Blogs

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Startup Percolator

The blog posts on Startup Percolator cover a wide range of topics essential for entrepreneurs and startups.

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June 20, 2012

How to Use an Advisory Board

Advisory boards are powerful tools used by companies at all stages of development. Advisory boards are generally comprised of business leaders, scientists, professionals or other persons of influence. Advisory boards can have general duties, such as providing critical advice and introductions, or they can be more issue-focused, such as advising on specific industry sectors or particular products, transactions or other critical strategic decisions.

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June 13, 2012

Startup Lessons from Bob Dylan

Entrepreneurs think big, with visions of iconoclastic products and services that transcend markets. To help these lofty goals, entrepreneurs must learn lessons from innovators in other industries. Today, we turn to the freewheelin' Bob Dylan for some unconventional startup advice.

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May 30, 2012

Equity Compensation: Avoid the Most Common Mistakes

Starting a company has many challenges—the biggest being how to attract top talent when you are cash-strapped. Many companies solve this by offering equity for services.

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May 16, 2012

Back to Basics: Consider the Number of Shares to be Issued When You Form Your Startup

There is no required minimum or maximum number of shares by law that must be issued to founders or reserved in the equity incentive (stock option) pool in a startup. Of course, what does matter is the percentage of the company each individual stockholding represents. A startup may issue 100 shares or 100 million shares at formation, and 50 shares in the former or 50 million shares in the latter still represents 50% of the equity of the startup. A typical equity pool is between 10% and 20% of the total number of shares issued and reserved for issuance.

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May 9, 2012

Changing Roles: From Founding CEO to "Employee"

Perhaps few times for an emerging growth company present more risk than the transition of a founder/CEO to "employee" status. This often happens later in the startup life cycle, when a company has funding and/or sales traction. The difference between a smooth and rocky transition can represent the difference between success and failure of the company.

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May 1, 2012

Founders Equity Vesting

If there are two or more founders in a startup, an important consideration regarding the initial issuance of equity to the team is vesting of the founders' equity.

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April 26, 2012

IP Owners Beware

It is important for founders and IP owners to be wary of the practice derogatorily referred to as “patent trolling.” This practice occurs when a company that has a patent right, either through development or acquisition, enforces those rights against other businesses in an opportunistic manner and typically without any intention to practice, manufacture or market the patented invention.

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April 17, 2012

Write on Paper, Not "Parchment"

When writing your business plan, stay clear, concise and succinct. Follow these three simple guidelines to better make your point to your intended audience. 1. Cut pretense - and acronyms. 2. State your point in the first sentence. 3. Use easy to read formatting.

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April 10, 2012

Conduct Research on Potential Investors

Raising capital for a new startup can be a daunting task for the founders. There are several types of investors and capital sources for startup projects, including friends and family members, angel investors (high net worth individuals), venture capital funds, corporate/strategic investors, and government grants. Each of these capital sources has different investment criteria and expectations.

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April 3, 2012

Developing Your Social Media Presence

To engage potential and current consumers in today's evolving online environment, it is necessary to build a web presence that communicates your company's message and vision in a compelling and effective way. Social media outlets, such as Twitter and other online relationship building tools, can help you develop a bond with your target audience that is built on mutual engagement.

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March 27, 2012

Put Your Customers First

Improve the probability of startup success by maintaining maniacal focus on the needs of your customers. A startup may capture disproportionate media attention with aggressive PR, but nothing can replace the power of extremely satisfied customers.

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March 20, 2012

Benefit as a Benefit Corporation

Is your business making the world a better place but struggling to communicate its public benefit to consumers and investors? Consider filing as a Benefit Corporation or pursuing B Corp Certification to differentiate your company from the crowd.

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March 19, 2012

Selecting a Name for Your Startup

There is one thing people will always associate with your business - its name. Apple, Patagonia, Facebook, Ford - tech, non-tech, it does not matter. A memorable name can be integral to your brand. And today that brand lives both offline and online, so you should choose a name that is not only evocative of your brand but also is useable online, because the internet drives or touches so much of modern commerce.

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March 12, 2012

Find Top Talent for Your Startup

Finding top talent is a challenge for any company, but for a startup it is crucial for success. Traditional methods of finding employees have been replaced, unsurprisingly, with online networking and target marketing.

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February 13, 2012

Advice to New Founders

Starting a business can feel like a roller coaster ride. Learning from the successes and failures of fellow entrepreneurs can help you cope with the highs and lows of business development.