entrepreneurs | Internet Marketing Blog

Are startup accelerators a waste of time?

If you're an entrepreneur today looking to start a company, there's a decent chance you've looked at an accelerator program.

The proposition is compelling: funding, access to resources, events, fellowship with other entrepenreurs, and introductions to venture capitalists who can fund your growth.

by Patricio Robles 22 June 2012 19:29pm 2 comments

The biggest tech mistakes startups make and how to avoid them

Everybody loves a successful startup, but even the most successful startups generally overcome plenty of mistakes before they become successful. Unfortunately, for many young companies that don't win in the marketplace, failure is the product of fatal mistakes.

Like most things in life, mistakes aren't created equal, and when it comes to the mistakes that can really hurt a young startup, technology mistakes can be particularly pernicious.

Here are several of the biggest technology mistakes startups make and how they can be avoided.

by Patricio Robles 19 June 2012 18:18pm 7 comments

Index Ventures raises €350m fund

Talk to startup founders around the world and you'll probably notice a pattern: US-based entrepreneurs, particularly those in Silicon Valley, consider fundraising a lot less of a problem than their counterparts in Europe.

Silicon Valley is the startup world's mecca, and it's no surprise that the world's most prominent VC firms call Sand Hill Road home. But European entrepreneurs looking for capital received some good news last week as Index Ventures announced a new €350m fund with a European focus.

by Patricio Robles 18 June 2012 22:07pm 0 comments

Dell announces financing program for startups

The global economy may be on the brink of another downturn and Facebook's IPO has some suggesting that it's 'RIP Good Times' all over again, but Dell is betting that high-growth startups are going to need hardware regardless.

Yesterday, it announced a new financing program designed to encourage startups to select Dell products.

by Patricio Robles 08 June 2012 17:23pm 0 comments

Is the startup boom an illusion?

If you're avid reader of blogs like this one, chances are you can't go a day without hearing of a new startup that is seeking to revolutionize an industry, that just raised a round of funding, or that was acquired by a major company.

The global economic outlook may be uncertain, but startups are thriving. Or at least so it appears.

by Patricio Robles 03 May 2012 15:06pm 4 comments

Five tips for finding a co-founder

With Silicon Valley partying like it's 1999, it's no surprise that everyone wants to be entrepreneur.

Maybe you have a great idea for an app, or know precisely how to disrupt a big industry with a new cloud-based software offering. Unfortunately, if you weren't born writing Ruby on Rails applications and Python scripts, the only thing standing between you and a $1bn acquisition is having a real product.

And so it goes that Silicon Valley is filled with two groups of entrepreneurs today: the cool kids who have the chops to build stuff and the non-technical entrepreneurs who want to team up with them.

by Patricio Robles 16 April 2012 17:32pm 7 comments

The CROWDFUND Act: everything you need to know

Yesterday, United States President Barack Obama signed into law the JOBS Act, which may be the most significant update to securities regulations since Sarbanes–Oxley was passed in 2002.

One portion of the new law, the CROWDFUND Act, has been creating a lot of buzz in Silicon Valley for months, as it will make it legal for startups the ability to raise money in small chunks from large numbers of non-accredited investors.

by Patricio Robles 06 April 2012 15:46pm 2 comments

US Senate passes crowdfunding legislation

Non-accredited investors interested in investing in young companies and entrepreneurs hoping to use the internet to raise money for their startups are one step closer to their dreams today after the United States Senate passed the Capital Raising Online While Deterring Fraud and Unethical Non-Disclosure Act, also known as the CROWDFUND Act.

The Act is the Senate's version of similar legislation that had already passed in the US House of Representatives and once reconciled, a final bill can be sent to president Barack Obama to be signed into law.

by Patricio Robles 22 March 2012 21:11pm 0 comments

Crowdfunding: four things entrepreneurs should consider

Crowdfunding may soon be a reality in the United States, giving entrepreneurs and would-be mom-and-pop startup investors reason for celebration.

And make no mistake about it: crowdfunding could be one of the most significant changes to hit the startup world in a long time, providing entrepreneurs with a much larger market in which to raise capital for their companies.

by Patricio Robles 16 March 2012 16:50pm 5 comments

The real reason investors are backing adolescent CEOs

When you think of Silicon Valley, you're probably more likely to think of young entrepreneurs risking it all on ideas that can change the world.

That image of a Silicon Valley driven by young, ambitious individuals is, of course, only partly true. There's plenty of gray hair in Silicon Valley, particularly on Sand Hill Road and in the hallways of some of the Valley's most profitable companies, like Oracle, Cisco and HP.

by Patricio Robles 21 February 2012 23:11pm 0 comments