this fascinating documentary takes you back to the Internet Gold Rush of the late 1990s to expose the painfully intimate story of one would-be internet empire that goes from dot-com darling to dot-bomb flameout. Read More...

Good morning, All, and yes, back on this side of the pond this week.

So, the smartphone market is now bigger than the PC market; the underdog wins the Superbowl, AOL buys the HuffPo, the whole landscape changes in Egypt – and we won’t even get into the whole Nokia/Microsoft thing. Can’t leave you guys for – yes, we’re going to say it – a New York minute. And if anyone is planning on doing business in London any time soon – or planning a trip over to connect with the Silicon Roundabout, as the London tech community is known, do let us know and we’re happy to make introductions.

Our next Find A Cofounder (http://bit.ly/ftIK71) is next Tuesday, February 22 and early bird ticket sales end tonight! This time we are very excited to partner with Entrepreneurs Roundtable and DMMBA (www.digitalmediamba.com). And you know us – we will go around and make introductions, so if there’s someone you want to meet or are looking for, just let us know.
Schedule:
6:30p – 7:00p: Have a cocktail and meet some of your fellow entrepreneurs
7:00p – 7:45p: What is the best way to get started and find a co-founder?
Q&A and presentations on detailed step-by-step instructions on how to get started and how to find a co-founder.
7:45p – 8:30p: Co-founder “speed meets” and professional networking
8:30p – 10:00p: Cocktail party and more networking
Panelists:
Somak Chattopadhyay, Principal at GSA Venture Partners
Mike Hudak, Co-founder and CEO at blip.tv
Dina Kaplan, Co-founder at blip.tv
Matt Meeker, Co-founder of Meetup.com and Entrepreneur in Residence at Polaris Ventures
Moderator:
Babak (Bo) Yaghmaie, Partner at Cooley LLP
Then we’ll all go off for drinks – and more nextworking – nearby, not to worry. We know that liquids always help – cash bar. RSVP: http://bit.ly/ftIK71 Read More...

Cheers, All, and you so knew that was coming, what, eh?

Yes, still on the other side of the pond and we must say that the British Airways Face to Face program is/was an absolutely stellar event from beginning to end and would highly recommend that, if you’re planning to do business internationally, you enter the competition later this year.  Winners are flown to London on a BA chartered plane, and don’t expect to grab some sleep, as it’s literally non-stop networking – and you haven’t lived until you’ve done a pitch at 30,000 feet. Talk about a captive audience, and you do make a lot of connections – heaven for compulsive networkers like yours truly – not to mention FITs (Friends in Transit). BTW, it’s not just a popularity contest. You can submit either a 2-minute video or an essay and there is an online voting process open to one and all. However, BA does have their own judging panel and choose a certain number of winners based on compelling content. Just FYI. Oh, and did we mention that BA will then fly you on to any destination in the world where the airline flies – business class, and admittedly, does make it difficult to go back to steerage.

Speaking of which – it’s Social Media Week across the world this week – February 7-11, or if you’re in one of the nine participating cities, anyway, including NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, ROME, PARIS, TORONTO, SÃO PAULO, LONDON, HONG KONG, ISTANBUL, plan on attending. I’ll be at Hub, King’s Cross, if you happen to be in London this week. Read More...