Blog
Why I Almost Gave Away My Super Bowl Ticket
By Neil ThanedarLast weekend, I was provided the amazing opportunity to visit Indianapolis and attend the Super Bowl with Startup America CEO Scott Case.The announced perks were a free ticket to the Super Bowl, networking meetings with Fortune 500 CEOs, and a host of events with the political and business leaders of Indiana. But the highlights of my trip were almost always the spontaneous opportunities.Scott had cautioned me to take full advantage of all that would be presented to me, both on and off the clock. He told me that this weekend could either be an amazing chance for me to grow as a startup founder, or just a fun weekend vacation. From then on, I made it my mission to learn as much as I could from Scott and my upcoming...
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Are You Running Your Business Like A Lemonade Stand?
On day one of your new business, you have a hundred job functions. Try to fit “CEO, President, CFO, Technical Director, Web Developer, Accountant, Sales Representative, Receptionist, Janitor” onto your business cards. To millions of experienced entrepreneurs, this feels like what a small business is always supposed to be.Wrong. The problem is you. There is currently a 1:1 relationship between your work output and business operations. That’s your Growth Multiplier.Think back to second grade, an age of lemonade stands and multiplication tables. That’s when we learned that you couldn’t change anything by multiplying by one, either in the classroom or selling sugar water by yourself on the corner.An entrepreneur...
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A Startup America Update and Q/A with Scott
Not sure what Startup America is up to? Want to know our plans for 2012 so far? We hosted a webinar today to cover that and more.Here's what we discussed: Our Learning Series:Monday: ExpertiseTuesday: Services – Our first services webinar with be Tuesday 2/14 at 3pm EST on taxesWednesday: Pitch Sessions are continuing at 1pm EST and we will be adding in a Customers learning seriesThursday: Talent Series coming soonFriday: Capital Series is continuing at Noon EST, this week’s topic is Early Stage Funding with Greg Gottesman of Madrona, next week’s topic is Crowding Funding with Slava Rubin of IndieGoGoSector Specific webinars coming soonWomen led startup series coming soonOur Regions:...
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Fast Talk: How FoundersCard Brings Exclusivity To The Startup Set
This post originally appeared here and was written by David Zax.Meet Eric Kuhn, who has one of the few startups in America that isn't rushing to gain millions of users.Eric Kuhn, 41, is the founder and CEO of FoundersCard, which offers networking opportunities, discounts, and perks for entrepreneurs and innovators. Since its founding at the end of 2009, FoundersCard, which is profitable, has been growing steadily--but more slowly than Kuhn might let it, since part of its value comes from its exclusivity.How’d you get the idea for FoundersCard?It was when I was on the roadshow for Varsity Books [his first company], which was going public, back in the Internet 1.0 days. The investment bankers were coordinating all the travel. Every...
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What Happens When You Swear At Your Users
This post was written by Alex Schiff, Fetchnotes Co-founder and CEO, and originally appeared here.Last semester, Chase and I took a business communication class in which we dissected the PR crisis that resulted from someone trashing an Airbnb user’s home. At the time, it seemed very abstract and unlikely — crises never happen to those who prepare! Well, one just happened to us. Okay, so meth-heads didn’t throw a rager in one of our users’ homes. But as some of you may have experienced on January 23, we had a bit of a communication crisis of our own. That evening, we set out to announce our pricing plans, new features and our public launch — not exactly the type of thing you want to screw up. It was also the...
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Execs … Yeah, They Got ISSUES: What’s Happening on Vistage Connect?
My biggest business issue is …?The CEO furrows his brow, rubbing his forehead.“Look, I do want to keep this sales team. They’re good salespeople and, let’s face it, they basically helped me found this company.”The other executives gathered in the video-conference take that in, one cocks her eyebrow. They start peppering him with questions, trying to get to the root of the CEO’s problem, find out what he’s NOT saying and what the real solution is.“How much revenue is at stake here?”“Can the current sales team sell this new product?”The CEO answers each one in turn, sometimes more quickly than others, sometimes more hesitant. At the end of the session, the business leaders go...
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Avomeen and PatentSuccess head to Super Bowl XLVI tonight!
After a whirlwind weekend of events, pitches and networking, our two winning Startup America firms, Avomeen and PatentStatus are at the Super Bowl with our CEO Scott Case. Check out their winning videos below: AvomeenPatentStatus
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Startup Super Bowl Pitches
In honor of tomorrow's Super Bowl, we wanted to highlight some more of our great Startup America Startups' videos from our contest!Yellow LeafYellow Leaf is sparking a hammocking revolution! Join us as we build a movement that strikes at the root of extreme poverty & social injustice and helps Americans “Do Good. Relax.” LocalBloxLocalBlox is a neighborhood social media networking platform building strong communities by connecting neighbors based on core human values -- love, help, appreciation, and recognition! Chances Media EntertainmentChances Media Entertainment is an entertainment & gaming startup.Wholesome.itWholesome provides a place to discover and share natural and active ways of living a...
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Startup Super Bowl Challenge: New England vs New York
Two of the oldest football rivals will go head to head this Sunday in Super Bowl XLVI and we're excited to be in on the action.Our CEO Scott Case is headed to Indianapolis to watch the big game with two of our startup members. We couldn't be more thrilled to be able to send them!Check out how they won this chance here:Startup Super Bowl Pitch Contest WinnerIndy Startup Super Bowl Pitch Contest FinalistsAll this competition has us fired up to see which team has the most startup fans, so we launched our own challenge. We're psyched to announce throwdown number five: New England vs. New YorkLet's see who can dominate both on the football field and in innovation by recruiting the most startups to join us!So all you...
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Startup America Partnership Anniversary Media Coverage
Happy Birthday, Startup America! This week, we kicked off the one-year anniversary celebration of the Startup America Partnership 24-hours early by ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange alongside eight Startup America firms on January 30, 2012. With 15 regional celebrations that took place around the country, from Washington, DC to Hawaii, there has been a ton of media coverage in the past few days highlighting accomplishments, regional events, and exciting plans for the upcoming year. Check out these great pieces covering the Startup America Partnership anniversary that took place on January 31st:Startup America Partnership Anniversary Media CoverageNationalStartup America Gets ConnectedPortfolio, Kent BernhardQ&A: Startup...
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Executive Leaders Radio
This post was written by Joanne Lang and originally posted here.A few weeks ago, G2 Investment Group Managing Director Heather Quinn called to let me know that RoseAnn Rosenthal, President & CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP), had submitted my name for one of the business spotlight segments on Executive Leaders Radio.I was honored to be interviewed on Executive Leaders Radio because it is the premier business radio show featuring the stories of CEOs from a variety of industries. Herb Cohen and Jeff Mack co-hosted the program I recorded.I recorded the segment on Friday, December 16th with Carl Bader, CEO of Aviom, David Moldoff, Founder & CEO of AcademyOne, Pete Nagy, CEO of Leversense, Brian Fitzpatrick, CEO of Aklero,...
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Who Will Get Our Remaining Super Bowl Ticket?
Today, Startup America and Develop Indy will give away the one remaining Super Bowl ticket/unique networking and mentoring opportunity to an Indianapolis startup. We received 12 great entries and the judges narrowed the field to 6 finalists late last night. The winner will be announced at 3pm this afternoon at the SpeakEasy, Indianapolis's first co-working space exclusively for startups.Watch the finalist videos below:ShowmePigsPatentStatusWhalaaTinderboxIndy Power SystemsSmart File
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Our Startup America Regions are all over the news!
Have you been recently featured in the media? Let us know.
Recent News:
10/19/12 - Startup Communities Across the Country, Huffington Post (Startup America Partnership)
10/19/12 - Bonfyre partners with Powder Keg Conference 2012, St. Louis Business Journal (Startup MO & Startup IA)
10/17/12 - Food Waste In, Renewable Energy Out: Startup Re-Nuble Is Crowdfunding the Local Green Economy, Huffington Post (Startup DC)
10/17/12 - Powder Keg aims to blast Indy startups onto national scene, Indianapolis Business Journal (Startup IN & Startup MO)
10/17/12 - Featured Startup Pitch: Founded by a group of teachers with tech backgrounds, ActiveGrade seeks to fundamentally change the way grading is done in schools, Startup Beat (Startup IA)
10/03/12 - How Tory Burch Created A $2 Billion Empire In Less Than A Decade, Business Insider (Startup America Partnership)
10/01/12 - Voices of the Tech Community: What do Ecosystem Need? The Miami Herald (Startup FL)
9/20/12 - Entrepreneurs make pitches as Startup Maryland and its studio bus rolls into UMBC, The Republic (Startup MD)
9/20/12 - USF-led partnership awarded $1 million to launch new companies, Tampa Bay Business Journal (Startup FL)
9/19/12 - Startup Bus tours Maryland, stops in Baltimore area to promote entrepreneurship, Baltimore Sun (Startup MD)
Startup America at DEMO Fall 2012:
10/11/12 - Startup Connection: Nourishment for mind, body and soul, St. Louis Business Journal (Startup MO)
10/05/12 - The 14 Most Interesting Startups To Emerge From DEMO, TechCrunch (Startup CA & OR)
10/04/12 - St. Louis startups look to cash in on DEMO showing, St. Louis Business Journal (Startup MO)
10/04/12 - St. Louis’ Click With Me Now, Evtron Pitch At DEMO 2012, Techli (Startup MO)
10/03/12 - DEMO Gods: Birds, brains, and the best products of the season, VentureBeat (Startup CA)
10/03/12 - BRIEF: Stamford's eBrevia Wins Scholarship for Tech Conference in Silicon Valley [The Hartford Courant], Bloomberg Businessweek (Startup CT)
10/03/12 - LifeStyleFeed brings the Seventh Art to restaurant selection, VentureBeat (Startup DC)
10/03/12 - Playing recruiter: This startup pays you to find your friends jobs, VentureBeat (Startup DC)
10/03/12 - Don’t like checking your mail? MailGapp may have your solution, VentureBeat (Startup HI)
10/03/12 - Itography hopes to lure advertisers to location-based virtual collection game, VentureBeat (Startup TX)
10/03/12 - Weekend warriors: Track your fitness with Novusport’s social mobile sports game, VentureBeat (Startup TX)
10/03/12 - Today, birdwatching. Tomorrow, saving the entire planet!, VentureBeat (Startup CA)
10/03/12 - Demo Fall 2012: Creating More Focused Social Networks, PC Mag (Startup OR, DC, IA, VA)
10/03/12 - Demo Fall 2012: Business and Commerce Applications, PC Mag (Startup MO & Startup CT)
10/03/12 - Stamford's eBrevia Wins Scholarship for Tech Conference in Silicon Valley, The Hartford Courant (Startup CT)
10/03/12 - RecBob takes the work out of after-work sports, VentureBeat (Startup IA)
10/03/12 - Watch RecBob’s DEMO presentation at noon (Live stream), Silicon Prairie News (Startup IA)
10/02/12 - Meet The 8 Startup Winners From Startup America’s DEMO Contest, Nibletz (Startup TN, OR, IL, DC, CA, IA, CT, MO)
10/02/12 - Cut through the legal fog with computer-generated summaries, Global Reporter (Startup CT)
10/02/12 - Cut through the legal fog with computer-generated summaries, VentureBeat (Startup CT)
10/02/12 - Birdeez app flies toward birdwatchers' iPhones, TechHive (Startup CA)
10/02/12 - Bonfyre Takes on Private Mobile Sharing with New App Focused on Real Life, Not Newsfeeds, Herald Online (Startup MO)
10/02/12 - Three St. Louis startups launch products at California conference, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Startup MO)
10/02/12 - This Barrel Is Ready to Roll! Launching Our Tech Startup, HuffingtonPost (Startup DC)
10/02/12 - For big-ticket items, social shopping needs more screen-sharing, VentureBeat (Startup MO)
10/02/12 - Flite’s new Touch Ad Studio lets top publishers actually make money on mobile, VentureBeat (Startup CA)
10/02/12 - Bonfyre launches mobile app to combine private with social sharing, St. Louis Business Journal (Startup MO)
10/01/12 - CoPatient Launches Online Platform to Audit & Appeal Medical Bills on Behalf of Patients, Sacramento Bee (Startup OR)
10/01/12 - D.C. job-search start-up launching at DEMO in Silicon Valley, The Washington Post (Startup DC)
10/01/12 - D.C. at Demo: High School CEO debuts Hallway, The Washington Post (Startup DC)
09/30/12 - Hills Bank and Trust promotes four, The Gazette (Startup IA)
09/29/12 - RecBob wins Startup America contest, will pitch next week at DEMO, Silicon Prairie News (Startup IA)
09/13/12 - Click With Me Now wins a trip to DEMO, St. Louis Business Journal (Startup MO)
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