Free buzz has to be a priority for a startup marketer on a shoestring budget!

But we all know how hard it is to get anything free in life. Kathy Johnson of Consort Partners shares tips and tricks on how to get the journalists at the NYTimes or the Wall Street Journal to take a look at your company. By the way, Kathy is one of the most connected people in Silicon Valley. One of her tips - go to a publisher’s Web site and identify the appropriate journalist. Typically, the journalists will have their emails available. Then read up on the journalists so you know exactly how to pitch a story and email them your pitch. Don’t call and certainly don’t pester.  

It’s not just about getting your word out in traditional publications. Social media tools, social networking websites and bloggers are a great way to distribute your. You could Twitter or announce updates on Vator.tv.  

 
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Tags: Experts, Marketing, Uncategorized

What can entrepreneurs do to guarantee funding?

  ”They can write themselves a check,” says Brad Feld, a venture capitalist at Foundry Group and prolific blogger. Feld also shares what first-time entrepreneurs should keep in mind when trying to raise funds. He also gives insights on how to increase the odds of success. One piece of advice from Feld is to “surround yourself with people who’ve done it before.” And, when talking to VCs, remember not to be arrogant but to be real about what “you don’t know.” 

 
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I spoke with Tim Draper, the Founder and Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a leading Venture Capitalist about fundraising tips and the process of getting funded.

While his firm is investing in areas such as Clean tech and Healthcare, Tim shares he is looking for ideas that are critical to a new industry or can turn an industry on its ear - example the media business which is now a typhoon of chaos and a good opportunity for new ventures.

He sheds light on the mysterious dark waters of fundraising (for the entrepreneur anyway) and admits that its a mystery to him too - how refreshing! Here’s the quick process overview:

1. Begins with the business plan which does need to cover some basics. Where does the team come from, their education, is this what they were “meant to do”, is the market well understood, and competition analyzed.

2. The First cut is whether it’s a big enough market - as in the total available market of over $1billion

3. The Next cut - what is the approach to this market and how to capture it

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Joel York, VP of Marketing at Conduit, talks to IvyBrain’s Reena Jadhav about tested strategies and tactics for marketing an on-demand business.

Here’s a quick look at the Top 4:

1. Have a very simple, focused value proposition. One great example — Google’s home page is simply about Searching the web.

2. Choose large markets where the cost of customer acquisition is low.

3. Strive for 100% automation from awareness to close. Build the product all the way out into sales and marketing. Goal is to drive labor costs down.

4. You have to be an expert in online marketing.

Here’s Joel’s “must do” list of marketing activities:

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There is some logic behind using ‘quick and dirty’ development methodology in early stage startups. You have to be ‘quick’ to beat or stay ahead of competition. That part is a given. But do you have to live with ‘dirty’?

Acceptance of the ‘dirty’ part is often driven by the following logic.
- we dont know whether the market will really use this feature or module
- money saved on software development can be better used else where
- we’ll fix the dirty part when we get next round of funding
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Tags: Technology

If you’re negotiating or going to be negotiating a termsheet, this one’s for you! Ted Wang, a partner with the Silicon Valley law firm Fenwick & West and a leading intellectual property  attorney, talks termsheets with Reena Jadhav of IvyBrain. Ted reveals VC motivations during negotiations, spills the top 5 reasons negotiations fall apart, shares his counter-intuitive philosophy on founder vesting, offers a key clause founders can include to counter blocking rights, and throws in a tip for stock option pool at the end. My favorite part of the conversation — his response to how founders can maximize the valuation of their company!

Why do negotiations fail?

1. Valuation

2. Board of directors

3. Liquidation preferences

4. Blocking rights

5. Radioactive items of dishonesty, over negotiating, and iterating on small points. 

 
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Tags: Experts, Banking, Funding, Legal, Uncategorized

Guest expert and veteran recruiter Max Shapiro, CEO PeopleConnect Staffing, answered IvyBrain questions on recruiting the right team on a shoestring budget. I urge all young entrepreneurs to get a cup of coffee, turn off the Blackberry and listen to his insights. These simple words of experience could mean the difference between success and failure!

Here are some sample questions:

What’s an “A player” and is there an objective definition?

It’s about the attitude, the personality but mostly its about their track record. Don’t listen to what they say but what they’ve done! Prior startup experience is critical.

What’s a shoestring recruiting budget? What are top executive compensation ranges these days?

“Employees without paychecks” program offered by PeopleConnect Staffing where experienced executives will join without pay for 3 months or more and even lead fundraising to help cash-strapped startups.

Some of the other questions answered include “what is critical in hiring right, what are the top reasons recruiting fails, how do you reconcile who the board wants to hire with who the founders want to hire.” Max requires all candidates to take a 20 minute online personality test which you can try out here. His parting tip for entrepreneurs is to do extended references, which he describes in detail, even if you love your candidate. Sage advice that could mean the difference between success and failure!

 
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Tags: Experts, Recruiting, Uncategorized

I’ve always thought of my banker as the guy referred to me by the VC funding us. It looks like the new banker is more than a piggy bank and fully on the Web2.0 bandwagon. They are offering unprecedented degree of strategic services, networking, community, and access. I hear they’re now pitching your business for fundraising, recruiting, driving buzz and more! Tune in to the show March 25th to find out what your banker needs to deliver. Post your questions for the show ahead of time. Our guest expert for this show is Ed Lambert.

Ed Lambert is a Senior Vice President of Bridge Bank. Ed is a key partner and board member of many Valley Business Organizations. A 27-year Tech/Life Sciences banking veteran, Ed began his career with Bank of America and worked in the Tech Groups of Comerica Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Imperial Bank. Ed founded the Tech Practice for Coast Business Credit, building an asset-based Tech portfolio to $20-30MM in annual commitments. Ed is a graduate of Santa Clara University with an MBA, and holds a BA in history from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

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Dr. Roe Gallo shares her burnout test and tells Reena Jadhav of IvyBrain that accumulation of stress can not only kill your performance, it can actually kill you!

Take the test to find out if you have burnout by answering questions such as “Do you have anger at those making demands on you?” and “Are you being excessively negative, pessimistic, and irritable?”

Answer ”yes” to more than three questions and you are well on your way to serious issues that impact physical health. She also gives specific actionable steps on how to combat burnout such as “make a 5 minute daily appointment with yourself and think about the happiest times in your life or sipping a Mojito on a beach”.

Dr. Gallo offers companies a Peak Performance program where she puts her executive team on a program that includes mental, physical and spiritual health. For questions on her peak performance program you can email Dr. Gallo at roe@roegallo.com    

Send in your questions for the next IvyBrain show on health to reena@ivybrain.com. 

 
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You’ve closed the financing round, got your first decent night zzzzs, now it’s time to hire that “A team”.  But aren’t all “A players” working for Google now? Max Shapiro, founder and CEO of PeopleConnect, will tell us where to find top recruits, how to identify them, what it takes to bring them on board.  His unique blend of experience, creativity and persistence has made it possible for many startups and established companies to add key members to their teams. Post Your Questions now for Max and tune in on March 7th for the answers. Read More

 
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Tags: Experts, Recruiting