Infographic: Power of Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship
I love this Infographic of the Silicon Valley ranking of cities for entrepreneurship!!!
The top 5 scores were:
- Menlo Park,
- Mountain View,
- Palo Alto,
- Sunnyvale,
- Redwood City
Did you see that there is a geographic dominance of Northern California? The top 4 Silicon Valley cities in the MIT rankings possess 20 times the average start-up quality as California's median city!!!! WOW!
Inspiration Friday -- 10 Lessons from Tiffany Shlain - Founder of The Webbys
I was inspired by the great presentation by Tiffany Shlain on lessons of life!
I'll share by favorites!
- Know what you want and know when to walk away. You won't succeed at everything. So know which things to stick with and which things to throw over!
- Be over prepared. Enough said!
- Think outside the box. Tiffany shared a story about how she didn't like to negotiate so she had folks email her "alternative email" so that she could negotiate in a different voice. Think about different ways to be strong!
- Renegotiate your definition of success. It does change throughout life!
- Negotiate boundaries with technology. Tiffany and her family turn off all devices one day a week -- their family's new favorite day!
- Whoever throws out the first number loses. (Her freebie!)
- Always use the Love Sandwich approach. Start with the good, what "they" will get. Add in the middle what you want -- and close with the "what they will get"
- Seek advice from a diverse group of people.
- Workout your courage. It is like a muscle that needs to be exercised.
- Have fun and constantly be changing!
IBM's Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud: Focus in Germany
IBM has a long and deep commitment to the entrepreneurial community. IBM works with more than 400 leading venture capital firms in 30 countries to get an early-look into new technologies and upcoming entrepreneurs. Through the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program, IBM already works with 6,000 startups worldwide, mentoring them to help them grow with free software and technical expertise, exposure to 600+ expert mentors of corporate executives and serial entrepreneurs, plus access to a global network of clients.
In Germany, we have been working together with 150 Startups. On Thursday, I will be in Berlin meeting with some of the best of the best German Ecosystem members -- from startups, to VCs to incubators.
Last time here, I met with the Investment Punk https://de-de.facebook.com/investmentpunkpage
The IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud Startups is the leveling up of IBM’s current entrepreneur progam, combining the incredible power of IBM Cloud with the company’s vast, existing network of resources for startups. This program is a game changer for entrepreneurs, offering them $120,000 of free IBM Cloud platform credits for one year and deep connections to IBM’s enterprise client base. This financial offer is higher than any other cloud vendor has offered startups to date.
This is the highest value cloud startup offering in the market for two reasons: the power of IBM Cloud, and the face-to-face connections and visibility for early stage startups to large enterprise clients. We want to help ignite even more the growing community in Berlin and beyond in Germany.
IBM Cloud also offers startups an advantage in technical breadth: IBM is the leading vendor to provide a full suite, from bare metal to platform services with DevOps, in both virtualized and hybrid environments. Bluemix is IBM’s cloud platform as a service, which offers a tremendous breadth of services to help startups build and scale their innovations quickly, as well as leverage rising volumes of Big Data from growing mobile and social networks, IoT devices and more.
“IBM is the only large tech firm offering face-to-face, in-person connections to enterprises and mentoring that is so critical for early stage companies,” said Robin Hrassnigg, CEO of Diabetizer, a German startup and IBM partner recently recognized by the World Health Organization for its innovative health care app, in a statement. “As our company continues to scale our app, which uses cognitive computing and cloud to help diabetics manage their treatment with flexibility and accuracy, we will increasingly look to these types of in-depth connections to bring our approach to big data to different industries.”
IBM is also offering entrepreneurs connections to its enterprise client base through regional face-to-face events, as well as CIO and entrepreneur meet-ups. These face-to-face connections with enterprises are invaluable to early-stage companies, and IBM is the only large tech firm to offer interactions at this level.
The IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud Startups also offers entrepreneurs the most extensive global network of local technical expertise through IBM’s 43 Innovation Centers, all of which also host local tech community events and meet-ups. And Using IBM Bluemix allows companies to accelerate the time it takes to bring their innovation to market - from weeks and months to hours and days.
Go Entrepreneurs!
5 Insights From VC Meetup and Panel for Enterpreneurs
I love to learn and share those learnings so here are 5 things I took away:
- Validate the good idea. Over 50% of new apps and products fail. Those that success have been vetted and tested. The advice they gave was to have as many people as possible provide you feedback as quickly as you can. That could be through Kickstarter or just creating an MVP!
- Either be or hire a Tech Geek! The VCs validated that every company today is competitive through technology (well, just about!). The discussion was that every company is a tech company so either the founder or her right hand person needs to be steeped in the knowledge of technology.
- Network. Networking is crucial to a successful startup. All the VCs said that they bet on the person first, the idea second. In order for them to bet on you, they need to know you and trust you! Take the time to get to know those who might fund you!
- Have a business plan. This factoid amazed me. Over 50% of those companies that come into a VC come in with a great product but no business model. Make sure you think through both the offering and the way that you make money.
- Dream big and have confidence. A lot of success is trying again and again and not being afraid of hearing no Facing rejection can be tough, but ensure you have the confidence to wirhstand it. One entrepreneur said he was turned down for funding over 20 times before he was funded, and is now a successful serial entrepreneur. Be passionate about what you bring to the table.
Insight Robotics WINS the IBM Entrepreneur of the Year!
Check out their amazing IOT solution that is changing the world!!!
3 Pieces of Advice for Start-ups and Intrapreneurs from Unusual Places!
I am in Vegas and walked through a great museum with fun quotes and it made me think of the advice earlier from some of our Venture Capitalists!
1. Fish are the last to recognize water. Make sure that you are constantly evaluating the landscape. Sometimes startups fall in love with their products and don't see poor product-market fit with a solid business model. Remember that the product must be desired by a customer -- and there are many substitutes. At our last VC roundtable, the VCs said that they are always weary when someone comes in with an idea that has 0 competition While this seems basic, I have seen many entrepreneurs dive into creating a product that they think is totally unique, not thinking through other options.
2. It's always better to be looked over than overlooked. Many start-ups think about scale and overlook the way to get to need scale. The priority should be on developer productivity and being able to deliver the features and platform that sets your product apart. Focus on scale when it actually becomes a problem. You'll be better prepared with more information about what to fix and where and hopefully with more help to do it.
3. If you want the rainbow you better put up with the rain. Many start-ups put their energy into impressing their boards and investors instead of their customers. Of course you must work with your investors, but a great start-up filters those ides through the eyes of their clients and potential clients. Don't get distracted focusing on the wrong group.
IBM SmartCamp Finals is Almost here!!! Join us!
Join us for the SmartCamp finals with a set of AMAZING Entrepreneurs!
Monday, Feb 23
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
MGM Hotel
Rooms 312--317
http://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/us/en/interconnect/devat/smartcamp/
