Where Can I Find Speaking Engagements?
If your New Year’s Resolution is to speak more, here are suggestions for how to find speaking engagements.
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SaaS Roundtable: VARs in a SaaS World
In a SaaS world where tools are more integrated and customizable, are VARs going away? How do SaaS companies reach customers? How should we compensate sales people? As a sales person, how will I make money if I work for a SaaS company? At this roundtable discussion we will exchange tips and gotchas and provide
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Fostering Technology Adoption: Early Customers & Early Revenue
Software companies typically have to convince prospects to adopt new technologies based on their shared history, their service track record, and their ability to accurately predict and deliver real results that overcome the cost and friction of adopting new tools and methodologies. There are a number of lessons we draw on to help startups fostering
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On-line Tools for Startups
I am an small business owner. We are virtual team and use many on-line tools. These are ones that we actually pay for and use everyday: Calendar: WebEx, Central Desktop Contacts: WebEx, Central Desktop Design: Lucky Oliver for photos Logo Design: Logo Company, Logoworks Managing Money: Quickbooks Wiki, On-line Docs & Spreadsheets: Central Desktop Project
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Idea to Revenue on January 19, 2008
This event is Sold Out, No Walk-Ins accepted. Please sign up for waitlist we will be offering it again in 2008. Invest four hours now to save months later finding a path to revenue: most software startups fail after they have working functionality but before they find their market. You will leave this workshop with
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Looking for Innovation at a Trade Show
Three tips for attending a trade show and scoping out breakthrough innovations: Start on the perimeter and work you way in to the main floor. All the innovation is in the startups booths on the outside. Before the show spend some time checking out exhibitors’ websites. Especially if you are not familiar with the company
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3 Tips for Entrepreneurs Planning a Startup
How do you plan when you are in a small software startup? Big company methods are not a good fit. Here are three tips for planning a startup.
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I Have an Idea for a Software Product, How Do I Get Started?
productIf you have an idea for a software product, here are seven questions to help you develop and refine your idea.
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Getting Feedback on your Work
Getting feedback after engaging with a client or even after an introductory meeting with a prospect is important. A couple of survey tools that we use are iContact and Survey Monkey. They are easy to use and low cost. Survey Monkey has some nice templates. The survey tools are useful when you want to ask
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Free Small Business eNewsletter From IRS
e-News for Small Businesses is a free electronic mail service designed to provide tax information for small business owners and self-employed individuals. Subscribers receive information about important upcoming tax dates for SB/SE customers, what’s new for small businesses on the IRS Web site, reminders and tips to assist small businesses and self-employed taxpayers with tax
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Is Blogging Worthwhile?
Here is one question I get asked all the time: Is Blogging worthwhile way to promote your business or just a big, newfangled time suck? Our short answer is that you need a website for your business: one of the easiest ways to manage it and keep it up to date is to use a
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Social Networks for Running your Business
Here are the social networks I participate in. I find them a good source for practical advice for running my business. LinkedIn www.linkedin.com Intuit’s Jumpup www.jumpup.com Bank of America Small Business http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com Bootstrappers Breakfast www.bootstrappersbreakfast.com Check me out, my screen name is tshafer.
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SaaS Blurs Traditional Software Startup Roles
SaaS business models are proven and gaining wide adoption. However they come with new issues: shorter release cycles, blurring of development team roles, and the need for new internal reporting and management controls now that you are responsible for the customers application infrastructure. Your development, support, sales, and product marketing folks must change how they
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Benefits of SaaS Business Model
I had a chance to hear two VCs outline the benefits of a SaaS business model at the CINACon 2007 conference a on September 22.
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Brainshark at Software Business 2007: SaaS = Service
I went to a good talk today at Software Business 2007 by Joe Gustafson from Brainshark on “Establishing and Growing a Successful SaaS Business.” Joe characterized Brainshark is “Tivo for Business Content” available when users want to consume it. He opened with the best part of a SaaS business: recurring predictable revenue makes it easier
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Idea to Revenue on December 6, 2007
This event is now SOLD OUT and no walk-ins will be accepted; we are offering it again on Saturday January 19 at the Moorpark Hotel in San Jose. Invest four hours now to save months later finding a path to revenue: most software startups fail after they have working functionality but before they find their
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Peter Cohan’s Great Demo on Oct 13, 2007
We are hosting a Peter Cohan event: “Create and Deliver Surprisingly Compelling Software Demonstrations” . Peter Cohan, a nationally recognized expert on software demo development who normally only consults to Fortune 500 firms. He offers only two “open enrollment” seminars every year that smaller companies can attend at a very reduced price, this one on
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Five Things to Remember When Selling A New Product
As you develop your presentation–and more importantly refine it in response to feedback–here are five things to remember when selling a new product.
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3 Tips for Choosing a Logo
Text Treatments: text logos are simple, the company name is always right there. Most high tech logos are text treatments, they are clear and simple. With text logos you have instant impact, customers don’t need to decipher anything. Another benefit of text treatments are logo aspect ratio comes naturally with words. They always seem to
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Cohan’s Great Demo on March 8, 2008
Details for a Great Demo Workshop on March 8, 2008 offered in San Jose by Peter Cohan of the Second Derivative.
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