Strategy and tactics must go hand in hand in order for a business to achieve a measure of true momentum, but an effective strategy must be in place before any set of tactics make sense.
Cara Stewart and Theresa Drieke of Remarx Media made a killer presentation about what social media is and also what it isn’t to our bi-monthly brown bag group. While this presentation isn’t quite as powerful without the voice over, it does give you some good grounding in the basics.
One of the things the presenters said that stuck with me was this: “With the speed that the social networking environment is changing, anyone who tells you there are an expert in field doesn’t get it, or is not being truthful.” With my experience with so called experts, all I can say is ‘Amen’.
THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES:
New entrepreneurs make many of the same mistakes, said Ethan Mollick, a professor who specializes in entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. They fail to fully develop a business plan. They neglect important market research. They get into trouble by making poor hiring choices.
“You’re starting to see a trend of investors having to work harder to convince founders that they should be able to invest in that company,” he explains. “There is very much early-stage capital available for startups–many are getting involved in angel investing, and lots of traditional VCs are too. Founders are now asking investors, What are you going to do? Why should I take your money over the other angels? On a day-to-day basis, why is having you in my company going to be a good thing? These are questions that people never asked before.”
In 2001, Matt Chasen’s mother wanted to send an antique dresser from Ohio to Texas, but was staggered when she received a $1,000 shipping quote — far more than the dresser was worth. Unable to find a cheaper option, she never sent it.
See how this prompted an entrepreneur to find his blue ocean business.
From Michael Gonzalez at the Governor’s Office of Economic Development:
The CA i-HUB initiative is designed to promote collaboration, create employment opportunities, shorten the commercialization process
and attract funding for technology. Our new colleague, Katy McKenzie, is the Assistant Deputy Director for Innovation at our office and will be the primary contact for the CA iHub Initiative. For more information about the program as well as the guidelines for Round II, please see the attached pdf files or visit our website at business.ca.gov.
*****Round II offers two application deadlines. Applications can be submitted on either May 20 or July 22!*****
Please send any questions about this initiative to katy.mckenzie@gov.ca.gov.
I hope this is true.
Hoping to ease the small-business credit crunch, six regulatory agencies recently banded together in a joint statement essentially promising to back off second-guessing banks’ loans. “Prudent” small business lending “will not be subject to supervisory criticism,” a regulatory group led by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) said earlier this month.
After spending years building businesses they’re passionate about, many entrepreneurs say they’ll never stop working.
Yet the history of small Internet companies being snapped up by large ones isn’t pretty. Just in the past few months, eBay has had to unload both StumbleUpon (the Web recommendations engine it bought in 2007 for $75 million) as well as the Internet-phone service Skype (purchased in 2005 for $3.1 billion), each for a loss. Yahoo is looking to rid itself of several properties, including Zimbra, the email company it snapped up in 2007 for $350 million. FeedBurner, Jaiku, and Dodgeball are only a few of the startups languishing in obscurity under the Googleplex.
Dispatches From The Front 