[This post is being revised.]
Category Archives: Startups & Bootstraps
Basic Tools for Dealmakers – Part 1 of 2
As a dealmaker, you have several tools at your disposal. They are often applied reactively as a deal progresses. If you survey your toolkit in advance, and apply the right tool to the right business need, you will close better deals, more quickly. Here are some helpful tools to keep close at hand. They are… Continue Reading
Welcome to California: A Very Short Introduction to Several California Laws that Affect Out-of-State and Foreign Businesses
[This post is being revised.] Continue Reading
Accelerators Begin to Replace Incubators
The Deal posts an interesting story on how accelerators such as Y Combinator have replaced incubators for early stage funding of internet technology startups. Continue Reading
Data Scraping from Web Services
This month’s Wired magazine has a perceptive article about so-called "data scraping" or "screen scraping" practices. It discusses the practical aspects of data scraping (such as IP address banning or blocking as a practical remedy to prevent scraping), use of cease and desist letters, and use of properly-licensed web services application programming interfaces (API’s) as… Continue Reading
Silicon Valley Micro-Cultures and Industry Clusters
A New York Times article describes where the "niche neighborhoods" and industry clusters are located in Silicon Valley, with web design and online advertising centered in San Francisco, software in the Palo Alto area, and semiconductors, disk drives and and network equipment located in the south Bay near San Jose. No mention of Cupertino, where… Continue Reading
Consultants to Help Startups Expand Abroad
Generally, when a small U.S. client tells me that they wish to expand abroad, I think to myself, "that’s going to be complicated, time-consuming and expensive." Recognizing the opportunities and challenges of globalization facing startups and other small businesses, the Wall Street Journal reports that consultants, such as High Street Partners of Annapolis, Maryland, now… Continue Reading
Business Tips for Providers of User-generated Content
Web sites and other online services containing content submitted by users (also known as user-generated content) are obviously a hot growth area. Not so obvious is the fact that these services depend on a little-known statute to protect their providers from legal liability for copyright infringement. That statute is Section 512 of the Digital Millennium… Continue Reading
The New Micro-Multinationals
A new breed of "micro-multinational" is emerging among the many Web 2.0 social networking startups, as described by The San Jose Mercury News. A micro-multinational is "a small company that acts big by skillfully using the Internet and other technologies". Those organizations use technologies such as Skype, video conferencing, instant messaging and viral marketing to… Continue Reading