StartupSushi

Startup news and original commentary from the front lines.

[startupsushi-blog]

The challenge of finding quality employees in technology is not limited to Silicon Valley and the other tech hubs in the US. Our friends across the pond are facing the same problems resulting from high demand but little additional supply of qualified individuals. > If you're looking for new tech graduates for your new tech start-up or your existing tech business then be prepared to fight hard and pay a premium, as a new study shows tech skills are in demand and salaries are on the rise.According to figures from UK job search engine Adzuna there are over 2,697 tech start-up jobs currently available in the UK, that's up 33% in the last 6 months. [Read More](http://scrb.me/5cN)

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If you're a startup, the personal financial side is just as important as the health of the company. Especially if your startup has early success, it can be very tempting to show that through visual cues. However there are drawbacks with going Gangnam Style: >  This dance is the hottest thing since Samsung smartphones. In the past month, it’s been on Facebook walls across the internet, all over the WSJ, and lauded by the auto-tuned voice of this generation — T-Pain. If you haven’t seen it already, it’s time you caught up with the rest of the world and take a peek. Why am I talking about a Korean music video on a personal finance blog? What in the world does this have to do with money?

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Raising that first round is hard, one would hope that with the experience, the subsequent rounds would be less challenging. However, each round and additional investor brings more partners into the business with what may be different end goals and needs than the founders. Knowing that negotiations are two-way streets can help a young company avoid some of these challenges. >  Negotiating with potential investors is never easy. Here's one option you never want to take off the table. Every once in a while there is a highly public kerfuffle among Silicon Valley investors that delivers an important lesson about funding for entrepreneurs. Last week it was Y Combinator founder Paul Graham's leaked email warning start-ups not to take lowball offers from investors--and specifically from Google Ventures. [Read the full article](http://scrb.me/4Vk)

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Kickstarter and other crowd funding sources are becoming a more popular way to raise the necessary small initial investment for many startup products. However there are pitfalls for using normal people as investors to your company. > What happens when supporters do their part, but you can't do yours? Here's how to avoid upsetting your new fans.Crowdfunding site Kickstarter seems like such a great way to bankroll a business undertaking. Come up with an idea, make your pitch, and watch the money that you need to undertake your new venture come rolling in.What happens when fans do their part, but you don't? [Read Inc's Take](http://scrb.me/4Dt)

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>  If you want fast growth, go beyond the comfort zone of your first customer base. Here's how to get started. Selling to the same old customer base can be as comfortable as staying snuggled up in a nice, warm bed. But that strategy can limit your company's potential for profit and growth. Just ask Bill Burnett, co-founder and president of Fippex, which supplies a B2B portal allowing companies to easily share files and other content with their customers... [Read the full article](http://scrb.me/4q7)

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> In today’s startup landscape, practically everything can be outsourced. But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. So how do you decide what’s right for your new company? [Read the viewpoints of the 8 founders](http://scrb.me/4q3)

[startupsushi-blog]

> Why has the billion dollar valuation become trivialized in startup investing? What started Facebook down a path where it would it reach a $150 billion valuation on secondary markets before going public at a $100 billion valuation, and then sinking to a $50 billion valuation within months? We were talking about these questions with the CEO of a startup that has itself raised more than $100 million in this environment. This CEO believes the answer to these questions are in the chart below, [See the chart and read the full article](http://scrb.me/4oL)

[startupsushi-blog]

Some good advice, especially the bit about getting the relationship down in writing, but I disagree with the initial premise. Sometimes the problem is so big that you need more than one programmer or business person at the outset. Also, I think it is critical to select someone with whom you have a good personal relationship with. There will be screaming, hurt feelings, and late nights. You will need a friend just as often as a co-worker. > When it comes to picking a partner, you can't just go with your gut. There are steps to choosing someone perfect for your future business.If you are thinking about starting a business, chances are you can’t do everything by yourself.Take Microsoft. Bill Gates hired his high school buddy, Paul Allen, but it looks to me like Gates decided that Allen (net worth: $14.2 billion and also a programmer, not a sales or business guy) did not have what Microsoft needed long-term. [Read the full article](http://scrb.me/43q)

[startupsushi-blog]

A great startup opportunity isn't always something that's brand new or never been seen before. There's a lot of value to be created in taking something that works in one market and making it accessible to a much larger market. Smaller, more agile teams, can accomplish the transition better than large, rent-seeking organizations. > >In the past, business success was all about size: The large eat the small. Today, business success is all about speed: The fast eat the slow.But when change occurs, what do most organizations tend to do? They hunker down and protect the status quo. After all, it’s human nature to protect and defend. [Read the full article](http://scrb.me/3Rj)

[startupsushi-blog]

You could easily extend these points to all managers. To use a sporting analogy, great managers are point-guards, not shooting guards. Teams scale better than individuals and the manager's job is to get all team members operating towards the common goal. > Visions, strategies, decisions--those are all important. But not as important as this.CEOs of public companies are ultimately measured by their ability to increase company earnings, profits, and stock prices. Everything else--building a corporate culture, moving into new markets, crafting bold visions--is, depending on your point of view, either a driver of earnings or a luxury you get to focus on as long as the board stays happy with the company's valuation. [Read the full article](http://scrb.me/3Rk)

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Along with these three, angel investors tend to have fewer investments than VC's allowing them to give more attention to your startup. The extra attention can be invaluable, especially for first time entrepreneurs. >  >VCs can pack a powerful punch. But here's why you should hold that thought.You're starting a business. You need capital. All the headlines say that venture capital firms (VCs) are looking for the next great thing, and you've got it.But at the initial seed financing stage of your start-up, VCs are not always the better option In fact, angel investors often have more to offer. [Read the 3 reasons](http://scrb.me/3Rm)

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I think this article could be paraphrased as "be where you have the biggest network." > A new study shows that startups do better when they’re launched in the place where their founders were born or have lived for a long time. Makes sense, but the reasons why are surprisingly complex and modern. Our first guess was that the key to startup success is the founder’s ability to go to their parents’ house to cadge a hot meal. And that’s not entirely wrong. [Read the full article](http://scrb.me/3Eq)

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There's been renewed attention on the cloud after a series of high profile cases, such as Yahoo!, Linked-in, and Dropbox, where confidential customer data has been compromised. > The information that is entrusted to your business by its customers must be protected not only for the sake of your brand and businesses bottom line, but also any breaches could result in heavy fines. The Data Protection Act states that businesses must take all possible action to protect the data they collect from customers. [Read the full article](http://scrb.me/3Eo)

[startupsushi-blog]

Not to add to the pressure, but the first hire in a startup can be make or break. Getting the right individual is critical for the on-going success of your venture. > [Infographic Preview](http://cdn.syn.scribit.com/439/37/37de7465f39605317ccec6c4027d395e_300x169.jpg) [See the full info graphic](http://scrb.me/3Er)

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>Airbnb took off at YC Demo Day and it's now worth $1.3 billion. Seven years ago, Paul Graham and his now-wife Jessica Livingston founded a startup accelerator, Y Combinator. Since then, it has become the most competitive startup program in the world. Its acceptance rate is compared to that of an Ivy League school, with similar prestige stamped on each graduating startup. [Read more about Y Combinator](http://scrb.me/3Do)

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> A start-up can spring from an innovative idea, but founders often overlook key elements that can turn an idea into at nightmare. Entrepreneurs have innovative minds that can turn a crude idea into a great business opportunity. They tend to know more about their own product or service than anyone else, and they have the ambition that could lead the company to success. However, there are four lessons that they often dismiss. [See the 4 lessons](http://scrb.me/3zf)

[startupsushi-blog]

> Mitt Romney is growing his own. Well, sort of. His old firm, Bain Capital, is taking on the problem of hiring talented tech workers by training them itself. Bain’s StartUp Academy, launched by the company’s VC arm Bain Capital Ventures, recruits students from top universities and plants them in positions at the tech companies... [Read more about Bain Capital's new program](http://scrb.me/3zg)