Get Inspired

ZAMP’S SAM ZEBARJADI ON COFOUNDING WITH A SIBLING AND THE GROWING TECH SCENE IN ATLANTA

04.04.12 By Tech Cocktail

Way back at the beginning of the month, Zamp was a showcased startup at our SXSW #StartupLife Celebration Founder Sam Zebarjadi was gracious enough to sit down for an interview, which became part of our SXSW video series (you can watch the interview here).  He talked about his really cool social travel service that connects travelerswhile they are traveling, as well as how to get through the tough days, why the startup life is all about networking, and how the idea of stealth mode is dying.

Because we could only cover so much in the video interview, I circled back with him to learn more about what it’s like to co-found a company with your brother and learn more about the burgeoning startup scene in Atlanta.

Read more from Tech Cocktail

Startups

PAUL SINGH ON VENTURE CAPITALISTS AND RAISING MONEY

02.21.12 From Tech Cocktail

Last week I got a chance to listen to Paul Singh from 500 Startups talk about raising money at The Fort. First of all, I have to say that almost every sentence Paul uttered could have been used as a quote on its own. Below are the best ones, which I broke down into 3 basic steps for raising capital for your startup.

Step 1 – When you are ready to start approaching investors, do not run around knocking on every door. Have a targeted approach.

“Think of investing as phases. Create a hit list of investors and sort them by ranking. Take the people on the bottom and test your pitch on them first. Pay attention to the questions they ask you, because there is a 90% chance you will get those questions again.” Read more from Tech Cocktail

Startups

Startup CEO New Years Resolution: Five Things I’ll Stop Doing Next Year

01.01.12 Posted from Tech Cocktail

1. I’m going to stop waiting till next year.  I’m not waiting till next week, next month, next year.  The next time I look at an item on my to-do list for the 2nd or 3rd time, instead of putting it off again for another indefinite future execution date that I won’t meet, I’m taking it off my list or getting it done now.  If every time I come to this to-do item, I push it back, it’s either not important so I’ll drop it or I’m avoiding it for the wrong reason’s and I’m going to stop avoiding it. Read more from Tech Cocktail

Get Inspired

Vanquishing Entrepreneurial, Politically Correct Boogeypersons

12.08.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

“I’m not good enough.” “I need to be perfect.” “I need to be in control.” “I will avoid confrontation at all costs.”

We all have them.  They’re still there haunting us from our childhood nightmares.  They are the boogeymen (or boogeypersons if you prefer) of our youth.  They are self-limiting beliefs. We all have them, and as adults we continue to confront them every day.

They show up all the time, and we pretend that they are not there.  They frequently appear as the important tasks that we constantly avoid.  They are the item on the top of our to-do list that rolls over each day to the next without ever being completed. They are the product we keep talking about building that never goes farther than talk.  They are the difficult conversation we avoid with an employee, a friend, or a spouse. They are the great idea we know is a winner but are scared to pursue.  They are the boogeymen of our youth and they cost us dearly. Read more at Tech Cocktail

How To

3 Keys to Building Great Financial Models

12.03.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

Tech Cocktail is happy to share three keys to building a great financial model by guest author Taylor Davidson, creator of Excel template financial models for startups.

Financial models are always wrong, but it’s important to create one anyway. Creating a financial model forces you to outline very specifically how your business “works”: how a company creates their products, how users and customers find and use their products and how those processes create revenues and costs. The result, a set of operational metrics, financial statements and the “equation of the business,” creates a map for you to explore how your tactical product, marketing, organizational and strategic decisions impact your company’s profitability. Read more from Tech Cocktail

Get Inspired

Harvard Launches Innovation Lab

11.22.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

The Ivy League school whose super-famous dropouts Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have revolutionized our lives has launched an incubator.

The Harvard innovation lab, or i-lab, will bring together students with big ideas with the entrepreneurs, faculty, and those in the Boston area who can help get those big ideas off the ground. They are already incubating a few neat ideas: Read more from Tech Cocktail

Startups

Brian Solis Talks The End of Business As Usual

11.18.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

Last Wednesday night at the DCWEEK Opening Keynotes, an interesting mix of technologists and social anthropologists took the stage at Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. and talked to over a thousand tech enthusiasts about mobility, innovation and the future.

One of Tech Cocktail’s good friends Brian Solis had many fans in the crowd and shared his thoughts on the future of business, or as he puts it, The End Of Business As Usual, which happens to be the title of his latest book.

Click to watch the full DCWEEK Opening Keynote featuring Brian Solis. Read more from Tech Cocktail

Startups

5 Startup Tips for Non-Technical Co-Founders

10.10.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

If you are a non-technical person ready to put together a startup, there are some very important things you must do before you start to look for a technical co-founder, though in fact, you can launch your tech startup without one.

One of the first things I did when I left my  job at Goldman Sachs was to start looking for a technical co-founder.  I read multiple blog posts and commentaries about the difficulty of finding a technical co-founder.  Some were nicer than others.  But the less encouraging ones put zero value on being a business co-founder.  The comments section for many of these posts were filled with “How could you possibly think someone will want to join you?”

But then I realized why. Read more from Tech Cocktail

Startups

Students Helping Startups: Free Social Media Marketing Program – Apply Now

08.13.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

Students Helping Startups is an innovative new program at Howard University in Washington, DC. Here’s the concept: There are lots of students learning about marketing and social media, and they need projects to take on for the semester. At the same time, Professor Angela Hausman noticed there are lots of startups out there who may enjoy some help marketing their product or service. So why not match them up?  Students get real-world experience and startups get actual help. Read more from Tech Cocktail