Every so often I read a blog post and say, “I wish I had written that!” That was absolutely the case with Mark Suster’s post, The Fallacy of Channels: Startups Beware. Mark hits the nail right on the head with respect to the risk (and usually the abject failure) for startups using a channel partner […]
No One Can Raise Funding for Your Startup Except You
One of the big roadblocks that first-time entrepreneurs face is the issue of raising capital. There are no easy answers. But one thing is certain, the only person that can raise financing for your startup is you. There are enough high quality resources out there on raising venture capital and angel investment. And there are […]
Startup Cultures are not an Automatic Success
People assume that startups have a certain type of culture. It’s fast-paced. Lots of caffeine is involved. Personal hygiene is optional. And the culture is automatically ingrained from day one. But none of those things are (necessarily) true. Too many startups – and specifically startup founders – ignore their internal culture or don’t maintain a […]
Speaking at Internet Marketing Conference in Montreal on February 18
On February 18th, 2010 I’ll be speaking at Internet Marketing Conference in Montreal. My talk is at the end of the day. I’ll be expanding on my previous presentation on social media and inbound recruiting. Actually, since I know that the speakers before me will spend a good chunk of their time focused on social […]
Startup D.O.A
How often have you seen startups go down the following road? A couple people come up with an idea. They’re excited. Really, really excited. They get nervous about competition or people stealing their plans. So they get very hush hush. They start building something. This usually involves locking themselves in a small, dark room with […]
Telling Compelling Stories With Video
Video is a powerful storytelling medium. Just ask Thomas Clifford, who has been using video for many years to tell some great stories. Many of them might have seemed dull or unclear at the outset, but video and smart storytelling can work real magic. We’re seeing quite a few startups use video prominently on their […]
Using Mega Trends When Pitching Your Startup
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about “mega trends” and how to use them when pitching your startup. Investors like mega trends. After all, they’re big. And most of us are aware of them and have been affected by them (or expect to be in the future). Tens of millions of baby boomers getting set […]
What Should I Write About? You Tell Me!
Every blogger suffers writer’s block at some point. It’s inevitable. And extremely frustrating. For some it means months without creating any new content, while others can recover much more quickly. Skribit (the project of Paul Stamatiou and others) is a service that’s designed to help you defeat writer’s block. It also has the potential of […]
Good Business Bad Business
Not all business is created equal. Not all revenue is created equal either. Everything has a cost. Bad business and revenue can cost more than they’re worth to acquire. You need to have clear definitions of good business and bad business for your own company. The definitions can change over time (almost everything does evolve) […]
Free E-Book “ClickPredictions” on Content Marketing Trends
I’m a big believer in content marketing. I’ve produced content to help market and promote my own business, and I’ve seen it used successfully by others as well. One of the biggest challenges with content marketing is that the barrier to produce content online is so low, everyone can do it. As a result, the […]