Bootstrapped Company managing rejection
Image via Wikipedia
When you are bootstrapping your company, sometimes you get a lot of rejection from the bank, and for my startup bookstore, rejection from the bank comes two weeks before the consummation of a deal that would throw us into a higher orbit in terms of business. There is much angst on this one, [...]
Boot Strap startup funding too much of a good thing
Image via CrunchBase
Sometimes too many opportunities can hit too fast, causing a severe drain on the resources that a bootstrapped company can manage. What to do when there are too many good things happening, and you can only afford to do what you need to do.
Sometimes good things happen far too quickly for a [...]
So why did Microsoft do a Bond Sale
Image via CrunchBase
Microsoft recently completed a bond sale for 3.8 billion dollars, which is a first for the software company. Once debt free, Microsoft will now be servicing the bonds for the duration that they exist. Of course this has generated all sorts of speculation, but also shows that for the right kind of risk, [...]
AWS in Education Grants
Image via CrunchBase
One of the things I have been committed to in my Computer Science programming is putting cloud computing into each of the tracks we are teaching at CityU of Seattle. When I heard about the Amazon Web Services in Education grant program, I knew this was something I had to check out.
The [...]
Help Spend my Bosses Money
Image by chethan shankar via Flickr
This is the reason why I work here; this week my boss wants us to help spend his money to give direct grants to needy students so that they can finish their degree. In a world where corporate boards and CEO’s are being tagged for not paying attention to [...]
Welcome to the Blogosphere Madrona Venture Group
Image via CrunchBase
Madrona Venture Venture Group joins the blogosphere, adding a much needed Venture Capital voice for everyone to follow. Let’s just hope they keep this one up, right now, many startups need to know what to expect when it comes to working with a VC, or just trying to survive 2009.
Madrona is a [...]
Icerocket Tracker starts using Google Ads
This was interesting, the Icerocket Blog Tracker has started using Google ads as a way to monetize the huge number of page views that they get on a daily basis. Nothing wrong with Google ads, but as more sites try to survive the current economic onslaught, things are going to continue to get interesting when [...]
Northwest Entrepreneur Network
Image via Wikipedia
If you are looking for one of the must have resources for startups in the Seattle Area, you need to seriously consider becoming a member of NWEN, Northwest Entrepreneur Network. NWEN is a Non Profit that helps startups throughout many of the phases that they will go through, and are deeply tied to [...]
Nortel to File for Bankruptcy Protection today
The Globe and Mail today is reporting that the Canadian Telecom manufacturer Nortel is going to file for Bankruptcy Protection today. Facing a slowdown in orders, an uncertain future, and previous concerns about its ability to continue going, the board of directors has authorized that the company essentially shut down, file for protection, and keep [...]
That was quick Social Median sells to Xing
Image via CrunchBase, source unknownSocial Median pushed out a note at 12:01 AM to announce that they have been picked up by another network Xing out of Germany. Usually you get some kind of rumor mill information on this, but there was nothing that indicated that this deal was coming. I did not think that [...]
Think no new VC cash for the next 12 months
Andy Sack from a Sack of Seattle has an interesting article up on the idea of no new money coming in for some classes of startups. Andy States:
I asked him how the raise was going and he told me it was the toughest capital market he had ever seen. I think he’s [...]
Sherriff ordered to snag Entelliums Stuff
Image via WikipediaBehind on bills, with people still sitting in jail waiting to see what happens next, the drama that is Entellium continues today with the King County Sherriff called in to seize the computer systems from Entellium because they are seriously behind in payments for the leased systems. Entellium has sparked and continues to [...]
Venture Capital Feeling the Pain
Image by timparkinson via FlickrFew articles rate a full entire word for word read, but venture beat has out done themselves this time with their article “The VC model is broken” today. The premise is that while VC’s survived the first bust of internet based companies, they might not be so lucky this time. The [...]
More Seattle Layoffs
King County and Zillow join the group of folks laying off workers in the Seattle area this week. Zillow announced last night, King County finished the process on Friday. King County laid off some 255 workers in total, while Zillow laid off about 25% of its work force.
This adds to TripHub (5), Entellium (7) [...]
Standoff between venture capital and company valuations
Image via WikipediaSeattle VC’s and Angels are talking about the valuations of the companies that they are funding, and one of the more interesting comments to come out of the conversation is “when valuations go up, the market is overheating”. I have heard more than one Seattle Angel and VC say that same comment, and [...]