Startup Owners Manual The Startup Owner's Manual is the indispensable "how to" reference for any startup founder, investor, entrepreneur or educator, incorporating a decade of hands-on learning about how great startups are built: A detailed, step-by step walk through putting Customer Development to work Uses the business model canvas to monitor Customer Development progress Plus a wealth of detailed information on how to get, keep, and grow your customers Need academic or bulk orders? Please contact terri@kandsranch.com “As a co-founder, I now feel empowered to have a fundamentally different conversation with investors, customers and partners. I cannot imagine launching and growing my startup without the ability to share a "common startup language" that The Startup Owners Manual lays out to ensure absolute team (investors and employees) alignment.” - Bhavik Read more reviews of The Startup Owner's Manual on Amazon
How Not to Die August 2007 (This is a talk I gave at the last Y Combinator dinner of the summer. Usually we don't have a speaker at the last dinner; it's more of a party. A couple days ago I told a reporter that we expected about a third of the companies we funded to succeed. Another way of saying that is that half of you are going to die. If you can just avoid dying, you get rich. It was really close, too. You may have heard that quote about luck consisting of opportunity meeting preparation. We've done this five times now, and we've seen a bunch of startups die. For us the main indication of impending doom is when we don't hear from you. Whereas if a startup regularly does new deals and releases and either sends us mail or shows up at YC events, they're probably going to live. I realize this will sound naive, but maybe the linkage works in both directions. That may not be so naive as it sounds. If this works, it would be an amazing hack. A variant is to stay in touch with other YC-funded startups.
Guest Post by WetPaint CEO Ben Elowitz: How To Raise Venture Dollars Ben Elowitz has graciously agreed to a guest post. The timing is apropos since Ben just raised $25 million in the largest technology financing in Washington state this year. Wetpaint is the leader in social publishing with nearly one million hosted user-powered sites. They have recently made a very smart move by enabling their platform to be distributed (they call it ‘injected’) inside of any Web site. Since there is so much discussion around raising money (by entrepreneurs) combined with the lack of information available, we thought Ben’s insight would be pertinent and helpful to the startup community. For whatever cosmic reason, I cross paths with lots of early-stage entrepreneurs who are trying to figure out how to fund their startup. So what is my approach to getting the term sheet I want to sign? 1) Keep it exclusive. If you meet with too many firms you look desperate (trust me…word gets around); and as we all know, many of the very hottest companies meet with just a couple firms.
How To Build a Web Startup – Lean LaunchPad Edition If you’re an experienced coder and user interface designer you think nothing is easier than diving into Ruby on Rails, Node.js and Balsamiq and throwing together a web site. (Heck, in Silicon Valley even the waiters can do it.) But for the rest of us mortals whose eyes glaze over at the buzzwords, the questions are, “How do I get my great idea on the web? My first attempt at helping students answer these questions was by putting together the Startup Tools Page - a compilation of available web development tools. So today, I offer my next attempt. How To Build a Web Startup – The Lean LaunchPad Edition Here’s the step-by-step process we suggest our students use in our Lean LaunchPad classes. (Use the Startup Tools Page as the resource for tool choices) Step 1: Set Up Team Logistics Step 2. Write down your 9-business model canvas hypothesisList key features/Minimal Viable product planSize the market opportunity. Step 3: Write a value proposition statement that other people understand
How should a startup founder value her time? Almost no startup founder values her time properly. Consultants know exactly what their time is worth: their hourly rate. As they say, it’s how much “the market will bear.” If being a consultant is your goal, this is indeed how you should value your time. Your time is $1000/hour, and you need to act accordingly. Let’s say as a consultant who normally charges $150/hour you stumble upon a weird client who asks for the following terms: “We agree your time is worth $150/hour. How much should you increase your hourly rate to make these terms worthwhile? It has to be more, not just because of the interest you could be making on it in the bank (which nowadays approaches zero as a limit), but because you can’t live off money you don’t have, which means you’ll need other work too, so you’ll need a nice premium to make this inconvenience worthwhile. But “lost interest” and a premium doesn’t solve the biggest problem with these terms. But you’re waiting four years for that cash! What else?
Newsletter | Sue Mazza Hi Leaders! Welcome to Fall! We have amazing opportunities ahead of us in the next 90 days to grow or even double or triple our current business! Our business is really simple. We have to do two things. 1. It really helps when you know just what to say and how to find new prospects for our business. Many leaders are enjoying these benefits as part of The Leaders Edge Coaching and Training Membership. Recently, we a very special Leader’s Edge call with MLM Training Superstar Tom “BIG AL” Schreiter. Many prospects put up walls of disbelief and skepticism to people who don’t think the same way they do. Tom has a new book that has just come out on this subject too! Tom “Big Al” Schreiter is one of the most successful people in the history of network marketing! Tom has also been a great friend and mentor to me for many years. You can also find out more about the Leaders Edge atwww.suemazza.com/leadersedge. No, it’s not finding prospects… or keeping your team members interested. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Sue
A Scary Line Has Been Crossed For VCs At a recent presentation at Harvard Business School, Adeo Ressi argued that the VC model is broken. That is nothing new for Ressi, who is the founder of the VC-rating site theFunded. He is kind of like the Nick Denton of the VC world, always saying that the sky is falling. The slides from his presentation are embedded below, but really all you need to look at is the one above. The big institutional investors who tend to put the most money into venture funds as limited partners are hurting right now. When the lines cross over again, we can all relax.
Startup Tools Startup Tools 1. Startup Tools Click Here 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Startup Tools Getting Started Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything – Harvard Business ReviewThe Lean LaunchPad Online Class – FREEHow to Build a Web Startup – Lean Launchpad EditionHow to Create a $1M Web Business – Noah KaganWeb Fundamentals – Google developersQuickMVP – test your ideasFoundersSuite – Startup Mgmt SoftwareThe U.S. Lists of Tools from Others Groups Startup Weekend – Launch a Startup in 54 hoursThe Lean Startup Machine – Launch a Startup in 48 hoursStartup Monthly – Launch a Startup in a monthStartup Grind – community looking to be educated, and network with the smartest startup mindsLean Startup Circle – Google Group for startup adviceWomen 2.0 – Launch a startup for womenMeetup – Meet people you’re interested inTop Startup Conferences (North America) Find a Co-Founder Developer Bootcamps Programing Bootcamp Finder – Thinkful Tools from Steve: Lean Startup/Business Model Canvas/Customer Development Tools Surveys Reddit
Lean Startup Early business development tool Lean startup is a methodology for developing businesses and products that aims to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable; this is achieved by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, and validated learning. Lean startup emphasizes customer feedback over intuition and flexibility over planning. This methodology enables recovery from failures more often than traditional ways of product development. [1] Central to the lean startup methodology is the assumption that when startup companies invest their time into iteratively building products or services to meet the needs of early customers, the company can reduce market risks and sidestep the need for large amounts of initial project funding and expensive product launches and financial failures.[2][3] Overview[edit] Precursors[edit] Lean manufacturing[edit] Customer development[edit] Principles[edit]
15 Primal Ways to Savor the Holiday Season Welcome! If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, increase energy levels or just generally look and feel healthier you've come to the right place. Here's where to start: Visit the Start Here and Primal Blueprint 101 pages to learn more about the Primal Lifestyle. Thanks for visiting! This past summer I did a slow living inspired guide to enjoying summer. Let me actually reframe it in terms of the Primal Connection – the concept that our evolutionary roots have something to teach us in creating a contented, fulfilling life – because I think it most aptly addresses the question. The modern dilemma is often untangling ourselves from the distracting and distorting cultural baggage attached to these fundamental inclinations. A lot of great blogs and publications encourage us to slow down during the holidays. Rhythm Physical In keeping with the light and dark cycles of the season, give your body the benefit of dim evening and a full night’s sleep. Inner Life Social Nature Play Like This Blog Post?
Spot.us - Home Entreprendre à plusieurs : créer une SCOP (Société Coopérative de Production) La SCOP (Société Coopérative de Production) et ses particularités juridiques La SCOP est une société sous forme de SARL (Société à Responsabilité Limitée) ou SA (Société Anonyme) au sein de laquelle 51% du capital et 65% des droits de vote sont détenus par les salariés. Ces derniers sont tous égaux en termes de droits de vote puisqu’ils possèdent une voix chacun et ceci quel que soit le montant du capital détenu. Si la Société Coopérative de Production est créée au travers d’une SARL, le capital social ne peut être inférieur à 30 euros, avec un minimum de 2 associés-salariés. Contrairement à une société classique le dirigeant est élu par les salariés-associés en fonction de ses compétences. Les avantages d’une Société Coopérative de Production (SCOP) Créer une SCOP, c’est avant tout se lancer dans un projet collectif. Au-delà de ses avantages, la SCOP apparaît comme une bonne solution pour un entrepreneur qui sans descendance souhaite transmettre sa société à ses salariés.
The startup skill set I went to LeanCamp London last Sunday. It was a blast - there were a lot of interesting people to meet, and one of the highlights was, of course, seeing Eric Ries answer a whole bunch of questions very intelligently and entertainingly. Another key highlight, for me, was my own "workshop" talk, judiciously titled "Lean Startup Skill Set". Was it really specifically lean? Perhaps not, but it's a skill set that will help any entrepreneur trying to build a startup, particularly those that use Lean methods. My premise, as I explained previously, is that success (at least to the "survival" or "comfort" levels) in the startup world has more to do with skills than with ideas. There are exceptions, of course, but you can't rely on being the exception any more than you can rely on winning the lottery. The workshop's purpose, then, was to discuss what those core entrepreneurial skills are and where to learn them. The purpose of the startup skill set 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. [ More details ] 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Having a Money Meltdown? 7 Prescriptions for Peace | BLISSBOMBED.com EmailShare 609EmailShare This is what life does. It throws its arm around you when you’re pregnant with your first kid and says “Hey Sugar. I know you’re all concerned with your swollen ankles and stuff, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Crazy, I know. Well, guess what. So how does this relate to money? Launching a business (I found out) is closely paralleled with giving birth to a kid. These are my 7 personal practices + attitudes that keep me from melting down about money: There is ebb and flow to bringing something great into the world. Having a plan in place is more for your peace of mind than a statement of how it’s really gonna go. It is not your responsibility to try to make the process go faster. Your journey is YOUR JOURNEY. How long you’ve been at it says nothing about how much further you need to go. It feels like you’ve been striving for a long, long time and it’s easy to start to think this is all there is. Learn more here.