We all hear that media relations is changing – no freakin’ kidding. We’re also changing the way we make coffee (hello, Keurigs), host meetings (hello, video conferencing), and get around (to be honest, I still don’t understand Segways). Yes, media relations is changing. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’ll be…
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Like a good marriage, slideshow presentations should have harmony and balance. They shouldn’t be complicated and messy, but smooth and inspiring. Married cofounders Ravi and Tiffany Mehta have set out to bring beauty and ease to presentations with Slidevana. Before rushing off to a meeting with an investor or a sales pitch to a new…
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Editor’s Note: This blog post has been excerpted from an article that was originally published by Zvi Band on his blog. The question is not how far. The question is, do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed? – Boondock Saints As I think about the primary…
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1. Seven days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work, for the startup life knows no sabbath. That includes holy days. All-night coding sessions, missed meals, and triple espressos are the order of the day. 2. Thou shalt not torture thy customers with an endless beta. To a customer, the “beta testing” label doesn’t…
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Tech Cocktail is happy to share 4 key insights by entrepreneurs about financial models by guest author Taylor Davidson, creator of Excel template financial models for startups. Ask any entrepreneur about what they’re building and the problems they are solving, and their eyes light up. But ask any entrepreneur about their financial model, and the energy…
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Productivity is not just a vague concept that highly privileged corporate executives boast about. There are specific, everyday actions that can boost anyone’s productivity and save valuable time. Have you heard about the Getting Things Done book? It’s a culmination of author David Allen’s 30-year experience doing consulting and private coaching in both personal and…
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The last day of Startup Weekend gave teams the opportunity to make their final push in developing a minimum viable product. After a busy workday, participants returned to the University of Phoenix to hear from Dr. Evans Baiya, president of Evastrategics Inc., an intellectual competitiveness consulting firm. Dr. Baiya spoke about creating an innovative culture,…
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On the second day of Idaho’s fourth Startup Weekend, doors opened at 8:30 a.m. at the University of Phoenix for the teams to reconvene and work on their product. At the end of the day, they gave an update on their projects and discussed opportunities and challenges that arose during the development process. After dinner,…
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Last month I discussed the 83(b) election for income tax purposes, and how it can be used to entertain and mystify your key employees. A proper 83(b) election has various requirements imposed by the IRS, and unlike proverbial horseshoes and hand grenades, close doesn’t count. Here are the key procedural matters to consider when an…
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A dark and insidious being is growing stronger and stronger in your office while you are out conducting business. Customer contracts, leases, organizational documents, employee reviews, invoices, notices from the government – all of this paper will coalesce at some point with the goal of ruining you. Imagine that you’re about to close on an…
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Editor’s Note: This blog post has been excerpted from an article that was originally published by Scott Krager on his blog. For a bootstrapped startup short on cash but long on passion, SEO can be a phenomenal way to generate sales. The problem: SEO is easy in theory, but actually getting results can be challenging for startups. I spent…
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Last night, on a beautiful evening in Cambridge, we hosted our second Tech Cocktail Sessions event in the Boston area. The theme of the evening was “Relationships Matter” and each speaker shared experiences and advice on how to leverage the power of your network to build a business. On hand for the event was C. Todd…
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One of the most important elements of a tech ecosystem is the level of collaboration that takes place in the community. That’s why Startup Weekend, a global event in which participants pitch their ideas, form teams, and build a viable product in only 54 hours, is such a valuable opportunity for entrepreneurs. More than 40…
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“How do I improve my open rates?” It’s the question that every marketer has asked at some point. You’ve spent hours crafting the perfect e-mail, testing every link, playing with different subject lines and delivery times. Yet no matter what you do, a significant portion will never even open the e-mail that you’ve put…
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At its best, raising funding can be an exciting, educational, validating process during which you gain a group of mentors and partners literally invested in the success of your idea. At its worst, raising funding can be an overwhelming, embarrassing, tedious, stressful, long-and-drawn-out process that leaves you uneasy about the terms of your deal. The…
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Summer is a time for scrolling through your playlist at a beach barbecue, not scrolling through unread messages in your inbox. Few startups know this better than AwayFind, which aims to get you out of your inbox during the summer (and the rest of the year, too). AwayFind does that by alerting you to urgent…
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Two months after the iPad 2 debuted in March, around 40% of users surveyed said... Read More
Looking for a way to make your business dreams become a reality? With Elevatr,... Read More
This post is part of Tech Cocktail’s “Psychological Guide to Starting Up,”... Read More
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an... Read More
We started Modify Watches in 2010, after graduating from UC Berkeley’s Haas... Read More