Work-life balance is an overused phrase for a misunderstood ideal. “Balance” suggests a measuring of weights – or maybe hours. But surely there is no golden ratio of work to personal life that will result in happiness for everyone. Yet we intuitively understand what the phrase means. And what it means, I think, is the…
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Going from launching Facebook in a Harvard dorm room in 2004 to an initial public offering for $104 billion eight years later is an astounding feat for any entrepreneur. Now add to the mix that this was orchestrated by a young leader who has yet to turn 29, and it is unbelievable, fascinating, and raises…
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Any company looking to snag new hires knows recruiting can be a challenge. Companies want their process to be affordable and easy, but digging through social media profiles and managing posts on scattered job boards just isn’t something many businesses have the time or manpower for. Enter RecruitingHop, a startup that’s hoping to fix messy…
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Potential investors love to malign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). And why shouldn’t they? They want to talk to many entrepreneurs without restriction on conversation topics. But on this point the investor’s interests are not the same as the innovator’s. The innovator has one set of important information he or she wants to keep confidential. The shopping…
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Now that 2012 has come to a close, many companies are looking for the best way to compete in a world with increasing competition among startups. Many have finally landed great workers to build their teams, but just how can entrepreneurs ensure they’ll retain their talented employees throughout 2013? Focusing on creating an attractive work…
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With unemployment at 7.9 percent, the job market is flooded with candidates. But are they the right candidates for your jobs? The truth is, the skills gap in the U.S. means your wide pool of applicants doesn’t always translate to the talent necessary to fill open positions. You also can’t just post your position and…
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Reading contracts - it’s not as cool as growth hacking, and it’s not as sexy as raising a Series A round. But it is necessary for every entrepreneur to have a basic understanding of common contract provisions, which can help save both time and money. The topic of this post: indemnification provisions. Here is a basic…
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As a practicing lawyer, I get to see how the sausage is made. Like anything else, when you’re around something all the time you begin to take it for granted. I think that’s why I really struggled to come up with a quick answer when an entrepreneur I recently met asked me for strategies to…
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The biggest challenge to being an entrepreneur is keeping your mental game in check. Not everyone verbalizes it, but everyone feels the anxiety, fear, and occasional shame of not knowing what you are doing. One of the best posts I’ve ever read that exposes this issue is from Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz. It’s called…
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Motivation is elusive. Some days we’re pounding the keyboard, brainstorming ideas, and jabbering on the phone well past dinner; others, we look at the clock only to discover that lunch is still two hours and four minutes away. Especially during the holiday season, it’s hard to stay motivated. We asked around 75 entrepreneurs how they…
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The hundreds of millions of entrepreneurs in this world are amazing people. Through our successes and failures, what we have in common is that we’re driven to fix problems and lead the way to a better world. We are constantly facing uncertainty in what we do, but one thing is always certain – we can’t do…
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Facebook fan pages are a valuable tool for startups and companies looking to promote their product or service on social media. In fact, 80 percent of content marketers use Facebook for content distribution and promotion. Because Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites on the Web, brands don’t need to be told that…
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Seva Call, the DC startup that matches you up with local service providers like computer repairmen and dentists, launched in Boston yesterday. The website lets you submit a request and get calls from up to three local businesses (often) within 1.5 minutes. They use ratings, call analytics, and other feedback to find the best businesses…
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My startup Speek just raised a large seed round – over $1.2 million large. 500 Startups came in first and really kicked things off for us. After a few more months of work, we got some really great angels and VCs in on our deal. We got a bit of press and then celebrated for…
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There are countless obstacles a startup will face while attempting to succeed. For many, it simply comes down to the product itself. Is it innovative enough? Is it solving a real problem? Is it unique enough to withstand the competition? These are all questions founders should continually ask themselves. What if the answer to all…
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Tech Cocktail Week’s first day of lightning talks is officially behind us; they did not disappoint. Ten speakers provided a ten-minute window of wisdom into their realm of expertise. (Follow Day 2 Live on Twitter at #TCWeek) The talks kicked off with Tony Hsieh fielding questions from the audience on the latest happenings with the Downtown…
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Two months after the iPad 2 debuted in March, around 40% of users surveyed said... Read More
This post is part of Tech Cocktail’s “Healthy Entrepreneur” series,... Read More
Locating quality startups in San Francisco is like spotting bees in a hive.... Read More
Today, we’re excited to announce that Tech Cocktail has taken a $2.5M... Read More
This post is part of Tech Cocktail’s “Healthy Entrepreneur” series,... Read More
