The new economics of entrepreneurship? Nah
Is a recession a good time to be an entrepreneur? Has it changed the economics of starting a business?
Silicon Valley veteran Guy Kawasaki believes the answer to both is "yes".
The 10 biggest lies entrepreneurs tell themselves
Entrepreneurs by their very nature are typically optimists. You sort of have to be an optimist to start a new business, for obvious reasons.
Unfortunately, the odds are against you when creating a new company and there are many challenges that easily deter the cynical. For optimistic entrepreneurs, it's real easy to lie about the challenges and the state of a business.
A five-step guide to creating an amazing brand
I'm working on a new startup / brand and have been doing a lot of reading lately on branding. This morning I was truly blown away by a presentation called The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier, which sums up the modern age of branding in 162 genius slides. I liked it so much I bought the book.
As much as I wanted to feature Marty's slideshow alone (it is arguably all you need) there are other sources of inspiration out there, and I have compiled four additional presentations - including one video from Gary Vaynerchuk - which will help focus minds on the most important factors when trying to establish a brand.
These presentations can be digested in half an hour or so, and I found them all really helpful. Remember that even if you're 80% on track, there's still 20% scope for improvement. And besides Gary V is always worth tuning into. Enjoy...
Q&A: Moo.com on launching in the US
Moo.com, the online printing company, has recently opened offices in the US, and is now printing and delivering from Rhode Island.
I've been talking to CEO and founder Richard Moross, as well as VP Engineering Simon Lambert and Head of Product Kate Leto, about the US move, and the reasons behind the sucess of Moo.com.
The 25 factors behind brilliant brand / domain names
Last night I calculated that I have spent somewhere in the region of three days brainstorming a domain name for a new web venture. It shouldn’t be this difficult, but it feels like it is something approaching rocket science!
There are two major reasons for this.
Firstly, there is a scarcity of ‘good’ domain names that are available. This typically reduces all of your obvious / immediate options, and leads you into a world of pain.
Secondly, and even more importantly, the domain name is also the brand name (or should be) and as such there are plenty of other considerations to factor in.
So what I’ve done, partly to restore some sanity to the situation (I’m still undecided on my final choices) is to create a checklist of factors that should be taken into account.
Interview with Andy Cockburn of Wigadoo
Andy Cockburn is CEO and co-founder of Wigadoo, a website that helps groups to finance their activities. I talked to him recently about Wigadoo's business model and progress, as well as his experience during the start-up phase...
The bloodbath begins in the startup world
Everybody knew that the economic crisis would have a profound impact on VC-backed technology startups. Many that had been able to raise lots of funding when times were good focused on growth instead of revenue, grew headcount rapidly and planned for M&A levels and IPOs that were a part of an economy that is now a fading memory.
With many VCs unwilling or unable to continue supporting portfolio companies that haven't found a way to support themselves, it was only a time before waves of startups started closing their doors and selling themselves at firesale prices as they ran out of cash.
Q&A: Dan Hart of nowfly.co.uk
Nowfly.co.uk is a newly launched flights search engine which aggregates flights from 340 airlines.
I reviewed the website yesterday, and have also been finding out more from founder and CEO Dan Hart...
Site review: Nowfly.co.uk
Flights search engine Nowfly.co.uk launched this week, offering fast and accurate results from a wide range of flight operators.
There are already plenty of travel comparison sites out there; I have looked at both Travel.co.uk and Skyscanner in the last six months, so how does Nowfly compare?
Scott Adams on confusopolies
Scott Adams is best known as the creator of the popular Dilbert comic strip. Dilbert, of course, has risen to popularity by poking fun at the typical white-collar office that so many of us have experienced first hand.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
