4 MORE ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor | (Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. He contributed this column to VentureBeat.) As someone who has both sought venture capital and distributed it, I’m lucky to have a pretty unique perspective on what works and doesn’t work. As I mentioned in thety handed, but clueless about what killed their chances of getting funding. What follows are four additional problems I see all the time: Have a big monthly burn. This depends on the type of business, but most software companies nowadays can be built with almost no expenses except wages – and even then, the founders should be taking a nominal salary until there’s revenue. Huge expenses at the beginning are scary because expenses only go up. This is especially true of founders’ salaries. So how do you address expenses? Break out: wages, overhead, COGS at least. Pretend this isn’t risky. You’re at the earliest, riskiest stage of a business. Here’s your mindset. Don’t interview me. Here’s how to do it:
What to Do When People Just Aren’t Buying Your Product | Online Ever get the comment “I’d love to buy your product, but I just can’t afford it”? Or–how about the even more blunt “That seems expensive!” Here’s the truth: You probably don’t need to lower your price! In actuality, you can tweak your sales presentation or website by adding just a couple sentences, and that will close significantly more sales. Read on for more details… Why They Didn’t Buy: What Is Happening in Your Customer’s Mind? Something I’ve probably never talked about on this blog is that I have a lot of issues with my teeth. I’ve had pretty much everything done to my mouth, including several pulled teeth, retainers, a bionator, braces for 9 years, Invisalign, and five (!) I recently attended the Longevity Conference in Costa Mesa, CA. If You Don’t Set the Anchor, Someone Else Will I was at the conference with a friend of mine, Wendi. She presented me with a small pouch of various items. I started the conversation being very interested in what she had to offer. Here’s what happens.
City of Cleveland :: Sustainable Cleveland 2019 In August 2009, Mayor Frank G. Jackson convened the first Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit to bring together hundreds of people interested in applying the principles of sustainability to the design of the local economy. The goal: envision a 10-year campaign for “building an economic engine to empower a green city on a blue lake” by the 50th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire. Mission: Sustainable Cleveland 2019 is a 10-year initiative that engages people from all walks of life, working together to design and develop a thriving and resilient Cleveland region that leverages its wealth of assets to build economic, social and environmental well-being for all. Since 2009, working groups comprised of community volunteers have been engaged in a variety of sustainable economic initiatives. Every year leading up to 2019, Cleveland will focus on one of the key areas fundamental to a sustainable economy.
ebiodesign Home India Curriculum - a set of slides to be used over a 13-week course that teaches the Biodesign process in an Indian context. The content is available through our Instructor Resources.Global Sourcebook Chapters - We're now offering free chapters of our new Global Sourcebook - first up Singapore. The four chapters discuss healthcare systems, regulation, reimbursement and IP in Singapore.Regulatory Video Briefs that cover regulatory basics, fundamental strategies, and short case studies on medtech companies and their interactions with the FDA. The biodesign innovation process has been developed to help medical technology innovators increase their likelihood of success in identifying important clinical needs, inventing new medical devices and instruments, and implementing these advances in patient care. ShareThis
Top 5 things missing from most entrepreneur pitches | from This While I never did really stop seeing new deals, even when I was out of VC, now that I’m back in, I’ve really ramped up the deal flow engine. I’ve been enjoying the meetings I’ve had over the last few weeks, but some of them have reminded me what I routinely see missing from most pitches. Here are the things that nearly every early stage investor needs to bet on that are too often missing: 1) Strong sense of the key milestones – Entrepreneurs often ask what metrics they need to get to in order to get an investment. I often turn that question around and get them to tell me what the important milestones are. Having 100,000 users may not be the right metric for everyone, and it also depends on stage. Milestones are a waterfall—and having them as goals should inform product, marketing, financing, etc. More so than any other aspect of the business, the thing I see early entrepreneurs tend to drop the ball on most—myself included—is product strategy.
Unusual Business Ideas That Work Aerobic Bioreactor Technology Introduced to Georgia GEORGIA, US - A new development in aerobic bioreactor technology is set to to power Georgia's poultry farms. A newly patented bioreactor technology developed by American Technologies Inc. Petroleum will be used on poultry farms in Georgia to decompose waste, with the resulting methane being used to produce electricity for use on the farms. Biomass Magazine reports that ATI, which expanded from Viet Nam to locations in Tennessee, Nevada and California, conducted trials at five locations – one in Bakersfield, Georgia, and four in Viet Nam – and discovered all five pilot plants were capable of generating clean energy and reducing greenhouse gases and leakage from landfills to nearly zero, the company said. The aerobic bioreactor technology uses less odorous components than anaerobic digestion and decreases sludge, according to Alicia McDonald, director of research for ATI's Clean Energy Division. "We are working for commercialisation," she said. TheBioenergySite News Desk
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Welcome to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, known as PCAST. Education Technology On December 18, 2013, PCAST released a letter report to the President on recommendations related to technology in higher education. Cybersecurity On November 22, 2013, PCAST released a report to the President on "Immediate Opportunities for Strengthening the Nation's Cybersecurity." Full report (pdf) Climate Change On March 22, 2013, PCAST released a letter-report to the President on the topic of climate change. Agricultural Preparedness On December 7, 2012, PCAST released its latest report entitled "Agricultural Preparedness & the United States Agricultural Research Enterprise" in Washington, DC. U.S. On November 30, 2012, PCAST released a report entitled “Transformation and Opportunity: The Future of the U.S. Drug Innovation On September 25, 2012, PCAST released its latest report: Report to the President on Propelling Innovation in Drug Discovery, Development, and Evaluation. Spectrum
DreamIt Ventures How to Get an Influencer's Attention » Techipedia | Tamar Weinbe Influence is everywhere, but it’s up to you to spot it. As information flow is infinite, many find that it is of utmost importance to capture the attention of the select few who serve as influencers — these are the people who can actually stop their followers in their tracks to help spread your message. Perhaps this might serve as the start of a real relationship. If nothing else, these influencers will help to share your story with their own audience. I contacted a number of influencers to see what grabs their attention. Craig Newmark Craig Newmark is the San Francisco-based founder of the nearly 15-year-old extremely successful classifieds site Craigslist. For me, it’s just asking, via email, Twitter, or Facebook. Seth Godin Seth Godin is the bestselling author of numerous books, including his latest, Linchpin. Pete Cashmore Pete is the twenty-something founder and CEO of Mashable and is also a CNN columnist. Mark Frauenfelder It’s simple: talk or write about things that interest me!
2008 Greenhouse Gas Market Report 19th January 2009 by Madlen King The 2008 GHG Market report The 2008 GHG Market report includes a comprehensive coverage of issues of immediate interest that IETA has been privileged to bring together in one publication. The issues discussed reflect the immense experience and enlightened viewpoints of the IETA membership and a few invited guests including LRQA experts who have agreed to share their special knowledge of Climate Change and Carbon footprint. Keywords airline emissions, assurance, business assurance, carbon credits, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, carbon markets, CDM, certification, clean development mechanism, climate change, emissions, emissions caps, emissions monitoring, emissions reduction, emissions targets, emissions trading, emissions verification, environmental impact, GHG, GHG standards, global, global carbon market, greenhouse gases, IETA, ISO 14064, Lloyd's Register, resources, UNFCC