Your Questions Answered by Industry Experts

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Answers from Industry Experts

Real Estate Real Estate Investment Real Estate Investing

Does it make sense to buy residential Real Estate in Canada with my Irish company?

Peggy Palms answered: Hello there and thanks for checking in. I agree that it may not be so good to keep cash sitting in a retirement fund, better to have it deployed wisely and making money for you. Putting funds into assets that could appreciate more than cash, especially if you might end up living nearby could be a lot safer. But be careful investing in a declining market, especially one so inflated as Canada. Many US markets are now rebounding from their bottom and possibly better investments. Canada does not have LLCs, but if you invest in the US, they are an excellent tool to protect your assets and often save yourself a lawsuit. Canada has some other entities that may give you similar protection, such as a corporation or partnership, so if you invest only in Canada we would need to look into those. Hope this helps.

3 answers • about 9 years

Entrepreneurship Job search Career Development

Is it harmful for a job seeker to have an entrepreneurial background or be interested in being one?

Josh Jermaine answered: This is a really good question and one I ask myself all the time. I also am an entrepreneur and have owned my own businesses off and on for the past 15+ years. During the times that I was looking for work, I also found myself pigeon holed because I was not the "cookie cutter" Enterprise Account Exec for Salesforce then Oracle, etc. It seemed to me that it became a detriment as potential employers see you as a flight risk. I would steer away from being overly entrepreneurial. HOWEVER, with that being said, I wear the entrepreneur title as a badge of honor. I am battle tested, been in the trenches, worked for no money at length and can walk the walk. At the end of the day it is a monetary decision. Good Luck!

7 answers • about 9 years

Software Development New Business Development MVP

I don't know how to code, but I have some ideas for a new product. How can i proceed?

Branden Moskwa answered: I would not try and code these ideas yourself. You may be able to find a developer that would work with you if they believe in the ideas, but that means you have to give up equity, and run the risk that they are not as passionate about the concepts as yourself. I would suggest you start reaching out to smaller development firms with your concepts and meet with people in the industry to bounce both the concepts and the approach off of. You will more than likely have to find some initial funding or partnership arrangement that can get you to a MVP, (Minimal Viable Product) that you can then start promoting and marketing to build some cashflow, or further investor interest, depending on the concepts and direction you wish to grow.

5 answers • about 9 years

Growth Hacking Online Marketing

What does it take to growth hack a real estate platform?

Humberto Valle Texas Real Estate Investor, Wholesaler, & Airbnb Superhost answered: I love this! So I am a marketer by trade, web developer and MBA. I don't know about getting users being the main issue. Consider things such as your target market, often times businesses i work with strive and invest in one group to only reach marginal success, then after some evaluation and pivoting to another (better) group the business just takes off. So target and how you approach them is key. As far as growth hacking - well, I have growth hack a few platforms and the main thing is that you have to have some traction. GH is not a replacement strategy for traditional/digi marketing. You need to already have some traffic to grow it..the hacking part is simply expediting the growth. With that said, GH is a combination of efforts from PR to press releases, to the flow design of the websites, having perfectly crafted landing pages (one for each possible target customer you might have) running AB testing, finding out who your personas are and targeting them through social networks (not all social networks are right for all personas - hipsters are better found on instagram than FB, while your demographic is probably on facebook & facebook groups but you can leverage both insta and fb) and measuring your bounce rate, among other little things... Growth Hacking is about focusing on a lot of little things at once... Is relatively cheaper than marketing because you have to hire one person and or pay for that one person versus paying for the service time on top of the print/marketing materials etc... so GH is cheaper as well but not completely free either. Think of it as a colander you need to get as many targeted individuals, each person gets send to a custom message landing page with just the right content for them, some will seep off some will give you what you want (email, subscription, referrals,etc - landing pages shall have just one goal) if you make it past that phase, they are followed up with emails or phone calls or are directed to your site or fb, etc.. some will engage there some don't - seeping off through the colander...lol. once in your page you might have an email subscription again just in case. Ads on google can be placed and be used to direct to landing pages or a specific place in your site - same as FB ads. One thing on instagram is to not post pitchy images all the time.. have people like and follow funny non-intrusive posts with just the right tags (again, your target demographic there) then once they are already following you once in a while you post a sales image or comment. There's more to it but I hope this gives you an idea on how to get started. If you would like to hire me for either landing page creation, web modification or GH services message me :)

3 answers • about 9 years

Business Development Small Business Startups

What is the most time or resource consuming part of running your business? How have you tried to handle this in the past?

Stoney deGeyter answered: Web marketing tends to be very time consuming, especially when you consider how vast it is. Pulling together all the components of SEO, content, website architecture, analyitcs and social media, you can be looking at 5-20 hours per week. The larger the site the higher that number goes. Social media itself can be particularly time consuming to do right, since that involves not just content generation but spending time engaging online with your potential audience and online thought leaders. I would say, however, that on a skill level, that's the easiest to achieve, if one has the knowledge that is required. But every area of web marketing requires a good deal of knowledge and a great deal of skill to ensure success.

4 answers • about 9 years

Business Development Small Business Startups

What are the biggest pain points of running your business?

Josh Jermaine answered: What exactly are you looking to accomplish? What type of business segment are you in? do you have any capital? Do you have experience in said field? What makes you want to start "this" type of business. Let me know~

4 answers • about 9 years

Social Media Software Development User Interface Design

I am looking for constructive, succinct feedback and advice regarding mobile, financial software product development.

Shaun Nestor answered: Are you looking to build a volunteer test group or get professional feedback on the actions of your beta testers?

3 answers • about 9 years

Social Media Marketing Online Marketing Marketing Strategy

What is the best online strategy/channels to reach & get potential customers for a local Physical Therapy office?

Shaun Nestor answered: There is no "one-stop shop" that will do all of these things well, there are a collection of tools, however, that will do this very easily. I'm happy to help; I've helped hundreds of businesses boost their local SEO presence. -Shaun

5 answers • about 9 years

Usability Testing Social Networking Sites Surveying

What's the best way to test customer demand before building a product or app?

Jason Kanigan answered: You're on the right track. I'm glad to see you getting the steps in the right order. WHO are potential users of your product? WHAT problem(s) will your app potentially be solving for them? HOW much do these potential users value the solution of these problems? Find your user group of people who would pay for a solution to a problem your app will solve. Get their input. I would do this through a couple stages...the first involving live talking, and the second usage of a basic version of the app once you and they have figured out what its purpose is.

5 answers • about 9 years

Early-stage Startups Internet Entrepreneur iOS

Early stage cannabis site. It could be worth billions. I'm looking for a team member with startup experience. Where do I find this person?

Shaun Nestor answered: The job description of your ideal person is pretty vague. You've told us about YOUR background, and some of your marketing tools, but we don't know a thing about what you're looking for. -A Killer -Startup Experience -Industry Contacts -Act with Urgency But who are you looking for?

3 answers • about 9 years

Management Startups Business Strategy

What do you do during your business' slow period? What would you say is the best use of this time?

Nefin John answered: Very unique question !! Haven't heard anyone raising this !! I do strategic IT initiatives and teach Intra-preneurship in corporate IT teams. We have Lull times too - Christmas, Thanksgiving with vacations and low loads. The best activity to do in this period is "IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE GROWTH" 1) Improvise process 2) Build systems of functions that are already missing it and not on priority 3) Data Analysis and testing your guts 4) Improve operational efficiency 5) Upgrade resources and systems (includes training) TOP LINE GROWTH ACTIVITIES 1) Test your hypothesis (related sales and marketing) that are high touch and resource intensive. 2) Build communities around your product and engage your top talents that are otherwise too busy and occupied in your best seasons. There is a ton of activities you can do... But everything starts from data. I assume that (because you asked this question), you already own/run a business that is data driven... Feel free to call me. to have a candid talk. Don't worry about the $$. Depending on what part of the world you are $$ could convert to a big figure.. Let me know if you need a free pass !! 30 mins . More than happy to share some of the metrics I use to identify opportunities. Please do share more details about the business if you wish to talk (for a fruitful talk)

5 answers • about 9 years

Digital Marketing Budgets Marketing

How big should our Marketing budget be?

Stoney deGeyter answered: That question can only be answered by taking your goals to a marketing company. As a web marketer we try to understand not just what the prospect is looking to achieve (leads, branding, increased profits, etc.), but by what means they feel is the best way to achieve those goals (social media, content messaging, SEO, etc.) It also helps to know how aggressive they want to tackle it. Most companies understand that despite wanting it all, their budget limitations might prohibit an all-out web market assault. With these considerations we develop a proposal that we feel will produce a successful web marketing campaign, providing the best value within whatever limitations they set. In terms of raw numbers, a web marketing campaign itself can be as low as $1000 per month (not very aggressive, even for a small, niche site) up to $10,000 per month, which ultimately may not be aggressive enough for even a large site.

5 answers • about 9 years

Federal Government Business Networking Networking

How can I connect to someone who has previously held a specific position at a federal government agency?

Chris Remus answered: I've worked on large civilian and defense projects for the Federal Government while working for two top-tier management/technology consulting firms and one smaller technology consulting firm. Have you considered approaching some of the big management/technology consulting firms that do most of their work with the federal government? I'm thinking about companies like Booz Allen Hamilton, CSC and SAIC. I'm pretty sure these companies have the contacts within the federal government agency you'd like to speak to about your project. The Partners at these companies usually have a pretty good idea what the agencies are looking for, so you may want to think about validating the idea through the companies, leveraging their network of connections. Many of the Partners have come from the Federal government. If the companies see your product as a valuable service, they can then help you get in front of the right people at the federal government agency to speak to about it. I have a pretty strong network within companies like this and would be happy to discuss further on a call. Either way, best of luck to you!

3 answers • about 9 years

Marketing Strategy App Marketing Growth Hacking

We are a bootstrapped beauty-on-demand app, and would like to reach a wider market. Is it necessary to hire a dedicated marketing person?

Stoney deGeyter answered: If you need instant revenue, a PPC campaign might be the best approach. I would always suggest hiring a person or agency to manage that unless you have someone on staff that focuses on that alone. Doing PPC yourself is easy, but it's rarely the most profitable way to go due to the nuances that are required to really squeeze out the ROI from a PPC campaign.

6 answers • about 9 years

Start-ups International Business

How does a Chinese startup expand into a global market?

Joseph Peterson answered: There are many things to consider, and nobody can advise you on everything. 1 thing I would emphasize is this: Brand names outside China are VERY different from website or company names inside China. In order to communicate effectively with a global audience, you should be careful to choose the right name (and domain). It should be memorable and have positive associations in English AND in the languages of other countries where you expect to do business. Also, your website content ought to be written by native speakers for your target languages.

4 answers • about 9 years

Amazon Kindle Publishing

Is it worth it to hire writers to help me with Kindle Publishing? How much would it cost me to get a quality product?

Zach Obront answered: Basically, the question is this: Are people reading the book for your writing, or for your ideas? If it's for your writing (say, if you're a fiction author) then you should probably write it yourself. It'd be disingenuous not to. If they're interested in your ideas (which is the case with most Kindle non-fiction books), then what's important is that your ideas aren't lost. That doesn't mean ghostwriting is fine, only that you need to find an efficient way to get your ideas out without wasting your time writing. Basically, the process I use is to outline the book myself, sit down with a microphone, and talk through the entire book (basically recording a really rough draft of the audiobook straight from the outline). Then I transcribe it, and then hire a "writer" to work from the transcription to the finished text. That way it's high quality and maintains my ideas, but I don't have to do all the work of typing. I wrote a book that breaks down the process in a bit more detail (especially the process of outlining, how to record effectively, how to find that editor, etc.), but basically what I said above is all you really need to know. Here's the link if you want to check it out: www.amazon.com/Book-Box-Method-Quickly-Easily-ebook/dp/B014EUTYGM/

7 answers • about 9 years

Start-ups Career Counseling Career Development

I am qualified as a Chartered Accountant, but not passionate about the practice and a career for life in this field. How can I find my passion?

Lat Nayar answered: I was trained as a Mechanical Engineer and now, run a few businesses. One thing that really helped me figure out the answer to your question (which was my question too) was to take a step back from trying so hard to identify my passion or make a decision. Instead I focussed on doing a few things e.g. write a journal, read widely in any topic of interest to me, take long walks and relax. The mental break that I got from doing this relaxed me. And the practice of reading and journaling began to bring clarity to the direction I should take. Hope this is helpful and feel free to ask more...

10 answers • about 9 years

Sales Marketing Strategy

What is the best way to market my service to CEOs of companies with 25 employees or more?

Peter Woolvett answered: You are missing whether LinkedIn and mailers are relevant to your target customers and also how they use these media, if your targeting was accurate. - (Buyer Personas http://j.mp/1LPsR1a) GOOD NEWS. Many CEOs of small companies are active on LinkedIn and even write their own content, but I can't help you without knowing which sub-segments you could serve better than anyone else. You can even use LinkedIn to rank CEO's and categorise them by industry, company size and frequency of use, along with other criteria. ---------------------------- SELECTING A MARKETING MIX The better tactical selection will depend on what type of companies your CEOs run, what they expect from a vendor like you and where your target customers are, even if this means websites, phones or apps. CEOs could be more receptive if they thought that you understand their point of view better than anyone else. Perhaps you could get attention from active target members by commenting on their content, (LinkedIn and anywhere else they write) because marketing is about your target, not you. MEDIA PLANNING - (Media Planning http://j.mp/1EByAbz) There are many other variables that will interact along your target's decision process, like influencers and competition. I will only comment, however, on your mix of LinkedIn adverts and a mailer. 1. (LINKEDIN) Your LinkedIn adverts could have been poorly targeted and designed, because you didn't learn your audience's media usage before hitting them. Perhaps your CEOs are more active elsewhere, like Twitter, Facebook or Clarity, This is why I need you to elaborate on your target segments or I can research it for you. ------------------- HACK! If you've still got a list from the mailer, you can check individual names on LinkedIn and interact with them. It would be wise to get a premium plan, at least temporarily, so that you can contact decision makers directly. You can still use the post office for thank you notes and seasonal greetings. -------------------- 2. (MAILER) If the purpose of your mailer was to generate sales leads, the list to which you sent your creatives should have been made of prospects who were most likely to be shopping, based on their past behaviour and not only on demographics, which is often the case when you buy a postal package, but do not control the list. There are many things that could have gone wrong with your mailer and LinkedIn ads each by themselves and many more by combining them. You can't either expect one round of anything to build you an empire, because sales are built on reach and frequency. 3. (OTHER MEDIA) Have you thought of other media, like events? - (Media Planning http://j.mp/1L9U2kw) Speed counts. Your competitors could read this answer and get to your buyers first. Your options are: 1. (SLOW!) Exploring the links above for content. 2. Calling me to start your next marketing plan.

4 answers • about 9 years

Business plan Early-stage Startups

I have completed a 1 year business plan for my startup. Should I do a 2-3 year plan as well?

Andrew J Scott answered: Craig is right, you'll need 3-5 year (you might aswell do 5 year btw) financial projections; a spreadsheet of course, with summary yearly costs/EDITDA etc on a slide in your deck. The plan can take the form of a slide deck. Use something like this as a template: 10 to 15 Slides COMPANY PURPOSE Define the company/business in a single declarative sentence. PROBLEM Describe the pain of the customer (or the customer’s customer). Outline how the customer addresses the issue today. SOLUTION Demonstrate your company’s value proposition to make the customer’s life better. Show where your product physically sits. Provide use cases. WHY NOW Set-up the historical evolution of your category. Define recent trends that make your solution possible. MARKET SIZE Identify/profile the customer you cater to. Calculate the TAM (top down), SAM (bottoms up) and SOM. GROWTH Go to market strategy If viral, why will it be viral? ('Sharing' is not an answer) COMPETITION List competitors List competitive advantages What is your unfair advantage? PRODUCT Product line-up (form factor, functionality, features, architecture, intellectual property). Development roadmap. BUSINESS MODEL Revenue model Pricing Average account size and/or lifetime value, LTV Sales & distribution model, CPA & CAC Customer/pipeline list/status TEAM Founders & Management Board of Directors, and any key Advisors FINANCIALS P&L Balance sheet Investment to date The deal (EXCLUDING valuation OR completion date) AND financial projections/cashflow (as excel s/sheet, ideally 5 yrs but atleast 3) ** You'll also need, for review before investment (due diligence): ** - Company formation docs, any trademark, patent, etc certificates - CAP table (current shareholder ownership to two decimal places % - Contracts of employment (Founders should have these also, and you should have founder vesting agreements) - IP assignments for employees/contracts current & previous if not included in their employment contracts - Any insurances, atleast the minimal required by law (i.e. in UK employers liability if you employ anyone, public liability insurance if members of the public visit you at your place of work or if you perform work at places of work owned by third parties, and Professional negligence, not mandatory but sensible (covers you for eg. making a mistake in a piece of work for a customer, Loss of documents or data, Unintentional breach of copyright and/or confidentiality, Defamation and libel, Loss of goods or money, your own or for which you are responsible). - In the UK, registration with the https://ico.org.uk/ (illegal not to if you store peoples data) Slide headings based on an amended list from Sequoia. Long typed out business plans cloud the precision that data and specifics provide. A deck as above with few words, forces you to get to the crux of your business and your go to market strategy and will be valuable both internally to you and your team and of course to raise funding. If you can't make it concise and clear, you probably have not thought it through enough.

5 answers • about 9 years

Entrepreneurship Youth Entrepreneurship Career Advising

What would you do if you were 18 again?

Austin Church answered: If I were 18 again, I'd tell myself, "Don't waste time chasing women you aren't going to marry." Ha. That was probably the single biggest waste of my time, creativity, and money. But to get more serious, I wouldn't focus too much on finding your true passion. You will probably have multiple true passions over the course of your life. Rather than wait for "the one," try a bunch of different things. You probably won't find a really good fit right away, but you will eliminate some options. For example, you may quickly discover that you do NOT want to start a dog walking business. If meeting like-minded people is your goal, then go to conferences, seminars, and meetups. Take notes. Look for patterns. I take it you want to start a business. So before you try to create a product or service, look for a hungry crowd. Focus not on what you enjoy, but focus on what people will pay money for. We can discuss that in more detail later. Anyway, eventually you'll need to pick something and finish something. Then do it again. Assume you won't find your "true passion" until you're in your middle forties. What will you do in the meantime? What is the very next step you can take? By the way, college doesn't necessarily equal debt. If college interests you (aside from debt), then hack college: http://riskology.co/hack-college/. Send me some times, and we'll get on a call and discuss in more details. Cheers, Austin

7 answers • about 9 years

Investments Raising Venture Capital

What is the best way to get a list of top hardware VC funds (approx. 30) for seed or round A?

Austin Church answered: I'm not trying to be a contrarian for the sake of being a contrarian, but can you afford to NOT do proper screening on VCs? If you're averaging $100K/month in revenue, then you'll be the pick of the litter, assuming your pro forma, etc., add up for the investors. A bad fit in an investor can hurt you just as much as a bad fit in an executive, or a dishonest manufacturer, or a lazy employee. Money typically equals acceleration. So a dollar from Investor A might be worth more than a dollar from Investor B if Investor A has domain expertise, can make introductions, or can set up strategic partnerships. You don't want any ole investor. You want strategic investors. The thin-slicing needed to decide who is more or less strategic must be done by an executive or founder who knows the company's needs intimately. Someone else can't do your dating for you. That being said, you could delegate the initial research phase. Hire a virtual assistant to compile a list of the top 200 VCs in the United States. Build a spreadsheet listing their portfolio companies. Use Techcrunch and Angel List to identify the companies that companies that are hardware startups. Now you can make a shortlist of target VCs. This process will have the added bonus of providing your lead-in when contacting VCs: "We noticed that you invested in [such-and-such hardware startup]. Our company, XXX, has created proprietary hardware that helps [your customers] with [customers' problems]. We're going after [market size] because [market potential]." If you want to discuss in more detail how you can save time while creating a high-quality list, give me a call. Cheers, Austin

4 answers • about 9 years

Start-ups Pitching Ideas Idea Generation

Is a Software Services startup still a good idea?

Nefin John answered: Trust me ..It is a blood bath... Sites like freelancer have already capitalized the labor arbitrage business model.. I joined 2 groups but lacked motivation when it The only way it would work is 1) Get higher in value chain - Management consulting , roadmaps etc. The labor arbitrage still works there .. 2) Cutting edge and non-commodity services like IoT, Cloud, Hardware 3) Niche technology like NLP (natural language processing), Machine Learning, Computer Vision etc.. Please don't start another website development company using PHP , net .. The world do not need one more.. You still want to start, better have a behance portfolio that is killer quality .. QUALITY IS NEVER CHEAP !!! Need help in exploring option, feel free to place a call.. and if can'tr afford $, let me know.. will arrange a 30 free call..

4 answers • about 9 years

Social Media Marketing Live Streaming Social Media Strategy

Are marketing agencies adopting live streaming into their clients' social media strategy? How can they do it at scale?

Jessica Tishue answered: My agency, along with fellow agencies are using Periscope as a part of an integrated marketing approach. There are many creative uses of Periscope that will drive traffic + conversions, it is all about finding the right solution that will provide the most value for you leads. Some of the ways Periscope is being used: -As a live consulting "show" where experts answer questions from social media sites such as Twitter. -To provide behind-the-scenes content. -To humanize themselves, further build relationships with their customers, and cultivate loyalty. Those are just a few. There are many more applications depending on your industry and business goals. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

4 answers • almost 9 years

Start-ups IT Operations IT Service Management

In terms of IT tools, what do entrepreneurs struggle with most when managing their startup in the early stages?

Josh Jermaine answered: As a startup freak myself, I am always looking for new ways to make the company better and communications between the teams easier. I like Slack as a communications tool as well as Asana. HipChat is pretty slick for instant messaging and integration with inbound customer service live chatting forums. As far as CRM I happen to like Close.io which offers calling directly from the CRM but also tracking of all emails in & out. Easy User Interface and they are slowly getting the tools needed to compete with the big boys.

3 answers • about 9 years

Lifestyle Coaching Self Management Life Coaching

How would you apply the Systems Mindset to your personal life?

Lat Nayar answered: The Systems Mindset would work for your personal life. Consider the following quotes from Sam Carpenter's book "Work the System" : "Unhappy people are not in control of their lives because they spend their days coping with the unintentional bad results of unmanaged systems. Happy people are in control of their lives, spending their days enjoying the intentional good results of managed systems." ..."each of us is a system of systems. But here’s the rub: some of them—each of which, always remember, can be visualized as a distinct entity—are headed in oblique directions, confusing our efforts to reach our conscious goals." So basically, we act as Project Engineers who constantly work to tweak and perfect the various systems that make up the various aspects of our lives. To move forward in an integrated manner rather than "firefighting" or constant crisis management. We start this by taking a stance "above and apart" from the issues so that the distance gives us the detachment to study the various systems that we are part of. Think about the 3 main documents that Sam Carpenter talked about in the book which he says is vital for business. These are :- 1. Strategic Objectives 2. Operating principles 3. Working procedures In your personal life, your strategic objectives would be your ultimate purpose or life mission. Operating principles would be the principles you use to make decisions and should be congruent with your strategic objectives. And working procedures would be how you do any specific "thing". For instance, if one of your strategic objectives is to live with integrity, your guiding principle for that would involve asking if a particular action is congruent with your sense of integrity. Then one of the working procedures for your relationships would deal with honest communication. Eg. in your "Late going home" procedure, you might have the following steps : 1. Call spouse 2. Inform true reason 3. Inform what time you can be expected back. "Inform true reason" would be congruent with your objective. You would communicate the true reason and not an excuse. The above is a rather simplistic example but this entire approach can be useful to all areas of our lives even if we don't create detailed working procedures as we would for businesses. This is how the Systems Mindset can be applied to our personal lives. It would help us identify our values and live more in line with them. And to live more effectively and efficiently too.

5 answers • about 9 years

Artificial Intelligence

How does Artificial Intelligence and semantic search work for a portal

Nefin John answered: This is a very vague question .. and sorry to say I wont be able to answer you in a better way... For the sake of conversation , lets say you own clarity.fm and see how we can fit semantic and AI on to it... I had once started a similar idea in past on yelp reviews.. Semantic - In layman langugae, you are breaking down large language pieces to small sentences and making a meaning out of it...and tagging them.. E.g If there was an sematic alogorithm you had run on this particular question , then the results would be Vagueness = 10, topic = technology, industry = web etc.. TO get this done, there should be a lexicon database that you should seed and curate. AI - This is more about applying data science and doing doing deep linking, mapping between all the raw data points (like User details) and derived information (like semantics) and identifying patterns. This is just one example. One practical example using clarity as case study using this clarity question --- If today you want to make a call for some help, calrity can use its AI algorithms to to identify who would be the best person to answer this..(based on the answers made in the past). This is a vast topic... To have a better answer , you need to share more info.. Feel free to talk. Not sure where you are based but if you can't afford the $, ask from me for a free call.. more than happy to help for 30 mins.. love the challanging part.

1 answer • about 9 years

Business Strategy New Business Development Marketing Strategy

What would be the downside & upside to gaining initial traction for a new website in a co-founder's country of origin like Bangladesh vs the US?

Arjun Buxi answered: I am answering with the assumptions that A) Bangladesh's population is as much your demo as USA B) You eventually want to have presence in both countries So here's some numbers- B'desh has only 7% internet penetration, but 80% of those use it at least once a day and the country is overwhelmingly a young country (under 55). If your service is youth-driven, that's a plus for sure. As a result, web advertising through Google adwords is 79% less in Bangladesh compared to the US (http://tinyurl.com/nfqzxjc) so that is one outstanding plus - save money, get eyeballs. This high percentage of under-45 year olds makes social media and share-ability a big piece of your marketing (more free advertising), as well as the celebratory factor of a local person (your co-founder) having 'made it big'. Without knowing much more about the product/service I'd say social virality and lower cost-per-click by 80% are two major points in favor of a Bangladeshi launch. The decision is yours :), happy to have a chat with you on a call this week! We can talk about the urgency you are facing, and how you could translate the momentum from Bangladesh to the US market (short answer: depends, but can be done). Best, Arjun

3 answers • about 9 years

Branding Branding & Identity

Which one is the best way to translate English brand name to another language?

Joseph Peterson answered: Beware of generalizations! Translating a brand name is always a very unique situation. It depends very much on the languages, the audience, the product, the branding goals, and the name itself. Sometimes transliteration works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes translating the underlying meaning works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the original brand name can be left intact. Sometimes a separate brand name for a separate language audience is a good idea. Give me a call, and I'd be happy to advise you on your particular case. Brand names are my full time job. I'm also familiar with the challenges of translation and localization, since I speak Arabic and Spanish and report weekly on brand names in Chinese, German, Italian, Portuguese, French, etc.

3 answers • about 9 years

Corporate Tax Tax International Business

What are the tax implications for a business incorporated outside the US, but with a good percentage of users and 5% of its workforce there?

David Favor answered: There are only tax implications for the business in it's domicile of jurisdiction (where the business is organized). Contractors in US will have US tax implications, if they actually reside in US. If they live outside US, for more than 330 days/year, they qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which is detailed here: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion

3 answers • about 9 years

Podcasting Entrepreneurship Audience Development

I want to create an interview based podcast in which I'll be interviewing successful entrepreneurs. How do I build an audience?

Jason Lengstorf answered: Most podcasts like you're describing start by using the audiences of their guests. This makes it tricky, because you're effectively asking someone to come on your show to leverage their audience for your growth. That's still a value proposition for the guest, however, because it's back links, external content, and more credibility to their own audience. (Assuming they don't already have a podcast.) Aside from leveraging your guests' platforms, you can also use standard marketing tactics to create your own network: guest blog, get active in the community, and do whatever else you can to generate backlinks and buzz. I'd be happy to go over strategies that have worked for me and my clients if you need a starting point. Just let me know. Good luck!

4 answers • about 9 years

Database Marketing Monetization

I've come into possession of a dormant social brand and large email database, how can I monetize it?

Joseph Peterson answered: Kind of depends on who those 120,000 people are, doesn't it? Ask yourself what they have in common. And ask yourself what it is they want ... or would want if they knew about it. Then figure out what you can give them that (1) closely matches what they want and (2) can pay you for your time. Don't look at this as a short-term sales pitch, a single email blast leading to 1 transaction. Rather, look on it as your chance to build up to 120,000 ongoing relationships with new people. Before you try selling them anything, introduce yourself. Pretend that you're talking to an individual. Present yourself as a brand and as a person. Explain the ownership change. Explain your tentative plans and what you hope to offer them. Ask for feedback. And listen to it. Those who engage are your audience – not the full 120,000, who have mostly moved on by this point, I imagine.

3 answers • about 9 years

SaaS Passion Educational Technology

What do you do if you created a Saas in a space that you're just not passionate about? Do you still try to monetize it? Or just drop it?

Jason Lengstorf answered: It's extremely hard to sell something you're not passionate about. Have you looked into other options, such as selling the company or hiring a sales team? With only a few clients it probably wouldn't be a huge sale, but someone who has connections in the education space could further monetize it, and you'd be delivering a working, proven moneymaker. A sales team would be riskier, but if you like working on the company and just don't want to deal with sales, you could figure out a way to pay other people to sell to administrators. It would require an upfront investment, but you just have to do the math: "if I hire this person for three months at $5k/month, how many clients would they need to bring in to make it worth doing?" A salesperson with passion and connections in the space can likely sell far more than you could (given your lack of passion). The question is: if you could grow your user base without doing the selling yourself, would you want to continue working on this company? I've started and sold (or folded) several SaaS companies, and I'd be happy to discuss my decision-making process, strategies, and outcomes with you. Just let me know if you'd like to talk. Good luck!

3 answers • about 9 years

Rainmaker WordPress Website Development

How does Rainmaker compare to Wordpress?

Ryan Gonzales answered: Rainmaker is designed specifically for the tasks you're looking to perform, and it's focused on conversions. Frankly, you can do all of that with great plugins with the WordPress platform, but you're definitely better off going with Rainmaker if you're looking for an "out of the box" solution. If you prefer to have the ultimate control over how things work, you go with WordPress, if you're looking for a pre-built rocket, go with Rainmaker. If you have any more questions, let's set up a call and we'll get you where you need to be.

3 answers • about 9 years

Mobile applications Web Analytics PPC

Are there any tools that track and analyze keyword search volume for the Google Play store or the Apple app store?

Hernan Jaramillo answered: NO, there no current tools available.

4 answers • about 9 years

WordPress Development WordPress Business Development

I need to set up a membership site for recipes but am hoping to do it with existing plugins in Wordpress, using a little customizing. Suggestions?

Nefin John answered: Hi, Membership site is a great idea.. I hear about it a lot at the Mixergy Interview. So many signle founders who are bootstarpped started with Membership.,.. I have listened to atleast a dozen of them.. Now the fun part -- Most of them who started with wordpress were not happy. It is a good way to test the idea..But the moment you gain traction you will have to get on to a membership SaaS or tweak wordpess a lot to make it one.. Even if you decide to go with wordpress version check if you have the following features. Wishlist is a wordpress plugin I am aware of..http://member.wishlistproducts.com/ (disclaimer - i have never done but heard a dozen founder speak) Membership Levels - Create “Silver”, “Gold”, “Platinum etc Integrates With Your WordPress Site or blog Flexible Membership - Trial , Paid etc Member Management - like registration, activate, upgrade Payment gateway integration Content Protection There are non wordpress too ... One of them is http://www.subhub.com/features/ .. If you already have a email list, influencers, would-be moderators etc, I would say start with a niche tool rather than tweaking wordpress. Hey if are looking for any idea storming related to growth, content stratgey, marketing ..feel free to chat.. Don't worry about the phone fee.. I can send you a free call pass ..happy to talk 30 mins. Also, do take a look what other membership sites for recipes are doing , the pain points etc..

5 answers • about 9 years

Financing Mobile applications Product Development

Is our financing app idea viable?

Nefin John answered: Hi, So ou are building a loan marketplace and instead of being the middle man, be a platform provider. 2 Issues 1) It is a 2 sided market place which are extremenly tought to build 2) This is a Red Ocean with tons of competition and dozens of playes already in. You should be doing this if you have one of these 1) You have tons of money that gives you a long runway 2) There is an innovative angle to it.. E.g Peer 2 Peer or Micro crowd financing were a novel idea some time back. I did a random search and there are tons of services that are walking zombies that are in loan for students, house, boats (niches like that) and also based on crowd and p2p. Having said that, I do not your big idea and vision in detail, So there could be something really unique AND VALUABLE that you are planning to offer.. Happy to talk and idea storm.,. if you are not in a position to pay, I am more than happy to do a 30 min free call.. Let me know... Or message me if you have specific question.

5 answers • about 9 years

Restaurants New Restaurant Openings Leases

What are the best ways to attract restauranteurs to a lease/opportunity?

Rishi Patel answered: Here are two things I might try if I were in your position: 1) One idea might be to partner with a chef and host a "open house". Send the invitations out to owners of other restaurants that are doing well (pitch it as an expansion opportunity), and also commercial real estate agents. 2) Reach out to your local restaurant associations, offering to host an event. Hope this helps!

2 answers • about 9 years

Venture Capital Start-ups Investments

Is it okay to have debts and previous loans while approaching investors?

Code Cubitt answered: It's certainly not unusual to see debt on the balance sheet when we look at opportunities. I wouldn't let it hold up your process of trying to find additional new investors, as it can usually be worked around to all parties satisfaction. Having said that - a specific answer to your question would depend on a number of things, including the payback terms, cash on the balance sheet, amount you intend to raise, strength of the underlying business etc. VC's will not fund you $500K just to have $300K walk out the door in 6 months for example. Have you considered having your debt holder convert to equity along with the new investors?

3 answers • about 9 years

Funding angel investing Start-ups

How can Africans access investor funding for their startups?

Nefin John answered: Did you checkout http://www.angelfairafrica.com ? http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/23/u-s-investments-surge-for-african-tech-entrepreneurs/ It does not matter where you are. Most of the Angel or Seed investors associated to startup accelerators in US or UK are accessible to anyone in the world as long as there are no Trade embargo or sanctions. Also you or team should be able to travel to these countries on business or tourist visa in person if selected. Process is easy 1) Create a POC/Mockup or working protoytpe 2) If you can sign up early customers..nothing like it... 3) Assemble a pitch deck Feel free to talk to me... Incase you are not able to pay, just let me know.. I will get a free pass for you and we can talk 30 mins .. happy to help.. I am in contact with people who work for Pencil of Promise projects in Ghana.. Are you familiar ? Nefin

4 answers • about 9 years

Revenue Modeling Online Marketplace Early-stage Startups

I am building a freelance marketplace site. Apart from advertising, what revenue model options are available?

Nefin John answered: No idea is a bad idea !! And what works only they (world) can tell. Who knew the 140 characters could have revolutionized the world creating a parallel universe... So.. try it.. you never loose.. My personal opinion - I like it. There are some startups I have heard of who are doing the same thing for Social causes. E.g, I can give away my time, or service (book keeping if I am an accountant). Money etc. In nutshell, unlike Fiverr, freelancer or Guru, you currency is not money but "sweat currency". I am sure there would be marketers who can ask a programmer to create a website and in return help them with building there social media profile. I would do it .. so you already have 1 customer. I am willing to pay $9/Mo just to be on a platform, if there are more people. Revenue Models - 1) Advertizing - this is for the dumbest of all.. Spoils the user experience. Had it been year 2000-2005 , i would have said ..go for it !! 2) Feature lock Freemium model - Like linkedin 3) Mail chimp model - where you limit the numbers for free customers I see a potential. You main concern here is not the revenue. I guess , it is the growth ! 2 sided market places are the toughest ones . If we want to talk to me .. feel free.. I am willing to spare 30 mins (free) if you are not in a position to pay.. I love idea brainstorming :-) get a high from it !!!

5 answers • about 9 years

MVP Lean startup Early Stage Startup

I run a startup course and want my students to set up a landing page but without the monthly recurring cost. Is there a one-time fee Wordpress theme?

Branden Moskwa answered: You might want to try unbounce.com they have a free version that has their branding on it but allows for the use of most features and if its for a course then when they are done they can upgrade if they wanted to get rid of the branding. Just a thought take a look. Might be easier to setup then WP for some students,and built more specifically for landing page conversions.

3 answers • about 9 years

Travel Planning Internet Entrepreneur Business Development

I have a plan for a travel website, but I don't have the skills to bring it to action. What steps should I follow?

Nefin John answered: As I understand , you have domain expertise in travel industry and have a unique idea that you think will is needed in the market. I also assume that you did some study and came to conclusion that website is what you need (Not mobile first .. re-think !!) If you are a first time found I would strongly suggest you to understand the "Lean Start-Up" way (http://theleanstartup.com/) . I have developed products for big enterprises and for small businesses and and done my own couple startups in the past that ended up in the graveyard (No product market fit). Step 1 - Put up a landing page and validate your idea (https://medium.com/@joelgascoigne/how-to-successfully-validate-your-idea-with-a-landing-page-mvp-ef3c2d02dc51) You probably can do this under $50 Step 2 - While your idea was getting validated, you would have collected some emails. Talk to them and figure out the appetite and try to pre-sell the product or service.. Step 3 - Create an MVP. Unless you have something totally unique and unconventional, most of the data driven web products can be created using a word-press or any similar frameworks. Step 4 - Consult a technologist on how to go about it and get a landscape and roadmap developed. Ask for help to vett the right freelancer or part timer for this job Step 5 - If the version 1 makes you any money..man !! you made it.. double down ..At this point you can think of rebuilding the backend etc with the better architecture. These are no 5 magic steps .. I wrote it as I was thinking it loud. Feel free to contact .. ..and good luck !!

16 answers • about 9 years

WordPress Behavioral Targeting Online Advertising

How can I target ads in real time depending on the demographic of my site visitors?

Michael Shoup answered: Having looked for something similar for a number of our own clients, I feel your pain here. You've got a couple options here depending on (1) Your level of Wordpress Development Experience and (2) Your budget to provide those features. For our agency, we use the Hubspot Platform to deliver "Smart Content" Call-to-Actions which change depending on a website visitor's current lifecycle stage in our sales process and allow us to target any metric we'd like to track through automation. These can then be embedded in a Wordpress site. If you're looking for a Wordpress-Only solution, I'd suggest starting with the LeadIn Plugin: https://github.com/wp-plugins/leadin. This plugin (also developed by a team inside Hubspot) will track and create profiles for any website user who interacts with a form and let you track their behavior across the site. Tie this information in your database along with the ads you want to display, and you could roll your own affordable solution with a little PHP help. LeadIn also ties into MailChimp which could allow you to do email marketing automation at the same time. Happy to chat further if I can help provide further detail about either solution!

3 answers • about 9 years

Career Development Career Advising Career Counseling

What do you recommend I should invest my time and knowledge into at 18, that will impact my future for the better?

Jason Kanigan answered: What's your end goal? Do you want to be a great employee? Or a business owner? What kind of a business owner--hands on, or Olympian? Big differences. Specialized skills are what's necessary for being a great employee or hands-on business owner. If you want to be a leading, delegating, deal-making business owner, then you need a different skill set. In either case, simply knowing what you want and being able to articulate it will put you ahead of 99% of the pack. Most people have no idea what they want and drift from thing to thing...their next job is similar to their last, or the first one that was offered to them... You can literally shave years off your career path by being ultra-clear on your target and going straight for it. I've had employers create custom roles for me four times. Each one knocked several years off my career path. It's why I was a production manager with six supervisors and over 150 floor employees reporting to me at 26. I created that job, by sending the employer a package detailing my plan and requirements. Want to partner with the best to learn specialized skills? Sell them on the idea of why they need to hire YOU and only you. Want to learn the art of deal making, delegating and other soft skills? Sell the right kind of business owner on why they need to hire YOU and only you as their assistant. Get IN. Once you're IN, you will get a completely different view of the world. For example, I worked for a national electrical wholesaler for four years. A guy was an accounting clerk when I started, and after awhile he got promoted to assistant to the GM for an area with 11 branches. That guy instantly got access to all the high level data and IN on the decision making at that level. He got to see the issues, information, solutions, and people who played at that level. Near the end of my time there I did a stock tracking project and worked with him. On my first day, I was shocked to see all this data. I was suddenly IN. Nobody else in my department got to see this data. And it was "no big thang" for these head office guys; they worked at this level every day. Set your target and get IN. I bet you cut 10 years off your learning curve by doing so.

23 answers • about 9 years

3D Printing Metal Fabrication Manufacturing

I need help bringing a metal jewelry piece to life. Which direction should I explore? 3D printing, Wax casting?

Daniel Arroyo answered: If you have your CAD design done, you can get it printed in plastic first using inexpensive printers at 3DHubs for example. Do tweaks to the design and reprint. This can't cost more than $5 or so per print. Once you're happy you can then send your design to shapeways or i.materialise to be printed in metal. These services will likely charge a fee $100 for a metal print.

5 answers • about 9 years

Startups Startup Consulting

Is making a platform for employee referrals a good idea, as in an idea for which people would pay ?

Arjun Buxi answered: Could be! You do raise a good, unexplored space of connecting and monetizing referrals. I've been working with a few HR startup types and I do know that this would be valuable resource. The trick is the angle you take - is this 'buddies helping buddies' in a quiet, hidden informal way, or is this sponsored by and for the organization and routed through the recruiter? Another dimension is intra-company as well as inter-company referrals - wall street and finance businesses have a lot of inter-connections and this could be an interesting connective. I'd love to offer more suggestions over a phone call! Your purpose and qualifications will make our strategy more concrete. Best, Arjun.

3 answers • about 9 years

Tax Tax Law

We are a Nigerian company opening up a Delaware C corp for the purpose of raising funds from US investors. Is there any tax levi on funds raised?

Rui Delgado answered: Yes, you should read Do More Faster by Brad Feld and David Cohen from Techstars. It gives you great advice on what to consider when starting your tech company.

2 answers • about 9 years

Career Advising Startups Advice

If you could go back in time to my age (18) what would you do differently?

Jason Kanigan answered: Erghh...tough to answer because at 18 I know I didn't listen to many people...and I thought I was a "nice kid." A lot of this stuff is learned through trial and error, and this saying (which has been attributed to many people from Mark Twain on down) is accurate: “Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement.” So at least in this model, you have to go through the bad to understand the good. I'll say this, from my own experience: The time will pass. In three blinks of an eye you will be 40. I know it seems like a far away point now, but trust me, time accelerates as you get older. Each summer you plan to learn how to sail a small boat. Each summer passes and you have to work, you can't take the time off to do the course, the sunny days pass by. Suddenly you are 30. Blink. The time will pass. If you want to get good at something--business, music, art, whatever--start now. Persist. The time passes, quicker and quicker, whether you like it or not, and if you stick with whatever it is, you will develop that skill... ...and suddenly, in two blinks of an eye, you will realize you are a professional. I have perhaps 25 functional years left in the workforce. The full force of this is in my face every waking minute. Be the person you want to be--or be a flake. That is fate's demand. Don't be too concerned about money at your age. You can build it. Live beneath your means. I didn't, through my mid-20s, and it bothers me to this day. Put a percentage of your income aside every paycheck. Then you can take vacations when the opportunity arises, buy stuff on sale that you really want when it comes up, take that sailing course and get started on the road to enjoyment and perhaps mastery. Don't let circumstances rule you. Need to get out of work early to take that course? Talk to your boss about it. Start a side business now, if you're so inclined. You can make all the mistakes early and it won't cost you much...and you can be a pro at 28. Because, trust me, the time will fly by. Make the things you want to happen...happen. Don't be too interested in pleasing other people. It doesn't pay off. They will simply take advantage and then take more. Take care of yourself first. If a choice comes down to doing something you know is important to your life, or pleasing someone else and suppressing your desire or interest, choose yourself. You can always get another job. Speaking of jobs...don't let anyone tell you that "you have to pay your dues" or "you have to have more experience." That is the Chicken Little way of the world and those people do not know what they are talking about. Someone told me I couldn't be a factory manager when I was 24. I quit, and within 4 months was a plant manager. People do not know what they are talking about. Even me. Trust yourself. Find your own truth. There are MANY ways to success--not just one. Not just the single one advertised on television. You can figure it out your way, and you'll probably be a lot happier. Oh, and invest in some solid real estate as soon as you can to get a passive income going.

12 answers • about 9 years

Mobile Apps Business Development angel investing

Closing our Software Company - How can we find someone interested in buying our Live Apps and Traffic?

Richard Lockyer answered: Having just completed a top notch Accelerator program I can tell you that even in the great programs not every company survives. Accelerators and their coordinators are a good resource for entrepreneurs who may be in search of additional opportunities. That group of people varies greatly in terms of their liquid resources. Some have funds to reinvest while others have no cash at all, so it also depends on what you are looking for. Straight cash, versus a transition to silent partnership, for example.

3 answers • about 9 years

Exit Strategies M&A experience Strategic M&A

How do you sell a business without looking 'desperate'?

Andrew Rogerson CM&AP, M&AMI, CBI, LCBB, EECA, CSBA, CERT TAX answered: What do you see when you look at the stock market over the last two weeks? The Dow was down over 900 points this morning. Why are you even thinking of selling your business in this sort of market when there are no buyers? If the above makes sense to you then its wrong. The Dow recovered because buyers saw an opportunity and the Dow recovered to be down about 250 points. As I write this is its about 480 points down. The bottom line. You have your reasons for selling. A buyer will buy for their reasons. You have to find the right buyer which normally takes time and presenting your business as professionally as you can and having experienced advisors around you to help you be successful. If you are highly motivated to sell, try to solve what's causing you to be highly motivated so you can just be a motivated seller and let the market do what it does; bring together a willing buyer and a willing seller.

3 answers • about 9 years