Time kills all deals. For startups, speed to market has never been more critical. When we’re investing in a company at BCG Digital Ventures, we look at how well the company will scale. We’re focused on idea to Series A. Our startups must go from paper to market within 12 months and to scale within 36, or we fail them. … Read More
How to Know If You Have the Entrepreneur Gene
Scientists have been studying the potential role genes plays in a person’s aptitude for entrepreneurship. I’d certainly be interested in their conclusions given my own background and career. Both my father and grandfather owned small businesses, which makes me a third-generation entrepreneur. Does that mean I have the entrepreneur gene? I didn’t really think so — until recently. Until about six years ago, … Read More
Why the (Entrepreneurial) Future is Female
This time of year is normally filled with stories about holiday cheer and yuletide goodwill to all. ‘Tis the season after all. No wonder that in years past, I’ve typically written about Christmas movies, business or some other jolly topic. This year, however,it would an oversight to address the holidays without addressing what’s dominated the pre-holiday news cycle: gender inequality and sexual … Read More
Is Your Startup Worth the Risk? 5 Questions You Need to Answer
The art of predicting the potential of an early-stage business lies in identifying which internal and external factors will have the biggest impact on its future performance. To narrow in on those essential factors we can first boil the assessment of a startup down to understanding the upside potential on the one side and uncovering the risks on the other … Read More
6 Business Hacks to Boost Efficiency
Every business wants to grow more each year than it did during the previous one. It often falls on employees’ shoulders to make it happen. That’s why it’s important to have a plan in place to improve workplace efficiency. Training your team is every bit as crucial as hiring the right talent and adopting new technologies. But how do you … Read More
Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2018
The marketing landscape is more diverse than ever before, with marketing strategies spanning multiple channels. To stay relevant, you must conduct marketing audits from time to time. With so many tasks to execute, you might be walking a fine line and making a few (or several) blunders. At Betaout, we’ve learned that these mistakes can cost you time and money you don’t … Read More
Must-Have Qualities of a Reliable Startup Co-founder
These days, more startups are going the route of launching with multiple co-founders and building traction on the side before eliminating the team’s full-time income. While bringing on a co-founder can increase your likelihood of success, there’s no denying that a bad co-founder can quickly sink any side project before it has time to flourish. So how do you ensure … Read More
Make Your Business More Productive
Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks you carry out as an entrepreneur? The reality is that you can automate more than you think. By taking advantage of the right tools, you can take tasks off your plate, automate the ones that remain and either delegate or eliminate tasks altogether — to start working smarter — not just harder. … Read More
Cost-Effective Ways to Quickly Validate Your Startup Idea
When the fitness wearables craze hit, everyone wanted a piece of the pie. But as Jawbone and others discovered, the market simply couldn’t support 10 Fitbit lookalikes. After a failed pivot to clinical-grade wearables, Jawbone — once valued at $3 billion — shut its doors for good. Jawbone is the latest reprise of an age-old problem for startups: failing to meet … Read More
Top 4 Business Investments Right Now
Our world has become the global village. Ideas are being produced rapidly around the world, and most of them have the potential to change life as we know it for future generations. Already, we’ve witnessed amazing ideas and technologies that have shaped the way we think, interact and build businesses. You can focus solely on growing your own empire, or you can plan … Read More