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I am a full time photographer because of Instagram, here is how I did it. : photography. Why to Not Not Start a Startup. March 2007 (This essay is derived from talks at the 2007 Startup School and the Berkeley CSUA.)

Why to Not Not Start a Startup

We've now been doing Y Combinator long enough to have some data about success rates. Our first batch, in the summer of 2005, had eight startups in it. Of those eight, it now looks as if at least four succeeded. Three have been acquired: Reddit was a merger of two, Reddit and Infogami, and a third was acquired that we can't talk about yet. So about half the founders from that first summer, less than two years ago, are now rich, at least by their standards.

I'm not ready to predict our success rate will stay as high as 50%. Even the founders who fail don't seem to have such a bad time. So here is an even more striking statistic: 0% of that first batch had a terrible experience. The big mystery to me is: why don't more people start startups? It seems like people are not acting in their own interest. There's nothing wrong with being unsure. We have some evidence to support this. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. How To Make $2k In a Weekend — The Altucher Report. I started reaching out to everyone in my network who ever succeeded – large or small – and started getting them to give me blueprints, maps, tactics, strategies, and ways they personally built their fortunes… launched their side businesses… discovered hidden income.

How To Make $2k In a Weekend — The Altucher Report

And I started writing it up in a report. Mapping out income plans… success secrets… money-making ideas. The Ultimate Guide for Becoming an Idea Machine. The way to have good ideas is to get close to killing yourself.

The Ultimate Guide for Becoming an Idea Machine

It’s like weightlifting. When you lift slightly more than you can handle, you get stronger. In life, when the gun is to your head, you either figure it out, or you die. When you cut yourself open, you bleed ideas. SEO: The Free Beginner's Guide From Moz. Welcome to your SEO learning journey! You'll get the most out of this guide if your desire to learn search engine optimization (SEO) is exceeded only by your willingness to execute and test concepts. This guide is designed to describe all major aspects of SEO, from finding the terms and phrases (keywords) that can generate qualified traffic to your website, to making your site friendly to search engines, to building links and marketing the unique value of your site. The world of search engine optimization is complex and ever-changing, but you can easily understand the basics, and even a small amount of SEO knowledge can make a big difference.

Free SEO education is also widely available on the web, including in guides like this! (Woohoo!) Combine this information with some practice and you are well on your way to becoming a savvy SEO. The Basics of Search Engine Optimization Ever heard of Maslow's hierarchy of needs? 5 Key Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read. When I sat down to write my book, An American Hedge Fund (which I now make free to the public), I wrote it with one key goal in mind, to provide entrepreneurs like me with access to the information they need to be as successful as possible.

5 Key Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

I honestly believe that reading books is one of the best ways to gain insight on the world and to learn more not only about others but also about business. I realized that without some of these influential titles, I never would have gotten to the level of success I am today or be in a position to share my stories of success with others. This is why I have complied a list of the five key books I believe every entrepreneur should read. Inside the Bacardi Legacy Rum Cocktail Competition. Moe Aliaff, who placed in the global Top 3 with his Carousel cocktail, grew up as an Iraqi refugee, spending the first three years of his life moving from camp to camp before his parents and six siblings finally settled in Norway.

Inside the Bacardi Legacy Rum Cocktail Competition

With flavours of dulce de leche, banana liqueur, PX sherry, salt, and Carta Oro, Carousel represented a narrative that stretched from Aliaff's first happy memory -- going to the fair with his mother -- through his family's travails, while also tying in the exodus of the Bacardi family. How To Find And Do Work You Love: Scott Dinsmore at TEDxGoldenGatePark (2D) Forbes Welcome. 25 Creative Ways to Promote Your App For Free. Join us for a free, live webinar covering social media strategies to increase sales.

25 Creative Ways to Promote Your App For Free

Tune in 5/17 at 9 a.m. PT. Register Now » I've been meeting more and more app entrepreneurs who have made it in the app world without spending a penny on promoting their app. And I've known entrepreneurs who've earned more than a million dollars selling their app, largely promoting it for free. In my experience, it does not make sense to pay advertising dollars to get customers because the cost of a customer acquisition is never lower than the price of the app. 1. 2. 3. 4. Want to Know if Your App is Successful? Check These Metrics. Building a mobile app can be a cash cow, but if not developed correctly, it can be among the 78 percent of apps users never return to after using once.

Want to Know if Your App is Successful? Check These Metrics.

If your app is free, you’re solely relying on either advertising or in-app purchases (the freemium model) for monetization, which if no one is making multiple visits, you are not going to be making much revenue. That said, more mobile startups are offering up free apps in hopes of snagging ad dollars or getting people to make purchases for advanced features, virtual good or more functionality. In fact, at last count, 76 percent of all revenue in the Apple app store in the US and over 90 percent in the Asian markets came from freemium apps or in-app purchases, according to Distimo's report How the Most Successful Apps Monetize Their User Base.