Recent Updates

While your friends may seem the best candidates to help build your startup, there are potential pitfalls you need to be aware of. When it comes to hiring, as a first-time founder you're most likely to look to people you already know and trust; people you're comfortable with. And hiring your friends can work out very well. "More often than not, though, hiring friends brings some problems and difficult moments," writes Alisa Cohn. To help you mitigate the risks, Cohn shares her top ...

Entrepreneurship can be tough at the best of times and often involves a steep learning curve. Each stage of your company's journey brings fresh challenges. And although that means plenty of opportunities to learn from your mistakes, you may be able to avoid some of them by learning from others and by getting expert help if you lack any of the essential business skills. As "a shortcut for new, budding entrepreneurs," Zack Hanebrink, co-founder of a digital marketing and design agency, shares...

  Being an entrepreneur isn't about throwing caution to the wind when you launch a new business, it's about taking calculated risks, being aware of potential pitfalls, and being prepared to fail and learn from your mistakes. "Often, it helps to turn to the experience of others, to learn what lessons we can from their failures and cut the learning curve for ourselves," writes Larry Kim. To help you evaluate your own startup strategy, Kim shares here an infographic showing the top 20 reasons ...

While there's plenty of work to be done, you may feel guilty about having some downtime even though you're tired. Yet the tendency to keep powering through is "short-term thinking" that "harms your long-term development and growth," says Darius Foroux. Paradoxically, the more you power through in an effort to be more productive, the less productive you become and the more your results will suffer. And you may end up burning yourself out, warns Foroux. In this blog post, he shares ...

To become an effective leader it's important to know your leadership style, your personality, your values, and what motivates you. How you see yourself as a leader guides your actions, behaviors, thoughts and decisions. And being able to clearly communicate your personal leadership philosophy helps your employees understand what's expected of them and what they can expect of you. Here, Leigh Buchanan shares leadership expert Ed Ruggero's top tips for crafting a leadership philosophy that sets ou...

Customer service is the defining characteristic of successful customer relationships yet, despite its maturity there are still many failures in customer service in 2018, writes Oliver Pickup. In this article from The Future of Customer Service digital report, Pickup explores the challenges retailers encounter in delivering high quality customer service and why they're still occurring. He also shares some top tips from top executives and business leaders on what they consider to be "the best...

While there are plenty of opportunities for nonprofit organizations to seek funding from government, foundations, or corporate grants, you need to do your research and connect with the right funders. Grants exist for any kind of nonprofit and while project-specific funding is most common, you may also be able to fund capital campaigns or operational costs. Applying for grants is hard work however. Here, Michelle Kiss shares some top tips on how to find grants, how to prepare for grant writing, h...

If you haven't grabbed an investor's attention within the first 20-30 seconds of your pitch, it's unlikely you'll be able to pique their interest any further into it. From the moment you enter the room, it's your job to convince potential investors that your startup has something exciting they'll want to invest in—and everything you say and do needs to reflect that. Careful planning and thorough preparation are crucial for a successful pitch: this definitely isn't the time to wing it! This recen...

There's a lot of groundwork to do before taking a product to market. You need to find, know and build a relationship with your audience well in advance. You also need to know how to get attention and build brand awareness before you launch. In essence, you need to "lay the foundation to build buzz later," says Sweta Patel, founder of Silicon Valley Startup Marketing. Here, Patel and other top entrepreneurs—who are all members of The Oracles—share their top tips for achieving a successful product...

As a fast-growing startup, selling shares to the public for the first time allows you to access capital for future growth, repayment of debt, or working capital. An initial public offering (IPO) involves significant costs however and the process is often more challenging and time-consuming than people realize. While there's no guarantee of raising the level of capital you're hoping for, advance planning with help from the right advisors significantly increases the chances of successfully complet...

While the best way to learn is from experience, the quickest way is from the experience of others. There's a wealth of advice and support available from seasoned entrepreneurs—through online resources, networking opportunities and mentorship—to help first-time entrepreneurs face the challenges, risks and uncertainties that lie ahead. However, along with all the useful strategies, business skills and top tips for success, there are also a number of myths that may be more harmful than helpful...

Statistics on the survival rate of new businesses vary wildly—from around 30 per cent to as many as 80 per cent failing within the first 2 years—depending on whether the study refers to all small businesses, startups, or venture capital-backed startups only. Nevertheless, while it's difficult to pin down accurate statistics, there's clearly a lot at stake when it comes to starting your own business. Entrepreneurs are known for being risk-tolerant and optimistic yet, armed with the knowledge that...

Using data from The World Bank, The World Economic Forum, Numbeo, KPMG, Wifimap.io and Akamai's State of the Internet Report, researchers examined 57 countries across the globe to discover which are the best for aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners and freelancers. Expert Market's study compared the cost of living, income tax, access to credit, average internet speed, transport networks, free wifi availability, ease of starting a business—and even the cost of a coffee—then calculated eac...

  Most early stage startups don't raise large sums of money from investors; they have to create their own success while sticking to a tight budget. The key is knowing how to keep your costs down and spend your cash wisely on boosting your image and the appeal of your products. There are some effective ways—based on fundamental concepts about consumption, perception and scaling—to give the impression your company has plenty of money and is set to make more, says Andrew Thomas. Here, Thomas s...

When you're hiring a new employee you want someone who'll be a great addition to the team. And that means identifying candidates whose values, attitudes and behaviors reflect, or can adapt, to those of the organization. Yet looking for a good 'culture fit' can be fraught with unconscious biases that limit diversity and prevent you securing the best talent, caution David Rock and Khalil Smith of the NeuroLeadership Institute. They recommend designing an interview process that's specific about the...

Fundraising for your startup can be a lengthy, time-consuming and challenging process and finding the right investor is crucial. While the money itself is undoubtedly important, it's even more important to make sure you're not so focused on the cash that you feel pressured to accept terms you're not totally happy with. "Investors often come to the negotiating table with more power than founders have—but there's a way you can increase your leverage," writes Annalyn Kurtz. Here, she shares so...

It takes courage and determination to start your own business and making mistakes is an inevitable part of the process. Very few startups get it right first time and being able to recover from failure and learn from your mistakes is what helps you grow as an entrepreneur. Since the majority of startups fail, founders often share their failure post-mortems for the benefit of other startups. CB Insights sifted through 101 startup failure post-mortems to identify the top 20 reasons for st...

  Content marketing is changing all the time. The channels, tactics and tools for creating and distributing content are constantly evolving and, as content marketing gets ever more competitive, you need to continually up your game to stay relevant. Creating great content is only part of the battle says lead generation expert Scott Oldford. With so much content available across various platforms, "you face an uphill battle to capture someone's attention." Here, Oldford shares how to cre...

Fundraising is a difficult yet necessary process and every startup needs to learn how to do it, and how to do it well. To convince angel investors or venture capitalists to back your business you need to create an engaging pitch deck. Yet too many startups—and especially first time founders—undermine their fundraising efforts by creating a pitch deck "with the apparent build time of a freeway and more slides than a water park," says serial entrepreneur Scott Painter. Here Painter shares "how to ...

It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you seem to have too many goals—and having conflicting or competing goal undermines your ability to achieve any of them. If you feel like you're being pulled in all directions, you need to take time to reflect on what matters most to you and prioritize your goals. Here Ruth Umoh shares University of Pennsylvania psychology professor Angela Duckworth's technique for establishing your priorities, identifying your top-level goal and making the right decisions to e...

Freelancing continues to gain in popularity and with so many qualified and experience professionals opting out of full-time employment to become self-employed contractors, there's a growing pool of freelance talent you can outsource work to. Startups often face the challenge of getting high quality work done on a tight budget and to strict deadlines for most startups it makes more sense to hire freelancers to support the workload and handle short-term projects, rather than commit to hiring perma...

Thanks to the success of popular crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, many startups have been able to raise funds, gain market traction for new products, and build a loyal following all at the same time. While there are substantial benefits to running a crowdfunding campaign, you also need to be aware of potential pitfalls. The majority of campaigns fail to raise the amount they're asking for, writes growth marketer Aj Agrawal. To help your startup avoid a similar fate, Agra...

Career mapping once meant planning your rise up the corporate ladder. Nowadays however, your career may take a more meandering course. As more and more people opt for freelancing or working in the gig economy, developing new skill sets, seeking new opportunities and adapting to new technologies are taking the place of the traditional linear career path. Nevertheless there's "still something to be said for strategic career mapping," says Elise Mitchell. Here, she shares how to avoi...

As an entrepreneur, hard work is critical to your success and you're inevitably going to hit setbacks. Although pushing through one obstacle after another is a natural part of the startup journey, there may come a time when you feel like you're working hard yet getting nowhere. And while letting go of the products, plans and strategies you've worked hard to develop isn't easy, when the viability of your startup is in jeopardy you need to carefully weigh up your options. To help you dec...

Although it's becoming increasingly common, a midlife career change can seem daunting. Like many people who want to leave a job that's making them unhappy, the myths about changing career in your 50s may be putting you off taking the first step towards more fulfilling work and a happier future. According to career experts however, it's never too late to switch career or start your own business. It just needs careful planning. Here, Brad Shorr shares some of the practical things you need to ...

A well-crafted blog is one of your company's most valuable marketing tools. It helps you to educate consumers, build brand awareness, generate leads, and build trust with your customers. And to achieve this, you'll want to develop content that engages your audience, delivers value and aligns with your business strategy to deliver a consistent brand message. Writing effective blog posts is a skill you can learn and master with practice. With that in mind, Megan Totka shares here some top tip...

  Hiring talent is one of the biggest challenges for startups, especially in the early stages. When there are only a few people on the team, it's crucial to find someone who's a good cultural fit as well as having the required skills and experience. Large companies can offer better salary packages and benefits, which leaves cash-strapped startups at a disadvantage. To help you compete with the big players, founder and CEO Craig Bloem shares here his top tips for attracting—and holding ...

Although sales and marketing are two distinct functions that require different skills, they need to work in harmony to succeed. In many organizations sales and marketing are converging into one department to offer customers a joined-up sales journey. For some companies however, misalignment between sales and marketing teams results in inconsistent leads, misdirected sales efforts and lack of growth. For more effective marketing, happier customers and increased sales both teams need to work close...

Estimating your market size is an essential part of business planning. And if your startup is seeking third party funding, it's a vital component of your pitch to investors. A thorough understanding of your market means you'll be clear about the direction your company is going to take. And you'll look more professional when you can provide suitable evidence to back up your estimates. To help you prepare this crucial—yet often controversial—slide in your pitch deck, venture capitalist A...

Some of the world's most successful people—Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk, for example—are avid readers and they attribute much of their success to their reading habits. With hundreds of thousands of books available, deciding which ones to read isn't easy. And it's not just business books and other non-fiction titles you'll want to choose from. Here psychologist Art Markman explores how reading novels can help to boost your emotional intelligence and give you a chance ...