This is the 11th article in a continuing series chronicling the growth path of Screach, a startup based in Newcastle upon Tyne in England’s North East. Screach is an interactive digital media platform that allows users to create real-time, two-way interactive experiences between a smart device (through the Screach app) and any content, on any screen or just within the mobile device itself. We invite your feedback.
By Leo Valiquette and John Hill
Growing a startup is all about establishing and managing relationships. There are the relationships that open doors and create opportunity. And then there are the more pedestrian ones involved with the day-to-day processes that get product to customers.
Relationships in both categories gave the Screach team plenty of reason to lose sleep over the past couple of months. The first was a pitch opportunity for CEO Paul Rawlings that made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. The second was the potentially disruptive hiccup presented by the Chinese New Year.
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By Leo Valiquette
It may have been a short month, by we still pulled together in February a rich lineup of content for marketers, entrepreneurs and investors alike. Hot topics included how not to do customer service, what’s to love and hate about technology marketing, the root causes of the so-called Series A crunch and the risks of “mentor whiplash.”
In case you missed any of it, here is a handy recap of our posts, as ranked by the enthusiasm of our readers:
Feb. 5: Is the ‘last mile’ of sales automation keeping your reps from closing more business?, by Jeff Campbell
Feb. 7: The trouble with mentors is…, by Francis Moran
Feb. 21: 6 little things that tell your customers you don’t care, by Linda Moran and Francis Moran
Feb. 25: Ego capital and the ‘Series A Crunch’, by Ronald Weissman
Feb. 13: Getting to the point in drafting a patent application, by David French
Feb. 20: The traditional corporate presentation is dead!, by Anil Dilawri
Feb. 27: You just never know where a story is going to stick, by Leo Valiquette
Feb. 6: Does your business suffer from multiple personalities?, by Leo Valiquette
Feb. 11: Do you have the key ingredients for an effective board?, by Denzil Doyle
Feb. 26: App development today demands a three-in-one approach, by Peter Hanschke
Feb. 14: Why I heart tech marketing, by Francis Moran
Feb. 28: Why I hate tech marketing, by Francis Moran
Feb. 19: Do your PR people suffer from telephobia?, by Leo Valiquette
Image: February2013CalendarPrintable.com
As a regular feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are Forbes, Startup Professional Musings, MarketingSherpa, Financial Post and ventureburn.
When It Comes to Tech Start-ups, Do Women Win?
Peter Cohan looks at whether women-led tech startups come out on top. He references the compelling conclusions of the anticipated Spring publication, Women in Technology: Evolving, Ready to Save the World by Vivek Wadhwa and Lesa Mitchell. He also recounts his interview with Joanne Wilson, investor in 31 start-ups, most of which are women-run, and wife of Union Square Ventures managing partner, Fred Wilson.
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The problem isn’t too little smart money, it’s too many dumb deals
By Ronald Weissman
The meme of the month is “The Series A Crunch.” According to Crunch Theory, many worthy seed-funded startups lack follow-on capital because VCs now have smaller funds or have moved later stage. CB Insights estimates $1 billion in seed financing will be “incinerated” and at least 1,000 companies will be orphaned. Other data suggest that the number of orphans could be much larger.
Those who say the problem lies with VCs (CB Insights isn’t one of them) must argue that the number of Series A deals has fallen sharply. This is not true and the problem lies elsewhere. Whatever the cause, there is, certainly, a capital crunch for seed-funded startups and it is likely to get worse, as the backlog of seed-stage companies needing Series A funding continues to grow.
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By Daylin Mantyka
As a regular feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are: Techvibes, Fast Company, StartupNorth, Velocity and Convince & Convert.
Lessons learned the hard way: Canadian angel investor reveals his million-dollar mistakes
Joseph Czikk summarizes the eight biggest mistakes Canadian angel Greg Isenberg made as an entrepreneur and what he would have done differently. Number one item on the list: “Good copywriting is underrated.” Isenberg spoke Tuesday at the first GROWtalks event in Montreal.
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By Leo Valiquette and John Hill
