Forums Search

Part of planning for your startup’s success is finding the right working space for your team and your clients. Property’s expensive, and leases are binding; when you’re in a rapid-growth phase, how can you predict your office needs a year or two from now?

Maybe you’ll add two new team members — will they need offices? If you plan to add a new department in the next 18 months, will you need larger meeting rooms? If you want to attract top talent, will your office environment appeal to them?

Business owners and founders of growing companies face a practical dilemma when it comes to office space. There is no such thing as a perfect lease for a company that is growing fast. Getting the space right is vital to the health and development of your ...

If Product A & B are identical, what could cause Product A to sell 5x more than Product B?

I love button up short sleeve shirts, I usually buy them at $15-$30. I came across one I loved, but it costs a whopping $85! How can one mimic their bold pricing positioning to become a premium brand vs. a mid-range brand?

Randy Tucker, Startup Founder, answered:

Purchase decisions are made based on presentation and then need. The same products presented in different methods will sell drastically different. Think about this, shirt A & B are identical, Shirt A is presented in a comfortable nice store with a well dressed sales person and Shirt B is neatly folded and laid out in a street vendors trunk. At the same price, shirt A will sell better. The on...

Why the hell would anyone quit a stable, successful, six-figure job at a global company? A job where you work with fun, intelligent colleagues, get heated covered parking (crucial in Chicago), and can travel the world almost any day you choose. A career that helps support a family, pays the mortgage, and still leaves a few bucks left over for all the protein bars you can eat. You’d have to be an idiot, right?!

Hi — I’m Dennis. Your typical idiot entrepreneur.

My sources of motivation: family, friends, sports, and a startup. (Dennis Timpanaro)

Truth is, some days I do feel like a real dumb dumb for starting my own business. Those days I tend to focus on my shortcomings and failures. I vividly relive getting cut at the Olympic Trials, being ...

There are a lot of accomplishments in Sheila Marcelo’s official bio, not least of which is founding running the publicly traded Care.com. One thing that isn’t in all those official bios is that Marcelo– a Filipino born girl who was sent to America to get educated and become a lawyer– got pregnant unexpectedly in college. At a women’s college no less.

She wound up marrying her boyfriend of just three months and having the baby, but that wasn’t necessarily a given. “I was worried,” she says. “I wanted to be a banker. I was worried about what I was going to do in my career. Was this going to hold me back? He kind of said all the right things.” He also said the right thing to her parents at the wedding: “We will make sure she gets to law school...

People are constantly bombarded with ads in their day-to-day lives, and as a result, they’ve learned to tune them out. The same is true of sales pitches. Even when we’re forced to sit through them, we’re naturally on the defensive, which is why it’s important to replace the traditional sales pitch with a more personal, client-focused experience.

For any business development strategy to reach its full potential, you need to put yourself in the shoes of the customer or company you’re selling to and understand their goals and objectives. What are their needs, and can you adeptly provide a solution without causing friction? Instead of taking the approach of a hammer seeking a nail, look at the problem your customer is facing and tailor your sol...

Positive employee morale in the office is the key ingredient to a successful company. If morale is low, employees will often be disengaged and less productive on the job. Startups are known for being great places to work and fostering a positive company culture.

How do they do this? Let’s find out!

Tip #1 — Get Feedback and Use It

Companies are built from honest feedback. Listen to what your employees want, and follow up. Encourage an honest and open environment to find out what employees are looking to get out of their job. Whether it’s more flexibility or a snack bar in the office, genuinely listen and do your best to make it happen!

Many companies offer additional benefits to their employees such as health insurance, snacks, stock optio...

Millennials in the workforce prefer experiences over other forms of compensation. This generation would rather travel to new places and try new things than toil away in a cubicle and receive an annual bonus check.

This is good news for companies that are eager to attract young talent without resorting to stratospheric salaries. But placing a greater priority on business travel creates a different set of cost concerns.

Millennials have proven to be more willing than older generations to splurge on the company dime when traveling. Because many consider business travel as a working vacation, they are generally less interested in traveling frugally.

This puts smaller companies and startups in a difficult spot. Making business travel a regular p...

I first started interviewing with Google as a 22-year old. This year, I turn 30. Google is an exceptional place to work — the culture, people, products, and perks are world-class. Having spent the bulk of my 20’s with Google, I can say with confidence that the company grew to be more than an employer to me; it became family. So my decision to leave was very challenging.

However, when I think of where I am headed next — to start my own company to educate kids about financial literacy — I am filled with excitement and optimism. I am also filled with fear. Walking away from comfort, predictability, and an income — all at the same time — surely qualifies as the biggest “here goes nothing” moment in my life. This is my story.

Broken Technology ...

The acquisition of new donors is important, but you can’t neglect past donors and the support they bring. While the retention rate of first-year donors is only 23.7%, the retention rate of multi-year donors jumps to just over 58%.

Build a relationship with those supporters and keep them engaged outside of fundraising. That will keep your retention rates up and they’ll be more likely to respond when you call on them.

Email marketing is a great, non-invasive, and non-interruptive way to stay in front of supporters while also providing value. Even better, the ROI is significant. As your list grows, a single email to your supporters could trigger an influx of donations, greatly reducing the time it takes to hit fundraising targets.

Here’s how ...

What happens when we've got someone in the organization who’s just simply a bad apple? What's the cost of waiting to address that problem?

It's a tried and true case of the "toxic employee" — and nearly every startup deals with it sooner or later.

What's a toxic employee?

A toxic employee is someone in the organization who absolutely loves to trash the organization, or in some cases just cause nonstop drama.

They can't wait to get into any situation where they can tell anyone willing to listen what a bunch of idiots run the company while insisting that their solution (if they have one) is clearly the answer.

They get their validation from stirring up problems, not solving them.

What's the cost of doing nothing?

The cost of doing nothing ...