During the last 6 months, you’ve spent so much of your precious time pitching investors and finally it’s time to get down to business. When the money hits the account you can start executing on all of the things you haven’t been able to do until now. Exciting times! But hold on, first comes the fun part. Before any money exchanges hands you have to do a few classes in … [Read more...]
The 5 Most Annoying Pieces Of Startup Advice
I read a great piece by Ev Williams last week on why ‘All the Startup Advice You Read is Wrong (But you should read some anyway)’ which examines why most of the advice you come across isn’t applicable to your business. The problem is that startups are undeniably complicated and unpredictable beasts. With so many uncontrollable variables at hand, most advice that intends … [Read more...]
9 Ways To Keep Your Startup’s Burn-Rate Down
We all like spending money, whether it’s on lavish underwear or new and freaky gadgets, however much to our dismay; if the money going out doesn’t match the money coming in, we go into debt, fall out with the bank and it all heads downhill from there. Having a business is no different. Cash is your fuel, if you run out and find yourself stranded in the middle of the dessert, … [Read more...]
5 Ways Content Marketing Can Benefit Your Startup
Startups have limited time and resources and an overabundance of marketing options at their disposal. How do you reach out to your customers with only some left over Kung Pow noodles to offer as currency? Even if you had a marketing budget, which part of the marketing mix bandwagon do you jump on? Offline, online, SEO, SEM, print, social media or a light dash of them … [Read more...]
4 Points to Consider Before Getting In Bed With Venture Capital
These days, it seems like getting funded has become synonymous with building a successful company. I ask entrepreneurs how their business is going and the first words out of their mouths are "well, we're really close to closing our Series A." That's not what I asked. Getting into bed with VC’s is much like getting into bed with a woman. If you don’t use protection you’ll … [Read more...]
9 Reasons Why You SHOULD Work At A Startup
A few weeks back, I brought to light some of the realities about startup life in my article highlighting what some might say to be the negative sides of working in a startup environment. Even so, I’m an advocate for people having startup experience, as it can be one of the most challenging and rewarding professional and personal experiences you'll have. Hence, below … [Read more...]
5 Reasons To Bootstrap Your Startup
With the constant media onslaught of startups raising colossal funding rounds and the perceived “norms” in the startup world, the common path for early stage companies is to raise venture capital; however doing so too early can put the future of your business in jeopardy. Getting your startup rocking and rolling obviously requires cash but where do you source that cash? … [Read more...]
3 “Ugly” Truths About Real Startup Life
Every man, woman and space child seems to want to work at a startup nowadays. With the potential to become filthy rich through an acquisition or IPO, fast-tracked learning and the “I’m so cool” factor, why wouldn’t you want to be a part of the startup community? This rising fad of working at startups for the perceived hipness and coolness of it all shouldn’t overshadow what … [Read more...]
10 Slides For A Perfect Startup Pitch Deck
Preparing for an investor presentation can be a pretty daunting task. Whether it's your first time sending a pitch deck to investors or you're presenting at Techcrunch Disrupt in front of 5.000 people, a solid structure is fundamental for a coherent and commanding presentation. Communicating your message with clarity is everything. Given that you have limited time to present … [Read more...]
11 Visual Reminders Of Why You Live in Barcelona
It's Friday, and being the rebels that we are, we feel the need to do unconventional things to help reignite that tempestuous spark in each and every one of us. So, let's take a mini-break from the daily grind and have a little visual holiday through the streets of Barcelona. For all of you that live in Barcelona, this is a quick reminder of why you live here, and for all … [Read more...]