There are some amazing numbers coming out around crowdfunding. The first ever Crowdfunding Industry Report, from Massolution, revealed that $1.5 billion was raised in 2011 from sites like Kickstarter, Indigogo, etc. That’s a lot of investment!
Perhaps the most talked about crowdfunded project lately has bee the Pebble Smartwatch. Just this week, the company had had so much success, they were forced to cut off funding offers at $1 and stop taking orders. This is not only a success story for Pebble, this is a success story for startups and entrepreneurs everywhere who can potentially use crowdfunding investment to kick their projects into high gear.
“Driven by equity-based and reward-based crowdfunding, our forecasts indicate total funds raised will nearly double this year. Additionally, the passing of the JOBS ACT will have a profound effect on the growth of crowdfunding in the U.S. In 2013, we expect securities-based crowdfunding to bring new sources of funding to many startups and early stage businesses,” said Carl Esposti, chief executive of Massolution in a statement. (Souce: VentureBeat).
Below are four types of crowdfunding we’re seeing gain traction:
1. Equity Based Crowdfunding: Investors receive a stake in the company. (If Pebble goes big, you get a percentage of the prize).
2. Donation Based Crowdfunding: Contributions go towards a charitable cause. (You paid for 50 children in Africa to receive watches).
3. Lending Based Crowdfunding: Investors are repaid for their investment over a period of time. (You invest in Pebble, and get your money paid back over time).
4. Reward Based Crowfunding: Investors receive a tangible item or service in return for their funds. (You invest in Pebble, and get a first edition watch.)
So, now that we see where this is going, how do you feel about this? Is this a win for entrepreneurs? Is it a passing fad? Is it legally doomed?
Have you ever cringed after getting the introduction email, “You two should really meet”? Have you debated how to handle a request to connect a questionable friend to a prominent VC? What about the time someone wanted a job referral?
Navigating the art of introduction emails is tricky at best. If you over-intro, you risk ruining your personal brand. If you under-intro, you are seen as “not giving back” and may suffer negative karma repercussions.
So what are we to do?
Mark Suster wrote a great article that lays out etiquette and rationales for when intro emails are a good idea, and when they are frightfully wrong. Read on. It may help save your reputation.
It’s simple. “He Who Has the Gold, Makes the Rules.” This timeless quote answers your question, “Why hasn’t he responded to me yet?”
Although many people may understand this conceptually, 75% fail to live by it and ruin their chances for success. Make no mistake: This ‘Golden Rule’ drives business in and outside of Silicon Valley. Regardless if you are looking for funding, sales leads, a job or just advice, you need to follow these 5 basic rules to be successful.
Rule #1: Respect Power Dynamics
If YOU WANT something from someone else then THEY HAVE the power. If you are trying to sell, ask or show, YOU must make the effort. No one will call you, come to you, or do any work. “He who has the gold gets to be lazy.”
➢ Offer to come to drop by their office at 7 am and bring them a coffee on your way to work.
➢ Be available at odd hours like nighttime. Their free time may be 9pm.
All the good URLs are gone. Face it. There are people sitting on spectacular domain names asking for bucket loads of money that no startup could ever pony up. You can make up a word, drop a vowel, end it with Italy’s extension .it, or Libya’s .ly. You can even create a pun in misspellings. The most important thing to remember when naming your new venture is do research and listen to what you friends and gut are telling you.
1. How does it feel to type it on the keyboard?
2. Are you listening to why people don’t like it? What are they saying?
We watch a lot of TED videos at Dealmaker Media… a lot. They really are, “Ideas Worth Spreading.”
It takes a special kind of mind and character to develop and articulate a TED-worthy lecture. Lecture isn’t even the right word; they’re more sermonic. While a lifetime membership to your local Toastmasters International may get you close, you’ll need more than a couple cool ideas to land yourself on the TED stage. It helps if you’ve won a Noble Prize, led a major country, written several best sellers, single-handedly saved school lunches, or if your names are Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Read more
Amrit Richmond, the Community Outreach Manager at TechStars NYC has created a blog that is not only amusing… it’s awesome.
It’s called “The Internet Wishlist” and it’s exactly that. It’s a place for individuals to post all the things they wish the internet could provide for them… (Developers should LOVE this website… the ideas are already generated, just time to start building!) Read more
Last night while driving around my neighborhood looking for parking, I came to a red light. A black SUV rolled up next to me and stopped in front of the Musician’s Entrance of the San Francisco Symphony. I figured there was a VIP of some kind and looked to see if I would recognize them. Out of the car steps non other than Steve Jobs. A shot of adrenaline hit my system. He helped a blonde woman out of the car behind him (who after a quick Google search later that evening, I discovered to be his wife). He was smiling broadly, and looked happy and healthy. His wife looked beautiful, and they casually walked into the musician’s entrance and up to stairs around the corner. With that, my light turned green and off I drove. It was one of those serendipitous moments when the timing and placement is perfect.
Today, Google is announcing their +1 Button. It’s a button similar to the Facebook “Like” Button and the Twitter “Retweet” button. The button will appear next to Google Ads and Google search results and will allow people to quickly and easily ”+1″ their findings and thus create a record of their likes for themselves and their friends. Here’s what it looks like on my google profile:
With pleasure, the ladies of Dealmaker Media share our favorite new image – Life as a startup in 1999BC (Before Cloud) and 2011AC (After Cloud). Click to see a more readable version.
The healthy thing to do when eating any meal is to step away from the keyboard or laptop for a bit, and eat without distraction. It promotes better digestion or something…
However, the reality is, most of us don’t do this. In fact, most of us eat at our computers and are doing well if we even attempt to lean away from the computer as we chomp into the burger, slurp the soup, or bite into the crumbly cookie. Read more
There are a lot of Valentine’s Day lists being shuffled around the internet today and some aren’t half bad. Some are just a bit too tech-y for the ladies at Dealmaker Media, but here are few we just absolutely love.
This cute Cuff Bracelet, available from KarlaWheeler Design’s etsy shop will keep your wrist stylish, while only subtly exposing your inner geek. The best part? You can either have 480 characters of Pi etched or your own special message etched in binary code!
Pi Etched Bracelet on Etsy
Young-enough to not own them now, but old enough to remember owning them – I think that the cassette tape is getting a bit played out in the crafty scene, but this USB drive was a welcome addition to hoards of analog art. The idea behind it is to put some love songs on the drive, then decorate the case just like you would have when tapes were cool. Spicoli would be proud.
SuckUK's USB Stick Mixtape
Another analog offering, and one my favorites, is 8-bit wood block art in the design of all your favorite 8-bit video games, including Contra, ExciteBike, Pitfall, Mario, Joust, and more! Check out artist Jeff Swenty’s site if you’re interested in buying some – there is even a discount for game developers.
Ninja Gaiden!
And of course, no Valentine’s Day gift guide would be complete without a chocolate gift. These yummy mice from New Hampshire’s L.A. Burdick Chocolate are so adorable, I’d almost rather have them as a pet than a treat!
yummy.
If you have no one to buy these gifts for, buy them anyway. There is no shame in spoiling yourself. But if you need to buy this or this, then you may want to spend less time with your iPad and more time with your real friends.
Finally, from the fabulous ladies at Dealmaker Media and with the help of the brilliant folks at SomeECards – Happy Valentine’s Day!
What would you get the tech (and not-so-techy) love in your life? Let us know!
Last night I was driving across the Bay Bridge, (as a passanger, not a driver), and I was looking at my phone and scrolling through work emails, tweets, and facebook postings. I was also half listening to NPR when a piece came on in which a man with a fantastic accent starting talking about something I had never heard of but instantly identified with: D.A.D. (Divided Attention Disorder.)
This man, “Colm O’Regan,” was witty, insightful and discussed issues that many of us are grappling with today. Being distracted by media.
O’Regan talked about how he used to read books and imagine towns and locations in his head, and now when he reads about a place, he has a voice telling him, “Look it up on StreetView and see for yourself”.
O’Regan mentions how the only reason he even read an article about D.A.D. in the first place, was because he was waiting at his barbershop and there was no cell reception there.
There’s twitter, facebook, emails, blogs, text messages, phone calls, and so much more to get us off track and distracted.
Be honest. Do you find it is hard to actually read a book now because instead you’re playing Angry Birds on your iPhone, FlipBoarding on your iPad, or “catching up” on your infinite string of emails? It’s not that we have inherently less time, it’s that we have more fun distractions.
O’Regan asks, “Are we seeking instant gratification at the expense of deep thinking?” Dun, dun, dun.
I’m going to try and take a little media vacation… Right after I post this blog, update my facebook status, tweet about DAD, and email some people back…
One of the benefits of being an “Under The Radar” company is the extensive coaching we do to fine-tune your pitch and offering, so that even your Grandmother would understand what you are building. Let’s be honest, right now she has no clue – except that it has something to do with that computer-thingy.
Let’s face it…developers know better than anyone what they are doing, but aren’t always known for their eloquence in explaining it to the rest of the world. The overuse of jargon often muddles the conversation and leave most people wondering what the hell they just said. Incubators help. Good Biz Dev people help. Dealmaker Media kicks ass at it.
The worst culprits are companies in Beta-mode. We know you don’t want to give away the farm before you’ve figured out your business model, but you can make the quick description on your site a little less cryptic.
Here’s a great example – www.YKombinator.com. No, it’s not the famous incubator misspelled. Yes, they’ll probably get a letter from the famous incubator. No, it’s not a serious startup, but Yes, it’s the best satirization of the world of betas, startups, and jargon we’ve seen so far. It’s a random startup generator!
For maximum laughs, make sure you refresh their homepage several times.
(Note to startups: feel free to use their paragraph as a template for your own beta pitch paragraph)
In case you missed seeing the Triple Zuckerberg moment on SNL this weekend, here is a clip from the opening scene to get you up to speed… Maybe not as good as the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin resemblance, but still amusing.
Facebook’s new messaging system is taking that information into consideration and making their new messaging service more instant, interactive, and personal. No BCC, no CC, no Signature, no subject line. As you hit the return key, lines of your message are sent fluidly, making the conversation more like, well, a conversation.
So… I put together a little test. Now, I’m no Cosmo Quiz maker, but give this a shot and let’s see what kind of results we get. Answer the three questions below, add the numbers of your top choices together, and see what number you come up with.
1. What type of messaging is MOST important to you? What do you use most?
30. Writing Letters (like with pens and paper people)
25. Paging
25. Faxing
15. Email
10. Facebook
10. Instant Messaging (i.e. Online Chats)
5. Texting
2. How often do you text message? (Sent and received combined)
25. Not all all. Never.
25. Maybe a few text messages a week
20. Less than 10 a day.
15. Less than thirty a day.
10. Somewhere between thirty and fifty a day.
5. Between fifty and a hundred a day.
5. Over a hundred a day.
3. How active are you on Facebook?
30. You don’t have an account.
20. You have an account but never go on (less than once a month).
15. You have an account and Login every week and spend five minutes browsing before logging out.
10. You sign on every day and comment on photos, join groups, chat with friends, etc. (But you spend 30-minutes or less a day doing this).
5. You sign on multiple times a day and keep a running tab on updates and friends.
5. You are on all the time and check it when you wake up, when you go to bed, and throughout the day.
Instructions again:
Pick your top choice in each the the three categories. Add the three numbers together.
What is the number you get? Are we within a decade of your age? Well, it was worth a try.
