Why is timing so important for startups?
For years I’ve been talking about the three timing options for startups: You can be a little late – in which case, your always chasing the market leaders You can be just a little early – this would be the ideal timing. Usually this means your product is behind and you end up in the
Read MoreUS Technology companies in China – prepare for a “knife fight”
Great article in the SiliconValley.com today about Valley Tech firms eyeing the China market… with nearly a half-billion internet users, it’s a huge market – with huge challenges… Secrets don’t remain secret, government challenges and cut throat tactics are just a start. Silicon Valley companies have long eyed China’s Internet market, fast approaching a half-billion
Read MoreWhy the fear of failure could make you fail…
Yes you do learn more from your failure then your success… but it still sucks. Chris O’Brien writes about FailCon 2010 in San Francisco, a conference dedicated to… you guessed it… failure. The idea is that we can learn from the mistakes of other versus our own experience. Here’s the summary: be honest and transparent,
Read MoreStock Option Plans for Startups vs. Profits Interest
I had a great conversation today with Kendall Kunz about using Profits Interest instead of Stock Options plans for startups. Well, the topic was broader then just startups. Tub the idea is that a Profits Interest functions similarly to an option agreement. It can also take advantage of the LLC corporate model vs. C Corp (if you
Read MoreTechStars in Seattle – Oct 15
David Cohen will be in town with Brad Feld on Friday October 15th. They’re promoting their new book, Do More Faster, with a 15 city book tour. As part of this, there are several events going on we’d like you to know about. 1pm – Pitch More Faster – at TechStars Seattle – Brad and several other VCs
Read MoreSmall Business Capital Gains Exemption – what happens after January 1st?
Great Article from Perkins Coie For investments in qualified small business stock made after December 31, 2010, only 50% of the capital gains generally will be excluded from gross income. However, in most situations, these capital gains will be taxed at an effective rate equal to the 20% expected long-term capital gains rate as a result of
Read MoreMore on the Founder Institute
The Founder Institute is a technology startup accelerator and entrepreneur training program currently on pace to launch over 500 companies per year in over 13 cities worldwide. The program identifies high-potential entrepreneurs using predictive social science testing, and then guides them through weekly company-building sessions featuring a network of over 250 CEO Mentors. All program
Read MoreFounder Institute Winter Semester – SEATTLE
I’ll be facilitating the Winter Semester of the Founder Institute in Seattle. More info to follow http://www.founderinstitute.com/apply/27
Read MoreSmall Business Tax Bill signed – Zero Capital Gain Tax
Still working out the fine print I’m sure… but here’s an excerpt from TaxProfBlog that represents an opportunity for Angel Investors… Zero Taxes on Capital Gains from Key Small Business Investments: Under the Recovery Act, 75 percent of capital gains on key small business investments this year were excluded from taxes. The Small Business Jobs
Read MoreAmazon App Store… Blackberry tablet
TechCrunch announced yesterday that Amazon is planning on launching an app store for Android devices… a direct competitor for Google. http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/27/amazon-android-app-store/ Blackberry announced the “pre-release” of it’s Playbook tablet. It will be built on their new QNX platform, not Blackberry 6.0. No pricing yet and it won’t be out until Q2 2011… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-27/rim-unveils-tablet-computer-as-blackberry-manufacturer-chases-apple-s-ipad.html
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