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How to Start a Startup

How to Start a Startup
March 2005 (This essay is derived from a talk at the Harvard Computer Society.) You need three things to create a successful startup: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible. Most startups that fail do it because they fail at one of these. A startup that does all three will probably succeed. And that's kind of exciting, when you think about it, because all three are doable. If there is one message I'd like to get across about startups, that's it. The Idea In particular, you don't need a brilliant idea to start a startup around. Google's plan, for example, was simply to create a search site that didn't suck. There are plenty of other areas that are just as backward as search was before Google. For example, dating sites currently suck far worse than search did before Google. An idea for a startup, however, is only a beginning. What matters is not ideas, but the people who have them. People What do I mean by good people?

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Mind Maps - Mind Mapping Training from MindTools A Powerful Approach to Note-Taking (Also known as Mind Mapping, Concept Mapping, Spray Diagrams, and Spider Diagrams) "Mind Map" is a trademark of the Buzan Organization (see www.buzan.com). We have no association with this organization. Google AdWords - Pay-Per-Click Online Advertising Keywords are what people search for on Google. Your ad appears beside relevant search results. You create your ads You create ads and choose keywords, which are words or phrases related to your business. How to pick a co-founder - Venture Hacks Naval · November 12th, 2009 Update: Also see our 40-minute interview on this topic. Picking a co-founder is your most important decision. It’s more important than your product, market, and investors.

Eight Questions To Ask Before You Start A Business Are you thinking of starting a web business? Starting a PPC Management agency? Setting up your own site and selling things, or building a web publishing empire? Before you start, ask yourself the following eight questions.

FAQs Note: See our application FAQ if you have questions about the application process. How much funding do Techstars companies receive? You get $18,000 in seed investment and you are offered an additional, optional $100,000 convertible debt note by a group of prominent VCs immediately upon acceptance into Techstars. You also have access to great perks such as free hosting and services, sponsored meals, office space with the other teams, and more. Product life-cycle management (marketing) Product life-cycle management (or PLCM) is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its life-cycle. The conditions in which a product is sold (advertising, saturation) changes over time and must be managed as it moves through its succession of stages. The goals of Product Life Cycle (PLC) management are to reduce time to market, improve product quality, reduce prototyping costs, identify potential sales opportunities and revenue contributions, and reduce environmental impacts at end-of-life. To create successful new products the company must understand its customers, markets and competitors.[citation needed]

3D Glow - Electrical and Lighting Design This is the personal website of Shaun Tippett. Shaun is a Chartered Professional Electrical Engineer with 13 years' experience. He currently works for Beca as a Senior Electrical Engineer. Here you will find useful information on topics relating to commercial electrical engineering and lighting design. Have a look around and let me know what you think. 10 Common Mistakes That Startup and Small Companies Make Young companies have small margins for error. Mistakes made early on can sink a company before its gets off the ground. Below is a list of 10 common mistakes made by young, small companies. In the list below, I use the generic term “product” to refer to either a product or a service. Over the next few posts, I will expound on these ideas; for now, here is the list : “Drinking Your Own Kool-Aid” – Overestimating the Enthusiasm for Your Product/Service – thinking your product is more special than your customers perceive.

10 Biggest Entrepreneurs of 2011 Embed this infographic on your site! <a href=" src=" alt="10 Biggest Entrepreneurs of 2011" width="500" border="0" /></a><br />From: <a href=" Do a quick search for important entrepreneurs. Exclusive: Inside the Startup-Generating Secrets of Y Combinator “We want to fund you guys,” Graham will say as his greeting when he calls to deliver the offer. “There are three of you, right? It would be $20,000 for 7 percent.” The amount of equity that Y Combinator asks for is the same in almost all cases, but the dollar amount of the investment varies slightly: each team would receive $11,000, then an additional $3,000 for every founder up to $20,000 for three or more founders.

Design methods This section will present a variety of design methods which can be used in the product design process. The design methods present­ed here are categorized according to the activity for which they can be used. You might also have a look at: Design Tools University of Cambridge.Another interesting link for design methods is the Design Methods page of the Design Council. For Dutch people the following link is interesting as well: ikbeslis.nl created within a design exercise at IDE Delft. Subcategories International competition launched to design new urban village - Media releases The new urban village is a joint Christchurch City Council, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and CERA/CCDU development. It will be built on the corner of Madras and Gloucester streets. Competition entrants will design and build a new medium-density urban residential complex that provides a variety of housing options and lifestyle choices based on the key principles of sustainability, affordability, innovation and a strong sense of community. “The new development will inspire and excite a new generation of residents to live within Christchurch’s Central City, where we are rebuilding what will be one of the most modern and liveable cities in the world,” says Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker. “Pre-registrations for the competition, from architects and designers working throughout the world, have already drawn almost 130 responses; this is exciting for our city.”

Remaking a maritime masterpiece - latimes.com She is 96 years old, all bones and little skin. Her ribs are split and rotted in places and stained by rust. Nonetheless, she is a slightly fearsome presence, commanding her surroundings like a T. rex in a natural history museum. When the Shawnee first hit the water in 1916, she was a striking beauty — a 72-foot sailboat made of old-growth oak and Douglas fir, African mahogany, naturally curved hackmatack and gleaming teak.

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