06Feb

Google Launchpad for Indian Startups

Todd-Crosland-Startup-Google-LaunchpadGoogle recently tested its startup mentorship program in Israel and is now shifting its focus to Indian startups. Due to the developing interest in Indian startups, Google has decided to implement its startup program, Launchpad, in India. Monday was the start of the first of four weeks long programs. So far, Launchpad has a shortlist of 20 startups and 1,450 venture capitalists to fund the projects. Most of these companies are in the education and healthcare industries Representatives from Google and other companies will mentor and coach developing startups looking to grow.

This will be beneficial for Google for investment purposes in the future as well as emerging itself in the bolstering digital economy in India. Google Ventures has already invested in a real estate customer support tool, Commonfloor and Freshdesk.

Launchpad is set to mentor close to 100 companies in India. Launchpad started in Israel three years ago, and is currently in 20 different cities around the world. As the digital economy grows, so does Google because companies spend money on Google to obtain a larger customer base. Last year, Google increased online advertising spent by e-commerce companies by 47% year-on-year.

All companies that Google aids in their startup program will be consolidated under Launchpad. Google’s Launchpad is seen as a platform to train developers on how to turn their product into a startup company. While most of Launchpad’s activities will be focused in Bengaluru, Google’s startup mentorship program plans to situate itself in 50 different cities all over India.

Google is not the only company entering India’s digital economy. A couple of months ago, Microsoft launched their business accelerator program Microsoft Ventures in India. From 2013, venture capital funding in India is up 261% or $3.86 billion. Venture capital companies form all over the world are intrigued by India’s bolstering digital economy, as Japan’s Softbank plans to invest $10 billion in India’s startup industry.

30Dec

Xiaomi: The Fastest Growing Startup in the World

Todd Crosland Xiaomi StartupThe Chinese smartphone startup, Xiaomi, has raised $1.1 billion from venture capitalists in the last four years. The company has been valued at $45 billion. The company’s co-founder, Bin Lin, made the news public on Facebook. Xiaomi has surpassed Uber for the fastest growing startup in the world, and is currently ranked 3rd among global smartphone producers. Xiaomi attributes its continued success to their lower-cost products.

In an industry where many of Xiaomi’s competitors are taking huge hits, the Chinese smartphone startup was able to take advantage of the opportunity in the market. Their current valuation is more than four times their valuation in 2013. The startup company has surpassed other smartphone makers, such as Samsung Motorola, and HTC.

Although the company has endured a vast amount of success in the early stages, there are still some foreseeable challenges. As Xiaomi continues to expand, they face intellectual property issues when entering developed markets. A smartphone producer based out of Sweden, Ericsson, has sued Xiaomi for copyright infringement, banning the sale of their product in India for a short-while. Apple’s design chief, Jony Ive, accused Xiaomi of being lazy and stealing the Apple design.

Xiaomi differs from Apple in their business plan. Whereas Apple makes their profit from selling high-cost products with exceptional margins, Xiaomi’s business goals cater to making small profits on each product shipment. Their margins, therefore, are much smaller, but the demand is greater due to the products low cost. Xiaomi’s goal is to have their phones in as many people’s hands as possible. After this, they can sell their software and apps to generate a greater opportunity for profit.

The startup company focuses their business mantra on creating the best user experience. Xiaomi’s most notable investors include DST Global, Yunfeng Capital, All-Stars Investments, and Hopu Investment Management.

16Nov

Mayors Who Look to Improve Their City’s Startup Environment

Todd Crosland Startup Silicon BeachWhat does it take to build a startup environment in your city? Entrepreneur.com put out an article that discusses seven different mayors and the steps they have taken to increase incentives for local entrepreneurs. Most city leaders understand that more entrepreneurs and businesses brining in revenue to the city will be beneficial towards the city’s economic growth. The question, however, is how do they attract these entrepreneurs and develop a startup environment that allows itself to grow? This is the question that a majority of Mayors in budding startup cities are facing. Below are some Mayors that have already taken these steps along with different strategies that they have taken to promote startup growth in their city.

In Los Angeles, California, Mayor Eric Garcetti is focusing on increasing profits from LA’s growing Silicon Beach. The Mayor has recently teamed up with Ernst & Young LLP to launce their Entrepreneur in Residence program. With this program, the city’s team of entrepreneurs will be living in City Hall for a one-year term. The goal of this will be for the entrepreneurs to develop strategies and policies to enhance job creation and the startup community.

Mayor Svante Myrick from Ithaca, New York is creating initiatives to move the startup community from the college campus to the city center to boost the local economy. His plan is to rezone the city center to incorporate commercial buildings as mixed-use space for startups and small businesses.

Last but not least, we have Mayor Greg Fischer from Louisville, Kentucky. Mayor Fischer is an entrepreneurs himself, having invented the automated ice and beverage dispenser seen in most restaurants and convenience stores, SerVend. From his company, he was able to develop a private investment firm and Louisville’s first business accelerator program. Mayor Fischer also recently announced that their one-year old free software-training program, Code Louisville, has received a $2.9 million federal grant. This program looks to fill the thousands of vacant tech jobs in the area.

09Oct

Bootstrapping for Young Startup Entrepreneurs

Todd Crosland Young Startup EntrepreneurA recent article in Young Upstarts deliberates the developmental phase that every startup company goes through: taking the idea and implementing it into a real, tangible product that creates revenue. A lot of young entrepreneurs might turn to accelerator programs, venture capital, or angel investing. However, this leads to sacrificing equity and freedom at an early stage of their company, which isn’t necessarily ideal.

The term bootstrapping is where young entrepreneurs will max out their credit cards and turn their homes into permanent working locations where they work late nights and early mornings. The article continues to give five pieces of advice from entrepreneurs who have gone through the bootstrapping process and come out the other side.

The first words of advice are from Samuel Huber, founder of Betify. He states, “Budgeting is king.” It is important to know exactly how long your company can last without revenue and external investments. Huber says to create a month-by-month revenue log and multiply that by 1.5 to be on the safe side.

The next word of advice is from Martin Brinkmann, founder of Deez.io. His word of advice is “prioritize.” Prioritizing funds and development is crucial to getting the product out on the market. A lot of time could be wasted nitpicking on “your baby” when the product is ready to hit the market.

Steven Lammertink, founder of cirqle.nl, tells us to master the pitch. The products pitch is how an entrepreneur will let investors and high-profile individuals know about the product. It is important to have a strong pitch to act as a good first impression. The pitch should include what the product is, the market opportunity, and value propositions.

Entrepreneurs should take on investors on their own terms, says founder of chekk.me, Pascal Nizri. A startup needs to be at the right stage of development to take on investors. Entrepreneurs are ready to take on investors if they want to expand their business or receive mentorship. Bankruptcy and last resort should not lead an entrepreneur to seek investors.

The last piece of advice is from our very own, Todd Crosland, founder of Seed Equity Ventures. His advice is to preserver. Nowadays there are thousands of venture capitalists controlling the startup industry, but soon enough individual investors from all around the world will start influencing the startup industry more and more. There are more funding options in the future, so there will be plenty of more opportunities for entrepreneurs in the near future.

05Sep

Impressive Startups in Emerging Markets

Todd Crosland startup global entrepreneurshipForbes recently came out with a group of new tech startups that have the edge in their own perspective emerging markets. Seedstars World, an affiliate venture capital firm to Seedstars, created this list of emerging markets and dominating startups associated with these markets. There were 19 startup companies mentioned in the article in varying emerging markets.

The first emerging market mentioned is the fast-growing finance infrastructure market. The two startups mentioned for this industry were Accra and Remit.ug. Accra is a Ghana based startup that is developing an online payment platform based on Bitcoins. Remit.ug, based out of Uganda, is building a money transfer platform that allows people from all over the globe to transfer money to people in Africa with a simple click of a button.

The mobile is the next emerging market written about in the article. Many new startups are developing mobile at the beginning of their development stages now that mobile has fully developed as an emerging market. The startups mentioned in this emerging market were Blocks, ChannelKit, Manads, OkHi, StudyPact, and Krowdpop. Blocks is a Tehran based startup that developed their own smartwatch. ChannelKit, from Moscow, is Pinterest for links. Manads is based out of Baku, Azerbaijan and developed advertising for after call screens. OkHi, based out of Nairobi, is developing physical addresses for every cell phone. StudyPact is a Tokyo-based startup that pays students for meeting their study goals, while charging them for not reaching their study goals. Krowdpop is a crowdfunding platform for pop music in South Korea.

Another emerging market in the discussion is mobile delivering services. These services make it easier for the consumer to obtain a good or service by just using their cell phone. Washbox24 is based out of Bangkok, and they use communal locker locations as drop-off points for customer’s laundry.

Fixing world-class issues is another emerging market that multiple startup companies are focusing on. These companies are replacing old technology with new technology to fix the bigger problems facing certain environments. The startups in this category are Khusela, KinTrans, myVLE, and Green Energy. Khusela is based out of Cape Town and is developing a low-budget fire alarm system for slum environemnts. KinTrans, based out of Dubai, is working on their platform that translates sign language in real time, into voice and text. MyVLE, in Casablanca, is an online learning platform that uses SasS. Green Energy, in Nigeria, is developing the process that transforms solid waste into electrical energy and petroleum.

E-commerce is the final emerging market discussed in the article. With fast-growing economies, e-commerce is necessary for fast paced production. The startups for this category include Prisync, Triip, Scandid, Freesheh, Poeyek, and TorQue Workspace. Prisync, based out of Istanbul, is a b-to-b company that offers pricing analytics and tracking. Based out of Ho Chi Mihn, Triip is is a crowdsourcing platform for tours. Scandid, based out of Bangalore, allows its users to compare barcodes using their app. Feesheh is based out of Amman and allows its users to shop online for musical instruments. Poeyek, based out of Darkar, is developing a business management platform for small businesses. TorQue Workspace is a software company based out of Rwanda creating a platform to help wholesalers manage their distribution.

All 19 of these companies are developing their technologies in these emerging markets to hopefully obtain the global edge over their competitors.

06Aug

Crowdfunding Tips for Startup Entrepreneurs

Todd Crosland CrowdfundingA recent article in crowdfund insider discussed different rules for crowdfunding success. Crowdfunding is a relatively new method for startups to build capital where the general public can invest in a company and gain equity. This method of funding developed so that entrepreneurs could reach a wider audience to raise money in the early stages of development. Crowdfund insider lays out six rules that a startup entrepreneur should be aware of if they decide to use the crowdfunding method for further support.

The first rule is to engage in the investor community. Entrepreneurs need to be present and easily reachable through social media. Research shows that entrepreneurs who are socially active in the investor community are able to attract more investors.

The next rule is every entrepreneur needs to have proof of concept. Having an idea will not obtain any entrepreneurs any investment. They have to have some sort of advancement in their product to prove that the product can be turned into a business. Whether it is sales numbers, awards, or partners signed on, there needs to be something more than just an idea to add to the credibility of the product.

Rule number three is to value your company at a price that isn’t too greedy or too humble. Investors pay attention to the entrepreneur’s valuation to evaluate the kind of entrepreneur that they are. The valuation acts as a self-imposed forecast to how their business will scale.

Next on the list is passion. An entrepreneur must be passionate about the product that they are putting forth. This will show that they are willing to work hard and put the effort into making their company successful. Passion also helps build a strong employee base as passion becomes contagious.

A unique selling proposition is one of the first aspects of a company that an investor looks at. The entrepreneur needs a clear vision as to how the company will succeed and deliver that message in a clear and succinct manner.

Last but not least, if an entrepreneur want’s to gain attention in the crowdfunding community, they need to have a video to tell their company and product story. The video acts as a resume and cover letter for a job; it is the first entry point to an investor. This is where the entrepreneur can clearly display their product, lay out their business plan, and pitch their vision. This is also the platform where entrepreneurs will show their personality and passion for the company as investors watch and make a preliminary judgment.

You can read these tips in more detail from the article itself posted here.

31Jul

Salt Lake City and their Emerging Startup Environment

Todd Crosland Salt Lake CityA recent article in fast company discusses the advantages of developing your startup company in Salt Lake City. The first advantage that the article talks about is cost effectiveness. Simply put, the rent is lower in Salt Lake City than it is in most developing startup ecosystems.

A large portion of the population is comprised of Latter Day Saints and the Mormon Church, and this has its advantages for the workplace. The population is generally healthy and hardworking making for stable work conditions. Many citizens are sent out on missionaries to different countries around the world. This makes it so that they can speak another language, and hopefully they picked up some good sales skills while in a hostile environment. The area is known for their legacy startups. Novell, Altiris, and WordPerfect have all started in Salt Lake City and encountered great success within the state. Loyalty is big within the community, so that is a big plus for emerging startups looking to keep long time employees. Since there is a large religious community, many family members leave the area, accumulate wealth, and return to invest in their family and home state.

The University of Utah and BUY are ranked number one in various aspects of commercialization and technology, so an emerging tech startup environment is almost natural in Salt Lake City. One thing that Utah can do better with in the labor market are software engineers. Utah does not have the right number of software engineers for their tech startup environment, and not many software engineers are relocating to Salt Lake City. Relocating c-level executives to take startups one-step further is tough in Salt Lake City and this is an area of improvement for the state.

Overall, there are multiple billion-dollar enterprises that have started in Salt Lake City, which citizens hope to cause a snowball effect that opens up doors for other tech startups to join in on previous success.

This article is based off of this article from fast company.