16 Cool Coworking Spaces Ready to get out of the basement and into a real office? Before you strike out on your own and get locked into a lease, consider a coworking space. They’re more affordable, full of start-up geeks like you, and probably cooler than any office your start-up could afford. Location: BostonCost: Monthly memberships start at $99, but you can also get space by the day or week.Oficio is a boutique shared office and coworking space located in the center of the vibrant and historic Back Bay neighborhood in Boston. Location: AustinCost: Monthly memberships start at $200, plus a one-time $200 membership fee. Location: MinneapolisCost: Memberships start at $50 a month. Location: San DiegoCost: Memberships start at $69 for eight hours a month and go up to $369 for 80 hours. Location: Chandler, AZCost: Free, but you have to work for itGangplank lets people use its coworking space and conference room for free. Locations: San Francisco and Santa MonicaCost: Free, but you have to work for it.
Starting a Business: The Idea Phase You know you want to start a business, but what do you do next? Here's how to find the perfect idea for your business. Many people believe starting a business is a mysterious process. But before we get started, let's clear up one point: People always wonder if this is a good time to start their business idea. Estimates vary, but generally more than 600,000 businesses are started each year in the United States. Everyone has his or her own roadblock, something that prevents them from taking that crucial first step. But unless you're a technological genius--another Bill Gates or Steve Jobs--trying to reinvent the wheel is a big waste of time. Get the Juices Flowing How do you start the idea process? On the other side of the paper, list things that you don't think you're good at or you don't like to do. Next, ask yourself the same question about your business life. They Delivered Here's a business startup story that's a great example of seeing a need and filling it. Just Do It!
The 11 Risks VCs Evaluate Though the industry is called venture capital, the goal of a VC isn’t to maximize every risk. Instead, we try to understand all the risks a business might face and weigh those risks with the reward - the exit. Here are the major risks that I typically review when a startup pitches. Market timing risk - Is now the right time for the business? Business model risk - Is there a clear business model? Market adoption risk - Are there strong competitive players in the market? Market size risk - If the company is successful, is the exit scenario large enough to provide the types of returns our fund needs? Execution risk - Does the team have the right skills and passion to reach their goals? Technology risk - Does the company have to develop a new technology that may not reach fruition, or may take much longer than expected? Platform risk - Is the startup building atop YouTube, Twitter or Facebook? Venture management risk - Is the company receptive to feedback?
Collaborative Workspace | Meeting Rooms | Innovation | Idea Engineering | Shoreditch How Sharing Ideas Sustains the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem When I was in Chile, most of the Chilean entrepreneurs were afraid to talk about their ideas. They would say “I’m working on a project in technology” or “I have an Internet startup that I think can change the world.” I’m seeing the same problem in Madison, especially with young or first-time entrepreneurs. It’s a huge problem in places that would like to become startup hotbeds. In the Valley, NYC, Boulder, Austin and other startup hubs, everyone talks openly about their business. I met the guys who acquired my first business, my first programmer, my attorney/mentor, my current business partner, got countless press interviews and tons of other connections just by talking to people. These connections and conversations are the heart of the entrepreneurial ecosystem people always talk about. So what are you scared of? If you think you wont be able to succeed because someone else knows a little bit about your idea, you probably shouldn’t be starting your business.
Startups: How to Communicate Traction to Investors - Posts StartUp Britain: a living market-place for the wide range of enterprise support available on the web. 12 Tips To Building A Successful Startup Community Where You Live Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Mark Suster (@msuster), a 2x entrepreneur, now VC at GRP Partners. He publishes more frequently over on his blog BothSidesoftheTable Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a startup include more than what Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, like to attach the word to. Today I’d like to talk about what startup communities outside of Silicon Valley look like, how they emerge and what makes them take hold. Most of what I think about startup communities came from mentorship by Brad Feld through hours of private discussion and debate. You can now take advantage of this wisdom directly as Brad has now published it for everybody in a fantastic new book, “Startup Communities.” Put simply, if you care about building a successful tech community outside Silicon Valley you should read this book. Here are the components that I believe are important for success in any startup tech community: 1. 2. And not that I blame them.
Elements of a Strong Business Plan | General Catalyst Partners Napkin Think Force yourself to summarize your idea on the back of a cocktail napkin. Don’t submit your plan until you have this level of clarity. Team Who will occupy the leadership roles in your company, why are they the best players for the task at hand, and how will they go about building an agile, customer-focused culture? If you believe that an advisory board or governing board will help you grow your dream team, we may be able to help you find the right people. Pain What problem are you trying to solve? Solution Why is your solution superior to competitors, who are the key competitors, what differentiator will propel your solution to break through and achieve broad adoption? Customer Acquisition Too many early stage businesses fail to fully explain their methods and costs of acquiring customers. Business Model Show us the near and long-term value of a customer, how you earn revenue, and your growth projections over at least a three-year period. Capital Efficiency Financials Final Answer? Words
Co Finalists: Two Companies With Responsible Cultures - Business - GOOD As the year comes to a close, we’re wrapping up the GOOD Company Project’s nomination process and planning to unveil the final, 40-company list in the new year. Never fear, we’ll have more stories to come about the companies that populate the list and how they’re changing business for the better; we’re also looking forward to debuting the rest of our video series of company profiles. This week, we’re recognizing two very different companies who share a commitment to a great work culture. Wolff Olins A brand consulting firm based in New York, London, and Dubai, Wolf Olins has been a player in the corporate communications and strategy world since its founding in 1965, working on branding for everything from Apple to the 2012 London Olympics. These two companies will be the last of our regular GOOD Company Project nominees this year, but keep checking back—we’ll have a lot more to talk about before the project officially wraps up.
Start-Up Tool Kit - Term Sheet Creator - Start-Up Forms Library - TOTAL ACCESS Events Orrick's Emerging Companies Group is a leading advisor to start-ups, with more than 1,200 emerging company clients in the United States, Europe and Asia. The group features lawyers in nine offices around the globe, including more than 100 lawyers in our Silicon Valley office. Orrick's Start-Up Tool Kit is a comprehensive set of resources designed to aid start-ups and their founders on the journey from the garage to the global marketplace. Use our Start-Up Tool Kit to memorialize agreements with cofounders or potential investors, understand the terms and terminology of key legal documents, and network and learn business strategy and the latest industry news. Term Sheet Creator Create drafts of start-up and venture financing documents ranging from your company's founding to a preferred stock financing. Start-Up Forms Library Use this reference source for the key legal documents you will need to start and grow your company. TOTAL ACCESS Event Series
Class 8 Notes Essay Peter Thiel’s CS183: Startup - Class 8 Notes Essay Here is an essay version of my class notes from Class 8 of CS183: Startup. Errors and omissions are mine. Bruce Gibney, partner at Founders Fund, gave the lecture these notes are based on. Credit for good stuff goes to him and Founders Fund. Class 8 Notes Essay—The Pitch I. One of the most important things to remember when thinking about pitching is that there are huge numbers of pitches in the world. Conceptually, pitching sounds easy. But it’s not that easy. Humans are massively cognitively biased in favor of near-term thinking. Before you pitch you should have a clear goal in mind. First, you need to raise the right amount of capital. Second, higher valuations aren’t always in your interest. Your subsidiary goal should be to keep control of your enterprise. II. It’s always important to understand your audience. One of the most important things to understand is that, like all people, VCs are different people at different times of day.
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