Give your startup a boost with the right software programs
Startups, like any new business venture, need a plan for a successful launch. Beyond this, the focus should be to develop and grow the company and tons of software is available today to do just about every function needed.
This includes apps for the fast-paced and robust mobile device space, as well as software that tackles work-flow, customer engagement, content creation, document processing, and accounting.
Apple's aggressive recruitment allegedly drives motorcycle startup to bankruptcy
Although Apple has never publicly confirmed that it is developing an electric car, the company has been aggressively hiring auto experts from the likes of Tesla, Ford and Mercedes-Benz.
Now, this strong-arm recruitment has resulted in a startup specializing in electric motorcycles having to close its doors for good due to losing all of its top talent to the iPhone-maker.
Choosing the right software for your startup [Infographic]
So, you’ve perfected the business plan, moved into a brand new office and hired your first employees to get things started.
But, there’s one area of your startup that you probably haven’t thought about as much: the software. The efficiency and effectiveness of your startup will be impacted depending on the software you choose, so getting it right is vital.
Gender equality remains a Silicon Valley sore spot
For those of you who are not in the know (and you really should be) Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire and bring together like minded entrepreneurs and provide a space to network in. Last night, the inspiring President and CFO of Mind Candy, Divinia Knowles, took to the stage at Google Campus, London for a fireside chat with Zomato UK CEO, Kimberly Hurd.
Divinia is one of the driving forces behind Mind Candy and along with Michael Acton Smith, guided the company from a small startup to one of the most successful tech companies, responsible for the behemoth that is Moshi Monsters. Moshi Monsters is a phenomenally successful website for 6-14 year olds with over 80 million users registered in over 150 territories worldwide. The website was so successful that a movie and mobile games have all since been released. Interestingly, Divinia hinted at the potential to move the brand onto new platforms such as Smart TV and, once they have matured, both VR and the Apple Watch Platform, so watch this space!
SXSW Accelerator continues to discover amazing new startups [Q&A]
The annual SXSW Accelerator competition presented by Oracle is set to take place on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15 at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival.
I spoke to Chris Valentine, event producer for SXSW Accelerator and Startup Village, about the competition, and what innovations and trends we can expect to see emerging this year.
Pivot or Divot: How a first time founder learns to navigate the realities of running a startup
Starting a tech business in today’s rapidly evolving landscape presents a real challenge: how do you conceptualize an idea, develop it, and push it to market before the idea becomes obsolete in the face of new technology?
Firepype was first conceptualized in 2011 -- eons ago by tech standards. Amazingly, there is still no other product that offers automated media distribution the same way this does. The basic prototype came together pretty quickly for the first client, in a matter of weeks. Then it became time to refine the idea into an elegant, marketable package, and the forward momentum slowed to a crawl as I searched for the right team to help turn my vision into a reality.
Outdated companies are falling behind start-ups, here's why
Technology is changing our lives at an unprecedented pace. We're shopping on our phones, watching Netflix on our tablets and posting selfies to Instagram.
From a business perspective, technology is forcing a new approach. The massive, grindingly slow corporates of old, the likes of Blackberry, Blockbusters, Nokia, Navteq and Kodak, are being superseded by two guys in a garage with a start-up leveraging new, innovative technologies. Welcome WhatsApp, Oculus Rift, Twitch, Netflix, Instagram, Waze and Xiaomi.
Employees much prefer working for startups than corporates
New research by Tyba.com has revealed evidence that double the number of people working in corporates want to leave their jobs compared to those in startups.
65 percent of corporate workers also said that working in a startup would be their dream job.
How a startup's largest obstacle turned into its next venture
Beginning my journey in the FinTech industry over twelve years ago, and now as CEO and co-founder of Pollen VC, a company that allows developers quicker access to their app store revenues, there have certainly been many twists and turns of start-up life along the way. My entire career has been characterized by moving into areas of business that interested me, but which I seemly knew nothing about. It was that curiosity and inherent desire to challenge existing thinking that gave rise to my co-founding of Pollen.
As a bond trader with UBS and leader of short credit trading for the company, I received my first taste of how technology could disrupt traditional financial services in 1998, when I helped UBS put its commercial paper business online. Naturally, there were many obstacles in implementing such major change at an organization of this size, but this was an early lesson to stay steadfast, and find ways around the inherent red tape of a large bank’s IT department.
The three hour startup -- From idea to revenue in 180 minutes
At 5pm on Thursday 12th June 2014, I launched tinderus.com -- a $50 Tinder Profile Consultancy Service.
I came up with the idea in London at 3pm that exact day and within two hours I had tinderus.com up and running. I chucked it on ProductHunt and within minutes received a wave of traffic, two $50 bookings and a whole host of comments, including a nice little comment from Tinder Co-Founder Jonathan Badeen.
AnyPerk provides big business-like perks to smaller companies' employees
In order to boost productivity and satisfaction among employees, big companies are known to provide various benefits ranging from free food during works hours and health care coverage, to team building events and kindergarten programs. The perks reflect the line of work and the image a company wants to project and, as a result, they can become an important factor when attracting and keeping employees.
Big companies that want to (or already do) provide employee benefits, can afford to implement in-house programs. However, the same principle does not usually apply to small businesses or startups, which have other, more pressing priorities to deal with (like staying afloat in the early or even late stages). But at the same time, for employees, receiving perks still matters, quite a lot for some, I might add. The middle-ground solution -- offering benefits without initiating costly, in-house programs -- appears to be dedicated services that allow businesses to enroll their employees, to receive perks, and pay a fee for it. Which is what startup AnyPerk provides.
FoundersCard brings executive-style perks to entrepreneurs -- special offer for BetaNews readers
FoundersCard is a membership-based community designed for entrepreneurs which offers access to invite-only networking events throughout the world and provides various perks. The latter includes things like discounts for airfare, postal services and VIP treatment at upscale hotels.
The community, which boasts 11,000 members, just added complimentary Avis First memberships (premium service) with 25 percent discounts on car rentals and between five to 10 percent off for JetBlue flights.
I wish more companies had no exit strategies
I was with a friend recently who has a pretty exciting Internet startup company. He has raised some money and might raise more, his product is in beta and it’s good. It solves a difficult technical problem many companies are struggling with. We argued a little over the name of the product. Of course I thought my suggested name was better or certainly cleverer, but then he said, “It doesn’t matter because we’ll probably sell the company before the product ever ships. It may never appear at all.”
His company will exit almost before it enters. This is happening a lot lately and we generally think it is a good thing but it’s not.
These are the good old days
Yesterday was my 60th birthday. When I came to Silicon Valley I was 24. It feels at times like my adult life has paralleled the growth and maturation of the Valley. When I came here there were still orchards. You could buy cherries, fresh from the fields, right on El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. Apricot orchards surrounded Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, where I flew in those early days because hangars were already too expensive in Palo Alto. My first Palo Alto apartment rented for $142 per month, and I bought my first house there for $47,000. I first met Intel co-founder Bob Noyce when we were both standing in line at Wells Fargo Bank.
Those days are gone. But that is not to say that these days are worse.
Going codeless can save the jobless
Being a multi-linguist, or a pianist, or an amateur philosopher, is not something you’d expect most IT job candidates to have on their resumes. But today’s workforce, due in part to the slow moving economy and ensuing recession, has adjusted to a more adaptable lifestyle than previous generations.
While yesterday’s career map was more straightforward -- major in a specific field, enter the sector on the bottom or near-bottom rung of the ladder (depending on who you knew), and work your way up until retirement, building a reputation for yourself along the way -- today things have changed.
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