In the early days of starting Flurry, my co-founders and I made all of our decisions by consensus. It wasn’t hard, since we had similar opinions and were spending all of our time in development which we knew very well. The camaraderie of working together late nights and building something new fueled the excitement we had […]
Startup company
This NYC Startup Raised $1.5M to Listen and Learn in the Enterprise
Pathgather is a new approach to enterprise learning that puts employees in control, and who knows what skills are needed to get the job done better than fellow employees? They actually motivate individuals to learn and connect around professional development, so companies end up with a smarter, more effective workforce. Social is the key element, […]
Startup Urgency: A Balancing Act
I recently finished reading Ben Horowitz’s book “The Hard Thing About Hard Things.” Normally I am not one for business books, but this one was pretty solid. Maybe at some point I will do a review, but the reason I bring it up now is the single word that whirled in the back of my […]
Connected, All Terrain Sound. Isn’t It About Time?
Let’s admit it: even the hardest-working among us likes to kick back occasionally, enjoy the outdoors – yes, even water sports – and listen to music. What better way to relax? Except that our smartphones and various other devices just don’t play well when there’s water around, which kind of takes some of the relaxation […]
The First Question To Ask Yourself When Launching A Startup
As it turns out, it’s “really, really hard” to be an entrepreneur. At least, that’s the argument that long-time entrepreneur and founder of Foundation Cap Steve Vassallo makes. The most important thing that anyone who is getting started in a business can do is to understand his or her motivation. “It’s profoundly important for you […]
The Top Cities to Start a Startup
So you’ve decided that its time to put yourself out there with your own startup. But one of the first questions is: where do you base the company? The top seven cities to base a startup out of are Austin, Seattle, Boulder, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. This infographic takes into account […]
Are Accelerators Just Paid Introductions in Disguise?
It was not so much a debate as a “frank exchange.” I was exchanging emails with the founder of one of the larger startup pitch conferences. He had asked me if I would promote his event with some of the DreamIt startups who are currently fundraising. His events are pay-to-pitch and it’s fair to say […]
The Startup Mixelerator
This is my term for some of the more recent batch of startup accelerators that has been popping up. With the hundreds of facilities, organizations and communities that are clamoring to support budding entrepreneurs and their various startups, the need to differentiate has become ever more important. With over 75 startup incubators and accelerators in […]
This NYC Startup Is Looking for Investors at The Summit But It’s Not What You Think
Private investors are always looking to get in on the best deals – and there are those that they’re not always privy to. Artivest is changing that. It’s a new way to invest in private funds, including private equity, hedge funds and venture capital. The company is upgrading the entire process for investors and fund […]
Investor Secrets for Smart Competitive Positioning
In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. This raises a big red flag with potential investors, who conclude that no competitors means no market, or you haven’t looked, and the new startup is […]
Investors Measure Entrepreneurs by Cash Flow Mileage
Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling […]