3 Tools That Promote Startup Security

Startup Security, Cloud Security, Guest Post Startup business owners normally don’t associate the security threats that haunt larger corporations with their enterprises, but the reality is that malicious code, BYOD malware, data theft, phishing, payment fraud and other attacks pose just as much risk for startups as they do to larger businesses.

CEO of Web Security at CloudFare Matthew Prince states that it’s not just giant retailers like Amazon that are under threats–businesses with 100 employees or even less can also become targets. The 36-employee operated company itself became a target when hackers gained access to sensitive customer information and were nearly successful.

Moreover, it’s not just the startups themselves that the attackers target. They’re aware that newly formed companies can give them access (act as a gateway) to some of the larger corporations who are usually clients of startup companies. According to a report from Symantec, the world’s top 500 companies have over 60 collaborations on average.

While you may not be able to enjoy the perks of military-level security, you still need to pay attention to protect your business from possible threats.

Some of the tools that startup business owners can leverage to enhance startup security are:

1. Cloud backup

From employee screening records to business contacts, the hard drives of your office computers are likely to be filled with precious data that you can’t afford to lose. However, a virus can inflict them at any moment, and they can also malfunction on their own. Other unfortunate things like fire or a natural disaster can also lead to the loss of important data.

A survey conducted by Carbonite reveals that 48% of businesses operating on a small scale suffer from lost data of 2-20 employees, which leads to decrease in productivity and revenue. It is therefore important to opt for cloud backup solutions, which have several advantages over on-site services. Some of the benefits include remote backups, top notch data-encryption and automatic restore when the data is wiped out.

2. Virus-protection software

Ransomware, spyware, malware and viruses can infect your smart devices, flash drives, Windows PCs and Macs at any point. Applied Research conducted a survey in 2012 among 2,100 businesses, and the results revealed that most of them have been regular victims of cyber-attacks such as malware, phishing, email virus etc.

These are a few reasons why virus-protection software is important, but you shouldn’t go on a blind buying spree. What you need is software specifically designed for virus-proned small businesses. A business antivirus software program can protect your mail servers, files servers, and all of you precious IT from the comfort of the cloud.

3. Secure payment protected

Visa Inc. estimates that out of 100% credit-card data breaches that take place, 95% of them are targeted towards small business operators. Most of the payment threats surround those startups that regularly engage in online payment transactions.

Luckily, there are ways to include an extra layer of protection to payment systems. For example, Discover offers an online number service that allows customers to sign in to the account and create a unique credit card number to make a purchase. That number can only be used once, even if a cyber-criminal gains access to it.

These tools will add top level protection to your business operations and secure your data, devices and investment when anything unfortunate happens.

What tools do you use to enhance startup security? Feel free to share your answers in the comments section below.

Kelly Jane Brown is an aspiring writer, entrepreneur and student at UCLA.

11 Marketing Tools Your Startup Needs For Launch

Question: What ONE must-have tool should small businesses include in their marketing campaign when launching a new product? (events, pop-up shops, swag, social media campaigns, etc.)

Mailchimp Is a Must

“For every new product launch, we collect emails via MailChimp. We use their email campaign and auto-responder functionality to draft countdown emails so that our customers receive regular updates and pre-specified intervals prior to launch. These email campaigns get customers excited about our launch and result in increased conversion.”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

Landing Pages with Unbounce

“Landing pages are a must when launching a new product. They let you easily focus the potential consumers attention on the actions that you deem desirable. With new products, money is scarce, so having the highest conversion rate is of necessity. My product of choice is Unbounce — it’s dead simple to use, and they also have new and improved features for the advanced user.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

Create a Dedicated Email

“As you’re building buzz for your product, there must be a customer and sponsor support team ready to handle incoming questions. Put your email out there everywhere and encourage questions, ideas and communication. Don’t just have the email account, but be ready with resources, FAQs and engagement specialists to nurture your early adopters and raving fans and help them promote you further.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

Set Up Google Analytics Properly

“You can’t have a good marketing campaign without tracking in-depth analytics throughout the entire process. Not only is Google Analytics great because it’s free, but they continue to add more robust features for tracking every detail of each visitor on your site, which will help you understand the location, referrers/keywords, behaviors, site usage, and transactions of each of your visitors.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

Incorporate Retargeting Pixels.

“Use a service like ReTargeter or AdWords Remarketing in order to drop cookies for first-time visitors to your website, so that you have the opportunity to remarket to them later and stay top of mind. Start building your remarketing list from day one.”

– Matt Mickiewicz | Co-Founder, Flippa and 99designs

Utilize Hacker News

“Hacker News is a great place to launch a product. If you submit your site correctly, it could drive thousands of visits within a few hours and collect excellent feedback. Make sure to read how to use Hacker News first though!”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

Put In a Squeeze Page

“If I had to recommend one tool for any product launch, it would be a “squeeze page,” also known as an opt-in page. Get an account with an email service provider (ESP), create a squeeze page, and point potential customers to it during your pre-launch. Send emails to your subscriber list building anticipation for the launch, and then offer your subscribers a limited-time offer upon the launch.”

– Pete Kennedy | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Main Street ROI

Let People Use Your Product!

“If the goal is to get people to use your product and talk about your product, then it seems logical that you should get that product into as many hands as possible. If it’s online, this means a trial. If it’s food, it means having tons of samples. If it’s jeans, give away your jeans. You can talk and hype something all you want, but the product speaks for itself. A worthwhile investment.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

Bloggers Create the Buzz

“A lot of small businesses focus on long-lead, print media without realizing the power of blogs. Even relatively small blogs have the power to convert sales with links in a much more powerful way than print ever can — and even have the potential to take on their life of their own through social sharing.”

– Alexis Wolfer | Founder/CEO, The Beauty Bean

Coordinate a Social Media Push

“Including fans in the conversation or decision-making process prior to launch is by far the most valuable pre-promotion you can do. We generally narrow new watch designs or colors down to three or four options before running a vote on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. It’s our “Threadless meets Kickstarter” model: whether we receive 100 votes or 1,000, we learn from our biggest advocates!”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

Collect Real Testimonials and Reviews

“No matter what else you do to market a new product, you need to have proof that it does what you say it does. Getting people outside your company to try the product and talk about it is the only initial source of that proof that you can set up before the product goes on the market. So make the effort to get testimonials and reviews from beta testers and pre-launch customers.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1776 Connecting Federal Employees With Startups

By now everyone knows that the federal government is in a shutdown, the first one in over 20 years. “Non essential” federal government employees are furloughed, or temporarily laid off, so that the federal government can save money. Although most predict the shutdown could be over by October 17th, others aren’t sure of the future beyond that. At this point, who wants Congress controlling your future?

One thing is for sure though, and that’s the fact that over 800,000 people are currently sidelined by this shutdown. The shutdown is affecting all kinds of skilled workers, ranging from grounds keepers to people with executive level skill sets. Tens of thousands of affected workers are those with IT skills, some who even have startup experience.

1776, the entrepreneurial hub, coworking space, and incubator in downtown DC is closest to all the action. On day one of the shutdown, they held a federal government shutdown open house/cocktail party where affected federal workers with relationships with 1776 and the startups housed there, came to mingle.

It was after that event that some of the 1776 community came up with an idea for a database aimed at matching displaced federal workers with startups looking for workers. The database, located here, is looking for startups to post job opening and for workers to post their skill sets and find a match.

If your startup has a paid or volunteer position open, you should post it. In some cases federal workers are looking for something to pass the time. In others, they are looking to earn some money on the side.

What a startup will hopefully get, is a skilled worker and maybe even a long term team member that may perhaps, transition to working for the startup when the furlough is lifted.

In addition to the database, DC entrepreneur and designer Mike Aleo, who previously worked at the White House as a designer, has created this site to keep people up to date with how long the shut down has been going on. Now he’s looking for resources for people who have been displaced.

As for the database itself, while it started in DC and DC has the highest concentration of federal workers, there are no restrictions or geographic boundaries. There are federal workers in just about every city across the country.

If your startup is looking for help now, check it out.

How to Find the Right Investor for Your Startup

A good team of investors can be the foundation of your startup’s success, but a bad one can obliterate even the strongest ideas. Investors can provide your business with more than capital — they can become resources for organizing, marketing, and realizing ideas. Knowing what to look for in an investor and being able to attract the best kind of investors are vital skills for any new entrepreneur.

Attracting Investors

As a newbie with limited experience, how do you convince potential investors you are worth listening to — and get them to buy into your idea? Here are two qualities I strongly believe are key:

Communication: In a time when people are constantly connected online, it’s essential to be good at correspondence in its simplest form. People hate being relegated to your voicemail, and unanswered emails make it appear that you don’t have time or don’t care about responding.

Our investors know they can call me anytime, and I’ll always pick up the phone or get back to them quickly. Respond to phone calls and voicemail messages and make time — not just to read, but also to thoughtfully answer emails every day.

Honesty: Being truthful is obviously non-negotiable. If you misrepresent yourself or your business, you’ll be dead in the water.

It’s natural to think seducing investors with best-case-scenario figures is the most effective way to get funding for a new project. Actually, the opposite is true. Nothing will torpedo an investor’s confidence in you faster than projecting everything through rose-colored lenses.

Making cautious or even negative projections shows investors you’re honest with them and also capable of being realistic about your project’s potential problems. Underpromising and over-delivering is your best bet, and an honest assessment of a project’s strengths and weaknesses is crucial.

Sealing the Deal

Once you’ve established yourself as accessible and trustworthy, you will not have to go out of your way to land the investment. Take these steps in advance to increase your chances of sealing the deal:

Prove it works. Once you’ve built a business successfully — even a small one — investors are more likely to believe in you. Get an idea going, and achieve small successes to show you’ve got the drive to see things through. As someone who’s been on both sides of the table, I personally feel more confident investing in ideas that have already proven viable.
Build relationships. Every person you meet is a potential investor or a contact who will lead you to one. This has proven true for me dozens of times. I met a guy at Starbucks once who introduced me to a group that invested $250,000 in one of my ideas. We eventually sold that business for seven figures.
Be likable. It’s impossible to raise money if investors don’t like you. Engage people and be friendly. Look sharp and exude positivity. An investor once told me that he chose to invest in my company because I was personable. “I know we have a winner here because of you. I like you,” he said.

Finding the Right Investors

Getting the right investors for your project is just as important as being able to attract investors. Here’s what I advise upcoming entrepreneurs look for in their investors:

Diversity: The more well-rounded your investment group is, the better suited they’ll be to address the challenges your company will face. Look for investors with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Positivity: Supportive people can be the difference between a project’s success and failure. No company can grow without encountering problems. Finding people who remain confident through these times can improve your chances of success.

Investors are vital in far more ways than just providing cash. Depending on the arrangement, the right group can become unofficial consulting firms or even assist in day-to-day operations. My current partner, Ryan Goldschmidt, first invested in a nightlife venue he had neither the experience nor the skills necessary to operate. After an exhaustive search, he found a company willing to invest in the buildout with the skills to operate a large venue and the capital needed to make the necessary improvements.

Of course, some investors prefer to remain at arm’s length. Either way, your team of investors can make or break your startup. Always approach potential investors with honesty and confidence, and don’t forget to be picky when choosing the right people to partner with.

Aaron Pitman and Ryan Goldschmidt are founders of RA Domain Capital, a domain name development firm. Aaron is an angel investor and an entrepreneurial thought leader. He welcomes anyone to reach out to him through Twitter (@aaronpitman) or you can visit him directly at aaronpitman.com.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Softbank’s Joe Medved: Diligence Is For Entrepreneurs Too

The national VC investors and angels who spoke at Everywhere Else Cincinnati loved the concept of talking to and educating entrepreneurs from everywhere else. In the months leading up to Everywhere Else Cincinnati, we fielded a lot of emails from investors asking about pitch contests and deal flow. Joe Medved joined Blair Garrou (Mercury Fund), Mark Hasebroock (Dundee Venture Capital), Mark Richey (West Capital Advisors/Draper), and Bob Coy (Cincy Tech) on the stage at one point or another during the conference to help educate early stage startups and entrepreneurs. The general consensus was if entrepreneurs are more in tune with the investor community, a lot of time will be saved.

Medved took that idea to the extreme by cramming down probably an entire college course worth of entrepreneurial content into a 30 minute talk and equally robust slides.

Our Managing Editor Monica Selby already covered the truth about getting VC attention, almost immediately after Medved left the stage.

Medved’s presentation was filled with important information. Equally as important as getting VC attention is the fact that due diligence is just as important for the startup as it is for the investor. Too many times startups are so excited about getting a “yes,” they are willing to take money from anyone.

Entrepreneurs need to make sure that the investor is the right fit for their startup. Does the startup see eye to eye with the investor? Does the investor bring value to the startup outside of just money? Taking on an investor is a partnership almost like a marriage. Just as a marriage, it may take a while to get into but it’s a lot harder to get out of. In that respect it’s even harder to get an investor out than it is to get divorced.

Medved offers these tips for doing due diligence on your investors:

References! Speak to entrepreneurs the investor has backed before, including those who have crushed it and been crushed.
– Is there healthy engagement with the investor? And their team?
– Where can they help & what types of board members complement them?
Leverage their network for customer references
– On top of your existing customer references, ask to pitch your business to potential customers in their network
Follow on investments
– If they’ll follow, how frequently do they?
– How much would they reserve?
If you’re working with a fund what is their capital health
– What percentage of their fund is invested and reserved
– If they’re raising soon, is your individual lead in good standing?

All of these points are very important to a startup. As painful as it may be for your pocketbook or bank account or even your startup, if the answers to these questions aren’t comfortable for your team, product and startup you may need to look for another investor.

Follow Joe Medved on Twitter @joevc

Check out more coverage from Everywhere Else Cincinnati here.

10 Ways To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Question: What process do you use to spur creativity — in yourself and your team — especially when you’re feeling blocked?

Mindmapping Works Like a Champ

“Start with a topic or question, and mindmap your way around it. Don’t censor yourself as you come up with all the surrounding topics and bubbles that go with your initial topics. This type of “hyperlinked” thinking is what allows us to come up with new ideas. You can also go really deep on a thread, which can help spur creativity in other threads of your mindmap. Mindmap as a group, and this takes on a whole new life!”

– Nathalie Lussier | Creator, The Website Checkup Tool

Turn to Your Trusted Resources

“When I hit a creative road block, I turn to other entrepreneurs for inspiration. Usually, I hit those road blocks at weird hours of the night, so I keep a business-related book or a copy of Entrepreneur or Inc. Magazine close by. I find that spending 15 minutes or so digesting other entrepreneurs’ thoughts and opinions does the trick and gets my creative juices flowing right away. I use a similar tactic when it comes to spurring creativity in my team. During our team meetings, everyone is required to share an article, story, quote or anything else that gave them creative inspiration this week. After everyone shares, we take a vote on our favorite creative piece and the winner chooses what is for lunch that day. It is a fun and interactive way to get everyone thinking.”

– Kevin Tighe II | Co-founder and CEO, WeBRAND

Fun Equals Creative Thinking

“It sounds simple, but some of the best ideas come from having fun and not thinking about the business. Get your team out of the office and take them out. Not having an “office atmosphere” allows people to open up and be themselves. Not only will it give you the chance to really get to know them but also the chance to let the creativity flow. If you aren’t having fun, then why are you doing it?”

– Ashley Bodi | co-founder, Business Beware

Look Outside Your Field

“One of the best ways to jog my creativity is to consume media totally outside my field. If I’m at the airport maybe I’ll pick up a magazine about farming or architecture. I’ll watch a documentary about a subject I don’t know much about or go see an experimental play. Listen to a random Pandora channel in a genre you usually don’t listen to. I think ideas tend to slow down when you get into a rut with the things you see every day. Even taking a different route on a walk can help a lot!”

– Caitlin McCabe | Founder & CEO, Real Bullets Branding

Movement Gets Me Going!

“Our bodies provide as much information as our heads, but we usually ignore them in our work lives. You know, simply taking a walk while talking about important things makes the conversation more meaningful. So why do we sit in conference rooms instead of walking and talking? To think creatively, keep moving. What do I do? Bollywood dance breaks! Seriously — I have Bollywood-inspired Innovative Moves workshops.”

– Erica Dhawan | CEO, Erica Dhawan, LLC

Get the Ball Rolling and Don’t Stop

“Creativity comes often when one least expects it: in the shower, walking to work or in the middle of the night. These moments are gifts not to be wasted, but they’re also impossible to schedule into team’s meetings. As a founder, my company relies on me to take the lead on creative discussions, so I created a simple process to get the intellectual momentum going. We start by going into a conference room where we break down a problem or topic into its smallest possible parts. As ideas flow, we post them up onto our walls with flip chart paper. Surrounded by the information, people naturally start connecting the dots and the creative juices start flowing. Once you hit a rhythm, embrace whatever topics come into focus, dig deep and never let ridged schedules derail your flow.”

– Christopher Kelly | Co-Founder, Principal, Convene

Get Completely Uncomfortable

“I’ve always found creative ideas come when you’re trying to do something new… and find out that you’re bad at it. Take a cooking class, try rock climbing, learn to play a new instrument. Inevitably, you will encounter some difficulties when experiencing something for the first time, and your brain will get to work. A lot of times, I end up saying to myself, “This is really hard…why don’t people just do ‘x’ to make it easier?” Or, “This is great, but it would be so much better if ‘y’ were added to the experience!” Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations where your brain isn’t used to operating often is a great way to get those creative juices flowing!”

– David Stankunas | President and Founder, Beard Head, Inc.

Spark Creative Visual Conversation

“By painting our walls with IdeaPaint, we’ve been able to have a lot of conversations by drawing out what we imagine. Instead of our ideas floating around in the air, we put them out on the wall for everyone to look at and soak in. This caters to those who are visual and audio learners and ultimately brings everyone together for a better, more creative brainstorm.”

– Bobby Emamian | CEO, Prolific Interactive

Wine Catalyst to Get Creativity Flowing

“There is a reason why happy hour is such a crucial thing for co-workers to participate in together. Allow your employees to unleash their ideas outside the confining walls of an office over a glass or two of wine. You’ll be surprised how quickly the combination of a relaxed environment, and some vino will transform a casual hang out into an innovative meeting that just might leave you with a whole new creative direction.”

– Erika London | Co-Founder, iAdventure.com

Place, Purpose, and Post-Its

“First, take your team somewhere stimulating. The beach, a grassy field, or even couches will do. If you go outside, be sure to bring some cardboard to use as an idea wall. Next, frame the discussion. “This morning we are generating ideas. Our goal is to come up with as many ideas as possible in 10 minutes. Wacky ideas are welcome – they might lead us somewhere unexpected and exciting.” Throw, slide, or pass colored markers or pencils and sticky pads to everyone. Everyone then captures ideas as fast as they can in 10 minutes before sharing their ideas. Depending on the size of your team, you will have twenty to several hundred ideas. Rinse and repeat. Each set of ideas will spark other ideas. Then your challenge will be moving to analysis mode!”

– Kevon Saber | Cofounder , Fig

A Startup Walks Into A Bar And Orders…

Six decade old advertising agency archer>malmo gave an amazing discussion at SXSW 2013 called “When Bad Names Happen to Good Startups.” It was a candid look at naming mistakes startups make. While sometimes names are an afterthought based on a url’s availability, the folks at archer>malmo and their investment arm a>m ventures, preach the importance of a name because it’s the foundation of your brand.

Patrick Woods, a>m ventures Managing Director, says “say nodaddy to godaddy” referring to the practice of naming a startup for a URL. That was just the beginning of an amazing presentation at our Everywhere Else Cincinnati conference earlier this week. What transpired after a brief introduction had the entire audience talking for the rest of the conference. In fact, shortly after the discussion The Cincinnati Business Courier’s Andy Brownfield was so blown away he posted this story.

So the story goes like this: archer>malmo’s Senior Copy Writer Justin Dobbs is a close friend of Woods. “He’s one of the most creative guys I know,” Woods told the audience. So it was a feeling of shock, or possibly being blown off when Woods was recently looking for a gift to get a male friend for his birthday. He figured he would turn to Dobbs’ creative edge to help him come up with something truly amazing. Dobbs’ suggestion? A bar of soap. But not just any soap,

Dobbs suggested a bar of Duke Cannon. Now Duke Cannon is a man’s soap. Its brand isn’t just a brand; it has a personality. Brand is bold, and masculine and their branding is something Woods was successful in driving home.

Their website and brand image is filled with personality. “Tested by soldiers, made in the USA” is one of the rotating graphics that dons the companies web page. “Veggie Burger’s Don’t Mind If I Don’t” is another.

“Duke Cannon doesn’t dine with vegans and he could give a damn about your iPad,” it says on the company’s about page.

Duke Canon’s personality is that of a man, a man’s man. If he walked into a bar he would undoubtedly order something hard.

That’s one question Wood’s asked the audience at Everywhere Else Cincinnati. “What would your startup order at a bar?” “What would your startup order to eat?” was another.

Woods said startups that use simple descriptors may have found the perfect way to tell what their startup does, but they’re so simple that they are insulting to users.

Duke Cannon has a brand voice and startups need one too. “Startups almost feel like they need to sound like a startup. Don’t try to sound like a startup,” Woods said to the audience.

“When you develop a strong personality, you start moving your startup from a product to a brand,” Woods told Brownfield. “Personality is what your brand says when you’re no longer speaking.”

Nibletz would order a Redbull and Vodka and pizza.

Find out more about a>m ventures here.

Jeff Hoffman: 10 Tips For Entrepreneurs I Learned Along The Way: Lessons From Everywhere Else Cincinnati

Monday afternoon Priceline and Ubid founder Jeff Hoffman took the stage. For decades Hoffman, an entrepreneur his entire life, has spoken to big corporate CEO’s, sales forces, and countless others in the business world. Over the past two years, when we hear “startup conference” and “Priceline fuonder,” it’s been Scott Case, the founding CTO of Priceline and the founding CEO of Startup America. Case drives home excellent points about startup communities.

After spending most of his career creating business plans (successful ones at that), Hoffman has now turned to building entrepreneurs. He is a founder of Venture Camp, a reality show and accelerator that had it’s inaugural session in an Indianapolis mansion. After the success of the first cohort on film and with their companies, Hoffman is looking to expand the program.

Hoffman told the story of his entrepreneurial journey to the audience at Everywhere Else Cincinnati. He started out as an entrepreneur not because he wanted to make huge amounts of money but because he wanted to at least attempt to fix broke things he came across.

“I set out… to deal with problems that no one is fixing,” Hoffman told the crowd at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.

Although uBid and Priceline have been wildly successful Hoffman said “big companies don’t just appear. Even Priceline was a small startup”.

Hoffman then started in on his 10 points of entrepreneurship:

1. Find Your Purpose– People who are focused on purpose far exceed the people who focus on money. Find the purpose that drives you. To illustrate this example, Hoffman told the story of an employee he had named Chris whose purpose was to get his family out of a trailer and into a real house and nothing was going to stop him.

2. Work Backwards from your goal. Set your goal and work backwards. Set your goals and then find out each step to get there, and then do them.

3. Get engaged in the world around you. Sit next to someone you don’t know. The more engaged you are, the more ideas you come across. “I’m amazed with the network I built because I was just out somewhere doing something,” Hoffman said.

4. Solve a real problem.

5. Win a gold medal at one thing– Find something, and tune out everything else. Hoffman explains that many entrepreneurs don’t like this because they worry about the next idea. He then explained that the people that get to work on their next ideas are the ones who won a gold medal on their first idea. He turned to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as an example: “Bezos always wanted to sell everything, but he became so damn good at selling books, the best damn book seller in the world and with that gold medal built out Amazon. People trusted him on their book sales experience; now they’ll buy anything from him”. Gold Medal= credibility

6.Build a great team- Hire someone smarter than you. “Don’t you want to be the manager with 7 people on the all star team, not the one who has a shitty team because you didn’t want players better than you?” Hoffman asked. Hoffman added that he told his Priceline team once that they could completely change industries on one Friday morning, and they would still win.

7. Get out of your office. The best companies build their product for customers. When Hoffman has a good idea he grabs his car keys to go out and find someone with a wallet who likes the idea.

8. Launch Something- MVP doesn’t mean put a crap product out there. If you go too lean, you’re putting your reputation on the line. “I remember you. You’re Jeff, the crap guy.” Don’t over do the lean thing just to rush something out there. Do two functions of your five function product and crush them. Lean is like throwing shit to the wall.

9. Find a mentor.

10. Work Hard.. success is no secret, work hard. – Hoffman saved his best personal story for last. He’s good personal friends with Evander Holyfield. One day he was visiting with Holyfield who was finishing a workout and Hoffman was spotting him. Holyfield was doing an extremely difficult exercise that he does 300 times a day. Hoffman was counting with Holyfield and then apparently lost count at 299 or 300. Holyfield needed his friend to be absolutely certain whether it was 299 or 300. When Hoffman wasn’t sure Holyfield went down one more time and did the exercise again.

When Hoffman asked Holyfield why he did that, the heavy weight champion told him “The difference between 299 and 300 is the difference between heavyweight champion of the world and just another boxer.”

Needless to say Hoffman does 300 every single time.

Four Rules Every Female Entrepreneur Should Follow

While many business challenges are common for all founders, there are unique lessons that women entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to learn in business. Here are several essential lessons I’ve learned as a successful female entrepreneur and what every female founder should know along the way:

Own your success.
There are several things that, as a woman, you should never apologize for, and at the top of that list is your well-deserved success. The apologetic undertone of some women entrepreneurs is subtle, laced with an excuse, chocked up to ‘luck’ or a dismissed congratulatory pat on the back. Many of us aren’t outright asserting, “I’m sorry that I am successful,” but a lack of confidence and all of the above are bedfellows of the same notion. Ladies, we already face an uphill battle in some cases. Don’t pack more unnecessary personal baggage on your rise to the top. When you earn a congratulatory remark from your peers, embrace it gracefully and confidently. And according to leadership consultant, Rachelle J. Canter, Ph.D., “If you can’t own this success for yourself, then own it for all the other women who look up to you and emulate you.”
Never underestimate your value.
We have all read the headlines that insist women still earn less than men. According to ThinkProgress contributor Sarah Glynn, in the U.S., “women on average make only $.77 cents to every dollar earned by men. Some of that wage gap is the result of women being more likely to work in certain industries or occupations, but about 40 percent of the difference in men’s and women’s wages cannot be explained by any measurable factor.” As a woman, this pay gap may have haunted you in corporate America. But it should no longer hold court in your business. Consider this: you are in complete control of your earning potential. In order to make a shift in your business you must be aware of your gifts and talents, understand what you have to offer within your industry, and monetize your products and services to reflect what the market will bear. Couple all of this with your unique value creation. Tell yourself a positive story about what you have to offer the world. No more excuses. As Albert Einstein notably suggested, “If you put a small value on yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.”
It’s lonely at the top, so bring others with you.
By nature, the front-end of innovation is lonely, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “You do something no one else has ever done and leave everyone else scratching their heads and howling in protest. As the saying goes, ‘You can tell who the pioneers are from the arrows sticking out of their backs,'” suggests MACPA contributor Bill Sharidan. An article published by the Harvard Business Review echoes this notion — it’s isolating at the top. For founders, it can be unsettling. The survey found that “half of CEOs report experiencing feelings of loneliness in their role, and of this group, 61 percent believe it hinders their performance. First-time CEOs are particularly susceptible to this isolation.” Much of the loneliness that entrepreneurial leaders will face is connected to the growing pains of personal development. Or as Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, has said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”
Be unapologetically authentic.
Authenticity is a bankable currency. It can define your business and set you apart from the clutter of a cookie-cutter marketplace. You (and your customers) are not well-served by haphazard attempts to be someone else. According to organizational development professors Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, “Leadership demands the expression of an authentic self. Try to lead like someone else and you will fail. Employees will not follow a CEO who invests little of himself in his leadership behaviors. People want to be led by someone ‘real.’” The same can be said for your business and its customers. Authenticity in business is a baseline of belief in what you say and in what you sell. It is the courage to offer unique value and market yourself in a way that is consistent with your brand. Being everything to everyone sets you up to be nothing to no one.

Erica Nicole is the founder and CEO of YFS Magazine, the definitive digital magazine for startup, small business news and entrepreneurial culture. As an entrepreneurial change-agent, Erica Nicole been featured in national media outlets including Forbes.com, Upstart Business Journal, Fox Business, MSN Business on Main, The Huffington Post, Black Enterprise and more.

8 Mandates To Finding Your Meaning From Elevate’s Jake Stutzman At Everywhere Else Cincinnati

At most startup conferences, there’s a speaker or two who makes everyone get up from the chairs and do something, get the blood flowing, meet new people–you know orchestrating meaningful collisions. That speaker at Everywhere Else Cincinnati didn’t come until Tuesday afternoon when Jake Stutzman the founder of Omaha’s Elevate took the stage.

Stutzman, whose firm spearheaded the “experience” part for Everywhere Else Cincinnati, wanted to make sure that the attendees in the room were doing what they were supposed to. After testing moving the group closer to the front and closing the gaps, he tested the audience participation and moved on with explaining 8 mandates to finding your meaning as part of his discussion, “Find The Meaning Find The Money”.

The eye opening talk led off with Stutzman throwing some basic words on the screen and asking the audience to say what brands those words represented in their minds. For instance when he put the word “coffee” on the screen the crowd quickly blurted out Starbucks. For computer, most said “Apple”, and for the word “Phone” most shouted out iPhone, although one person went retro yelling out “Motorola Razor”.

While most of the brands said here made the list of the “World’s Most Valuable Brands”, they are extremely valuable because they own the category in people’s minds. How does a product go beyond just a product and become that category owning brand? Stutzman mapped it out clearly with these 8 mandates. “Usefulness only lasts until something better comes along,” Stutzman told the crowd. Need an example of that, just look at Blackberry.

These 8 important mandates are:

1. Know Yourself

2. Know Your Audience. Who’s your audience? Is there an audience for your product? How do you engage that audience?

3. Know Your Competitor and your category. Do a competitive audit, and know what your competitor does

4. Be Different.

5. Cast a Vision

6. Make it accessible, have brand identity, create memorable experiences and make sure your brand is infused in everything

7. Be Consistent. Consistency is the key to all of this. “It’s the difference between a chaotic brand and a charismatic brand,” Stutzman said.

8. Empower brand champions, find those champions for your brand those people that are extremely loyal and give them the tools to help grow your brand. These brand champions will work for you because you want to.

Nick and I got to experience all of this first hand starting with a two day workshop at Elevate’s Omaha, Nebraska office. There the Elevate team asked us hard questions about exactly what we wanted to do, who attended our conferences, who read our website, who shares our content. Who do we want to come and what do we want them to do? This is why Elevate is so much more than a design firm.

Elevate helped our brand appeal to multiple senses. Visually how was everything going to look? How were we going to direct people and what were they going to do on site?

Moving into 2014 we will have three conferences and continue to work with Elevate, who will help us make sure we continue to drive home these mandates.

Find out more about Elevate at elevate.co

YEC Founder Scott Gerber Knows The Most Important Question to Ask

Scott Gerber woke up the mid-afternoon crowd at Everywhere Else Cincinnati. The fast talking, pacing New Yorker, pulled everyone together and mixed them all up in the middle of the room. Then, he instructed them to look to someone next to them and ask the most important question:

How can I help you?

After 30 seconds, he cut off the buzz and pointed out all the business cards exchanged and conversations started. The exercise highlighted the thesis on which he’s built the Young Entrepreneur Council: social capital is the most valuable currency in the age of social media.

According to Fast Company, the most important role people can take on in the current economy is that of the superconnector. The superconnector spends his time trying to connect other people–even if on the surface they have nothing in common. The superconnector can see relationship possibilities where other people might not.

So, how do you become a superconnector? As with anything we do, the most important thing to get right is the mindset. Our instinct as people is to figure out what we can get from people. Within in 20 seconds, we decide if the person we’re talking to can help us.

The superconnector, however, asks first, “How can I help you?” They give (A LOT) before they take. And, they dedicate real, meaningful time to the people they meet. Gerber insists that we must walk away from the phones, walk away from the computer, and spend real time with the people we come across. We tend to think people with a lot of Twitter followers are influential, but that’s an ego metric that means far less than real conversations.

Gerber’s talk rings true in a world with fewer and fewer set industries. We live in a “slash” world (I’m an editor/writer/mom, for example). Gone are the days in which we spend 40 years in the same job, honing the same craft. In the mobile world we live in, becoming a superconnector can be the best way to not only grow your own career, but also give back to society at large.

To learn more about Scott Gerber, follow him on Twitter and visit theyec.org.

To Grow A Startup, Grow as an Individual

Of all the speakers at Everywhere Else Cincinnati, none embody the Everywhere Else mentality more than John T.Meyer, the Founder of Lemon.ly – a startup that builds awesome infographics. Meyer and Lemon.ly are based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the state’s largest city with a population just north of 159 thousand. “Everywhere Else” personified.

Meyer’s talk, entitled “Don’t be Everyone Else at Everywhere Else,” outlined a more internal, individualized approach to building a startup. Rather than focusing blindly on bettering and building the company itself, Meyer argued, an early-stage founder is better served by expending an equal amount of time and energy in bettering his or herself. Or, essentially, a founder should grow as a person to grow the company. Meyer went on to outline 7 points, in the form of quotes, that speak to this approach:

Execute on being you

-Gary Vaynerchuk

Essentially, in the context of Meyer’s discussion, this means that a founder should play to his or her strengths. If you know sales, sell. If you code, code. Conversely, if you know marketing, don’t code, and so on. Play to your strengths.

When human judgement and big data intersect there are some funny things that happen.

– Nate Silver

While tracking big data and various metrics is a familiar undertaking for founders, Meyer brought this up in the context of individual, daily life; i.e. tracking the quantified self with a Fit Bit or some such device. It goes back to knowing and executing on yourself.

It is not enough to be busy. The question is: What are we busy about?

– Henry David Thoreau

Meyer argued that everyone is busy, but a founder must prioritize, and eliminate to the extent it is possible, lesser tasks and focus on the larger goals. A sort-of task triage if you will.

The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.

– Warren Buffett

This Buffet quote speaks to the Thoreau quote above. It is not enough to simply prioritize your tasks as a founder, you must learn which of those to reject. This is a very less = more approach.

Everyone has highs and lows that they have to learn from, but every morning I start off with a good head on my shoulders, saying to myself ‘it’s going to be a good day.’

– Lindsay Lohan

Meyer used this quote, jokingly, to argue for the use of an alarm clock, as opposed to setting an alarm on a phone. More-or-less, Meyers argued, once you come in contact with your cell phone, it instantly compartmentalizes your brain into ten or more different sections, and you are completely unable to focus on the task at hand. You would be better served to go “phoneless” for the first few minutes or hour of your day.

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

– Bill Cosby

This gets back to saying ‘no’ and focusing on what you are doing. It is important to focus on what you are building and make it really good at what it does. Don’t expand the problem you are solving into sub-problems. Fix it, fix it real good.

If you really want to know where your destiny lies, look at where you apply your time

– Mark Cuban

A fitting end to the talk. Look at what you love doing, and go do it.

Essentially, Meyers talk boiled down to combining two aspects that are usually presented as dichotomy; the self and the company. Rather than treating the two as sort-or exclusive of one another, both should grow in tandem. To grow as a company, it is important to grow as an individual.

Andrew Thompson is the Managing Editor of TechFaster.

SoftBank Capital’s Joe Medved Tells the Truth About Getting VC Attention

It’s investor morning at Everywhere Else Cincinnati. We have some talented VC’s talking to the crowd, including a keynote from Joe Medved of Soft Bank Capital.

Medved’s talk was a gold mine for new founders considering raising capital. Seriously, he gave away all the secrets, even the ones to the most common question founders have:

How do I get a VC’s attention!

Medved had all the answers, some of them a little surprising.

Referrals, referrals, referrals. Without a doubt, the number one way to get a VC’s attention is a great referral. VC’s get pitches from thousands of companies a year, and they have to cut through the noise somehow. To drive the point home, Medved talked about that general info email address every company has on their website. “We may have taken a few meetings from that email address, but I’m pretty sure we’ve never actually invested in a company that used it.”
Networking was the second best way Medved listed for connecting with an investor. Conferences like our Everywhere Else series are great places to meet personable, helpful VCs. Meetups are also a great place, especially if they are super niche. For example, if you’re a hardware company and you meet an investor at a hardware tech meetup, you can feel confident they’re interested in hardware deals.
Don’t have a the kind of meetup you need close to you? Start it yourself! Proving that you’re a connector and can get things done is a great way to prove your worth to anyone, but especially and investor.
Medved, like all of us, talked regretfully about that massively full inbox. For busy investors, a better way to engage online could be commenting on their blogs or interacting with them on Twitter. This type of communication will grow, but at the moment, it’s often easier for VCs to interact on those platforms than through email.
Alternative sites like AngelList are far down the list, but they are still a good way to begin connecting. Crowdfunding can also be effective because once your prove the market value of your product, investment can seem a lot less risky.
Finally, apply to an accelerator, particularly one that engages lots of investors as mentors. These accelerators are set up to filter through cold proposals, so the investors that commit to mentoring know that some of the initial due diligence has already been done. If you handle the accelerator wisely, you have 3 months to prove your worth and get to know the VCs on a personal level. We all like to work with people we like, so a personal relationship is always a good thing.

That’s just a small portion of the great content we’re hearing at Everwhere Else. Stay tuned as we roll through day 2 in Cincinnati.

4 Steps To Find The Right Mentor For Your Startup

People often say that finding a mentor is essential as an entrepreneur, especially if you’re young. I am a junior at Duke University and the co-founder of Star Toilet Paper, so the experience I had prior to starting this company includes camp and caddying work. How do I even know what steps to take or how to develop a business?

While many people within the realm of entrepreneurship are willing to help, there is a big difference between someone who answers a few questions for you and someone who is genuinely interested and invested (not monetarily) in both your company and in you as a person. To me, the most important aspect of a mentor is the latter; your mentor must have a vested interest in learning more about you and what you wish to do to change the world with your new company.

But how do you go about obtaining this type of mentor, and how do you know if they are the right person?

Where: In college, I have access to both people and resources. But you don’t need to be a student to access the people and resources you need. In any major city, there will be a variety of incubators, accelerators and universities which are hotbeds for innovation and centers of knowledge. That does not mean that you need to find the entrepreneurship professor at the closest university. See what is around you and how you can make the most out of those resources. I have found that it is often the third or fourth degree of separation that leads to the best person for you.

When: ASAP! Even if you have thousands or millions of dollars in revenue, a mentor can be helpful. It is important to know that, no matter where you are in your business, there is always room for improvement and a sounding board. The advantage of having a mentor as that sounding board rather than an employee or co-founder is that they come with a consumer perspective. When you work on something 24/7, you begin to lose touch with the thoughts of those who will actually be using the product. Having someone outside the company is a great way to get back in touch with that side without having to test or survey.

How: Just ask. Having access to people and resources is helpful, but the relationships do not go as far as mentorship. Generally someone interested in mentoring will send emails saying things like, “Hey, wanted to catch up and see if there was anything I could do!” They recognize how valuable their time is to you and thus, you need to do the same. Tell them what you are looking for and why you specifically want them to mentor you. Demonstrate the value that they will have in the company. And just ask.

So…Who?: Of course, there is no easy answer to this question; it depends on personal preference and what you are looking for help with specifically. For example, in our case, there are multiple possibilities. We are looking for people with expertise in the toilet paper field, in the marketing field, and in the business development field. Chances are, just one person doesn’t embody these characteristics.

That being said, it is better to have different people with different types of expertise so that you know the question you are asking will be answered by somebody with years of knowledge and experience.

Furthermore, when you find someone you believe could make a valuable mentor, ask yourself whether you are comfortable sitting down for hours and talking with that person, both about the company and yourself. Your mentor should love what you are doing and love your passion. Make sure that they are interested in you at least as much as they love the business.

Bryan Silverman is the co-founder of Star Toilet Paper and a junior studying neuroscience at Duke University. His company utilizes a two-ply business model: they first obtain a large public venue to receive toilet paper at no cost, then reach out to advertisers who pay half a cent per ad to target that demographic. He is a New Yorker at heart, a diehard Yankees, Giants, and Nets fan and of course, a Cameron Crazie.