From single founders with no team to some of the biggest tech companies in the world, our definition of “startup” is extremely broad — and very unclear.
While most people wouldn’t put Uber and Facebook in the same category as the apps and games and services being hatched in co-working spaces across the country, they’re all still referred to as startups (and sometimes seen as "start-ups").
So what is a startup company, anyway?
Perhaps the most popular definition of a startup meaning is from Eric Ries, the creator of the Lean Startup methodology:
“A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.”
Startups.com Co-Founder and CEO Wil Schroter has his own definition of what ...
The startup ecosystem – especially the one found online like places here at Startups.co – is full of helpful material. Unfortunately, other internet sources can be full of myths. Let’s untangle some of the common startup myths you’ll hear, so that you can get started on rolling out a successful venture.
Ready to get started? Good.
One of the most dangerous myths about start-ups is the idea that a “great idea” is enough to pull in a significant amount of money that will help your startup get started. In our competitive global landscape, investors aren’t interested in just ideas so much as they’re interested in a significant return on investment. How do you get past the idea?
Put in the Work: Investments are t...
The following post is an excerpt is from Chapter 2 of the book Startup Seed Funding for the Rest of Us: How to Raise $1 Million for Your Startup – Even Outside of Silicon Valley, by Mike Belsito. This chapter specifically talks about the importance of finding traction for your startup, even at the earliest stages of building a product and raising seed capital. Further, this chapter discusses specifics on what entrepreneurs can do to build up that traction at these early stages.
CHAPTER TWO
The Only Chapter You May Need to Read
Traction: It’s what investors everywhere are looking for in order to determine whether to anoint your startup “the next big thing” and inject the cold, hard cash needed to accelerate your business. If you can’t fin...
For many entrepreneurs, focusing on one critical skill will lead to success in the early stages of their business. Finding that skill and focusing on it could mean the difference between success and failure. In this post, we hear from eight different entrepreneurs and learn about their one “critical skill.” I asked them the following questions:
What surprised me is that for most of them, focusing on this skill did not make them feel like they were sacrificing in other areas of their business. If you are focusing on ...
“If you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business,” a reasonable claim from Simon Sinek, renowned author of Start With Why, at the beginning of his talk at last year’s 99U conference.
Sinek explains that companies like Apple have been able to build a fanatical following because they understood that business is done through people. People who are looking for connection and meaning.
Simon argues that trust is the foundation of any and all relationships, and that if business fail to create that bond with customers — they will fail to succeed.
Founders who have successfully built a true following have done so by surrounding themselves with people who believe what they believe, and spreading an honest gospel about those values — at...
Let’s face it, while launching your own business can be incredibly rewarding, it can be also be just plain stressful. We had the opportunity to speak with Charlie Hoehn, best-selling author and launch strategist, about some of his tips for combating startup burnout.
Charlie graduated in 2008 from Colorado state with a degree in Marketing and Media Studies. Like many of us, he didn’t know exactly what he what he wanted to do right off the bat. What he did know was that he didn’t want to work for a big corporation for the rest of his life. Since graduation, he has worked with bestselling authors like Seth Godin, Tucker Max, and Tim Ferriss, and wrote Play It Away: A Workaholic’s Cure for Anxiety. His work has been featured by NPR, The New Yor...
You need a social media team that can absolutely nail it. That doesn’t happen by just putting warm bodies in front of computers. You need a team of innovators, mold-breakers, thinkers, organizers, brainstormers, collaborators, and strategists who are wicked smart, insanely skilled, and ready to push your business to an extreme level on social media.
In other words, you need a social media dream team.
Social media has seemed to spiral out of control. It’s bigger than we ever thought it would become. It grows and changes on a daily basis. We’re all done talking about its “meteoric rise.” That’s cliché. We already know that more than a quarter of the world’s population uses social media,...
Preparing to pitch investors is all about getting your pitch materials in order. Most investor introductions follow a common sequence of events that will require you to provide different versions of your business plan throughout the process.
Investors want to find the right fit. They want to see the right location, market size and traction, among other things.
In many cases, it’s the same information simply repackaged to fit the right method of communication. For example, providing a couple sentences makes sense to explain your business in an email, but won’t cut it in a presentation. Conversely, sending a 50-page business plan attached to your introduction email is surely the wrong approach toward making a good first impression with invest...
Question: What is your current favorite startup-related newsletter or website and why?
The following answers are provided by members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.
Lewis Howes’ Podcast
I really like reading and listening to the Lewis Howes podcast on School of Greatness. He interviews some of the top minds on the Internet about what it takes to become big. A close second would be Startup Grind podcast. You can’t beat the amazing stories you’ll hear.
Help Scout’...
Your brand and professional reputation is the one thing that will set you apart from your competition. Branding is the only tactic you can employ that is truly unique and that your competitors simply can’t replicate completely.
In branding, you’re dealing with the perception of your audience. To be regarded as an expert is what really matters. This isn’t a form of trickery or positioning yourself as a ‘marketing guru.’ It just requires a change in the way you communicate.
Instead of communicating like a beginner with no proven track record, you should be communicating like an expert with lots of knowledge and experience under your belt.
It’s about being yourself, being passionate about what you’re doing and really believing that you are wor...