Nearly two years after Washington D.C. passed the JOBS Act, which legalized crowdfunding of startup fund raising, the law goes unused, awaiting a final set of regulations from the SEC. With no end to that process in sight, we here in Washington State took matters into our own hands, and last month passed the Washington Jobs Act, an intrastate crowdfunding law. This law will allow any Washington...
Today was a typical day. Big pile of email, including two wantrapreneurs looking for feedback on their ideas, stand-up status meeting with the current “fledglings”, a few one-on-ones with those CEOs, a few asks throughout the day from those teams, and a few quick meetings with graduate fledglings and one of my other mentees. Two and a half years into this new career of providing guidance and...
By this definition we have at least 2.6 billion deep sinners – the 37% of people in the world who live on less than $2 a day. They are the future Steve Jobs’, Mohandas Gandhis, Madame Curies and Pablo Picassos who will instead eke out a living as drug dealers, child soldiers, prostitutes and destitute slum dwellers. The three trillion dollars or more we have wasted in misguided development aid...
A few years ago, Alexander Osterwalder invented a new way to talk about and visualize business models, creating the Business Model Canvas. This tool has made it far easier for entrepreneurs to understand, iterate and communicate their business models. I’ve taught the Canvas to hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners, and found it quite useful. However, every time I did so, the...
A rationale for Revenue Based Investing by David Bangs, guest contributor and impact Angel investor For many years I have been doing carefully considered angel investments in companies I find interesting. Some of the invested companies have failed while others are thriving. However, none of these companies have been sold or gone public, producing the desired return on investment. I am not alone...
You have an impactful startup. You are looking for help, and looking for investors. Where do you find the people, programs, and funds to help? The team at Fledge, the “conscious company” accelerator, has published a list of incubators, accelerators, competitions, funds, and crowdfunding sites. This Google Doc is viewable by anyone, and is periodically updated. If you have a impact...
When I set out to write The Next Step: Guiding you from idea to startup, I imagined someday I’d go back to provide more details on each of the topics covered within that book. Many diversions later, I’ve finally started fulfilling that vision. Today, The Next Step: A guide to startup sales and marketing is now available, here on this site, as well as on paper and Kindle via Amazon...
(UPDATE 3/8: Seattle Times story ) (UPDATE 3/7: IT PASSED! A big thank you to everyone who helped move the Senate, and a huge thank you to Representative Cyrus Habib, who made this bill happen, and to startup attorney Joe Wallin, who inspired it into being.) (UPDATE 3/7: The bill is on the Senate’s “Order for Consideration”, which should see a vote within the next hour. You...
Do startups need lawyers? Absolutely, but not as much as many first-time entrepreneurs think. Lawyers play two important roles for startups. Rules and Risks. 1- Rules. Incorporating your company, taking money from investors, and hiring employees all require compliance with a complex set of laws, codes, and regulations. The key responsibility of a business’ lawyer is to ensure the company...
You have an amazing idea. The most amazing idea of your life. An idea that will change the world. With great reluctance [mistake #1: reluctance] you tell a few trusted friends, all of whom say something between “maybe” and “nice idea”. You take all that as feedback that you are on the right track [mistake #2: happy ears]. You dip your toe into market research, and...
