Hi, what a great question. Ever since my best-selling book, Invest Local, came out in 2014, I've been getting lots of Clarity calls about raising capital for small business. You haven't specified if you are looking for debt or equity financing. Let's discuss both. Equity: The investors you've ...
Generally bootstrapped startups should avoid salespeople, for a few reasons: a. they typically can't afford the base and overall comp required to attract sales people who can actually sell / or afford to support them with marketing, management, etc b. it will be very difficult to find the rare pe...
Music curation is something that greatly interests me as well, and one of my projects slated for 1-2 years out will be in that area. Don't forget that -- apart from being united by musical taste -- fans usually have MUCH else in common as well. Musical taste is a great predictor of other demogr...
The items that you're talking about in this situation would be immaterial in my opinion. Before you even get to the technicalities of accounting properly for something like this, do you really want to start a new business where your first transactions on your financial statements are transferrin...
I make a point of introducing myself to people online who are unlikely to become clients. You for instance. That's not altruism. It's curiosity. Learning about other people's business models, industries, unique challenges and goals -- even absorbing their phrases, vocabulary, and style -- prep...
There's a fine line between persistence and simply being an annoyance, however I've seen some great examples of people balancing these properly. Usually this comes with the ability to be very human and personal. One way I've seen this done is with old school hand written letters. On a few occa...
InfoUSA.com has the most thorough and reliable database of consumer information available. You can drill in further by segmenting demographic, psychographic and geographic variables. Always use any purchased lists with caution to make sure you adhere to the Do Not Call list. Further informatio...
Focus on the more difficult side of the marketplace. For instance, if you think it'll be easier to get suppliers, then focus first on getting buyers - always be working on your toughest problem (aka your biggest risk). You'll find some great blogging on Marketplace and Platform topics here ht...
The credits that you already received are under AWS Activate Founders. Quoting from the AWS website, "If you have previously received AWS Activate Founders benefits, you are ineligible to apply again. You can only receive AWS Activate Founders benefits once." However, check if you are eligible f...