The process of starting a company is messy. It has massive ups and downs, tons of uncertainty and a significant portion of time is spent doing things you don’t know how to do, or don’t like doing. But that’s the Startup Process. Either you embrace it and love it or you get out. Don’t expect […]
Have You Really Identified Your Biggest Competitor?
Every startup has competition. In fact, I can virtually guarantee you that someone is already working on your idea. And you know that you can’t go into an investor pitch and say, “We don’t have any competition.” That’s completely untrue and sends horrible signals to investors. But who is your biggest competitor? Most startups have […]
Beware of Too Much Tinkering
More and more people these days are technology tinkerers. They’re messing around, trying new things, jumping from small project to small project, but never settling on and committing to one thing. It’s certainly easier and easier to tinker, which is great; it makes building stuff more accessible and less expensive. And that can lead to […]
How to Start a Company While Still in School
I started my first company in 1996 while attending McGill University. It was between my 3rd and 4th years. I completed my degree and graduated, but work was a heck of a lot more fun. Plus, I never picked up my diploma… Earlier today I spoke at Startup Square’s inaugural event. What’s great about Startup […]
Startup Camp Needs More Startups to Present
In this tough economic climate raising capital is going to be even harder. It was already hard (for most people), and venture capitalists or holding the purse strings tighter than ever. With that in mind, it’s the perfect time to improve your pitch. A bad pitch will kill you each and every time; and it’s […]
One of the Coolest Jobs Around – Community Manager at Akoha
The folks at Akoha are working on something very cool. I should know – their CEO and founder, Austin Hill, is also my co-Founder at Standout Jobs. And Akoha is in the same building as us, so we get to see the team and interact with them on a regular basis. Working at Akoha could […]
Paying Lip Service to Failure Is Not Enough
Failure sucks. Let’s not sugarcoat it. No one goes into business, pours their heart (and money) into a startup, and hopes it will fail. But failure is common enough. The statistics on it are immaterial (and I’m too lazy to look them up right now) — suffice it to say, lots of startups fail. And […]
Facebook Weekend in Toronto Coming Up
A good friend of mine, Raymond Luk, is involved with Facebook Weekend in Toronto. It’s a combination BarCamp-style unconference and StartupWeekend. For anyone involved in Facebook development or looking at it for their companies, it’s a good chance to meet the community in Toronto. From what I’ve heard there will be a good number of […]
Exposed: The Pros and Cons of Freelancing
Freelancers will often tout the benefits of freelancing. Just as much as people working full-time might do the same (It’s true! Some people love their jobs!) Startup entrepreneurs will rant and rave about the benefits of starting companies and working at startups. Assuming we like what we’re doing, we’ll promote it as “the way to […]
How-To Price Freelance Projects Successfully
One of the biggest challenges for new freelancers is pricing. Pricing projects isn’t easy. There are plenty of factors that come into play:
Founding Partner at 