I was recently interviewed by TechCrunch's Andrew Keen discussing my startup, Vidquik. I didn't sound too bad for having two plastic tubes up my nose and on painkillers (two days after my septoplasty). Just a mix of Kermit and Darth Vader :)
"Keen On… Vidquik: Why Real-Time Online Video Is Now Ready For Prime-Time"
Showing posts with label startup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label startup. Show all posts
Friday, March 9, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Vidquik Beta is Live!
Our beta is live! Well, it’s been alive for a few weeks now, but our blog gets the standard blog treatment among social media. Twitter and Facebook get much more attention hence the delay in posting this announcement on our blog.
As a recap, on September 13th, 2011 we launched our free one-to-one web conferencing service, which is video plus online presentation sharing, at DEMO, the prestigious launch conference in Silicon Valley.
There was great confirmation from people who were seeking an easy-to-use web conferencing solution and along the way we garnered some great press:
“DemoFall 2011: Top 5 New Techs I’d use” IEEE Spectrum
“The 15 Most Intriguing Pitches from DEMO Fall 2011″ Network World
“Vidquik tries to disrupt online meetings with free 1-to-1 web conferencing” VentureBeat
You can read more news clips from our Facebook page here. We also revealed our strategy and product direction, which is to focus on enhancing sales productivity and providing salespeople powerful but easy-to-use tools related to our web conferencing platform.
Vidquik is not focused on the collaboration space and providing tools to enhance corporate communications. We are focused on increasing sales productivity and helping salespeople close deals, so as we look towards our official launch in November 2011 we ask for your feedback and any recommendations you might have for our product. We appreciate your continued support and help!
As a recap, on September 13th, 2011 we launched our free one-to-one web conferencing service, which is video plus online presentation sharing, at DEMO, the prestigious launch conference in Silicon Valley.
There was great confirmation from people who were seeking an easy-to-use web conferencing solution and along the way we garnered some great press:
“DemoFall 2011: Top 5 New Techs I’d use” IEEE Spectrum
“The 15 Most Intriguing Pitches from DEMO Fall 2011″ Network World
“Vidquik tries to disrupt online meetings with free 1-to-1 web conferencing” VentureBeat
You can read more news clips from our Facebook page here. We also revealed our strategy and product direction, which is to focus on enhancing sales productivity and providing salespeople powerful but easy-to-use tools related to our web conferencing platform.
Vidquik is not focused on the collaboration space and providing tools to enhance corporate communications. We are focused on increasing sales productivity and helping salespeople close deals, so as we look towards our official launch in November 2011 we ask for your feedback and any recommendations you might have for our product. We appreciate your continued support and help!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Starting Your Startup by Joe Stump
Great presentation by Joe Stump, Co-founder & CTO of SimpleGeo.
"Choosing your technology stack is one of many decisions you’ll have to make when creating a company from scratch. Along with this, you’ll need to figure out who you should found a company with, who you should take money from, what the company culture should be, management processes, and who to hire when. Joe will be covering basic technology stack choices (cloud v. hosted, frameworks, etc.) as well as other critical decisions one faces when starting a startup."
"Choosing your technology stack is one of many decisions you’ll have to make when creating a company from scratch. Along with this, you’ll need to figure out who you should found a company with, who you should take money from, what the company culture should be, management processes, and who to hire when. Joe will be covering basic technology stack choices (cloud v. hosted, frameworks, etc.) as well as other critical decisions one faces when starting a startup."
Starting your Startup
View more presentations from joestump
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Visual.ly Graphic Profile of Me: Twitter Data-Generated Infographic
The embed code was too big for my blog, so I'm just posting a direct link until this is fix.
Update: Just inserting the graphic here...
Update: Just inserting the graphic here...
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
"The Next 10 Years Will Be Great For Both Founders And VCs"
Great post that deserves a dedicated link here and a reposting of William's slides:
"The Next 10 Years Will Be Great For Both Founders And VCs" TechCrunch, William Quigley
QUIGLEY_Report_Final
"The Next 10 Years Will Be Great For Both Founders And VCs" TechCrunch, William Quigley
QUIGLEY_Report_Final
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
SalaamGarage: Climate Change in the Andes Trip
My friend, Eduardo (He's also CEO & Co-founder of GatherGreen), is leading a trip to Peru to learn about the effects of climate change on some of the most resilient people in the world - the mountain communities of the Andes. It will be from June 29th-July 10th.
The trip is hosted by SalaamGarage (citizen journalism + NGOs = social change). Their overview:
"Digital storytelling, citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities."
More on the program...
NGO: The Mountain Institute – Through its programs and projects in the Andes, TMI promotes the development of long-term livelihoods for mountain people linked to the conservation of their mountain ecosystems.
PROJECTS: http://salaamgarage.com/trips/salaamgarage-peru-may-2011/peru-story-ideas/
Climate Issue: Rising global temperatures are melting away the glaciers in the Andes. These glaciers are disappearing faster than predicted, some estimates say that in 10 years they will all be gone. Peru is home to 70% of the world’s tropical glaciers. The runoff from these glaciers is the main water supply for drinking and agriculture to an entire region of people. The current condition is having a severe impact on the families and communities that have lived on the mountains at high-altitudes for generations. Their stories need to be heard and shared now.
A $500 deposit, due within two weeks of your application, is required to confirm your spot on the trip. Deposits are due June 1. Apply now for this trip by clicking here.
The trip is hosted by SalaamGarage (citizen journalism + NGOs = social change). Their overview:
"Digital storytelling, citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities."
More on the program...
NGO: The Mountain Institute – Through its programs and projects in the Andes, TMI promotes the development of long-term livelihoods for mountain people linked to the conservation of their mountain ecosystems.
PROJECTS: http://salaamgarage.com/trips/salaamgarage-peru-may-2011/peru-story-ideas/
Climate Issue: Rising global temperatures are melting away the glaciers in the Andes. These glaciers are disappearing faster than predicted, some estimates say that in 10 years they will all be gone. Peru is home to 70% of the world’s tropical glaciers. The runoff from these glaciers is the main water supply for drinking and agriculture to an entire region of people. The current condition is having a severe impact on the families and communities that have lived on the mountains at high-altitudes for generations. Their stories need to be heard and shared now.
A $500 deposit, due within two weeks of your application, is required to confirm your spot on the trip. Deposits are due June 1. Apply now for this trip by clicking here.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Startup Weekend San Jose
Starting tomorrow, Startup Weekend San Jose is in Silicon Valley. More info...
April 15-17, 2011
Hotel de Anza
233 West Santa Clara Street San Jose, CA
Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skillsets - primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people - to build applications and develop a commercial case around them.
April 15-17, 2011
Hotel de Anza
233 West Santa Clara Street San Jose, CA
Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skillsets - primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people - to build applications and develop a commercial case around them.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
When Does It Make Sense to Bootstrap a Start-up?
(Just reposting my article over at InsideWork since I realized I don't have a copy over here :)
I previously described my first startup and bootstrapping experience in a prior post, which was exhilarating, frustrating, rewarding, and depressing all at the same time. Recently, I was posed a related question about “when does it make sense to bootstrap a startup?”
My answer would say that it depends on the industry, who is on your team, and how quickly you need to scale due to market conditions (e.g. competition, policy changes).
First, I would say where you are in life is the primary factor. Are you single versus married? Renting versus having a mortgage? No children versus one child and another on the way? When a person is in their twenties and not married, bootstrapping is much easier since you probably have lower rent costs, no mortgage and can eat ramen noodles all day. Next is probably how much savings you have, how much your family network could help you out, and how much credit card debt you’re willing to take. I remember being a fool, but a giddy fool, and signing up for dozens of credit cards with my co-founder, Jimmy. It was a fun but stressful time, especially when my dad had the “poker talk with me”.
“Bernard, business is like poker, you have to know when to fold…”
Older entrepreneurs can bootstrap too depending on the business and market, how much they are willing to eat into their nest egg, and if their spouse works. From my experience, usually a household with kids does not want to see money going out towards risk investments. Which is why you see even successful entrepreneurs, such as those who cashed out more than several million, still go back to the investor well because their wives clamped down on their bank accounts.
Your targeted industry matters too. Bootstrapping is very difficult if you’re in clean-tech or biotech versus social gaming or social media, so these scenarios aren’t relevant in these sectors since typically cash needs are $20 million, $50 million or greater for just the product development.
There is also a point to which bootstrap can only take you so far. If the competition is fierce and your competitors already have a good war chest or their product is slightly ahead of your features, then outside money makes sense.
If your company is starting to get interest from investors, I would recommend that you go with the momentum and fundraise because most startups are beauty queens (or kings) only once. I’ve seen many startups pass on funding when they were hot only to go back to the well that became dry or venture capitalists had a new flavor of the month.
An ideal scenario to bootstrap is if you’re in your mid-twenties, a stud game developer, and creating a social game with a solid creative partner. Build it, launch it on Facebook, and hope that it goes viral so that you can make money, sell it, or get a higher valuation.
In the end, I would recommend bootstrapping if you can to increase your valuation from investors, but also be aware of the point when it begins to be a drag on your product development and growth.
I previously described my first startup and bootstrapping experience in a prior post, which was exhilarating, frustrating, rewarding, and depressing all at the same time. Recently, I was posed a related question about “when does it make sense to bootstrap a startup?”
My answer would say that it depends on the industry, who is on your team, and how quickly you need to scale due to market conditions (e.g. competition, policy changes).
First, I would say where you are in life is the primary factor. Are you single versus married? Renting versus having a mortgage? No children versus one child and another on the way? When a person is in their twenties and not married, bootstrapping is much easier since you probably have lower rent costs, no mortgage and can eat ramen noodles all day. Next is probably how much savings you have, how much your family network could help you out, and how much credit card debt you’re willing to take. I remember being a fool, but a giddy fool, and signing up for dozens of credit cards with my co-founder, Jimmy. It was a fun but stressful time, especially when my dad had the “poker talk with me”.
“Bernard, business is like poker, you have to know when to fold…”
Older entrepreneurs can bootstrap too depending on the business and market, how much they are willing to eat into their nest egg, and if their spouse works. From my experience, usually a household with kids does not want to see money going out towards risk investments. Which is why you see even successful entrepreneurs, such as those who cashed out more than several million, still go back to the investor well because their wives clamped down on their bank accounts.
Your targeted industry matters too. Bootstrapping is very difficult if you’re in clean-tech or biotech versus social gaming or social media, so these scenarios aren’t relevant in these sectors since typically cash needs are $20 million, $50 million or greater for just the product development.
There is also a point to which bootstrap can only take you so far. If the competition is fierce and your competitors already have a good war chest or their product is slightly ahead of your features, then outside money makes sense.
If your company is starting to get interest from investors, I would recommend that you go with the momentum and fundraise because most startups are beauty queens (or kings) only once. I’ve seen many startups pass on funding when they were hot only to go back to the well that became dry or venture capitalists had a new flavor of the month.
An ideal scenario to bootstrap is if you’re in your mid-twenties, a stud game developer, and creating a social game with a solid creative partner. Build it, launch it on Facebook, and hope that it goes viral so that you can make money, sell it, or get a higher valuation.
In the end, I would recommend bootstrapping if you can to increase your valuation from investors, but also be aware of the point when it begins to be a drag on your product development and growth.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
What Are The Most Common Mistakes First-Time Entrepreneurs Make?
This question was asked over at Quora. Some great insights and answers there, but just posting this one by Greg Tapper:
I've started 5 companies-- several (fortunately) very successful...and a couple painful failures. I've learned far, far more from the failures than the successes.
There's one rule and one rule only to business success: NEVER drop the ball. The "ball" is everything related to the business. A growing business screams like a baby. It never stops asking for your attention. Take your eye off the ball for 1 minute and you'll slip off the treadmill.
Businesses fail because people lose their focus. Look at every successful company, and it all gets back to that. They lost their direction and focus. Success is virtually guaranteed when you're absolutely obsessed and absorbed in the business.
Therefore:
1) Never outsource anything important. Ever. There's no such thing as a brain transplant. You can get a new heart, a new arm-- mechanical things-- but you can't replace the central nervous system.
2) Never trust anyone with anything critical. No one. You have to be the one to take care of it. And don't even trust yourself. Constantly question how you're doing, what you're doing, why you're doing it.
3) Never stop thinking about what can go wrong, because something is always going wrong.
4) Never trust your reports who tell you everything is fine. Nothing is ever fine. Things are always breaking. Things are always going wrong. (We say: "rejoice, things are breaking. We're growing!"). Breaking isn't necessarily a bad thing. Frustrating yes, but not bad. It usually means you're growing.
5) Treat your customers better than your spouse. Take your customers for granted, pay the price. Without customers, your company is a high school science project.
6) Businesses are 100% about cash flow. Cash is king. Never forget that cash is king. Did I mention that cash is king. Guard it jealously until you have an embarrassment of riches. Then let your investors complain that you're not paying a big enough dividend; and then you can ease off the gas. The truth is, nobody cares about your big idea and your cool technology. Not investors, not employees, not your spouse, and not your mother. What they care about is: are you making a lot of money or not? Or, if not, are you clearly on the path to creating such tremendous, protected asset value that one day very soon the business will start kicking off tons of cash. Then your investors and your spouse and your employees and your mother and Inc. Magazine will all shower you with praise and lift you up on their shoulders and go marching out of the room and singing a song about you. Google isn't valuable because it has great technology-- it's because those mofos mint money. And FB is just sitting on a goldmine of active users, so they are highly valuable. But it's about money, and nothing more. (Btw, money is a *measure*, not a goal.)
7) You fail because you let things fail. And at the end of the day you'll blame every person you've ever met for your failure. You'll give 100 reasons why it's their fault. How that employee didn't do his job. How that customer screwed you. How that investor didn't invest when it was really important. How the damn developers just sat on their asses and delivered dog crap to you. Then you'll wake up one night when it's just you sitting there alone, and you'll realize that you're the entrepreneur and you're the only one holding the bag of responsibility. That company is yours, even if you're a 1% equity holder. Employees are as loyal as cats. Investors have lots of other deals going on. Customers always have other options, and they're pretty good about reminding you of that. So at the end of the day, it's just you. You and your company. Because, you see, the company is you. You are the company. You are singular zen being. That's when the lightbulb goes on and you have to be a big boy or big girl and say: "I take absolute and total responsibility for the success or failure of this company. It will succeed in part by me, and I will get partial credit for its success. But it will fail in full by me, and I will take 100% of the responsibility for its failure." Sorry, you only get partial credit, but 100% responsibility.
A metaphor: When I taught rock climbing as an undergraduate at Berkeley, we did big climbs in Yosemite. And it was common wisdom that the people who fall are the ones who let themselves fall. The ones who climb to the top are the ones who persevere every minute and insist their way to the top. They never even let their toe budge an inch. Their fingers cling to the rock, often in pain, invariably bleeding. But they hold on and insist their way to the summit.
I've started 5 companies-- several (fortunately) very successful...and a couple painful failures. I've learned far, far more from the failures than the successes.
There's one rule and one rule only to business success: NEVER drop the ball. The "ball" is everything related to the business. A growing business screams like a baby. It never stops asking for your attention. Take your eye off the ball for 1 minute and you'll slip off the treadmill.
Businesses fail because people lose their focus. Look at every successful company, and it all gets back to that. They lost their direction and focus. Success is virtually guaranteed when you're absolutely obsessed and absorbed in the business.
Therefore:
1) Never outsource anything important. Ever. There's no such thing as a brain transplant. You can get a new heart, a new arm-- mechanical things-- but you can't replace the central nervous system.
2) Never trust anyone with anything critical. No one. You have to be the one to take care of it. And don't even trust yourself. Constantly question how you're doing, what you're doing, why you're doing it.
3) Never stop thinking about what can go wrong, because something is always going wrong.
4) Never trust your reports who tell you everything is fine. Nothing is ever fine. Things are always breaking. Things are always going wrong. (We say: "rejoice, things are breaking. We're growing!"). Breaking isn't necessarily a bad thing. Frustrating yes, but not bad. It usually means you're growing.
5) Treat your customers better than your spouse. Take your customers for granted, pay the price. Without customers, your company is a high school science project.
6) Businesses are 100% about cash flow. Cash is king. Never forget that cash is king. Did I mention that cash is king. Guard it jealously until you have an embarrassment of riches. Then let your investors complain that you're not paying a big enough dividend; and then you can ease off the gas. The truth is, nobody cares about your big idea and your cool technology. Not investors, not employees, not your spouse, and not your mother. What they care about is: are you making a lot of money or not? Or, if not, are you clearly on the path to creating such tremendous, protected asset value that one day very soon the business will start kicking off tons of cash. Then your investors and your spouse and your employees and your mother and Inc. Magazine will all shower you with praise and lift you up on their shoulders and go marching out of the room and singing a song about you. Google isn't valuable because it has great technology-- it's because those mofos mint money. And FB is just sitting on a goldmine of active users, so they are highly valuable. But it's about money, and nothing more. (Btw, money is a *measure*, not a goal.)
7) You fail because you let things fail. And at the end of the day you'll blame every person you've ever met for your failure. You'll give 100 reasons why it's their fault. How that employee didn't do his job. How that customer screwed you. How that investor didn't invest when it was really important. How the damn developers just sat on their asses and delivered dog crap to you. Then you'll wake up one night when it's just you sitting there alone, and you'll realize that you're the entrepreneur and you're the only one holding the bag of responsibility. That company is yours, even if you're a 1% equity holder. Employees are as loyal as cats. Investors have lots of other deals going on. Customers always have other options, and they're pretty good about reminding you of that. So at the end of the day, it's just you. You and your company. Because, you see, the company is you. You are the company. You are singular zen being. That's when the lightbulb goes on and you have to be a big boy or big girl and say: "I take absolute and total responsibility for the success or failure of this company. It will succeed in part by me, and I will get partial credit for its success. But it will fail in full by me, and I will take 100% of the responsibility for its failure." Sorry, you only get partial credit, but 100% responsibility.
A metaphor: When I taught rock climbing as an undergraduate at Berkeley, we did big climbs in Yosemite. And it was common wisdom that the people who fall are the ones who let themselves fall. The ones who climb to the top are the ones who persevere every minute and insist their way to the top. They never even let their toe budge an inch. Their fingers cling to the rock, often in pain, invariably bleeding. But they hold on and insist their way to the summit.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Planet Momo Launched! For Discerning Dog Owners
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeOur friend, Jeanette, just launched her new online pet boutique, Planet Momo, which targets discerning dog owners who care about style and quality. They carry over 20 brands and over 200 products with more to come.Also for their launch, they are offering a 20% promotion on all dog toys through the end of the year AND year-round free shipping on all orders over $100, and flat rate shipping (just $5.95) on all orders under $100 (only for the lower 48 states). More about their mission and operations:
OUR PRODUCTS
Every single one of PLANET MOMO’s products is carefully researched and vetted before it makes it to our website.
They all satisfy the three core principles we value in the products we buy for our own dog, MoMo:
1. It has to be functional and durable. After all, what good is a cute collar if it comes undone while you’re out on a walk with Fido?
2. It must be stylish. No offense, but these aren’t items that you’ll find in Grandma’s house. Our products will complement your modern tastes and won’t make you cringe every time you look at them.
3. If we don’t think our dog will like a product, then we won’t sell it. This means no fussy clothes or uncomfortable beds for your pets.
We’re always on the lookout for the latest and greatest pet products, so you can conveniently shop the best selection of the very best pet products available.
OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR CUSTOMERS
Plain and simple, we care about our customers, and making them happy.
We want you – and your pets – to have an exceptional experience with PLANET MOMO. So if you ever have any questions about a product, the status of an order, or anything else for that matter, contact us, and we’ll help you out.
We also take your feedback very seriously – so if you want to rant or rave, please email us at feedback@planetmomo.com. We promise to read and respond to all of your emails.
OUR PLEDGE TO GIVE BACK
We love our four-legged friends, and nothing is worse than seeing them suffer. That’s why each year we donate a portion of our profits to reputable animal rescue organizations that promote better care and treatment of animals.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Privy 5 Los Angeles Guide Launched! Featuring Asian Cuisine Picks from Kelly Hu, Lisa Ling, John Cho
 |
| Kelly Hu |
Privy.net Highlights 250 Must-Visit Places to Eat, Drink, Stay, Play, Shop, and Relax in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, November 16, 2010 -- Private travelers’ network Privy.net has launched the “Privy 5 Los Angeles Guide” to help visitors and locals discover the best LA has to offer, particularly in the realm of authentic Asian cuisines such as the very top restaurants that serve Korean Barbeque, Shanghainese, Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Dim Sum, Japanese Sushi, Hotpot and Vietnamese Pho.
Privy’s over 50 “top five” lists reflect the discerning tastes of its influential Asia-focused membership base--an eclectic group which includes entrepreneurs, senior corporate executives, community leaders, socialites, and acclaimed artists. The public will also be able to discover the top five restaurant picks of LA-based celebrities like Kelly Hu (“X2”, “The Scorpion King), Lisa Ling (“The View,“ “Oprah”), John Cho (“Harold and Kumar,” “Star Trek”), Justin Chon (“Twilight”), Liza Lapira ("Fast and the Furious," "21"), Russell Wong (“Romeo Must Die,” “The Mummy 3”), Archie Kao (“CSI”), Aaron Yoo (“21, Disturbia) and Robin Shou (“Mortal Kombat”).
The guide features everything from the top boutique hotels, spas, and steakhouses to most romantic restaurants, top lounges and dance clubs.
Privy 5 LA is the latest in a series of Privy 5 Guides which will cover Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo. The guide can be viewed in multiple languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, and Indonesian.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
About.me Beta... Pretty Cool
About.me has started their beta. I've been trying it out while in meetings today, and I like their design driven approach to creating a personal splash page for people. About.me allows you to create a simple, personalized and beautifully designed (or self-designed) home for all of your online identities. More from their site:
We designed about.me for ourselves. A lot of us have multiple online profiles scattered across various services, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Twitter. And one problem we face is pulling all of this information together to build a single on-line identity — be it for personal use, or to create a professional on-line profile. Our focus is simple, enable you to:
1) create a personal, dynamic profile page (think splash page) that points users to your content around the web (versus depending on Google search); and
2) understand how many people see your profile, where they're coming from, and what they do on your page.
Here are a couple tests I put up. The first is selected from About.me's pre-loaded templates, and the second is a picture with one of our daugthers, Kendra. My About.me page is here.
We designed about.me for ourselves. A lot of us have multiple online profiles scattered across various services, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Twitter. And one problem we face is pulling all of this information together to build a single on-line identity — be it for personal use, or to create a professional on-line profile. Our focus is simple, enable you to:
1) create a personal, dynamic profile page (think splash page) that points users to your content around the web (versus depending on Google search); and
2) understand how many people see your profile, where they're coming from, and what they do on your page.
Here are a couple tests I put up. The first is selected from About.me's pre-loaded templates, and the second is a picture with one of our daugthers, Kendra. My About.me page is here.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
GatherGreen Launches! The Green Groupon!
GatherGreen harnesses consumers' collective purchasing power to create a healthy and sustainable planet. Get irresistible offers from local green businesses.
This Los Angeles-based startup takes the craze of daily deal sites to an entirely new level, or what they call "a higher level". This "Groupon with a social conscience" gets you 50-90% off local merchants operating in green and sustainable ways, but also provides simple related actions to inspire you to take the initiative and be the change you want to see in the world. Anyone up for free organic and bio-dynamic wine tasting in Santa Monica? Go here and sign up!
A clip from their official press release:
It is no accident then that Los Angeles web company, GatherGreen.com, launches this week by featuring three Santa Monica businesses (Pourtal – wine tasting bar, Healthy Spot – green retail and services for dogs, and The Green Life – green retail with all sorts of wonderful green products for humans and pets alike). “Santa Monica is really ground zero as far as the environmental movement in LA – and even all of California – is concerned,” says Steve Sedlic, co-founder, “And we want not only to recognize Santa Monica for its contributions, but hold it up to the rest of the nation as an example of what can be accomplished by local forces who organize for the best interest of the community.”
For the next three weeks, GatherGreen.com’s entire homepage and related content will be devoted to showcasing businesses certified by the City of Santa Monica’s Green Business Certification Program. “These are truly inspiring local businesses, doing the right thing, sourcing from conscious suppliers, running their business to minimize environmental impact, and giving back to the community” pointed out Sedlic. “In form and function these businesses are things of beauty, they are model citizens, and they deserve to be recognized, celebrated, and receive the patronage of Santa Monica’s residents.”
Everyone who signs up (it’s free) to GatherGreen.com will receive regular email updates alerting them to the latest local green business featured on the site. Readers not only get to learn about what makes the business green and environmentally sustainable but will be exposed to simple actions they can take (whether sending a letter to a Congressional Representative or participating in a beach clean-up) in hopes of inspiring them to take the initiative and be the change they want to see in the world. GatherGreen.com’s approach and editorial style is full of wit and humor – adding levity to often weighty environmental issues and concerns in the style of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report or The Daily Show.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Dick Costolo's Lessons Learned
I definitely enjoyed listening to Dick Costolo's talk at Vator Splash. Dick is the recently appointed CEO of TWitter and co-founder and former CEO of Feedburner.
"Twitter CEO Dick Costolo's lessons learned
Costolo, the first keynote speaker at Vator Splash September, shares a few lessons for entrepreneurs"
The complete review is in the link above, but here are the points I appreciated the most:
1. Have a voice
Costolo’s first lesson, which he seemed the most eager to impart, is to create a personality for your company. For example, even though deal-of-the-day sites are the easiest kind to copy and paste, Woot stood out from the rest by having the most funny and raunchiest descriptions of its daily deals. (Costolo recommends reading the Woot CEO’s post after Amazon acquired his company.)...
4. Think long-term
Not thinking about exits, however, doesn’t mean forgetting about the long-term. Relating an example from one of his earliest ventures, Costolo described how his company veered from their six-month business plan because one customer asked for one specific feature and backed up the request with the promise of good money. Though the business managed to make quick profits by pleasing this one customer, they shut out a large group of other potential customers by delaying their original plan three months. The company had traded in their vision for sub-optimal results by thinking in the short-term.
5. Launch late to launch often
Twisting the adage to “launch early and launch often,” Costolo advised that companies be patient with their product, even if that means launching late. Once a solid product is released, then the business can focus on launching updates often.
At the same time, Costolo warned against waiting to dump every single new feature on users, an experience that can be overwhelming. Even worse, waiting for absolute perfection before launching could be disastrous because perfection might never come; receiving feedback is key.
"Twitter CEO Dick Costolo's lessons learned
Costolo, the first keynote speaker at Vator Splash September, shares a few lessons for entrepreneurs"
The complete review is in the link above, but here are the points I appreciated the most:
1. Have a voice
Costolo’s first lesson, which he seemed the most eager to impart, is to create a personality for your company. For example, even though deal-of-the-day sites are the easiest kind to copy and paste, Woot stood out from the rest by having the most funny and raunchiest descriptions of its daily deals. (Costolo recommends reading the Woot CEO’s post after Amazon acquired his company.)...
4. Think long-term
Not thinking about exits, however, doesn’t mean forgetting about the long-term. Relating an example from one of his earliest ventures, Costolo described how his company veered from their six-month business plan because one customer asked for one specific feature and backed up the request with the promise of good money. Though the business managed to make quick profits by pleasing this one customer, they shut out a large group of other potential customers by delaying their original plan three months. The company had traded in their vision for sub-optimal results by thinking in the short-term.
5. Launch late to launch often
Twisting the adage to “launch early and launch often,” Costolo advised that companies be patient with their product, even if that means launching late. Once a solid product is released, then the business can focus on launching updates often.
At the same time, Costolo warned against waiting to dump every single new feature on users, an experience that can be overwhelming. Even worse, waiting for absolute perfection before launching could be disastrous because perfection might never come; receiving feedback is key.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Amazon Web Service Start-Up Challenge 2010
AWS Start-Up Challenge 2010 is running again with a deadline of October 31, 2010. More info here:
The annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) Start-up Challenge is back with an expanded world footprint – start-ups in 22 countries across the Americas, Asia, and Europe can enter to win. This year, we will recognize 5 regional semi-finalists from each of the 3 regions, 6 finalists, and select one global grand prize winner.
The AWS Start-up Challenge is an annual competition designed for young, promising start-ups to get noticed and compete for a chance to win $100,000 in cash and credits. Start-ups that are using the AWS cloud computing platform can submit an application which describes their business plan and their use of AWS.
The annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) Start-up Challenge is back with an expanded world footprint – start-ups in 22 countries across the Americas, Asia, and Europe can enter to win. This year, we will recognize 5 regional semi-finalists from each of the 3 regions, 6 finalists, and select one global grand prize winner.
The AWS Start-up Challenge is an annual competition designed for young, promising start-ups to get noticed and compete for a chance to win $100,000 in cash and credits. Start-ups that are using the AWS cloud computing platform can submit an application which describes their business plan and their use of AWS.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Co-founder Myth = False Prophesy of Entrepreneurship
I came across a new blog, Founders Block, covering the startup scene in NYC and which aims to be a resource for new, young entrepreneurs. Love their idea and mission.
One of their recent blog posts, "The Co-Founder Myth: Why You Might Not Need One, Especially in NYC", was well thought out and somewhat practical, but I thought it was sending the wrong message to new entrepreneurs in NYC. As discussed in their blog post, I am aware of the lack of technical talent compared with Silicon Valley, but promoting the notion of single founder startups is simply short-changing the potential and probability of success for entrepreneurs. Here is my comment on their blog post:
I believe you're seeding a destructive message here for startups and new entrepreneurs. Sort like teaching a minor league baseball player the wrong hitting stance as he's trying to make it to the bigs. Not's just about saving equity or making things easier in not looking for a co-founder, but trying to increase your chances of success.
There are various studies that have tracked the probability of success of technology startups over the past decades, such as MIT's Edward Roberts. The success rate exponentially jumps from one person to two people, and then continues to increase to three and four people. It's been a while since I read these studies, but I believe it flatlines after 4 founders. How many tech titans do you know that were started by one person? Even mid-sized tech company started by one person?
There is a reason why the recent trend of tech incubators prefer teams of at least two people and why prominent long-time VCs, such as John Doerr, focused on the "team". Some random links related to this:
John Doerr's Startup Manual
Why to Not Not Start a Startup
Ron Conway and Paul Graham startup success data
Related to this is the recent trend of social apps and games being funded versus "bigger ideas" and the growth of angel investing, so I understand in these types of startups multiple founders might not be necessary at the concept stage. This is where I agree with Michael Arrington's gripe about the new investor landscape creating a "culture of shooting too low". Investors are funding some of these one-hit wonders and since many of them are angels smaller exits less than $50 million or even $30 million are considered home runs. What would the technology landscape look like if these same entrepreneurs had bigger visions than creating a water ballon fight on Facebook? Or is this just a whole new category of tech entrepreneurship?
One of their recent blog posts, "The Co-Founder Myth: Why You Might Not Need One, Especially in NYC", was well thought out and somewhat practical, but I thought it was sending the wrong message to new entrepreneurs in NYC. As discussed in their blog post, I am aware of the lack of technical talent compared with Silicon Valley, but promoting the notion of single founder startups is simply short-changing the potential and probability of success for entrepreneurs. Here is my comment on their blog post:
I believe you're seeding a destructive message here for startups and new entrepreneurs. Sort like teaching a minor league baseball player the wrong hitting stance as he's trying to make it to the bigs. Not's just about saving equity or making things easier in not looking for a co-founder, but trying to increase your chances of success.
There are various studies that have tracked the probability of success of technology startups over the past decades, such as MIT's Edward Roberts. The success rate exponentially jumps from one person to two people, and then continues to increase to three and four people. It's been a while since I read these studies, but I believe it flatlines after 4 founders. How many tech titans do you know that were started by one person? Even mid-sized tech company started by one person?
There is a reason why the recent trend of tech incubators prefer teams of at least two people and why prominent long-time VCs, such as John Doerr, focused on the "team". Some random links related to this:
John Doerr's Startup Manual
Why to Not Not Start a Startup
Ron Conway and Paul Graham startup success data
Related to this is the recent trend of social apps and games being funded versus "bigger ideas" and the growth of angel investing, so I understand in these types of startups multiple founders might not be necessary at the concept stage. This is where I agree with Michael Arrington's gripe about the new investor landscape creating a "culture of shooting too low". Investors are funding some of these one-hit wonders and since many of them are angels smaller exits less than $50 million or even $30 million are considered home runs. What would the technology landscape look like if these same entrepreneurs had bigger visions than creating a water ballon fight on Facebook? Or is this just a whole new category of tech entrepreneurship?
Friday, August 20, 2010
My Interview at Innovatrs Blog
I was recently interview by the Innovatrs Blog on my entrepreneurial experiences. Innovatrs is crowdsourcing platform based in London. They are building a global crowdsourcing platform for entrepreneurs to develop their ideas and connect them to partners and investors.
Anyway, here is the interview, which you can visit directly here or just read below:
Eclipsing The Competition│Bernard Moon: Social & Web Entrepreneur
Bernard Moon is the co-founder and CEO of XS Groupe, and an Innovatrs entrepreneur. He is also the outgoing Managing Director of the Lunsford Group, a private holding company consisting of entities in research and consulting, technology, media, healthcare and real estate.
Bernard has worked in a wide array of senior positions in social media, business and tech companies, including GoingOn Networks, where he was both co-founder and Vice President of Business Development. His work there was recognised by Business Week in their 2007 ’Best of the Web’ list.
What made you do it? Why did you become an entrepreneur?
It was probably seeded from my parents who were consumer retail entrepreneurs. They successfully sold a coffee chain a few years ago, which was their fifth business. Anyway, I was in graduate school at Columbia University studying public policy during the first Internet boom and during my second year two groups of my friends pitched me to join their startup. A fair amount of my friends in investment banking and consulting would call me to bounce off startup ideas, so it was probably inevitable.
Towards the end of graduation, I choose to work on ViewPlus, a video-on-demand platform with my friends Jimmy and Peter. We were thrown into the fire, learned on the fly, and felt like we journeyed to Hades and back a few times. Rejected by investors repeatedly, begged from our parents for support and free food, and signed up for credit cards like they were lottery tickets. It was stressful, fun, depressing and incredibly exciting. We eventually raised $600,000 in angel money to build our prototype and later a significant institutional round. Since that first experienced, I’ve learned that I love the early stages of company building- from developing the concept - to building the operations - to launching the product.
What was the original @ha Idea and how has it evolved?
Well, my most recent startup idea isn’t that original. We’re taking the successful business model of France’s Vente-Privee and the U.S.’s Gilt and bringing it to Asia, which is the largest luxury goods market in the world. The top three of four largest luxury goods markets are China, Japan and Korea (CJK).
What were your first steps after you fleshed out your @ha idea ? What was your first crisis or hurdle?
After my friend Jai and I fleshed out the idea and did our research, we started to build our team and hunt down luxury industry advisors. We also continued to research the details of the operations and finances of Vente-Privee, Gilt and other leaders in the private online luxury sale space. Our first hurdle was securing some commitments from luxury brands since we didn’t know how they would respond to this business model in Asian markets. Luckily, most of our discussions went well and we were able to secure some big brands.
This isn´t your first business start-up. Which past experiences or good advice help you navigate the entrepreneur’s rough road?
This will be the fourth startup company I have worked on from concept to execution. My past experiences have been tremendous learning experiences. Probably the most important lesson I learned from my past is that trust is essential for a startup’s success. The lack of team chemistry and conflict within the founding team has been the demise of many startups even those with a great business model, star engineers, and world-class investors.
Another area is lessons from fundraising. One startup we raised too much capital ($7 million first round) for what was needed and we became less cautious with our expenditures. We built our headcount too fast and tried to tackle a wider market instead of focusing on one segment. Another startup we raised too little ($450,000) for our objectives and it became what some entrepreneurs call a “funding to fail” situation where you’re constantly chasing dollars to make the next milestone. Not fun. Failure is a great teacher and motivator.
Being older and hopefully wiser, I am excited about this new venture since it isn’t hoping for a trend to converge with our vision or evangelizing a new market, but taken a proven concept into markets that we know are mature and ready. Also we know how much capital we need, so our team wants to avoid raising too much or too little. We already turned down an offer that was less than half of our fundraising objective since it would suck us into the “funding to fail” vortex.
Anyway, here is the interview, which you can visit directly here or just read below:
Eclipsing The Competition│Bernard Moon: Social & Web Entrepreneur
Bernard Moon is the co-founder and CEO of XS Groupe, and an Innovatrs entrepreneur. He is also the outgoing Managing Director of the Lunsford Group, a private holding company consisting of entities in research and consulting, technology, media, healthcare and real estate.
Bernard has worked in a wide array of senior positions in social media, business and tech companies, including GoingOn Networks, where he was both co-founder and Vice President of Business Development. His work there was recognised by Business Week in their 2007 ’Best of the Web’ list.
What made you do it? Why did you become an entrepreneur?
It was probably seeded from my parents who were consumer retail entrepreneurs. They successfully sold a coffee chain a few years ago, which was their fifth business. Anyway, I was in graduate school at Columbia University studying public policy during the first Internet boom and during my second year two groups of my friends pitched me to join their startup. A fair amount of my friends in investment banking and consulting would call me to bounce off startup ideas, so it was probably inevitable.
Towards the end of graduation, I choose to work on ViewPlus, a video-on-demand platform with my friends Jimmy and Peter. We were thrown into the fire, learned on the fly, and felt like we journeyed to Hades and back a few times. Rejected by investors repeatedly, begged from our parents for support and free food, and signed up for credit cards like they were lottery tickets. It was stressful, fun, depressing and incredibly exciting. We eventually raised $600,000 in angel money to build our prototype and later a significant institutional round. Since that first experienced, I’ve learned that I love the early stages of company building- from developing the concept - to building the operations - to launching the product.
What was the original @ha Idea and how has it evolved?
Well, my most recent startup idea isn’t that original. We’re taking the successful business model of France’s Vente-Privee and the U.S.’s Gilt and bringing it to Asia, which is the largest luxury goods market in the world. The top three of four largest luxury goods markets are China, Japan and Korea (CJK).
What were your first steps after you fleshed out your @ha idea ? What was your first crisis or hurdle?
After my friend Jai and I fleshed out the idea and did our research, we started to build our team and hunt down luxury industry advisors. We also continued to research the details of the operations and finances of Vente-Privee, Gilt and other leaders in the private online luxury sale space. Our first hurdle was securing some commitments from luxury brands since we didn’t know how they would respond to this business model in Asian markets. Luckily, most of our discussions went well and we were able to secure some big brands.
This isn´t your first business start-up. Which past experiences or good advice help you navigate the entrepreneur’s rough road?
This will be the fourth startup company I have worked on from concept to execution. My past experiences have been tremendous learning experiences. Probably the most important lesson I learned from my past is that trust is essential for a startup’s success. The lack of team chemistry and conflict within the founding team has been the demise of many startups even those with a great business model, star engineers, and world-class investors.
Another area is lessons from fundraising. One startup we raised too much capital ($7 million first round) for what was needed and we became less cautious with our expenditures. We built our headcount too fast and tried to tackle a wider market instead of focusing on one segment. Another startup we raised too little ($450,000) for our objectives and it became what some entrepreneurs call a “funding to fail” situation where you’re constantly chasing dollars to make the next milestone. Not fun. Failure is a great teacher and motivator.
Being older and hopefully wiser, I am excited about this new venture since it isn’t hoping for a trend to converge with our vision or evangelizing a new market, but taken a proven concept into markets that we know are mature and ready. Also we know how much capital we need, so our team wants to avoid raising too much or too little. We already turned down an offer that was less than half of our fundraising objective since it would suck us into the “funding to fail” vortex.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
TechCrunch Social Currency CrunchUp
9:00 – 9:45 am
The Social Currency Investment Thesis
Michael Arrington speaks with Ron Conway and Paul Graham
9:45 – 10:15 am
Social Savings: Building the Next Billion Dollar Business
Erick Schonfeld speaks with Groupon CEO Andrew Mason
10:15 – 10:30 am
Couponing 101: What Tech Should Understand About Brands, Retailer and Consumer Promotions
Heather Harde speaks with News America Marketing Group Sales Manager Ginny Byrnes
10:45 – 10:50 am
New Product Demo: Blekko by Founder and CEO Rich Skrenta
10:50 – 11:30 am
Check Ins, Coupons and Commerce
Tristan Walker, director of business development, Foursquare
Kara Nortman, Senior Vice President, Publishing, CityGrid Media
Shiva Rajaraman, product manager, Twitter
Moderated by MG Siegler
(full schedule)
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