It's summer -- even if the weather of the past
few days doesn't quite feel that way -- and a spirit of
change comes with it. June 2009 has been dubbed "Innovation Month" in
New England's Web Entrepreneurial community and startups are an
important piece of this.
In a piece on Startable Healy Jones explains that as aspiring entrepreneurs dream up new start-ups, the biggest part of selling their ideas is selling themselves. His experience as a venture capitalist led him to write about how there are times when good ideas are undercut by unfavorable impressions of the founders.
A trend in the world of successful start-ups that seems to be picking up steam is to take on a complicated juggling act. Managing more than one venture at a time is becoming a more popular activity among entrepreneurs, and while some may make it seem easy, the process of mangaging parallel ventures truly takes a skilled business mind.
In a piece on Startable Healy Jones explains that as aspiring entrepreneurs dream up new start-ups, the biggest part of selling their ideas is selling themselves. His experience as a venture capitalist led him to write about how there are times when good ideas are undercut by unfavorable impressions of the founders.
A trend in the world of successful start-ups that seems to be picking up steam is to take on a complicated juggling act. Managing more than one venture at a time is becoming a more popular activity among entrepreneurs, and while some may make it seem easy, the process of mangaging parallel ventures truly takes a skilled business mind.
As a serial/parallel entrepreneur myself, I can
tell you it doesn't always work well! While it is increasingly easy to
start a new venture given the wonders of modern web technology, it
isn't any easier to balance the needs of several businesses.
Now on to events and news...
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, June 3
8:30am OpenCoffee in Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, June 10
8:30am OpenCoffee in Cambridge, MA
6:00pm Mass Innovation Night
Monday, June 15
6:30pm Mobile Monday Boston
Tuesday, June 16
6:30pm Boston Area Startup Marketing Group Meeting
Wednesday, June 17
8:30am OpenCoffee in Cambridge, MA
1:00pmInnovators Summit
Wednesday, June 24
Sunday, June 21 - Wednesday June 24
The Revolution of Creativity
Wednesday, June 24
8:00amXSITE 2009
8:30amOpenCoffee in Cambridge, MA
Thursday, June 25
News of Note
Wade Roush - Xconomy Boston
BHG's jump from THQ to 38 Studios immediately launches the Massachusetts company into the console game market, given that the purchase includes all of Big Huge Games' technology, intellectual property, and games-in-progress. That includes an as-yet-unnamed role-playing game being developed for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms; when it was originally unveiled in a joint announcement with THQ in 2007, that game was scheduled for delivery this year.Bringing in a group that has such extensive experience designing fantasy-based, 3D game worlds--not to mention the software to run them-- should help 38 Studios advance its own multi-year effort to create a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), code named Copernicus. With Big Huge Games' real-time strategy engine, 38 Studios will be able to "accelerate the realization" of Copernicus and publish it on multiple platforms, 38 Studios CEO Brett Close said in a statement.
It's Not Me, It's You: The Untold Reason Startups Don't Get Venture Capital
Healy Jones - Startable
When I was a venture capitalist there were lots of reasons why we did not make investments in particular startups. My goal was to try to provide some honest feedback/guidance as to the reason for passing on the opportunity. Given the deep deal flow at my fund, this was not always possible, but if I had used up more than a few minutes of the executives' time learning about their company I tried to give a little bit of the color behind the rejection. This ranged from "the end market is too small" or "you need more user traction" or "it is too competitive of a market" or "we are not comfortable with this particular technology." But the fact of the matter was, sometimes there were not great reasons for passing on a company. Many times these were just excuses hiding the real reason: We didn't like the founders
Visible Measures Rides Susan Boyle's Coattails to Viral Video Fame, But It's Got Something Even Bigger Planned
Wade Roush - Xconomy Boston
If you followed news articles mentioning Visible Measures, you might
get the impression that the Boston startup's technology is devoted
entirely to tracking viral Web videos. An article in Sunday's New York Times, for example, cited Visible Measures' statistics on singing sensation Susan Boyle; it turns out that clips
of her performances on "Britain's Got Talent" are the fastest-spreading
videos in the history of the Web, racking up more than 220 million
views in the last month alone, according to the company's Viral Reach
database. But in reality, "The viral statistics are actually a small part of
our business," CEO Brian Shin told me earlier this month. "It's just
what we talk about all the time, because we don't want to talk about
the other stuff we're doing. When we do our pitch to VCs, the viral
stuff has one slide."
Parallel Entrepreneurs Launch Simultaneous Startups
Galen Moore - Mass High Tech
Start a company, sell it. Start up another, repeat. Not every
entrepreneur can successfully follow these simple instructions. In
fact, many of New England's brightest entrepreneurs feel they must
launch more than one company at a time. These parallel entrepreneurs don't wait to sell one company before
starting another one anew. When the next venture comes down the pike --
whether from a glimmer of an idea or over dinner with a friend -- they
simply launch another enterprise. The process takes a complicated waltz, filling their dance cards with
eligible CEOs for hire and knowing which of their many partners needs
attention. It's the best use of minds more suited to innovating than
running a company, say some entrepreneurs. Others say they apply
solutions that work in one enterprise across others in their fold. For
some, two companies are just a lot more fun than one.
What I Like About Innovation In New England
Michael A. Greeley - Xconomy Boston
There is a lot of great stuff going on in Boston right now. Granted,
there are still many signs of paralysis throughout the system, but
there are also many high-quality entrepreneurs in the marketplace
attempting to change the world with exciting, innovative solutions to
some very large problems. June 2009 has been dubbed "Innovation Month
in New England," so I thought I would tick off some of the investment
themes we are excited about today.
The First Six Steps Of Getting Your Startup Noticed
Nathan Burke - Blogstring
Let's play a little make believe. Let's say you just started a job
at a startup company that is in stealth mode. Your job is to promote
the company and get it noticed online, and today is the day to get
started. But where do you start? I've been in that situation before, and had to fumble around in the
dark to figure out the answer. Though I definitely do not claim to be
the world's foremost expert on startup marketing, I think that I can
share some tips that should be useful to a lot of tech startups out
there. With that said, I've compiled a quick and dirty set of steps to
get your startup noticed.
Software Association of New Hampshire Looking for News
The Software Association of New Hampshire is looking for content to publish in their June Newsletter: "We are preparing for our June Newsletter and would love to publish news about your impact on the software industry. Did you just release a new version of your product? Land a big account? Create a partnership? Schedule a seminar or conference? Let us know and we'll spread the world. Send your story by Noon Monday June 1st to info@swanh.org. We look forward to publishing your news and seeing you at one of our future events."
The Software Association of New Hampshire is looking for content to publish in their June Newsletter: "We are preparing for our June Newsletter and would love to publish news about your impact on the software industry. Did you just release a new version of your product? Land a big account? Create a partnership? Schedule a seminar or conference? Let us know and we'll spread the world. Send your story by Noon Monday June 1st to info@swanh.org. We look forward to publishing your news and seeing you at one of our future events."
Crosscheck Acquires Forum Systems
Wade Roush - Xconomy Boston
Crosscheck Networks of Waltham, MA, said today that it has acquired Forum Systems, also of Waltham. Crosscheck makes a simulation environment that allows software companies to test Web-based applications before they're deployed; Forum Systems makes a gateway appliance that provides security and authentication services for Web-based software. As a result of the acquisition (the financial terms of which were not disclosed), customers will be able to deploy the Crosscheck and Forum technologies together more easily, the companies said.
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