Having interviewed hundreds of people in positions ranging from developers to sales reps, there are some interesting patterns that emerge.
There are a number of things that candidates focus on which are in the “cannot hurt” category. To be competitive as a candidate these won’t suffice.
So cliché. Your mom probably told you to “dress for success” but she also reminded you to be yourself. Come to an interview as yourself, if you’re comfortable in ‘business casual clothes’, wear those, if you’re only comfortable in jeans and t-shirt, great. If your confidence in a sales situation is strongest when dressed in a suit, bring it. Be yourself.
“That candidate sent a great follow-up email so they have ...
Boris Wertz is the founder of VersionOne Ventures, an early-stage fund that has made over 35 investments in consumer Internet, SaaS, and mobile companies across North America. Clarity sat down with Boris to discuss how to find funding sources, how (and how much) to ask, and crafting the perfect pitch.
In order to raise money, most startups go through the same process: create a pitch deck, and then pitch it to investors.There are many types of investors, such as institutional investors who invest other people’s money, angel investors who invest their own money, and venture capitalists who privately or publicly provide total capital for a new venture.
Where can you find funding?
First, you should think about what the right funding is. Everyon...
To grow or to profit, that is the question!
There we are, with a fistful of profit in our hands (finally!) and an endless list of places to spend it! Do we hire another engineer to get our product shipped faster? How about increasing our marketing budget to scale customer acquisition? Or, and let's just get crazy, do we finally pay ourselves?
I'm going to go out on a limb and spat in the face of startup lore, which suggests that the only way to succeed is to bet the farm and grow. Think of me as the owner of a casino (in this case, that casino is Startups.com) who gets to not only witness a handful of people bet it all and get rich, but 100x more bet it all and fail.
What we miss in our passion for greatness is that...
The publishing industry is both volatile and in many ways stuck in tradition, so if you’re trying to get a mention or more for your product or your startup, you need to understand the constraints and go through the right doors.
I’ve led Marketing and Content Analytics at The Huffington Post, VentureBeat, and Federated Media, and have seen the underbelly of the editorial business. And as a startup mentor and advisor, I’ve also seen many promising young companies struggle to break into the publishing world and go about it all wrong. If you’re trying to get media attention for your product or startup, read these tips first.
Work with a PR agency who knows the right people. Tread carefully on this path. PR ag...
Let’s face it: Media failures happen to the best of us. Sometimes they’re simple mistakes that go unnoticed, and sometimes they’re catastrophic failures that can ruin a business. The vast majority of the time, though, they’re preventable.
At its core, a media failure is when the value exchange between a marketer and a media company breaks down. This can happen because a marketing strategy was poorly planned, the implementation was rushed, or the media company was unable to actually deliver the audience it promised.
That’s why at New Brave World, I always caution the teams we advise to be careful to consider legal timelines and the time and cost exposure that’s connected to custom content creation. It’s also important to ensure you’ve reserv...
More than 50 years ago, Motown transformed the music landscape forever. Berry Gordy, a music lover who cut his teeth on Detroit’s automobile business, transferred his blue-collar tenacity into building a record label that featured the unique sounds emerging from the so-called Paris of the West: Detroit.
Gordy’s moxie propelled him and fresh artists like Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Jackson 5, and Smokey Robinson and The Miracles to superstardom. Today, his legacy is woven into the fabric of Americana, and we all relish the smooth, upbeat, and personal stories those songs told.
Why am I waxing nostalgic about Berry Gordy? Well, I was born and raised in Detroit, and despite its economic ups and downs, it remains a proud city that retains ...
“I am transparent with people from day one and what we do matters to our clients. I can’t afford to work with people who are contrived, pretentious or interested in company politics. In an entrepreneurial environment, you have to lay it all on the line. If your team doesn’t always tell you the truth, your business won’t last.”
— Scott Petinga
The Scott Petinga Group
@scottpetinga
“When hiring people, I always recognize those who have diverse and interesting resumes/past experience. Young companies that are still in the process of growing need employees who are quick to adapt to new situations and ...
If you’ve decided to contract out to build a new website for your company, it may be a good idea to look at some of the most commonly made mistakes before you get started.
In the 15 years my web-design firm Intechnic has been in business, we’ve experienced every possible crazy, stressful situation, and have worked hard to find the best solution or compromise in each case. In the spirit of problem solving—and helping others avoid similar issues—I’ve provided a look at some common obstacles we’ve faced, along with suggestions on how to avoid them.
Setting objectives is not enough. Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) objectives is a great place to start, but you must also have a sol...
Today isn’t just about our new site launch – it’s about why we launched it. For those of you that have been following our story for the past few years, you know that we’ve grown our startup platform quite a bit, helping over a million startups get from idea to launch.
Most of what you’ve seen has focused on our products, whether it’s Fundable for raising capital, Clarity.fm for finding mentors, or Launchrock for acquiring customers.
But behind the scenes, we’ve been working on something far bigger: our community.
Bringing the startup community together has always been our greatest goal. This site launch has given us the opportunity to make it happen, and offer our vision for a new voice and a fresh narrative to the startup journey.
More imp...
You’re a startup founder. An idea machine. But it doesn’t matter how many ideas you have; those are a dime a dozen. What matters more is how you’re going to turn ideas into reality. So there’s a fork in the road: Pursue your side project (e.g. your passion), or keep your full-time job?
Delaying your side project could save time and money. Then again, going through with it could add color to your life and massive value to your company.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario. You can make room for passion projects without ditching your post. Almost all the companies I’m running today started as side projects.
A few years ago, I was working as a hedge fund manager and a CTO of a Hollywood church. I was doing a little side con...