What is Venture Capital?

Venture capital is financing that’s invested in startups and small businesses that are usually high risk, but also have the potential for exponential growth.

The goal of a venture capital investment is a very high return for the venture capital firm, usually in the form of an acquisition of the startup or an IPO.

A venture capital firm is usually run by a handful of partners who have raised a large sum of money from a group of limited partners (LPs) to invest on their behalf. The LPs are typically large institutions, like a State Teachers Retirement System or a university who are using the services of the VC to help generate big returns on their money.

The partners then have a window of 7-10 years with which to mak...

What is company culture?

Despite how obsessed the startup world is with company culture, there’s no singular definition we can all turn to. But there are really two parts to it: Philosophical and practical.

On a philosophical level, company culture is the intangible atmosphere of your company. Some people call it the “personality” or the “glue that holds everyone together” or even the “soul.” It’s as much a feeling — of belonging, of shared purpose, even of similar ways of dress — as it is an aspiration for the entire company to contribute to.

“The truth is that culture – on its own – is not the thing that will bring you success in whatever way you may define it for yourself and your team,” Adii Pienaar, founder of Conversio, says. “Buildin...

What is a business grant?

A business grant is a sum of money given to a business in order to help them further their business. They’re usually distributed by governments, corporations, foundations, or trusts. Unlike many other types of business funding, grants don’t have to be paid back and business owners aren’t required to give up equity in exchange for a grant.

However, most small businesses probably won’t qualify for a small business grant, as they’re tied directly to US government agencies that have specific goals. There are some categories of business that are an except, though, including research and development companies, as well as some high tech companies.

State level grants are also tied to the direct economic or social needs and...

Ask people what makes entrepreneurs successful and you’ll hear a familiar list of adjectives; agile, tenacious, resilient, opportunistic, etc.

What you don’t hear is that often they didn’t know any better.

It Can’t Be Done

I was just rereading Jessica Livingston’s book Founders at Work, and a common thread through the stories reminded me that there is a type of technology innovation that occurs in startups when a founder/team simply doesn’t know what they’re attempting is impossible.

Steve Wozniak at Apple building the Apple II floppy disk controller without ever seeing one. The original Fai...

Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital through the collective effort of friends, family, customers, and individual investors. This approach taps into the collective efforts of a large pool of individuals — primarily online via social media and crowdfunding platforms — and leverages their networks for greater reach and exposure.

Crowdfunding is a rapidly growing industry. Below, we explore key statistics including the average raise sizes, the impact marketing has on average raise, and the underlying demographics driving crowdfunding.

KEY CROWDFUNDING STATISTICS

Crowdfunding has Raised A LOT of Money

What may have seemed like a niche way to raise money at first is now a major force in fundraising. Worldwide, companies and individuals ha...

WHAT IS AN LLC?

LLC means “limited liability corporation,” which is a type of business structure that creates a legal entity for the business that is separate from the business owner(s), meaning that the owner(s) are usually not personally liable for the company’s debts or lawsuits. Other common business entity structures such as corporation, general partnership, or sole proprietorship do not offer the same protections.

LLCs, which can be owned by one person (a single-member LLC) or more than one person (a multiple-member LLC), are essentially hybrid entities that combine the asset protection of a corporation with the flow-through taxation benefits of a partnership or sole proprietorship.

LLCs are a popular business entity type for new and...

What is a small business startup loan?

A startup business loan is any type of loan that helps businesses with little to no business history. It's one of many financing options for founders who are looking to either get started or improve their young companies.

Can Startups get a business loan?

Yes, it is possible for startups to get business loans.

However, startups may face more challenges in obtaining financing than established businesses because they often have limited credit history and may not have a track record of profitability.

Startups should carefully research and compare the various financing options available to them and choose the one that best meets their needs and goals.

It's also a good idea for startups to work with a financial a...

How much should a startup Founder pay themselves?

Should we show our commitment and work for nothing? Or should we try to at least match how much we made at our last jobs? How do we have a salary discussion with ourselves? What about our co-founders or investors?

The problem with negotiating a startup salary, even if it's with ourselves, is that we often compare this discussion to how we've thought about salaries in the past. We use the false comparison of a traditional company salary, or we go to the other extreme and assume we have to work for nothing but high fives.

Neither is true.

Startup Founders and their teams simply need to calibrate compensation to how startups themselves grow: dynamically and based on milestones.

Startups Don...

The web has made it possible for everyone from prospective customers to business partners to potential employees to see at the click of a mouse or the tap of a screen what companies have to offer. If upon first glance they see unhappy customers or poor reviews, there’s a very real potential of permanent damage to a business’s bottom line.

Companies’ online reputations reflect how the businesses conduct themselves and how they operate on a daily basis. Increasingly, customers are turning to the information they find online when deciding whether to engage with a brand.

To cultivate a healthy online presence, companies need to constantly demonstrate why people should come to them as industry leaders and trustworthy partners — both in daily cus...

Science Fiction Fact

Now, the core technology that was once merely the product of science fiction writers’ imaginations is less science fiction than it is, well, actual science.

Fear not. Unlike their fictional counterparts — which inevitably go haywire and become less prone to “protect and serve” than “attack and sever”— the increasingly-prevalent bots of the real world are mainly concerned with using actionable data in the fight against crime.

Welcome to the dawn of the Age of Security Robots, where a new crop of tech companies are (literally) rolling out fleets of artificially-intelligent crime-fighting machinery and jockeying for position to revolutionize the $500 billion security industry.

While there are several promising entrants in...