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I’ve launched 4 startups so far in my career. And at every other company that I worked for, I treated the role as if it was my own startup. In doing that I found that there are a ton of things that need to be done, but we rarely think about the things that need to NOT be done.

Consider this my gift to you. Most startup advice you read includes more things to add to your to-do list. This is your authorization to reduce and cut back.

1. Stop accepting all the meeting invites

Have you seriously looked at your calendar recently? Unless you’re one of the rare few who already abide by Jason’s calendar practice, then it most likely looks like a train wreck.

Maybe your future genetic clone can attend the double-booked meetings?
In some cases you ...

If you want to compete in the world of high growth startups, you better know how to play the marketing game. Marketing has become a big stakes game where companies are betting fortunes on the success of their products. Nowadays, if you can’t play the big marketing game you may not even get the attention of the customers you need to grow your business.

So how do you compete if you don’t have the cash to run with the big dogs? The answer lies in growing your marketing budget by doubling up on your marketing investments quickly. Chances are the capital you need to compete in this game is right under your nose, you just need to know where to look for it.

Make marketing an investment

The first step to growing your marketing budget is thinking ab...

If you had the idea for Facebook before Mark Zuckerberg, you could have been worth $40 billion like good ol' Mark, right?.

Except, you couldn't. Because the idea alone isn't worth jack.

Not so sure? Ask Jonathan Abrams the incredibly talented Founder who created Friendster in 2002, around the time good ol' Zuck was graduating high school. Friendster was absolutely Facebook before Facebook, as was Hi5 and MySpace.

But unless you're a band from the mid-2000s, you're probably not maintaining a profile anywhere but "the Facebook."

Oh, and technically the idea wasn't Mark's either, but that's a whole other movie.

Why isn't an idea worth mullah?

Think of the idea like a seed.

The seed alone has the potential to be something great, but by itse...

Nancy Duarte is a pro when it comes to presentations. Not just giving presentations, but starting them, finishing them, and every step in between. Author and co-founder of Duarte Designs, Nancy Duarte is a seasoned veteran when it comes to incorporating storytelling into speaking and creating connections with an audience.

The below video is the fifth part in a series of 10 in which Nancy shares the key components to making a successful pitch using creativity and critical thinking. Find out what she has to say:

As an entrepreneur and founder of a startup, you already know you can do a lot of things well. You’re the head under many hats; the go-to guy or gal for a plethora of issues.

Nancy agrees with you. Entrepreneurial-minded people see n...

Building a new product is one of the most exciting ventures for entrepreneurs. You know you’ve got a great idea, and you’re certain consumers will agree. So you put everything into its development — even though as many as 95 percent of new products fail. That means 19 out of 20 products won’t last the year.

When a startup is blinded by a big idea, it closes its eyes to the bigger picture.

The reasons vary, but the biggest culprit appears to be need. About 42 percent of startup founders say their companies failed because consumers didn’t want what they were selling.

When a startup is blinded by a big idea, it closes its eyes to the bigger picture. Companies waste time getting their product to market by adding features a consumer won’t need. ...

Fail fast. Fail forward. Those are just two of the mantras you’ll see hanging in startup offices and incubators across the globe. In the startup world, a failure is considered a learning opportunity, at the least; a feather in the cap of the Founder, at best. We fetishize failure. We normalize it.

But as much as we talk a good game about failure, the reality is that failing sucks. Just as no one goes into their wedding day planning for divorce, no one starts a company thinking, “Yeah, this one will just be my starter. I’ll get it right next time.” No wants to fail, and yet the majority of startups do fail.

According to an examination of startup businesses (by which they mean new companies in general) in the United States conducted by Stati...

Crowdfunding is not only a popular strategy for getting a product or startup off the ground, but also an increasingly viable one.

New legislation lets startups raise capital from the general public. Companies can now receive up to $1 million from non-accredited investors, prompting many businesses to enter the arena and, ultimately, attract more issuers.

What’s more, equity crowdfunding companies like Fundable make the process really easy for companies to raise money on their platforms, which has led to a big expansion in the space.

If you want to reach and inspire the crowdfunding community, video is a great medium. In fact, campaigns that utilize video crowdfunding pitches garner four times more funding than those that don’t.

While the in...

Putting a value on your business can be a tricky enterprise, but it’s not as puzzling as some would have you believe.

The real hurdles come as you attempt to increase that value. What improvements should you make? Where should your priorities lie?

Steady, dependable growth relies on four interrelated factors: earnings, risk, growth prospects, and transferability.

Earnings

Buyers make purchases to see returns on their investments; existing earnings are the most concrete predictors of potential ROI.

If you’re not making money, your value will generally be lower. Potential money is good, but money in hand goes a long way in proving the viability of your business model.

Risk

The less risk in your business’s future, the higher its value.

A few y...

Interest in content marketing has exploded over the past decade, with good reason. It works.

A study from Conductor showed that education content makes consumers 131% more likely to buy. But it’s not just for B2C, with B2B brands seeing value, too. And it works, for less. One estimate claims content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing, while generating approximately 3 times as many leads.

Sounds like an easy decision to get on board with.

What is content marketing?

Before we dive into how to do content marketing, let’s take a step back to rehash what it is. We’ve heard all about content marketing and how awesome it can be for your business (see above!). But let’s be clear on what we are talking about.

Content marketing is st...

Fundraising is incredibly easy. You just call a few investors, tell them how great your idea is, and they write you a check. If your idea is really good, they don’t even ask for equity. They’re just so excited to be a part of your company they can’t wait to give you money.

OK, that’s not true at all.

Companies that successfully raise capital do so because they convince others that their idea is going to be a winner.

The truth is that fundraising is hard. Most people try and fail, no matter how great their preparation, their perseverance, or their idea. That’s because there are far more people looking for capital than there are people writing checks, and therefore an entrepreneur needs to do everything possible to ensure they can successfull...