Social platform is surely not the end-all and be-all for your enterprise or startup. But you can’t deny that more people than ever are active on this platform and there is plenty of stuff going on within it. So don’t you think being a part of the alley would be a smart business decision?

Continue Reading…

No, Social Media is not a fad and it is here to say. I am sure most of you have realized how businesses and startups are leveraging various social media tools to promote, engage customers, build relationships, to generate leads, for customer service, PR issues and so on.

Continue Reading…

ClinicYou – clinicyou.com is a Web 2.0 based application for clinicians and medical services. A web based practice management software with nothing to install. Its design perfectly suits the description of ‘Web 2.0 Design’.

Continue Reading…

photo credit: cambodia4kidsorg

1.Communicate your Leverage Point

Let people know what you can do ‘differently’. Entrepreneurs should talk about their capital efficiency. Probably you are doing some work cheaper than others or you have access to a group of customers – think of any leverage point you have and flaunt it.

2.Communicate through a story

People find stories interesting and exciting. There was this problem and I thought this product would be perfect. Know more about the idea and your product and have a good story with it.

3.Accept that your Startup may have flaws

Every startup has one issue or the other in the early days and accept these issues. Don’t spend time convincing others why your startup is like this or like that. Spend that energy in explaining what your startup may grow up as.

4.Plan Small and Dream Big

In the early days you can’t be extravagant and you need to explain this to be funded properly.

We suggest you read this post at OnStartups for more insight to the topic  

Even though I know an idea is likely going to take more cash than the entrepreneur things, I prefer backing people that believe they can do it with little cash and try to do so.  As Josh said, learn to fail cheaper

photo credit: awezmaz

These points may come across as basic, but these are the small points one should keep in mind when launching a startup;

1.Start by thinking small and extend your thinking from there. Small and simple thinking will allow you to concentrate on what is important

2.Higher good coders/technical people in every department 3.Financial reward is good, but aspiring entrepreneurs should first look out for opportunities where thy can learn. Allow employees to take on projects even if they don’t have the qualifications.

4.Don’t manage profit, but cash flow. Money in and money out should be the only two financial yardsticks that matter.

5.Perfection is the enemy of success (incase of startups). Speed is better than perfection.

6.Sell, sell and sell. Selling to everyone including business world, employees and suppliers. Sell yourself, sell your product, have a sales professional in your team.

7.Start NOW. Don’t wait.

photo credit: Mzelle Biscotte

All of us know that face-to-face interactions though preferable, are not always possible. Therefore one goes for ‘email pitching’ – the written form of pitch.Investors are overloaded with a huge array of emails and to get their attention you should craft your email in such a way that you hold the interest of the reader.

Be sure that you make the same effort with an e-mail that you would in a face-to-face meeting. E-mail pitches should be formal and professional.

Below are some tips for writing a pitch letter via email;

1. Understand your audience and make sure you know who the recipient is

2. Include pictures and images to make it more visually attractive. Don’t forget file size limitations though

3. Have a signature with all possible information – email, Twitter account, Skype name etc.

4. Be precise in your emails. Emphasize on meeting up and follow up comments. 

For more insight to this matter, have a look at this post on RWW.

attachments like resumes and press releases are sometimes appropriate; you should give a quick introduction to yourself at the beginning of an email.

 

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

Option pool can be described as the amount of a startup’s common stock reserved for employees, directors, advisors, and consultants. The stock reserved is then issued to the aforementioned stakeholders. It is through a written plan a startup pre-authorizes the amount of the company’s common stock which will be issued by the administrator (usually the startup’s board of directors or a committee selected by the board). A startup, for example, can have 5,000,000 shares of common stock but only elect to authorize 2,000,000 shares.

A startup’s original option pool may not likely turn out to be the last option pool the startup creates. The size of the pool should be discussed at each round of funding and financing, since at that time, the startup might need more equity options to attract and motivate future hiring.

The confusing part of an option pool is how the option pool’s non-issued or unissued portion is treated.

We suggest you read this post for a detailed insight into Option Pool Shuffling

Summary: Don’t let your investors determine the size of the option pool for you. Use a hiring plan to justify a small option pool, increase your share price, and increase your effective valuation.

photo credit: C.P.Storm

A heated debate is taking place around Foursquare considering a sale to Yahoo. It is believed that Foursquare is in the midst of an aggressive courtship on behalf of Yahoo, who is willing to pay as much as $125 million for the year old startup. Some are freaking out asking Foursquare ‘not to sell’ and the gurus are speculating that Foursquare is trying to push its valuation higher than what Yahoo is offering. What Foursquare does, only time with tell, but this has definitely made me think about ‘exit strategies’ for startups and the importance of having one.

When you are starting up or as you form strategies and plans to grow your startup, you need to think about an exit strategy. Will you establish a lifestyle business that generates income without plans of selling it in the future, or will you build equity in a business that you will convert into cash? Depending on your goal, the business you choose and the way you decide to grow it should be aligned with the end-game objectives. The common exit strategies are; sale, mergers, IPO, buyout or liquidation of assets.

Some may not find laying too much importance of exit strategies as correct, arguing that you will never want to build something by always having a motive of leaving. But whether you want to move on to you next entrepreneurship venture or whether you stick to a business plan for a long time, it is important to have a succession plan in place for your startup.

We suggest you read this post at ReadWriteWeb for more information.

While the idea of an exit strategy might sound negative, crafting one can help you plan how to make the most out of a good situation, not simply escape a bad one