Slayer's Den :: Dragons' Den

Businessweek Books

Slayer's Den — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 04:58:00 +0000

Businessweek suggests a few books for the budding entrepreneur. The article quotes Seth Godin founder of a company bought by yahoo as saying "Where else in the world can you find a million dollars worth of advice for $20? The power of a book to an entrepreneur is simple: It gives you a quiet place to explore what you ought to try next." This is mildly funny in my anonymous opinion. If a book was all the advice it took to make a million bucks, then there would be a lot more millionaires. Sadly I think it requires slightly more than hitting chapters or amazon. I'm not saying a book won't help - it almost certainly will - but it can't be expected to work miracles. Anyway in upcoming weeks/months look forward to book reviews of some (probably not all) of the books mentioned in the article.

Not on Easy Street Any More

Slayer's Den — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 01:44:00 +0000

For every great idea and new business that succeeds there are many more that will fail. On thestreet.com this week there is an article discussing "the anguish of being an entrepreneur". The article discusses a few of the typical fears of entrepreneur. They boil down to the fear of failure which makes it tough to discuss the potentially challenging situation with others. The article suggests talking to respected advisors in such cases.

Coming back to the dragon's den basis of this site, I feel this is one of the key things many of the pitches on dragon's den lacked - a serious conversation by the entrepeneur with someone experienced or with some business sense. The sending the chickens out to slaughter approach used for the show makes for alright television but it might be nice to see more professional and well-thought out ideas. Surely good ideas/pitches and good television isn't mutually exclusive?

Competitions - A for free motivator

Slayer's Den — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 19:09:00 +0000

One of the so called best advice for entrepreneurs is, "Get started". This is along the lines of Nike's "Just Do It", and is mainly said to people who stall on finding that perfect idea or perfect business situation, and instead, talk and discount each and every idea.

One way of motivating yourself to do something is by entering a business competition. For example, Microsoft is advertising one of its' products (Office Accounting) accompanied by a competition. The competition is called ideaWins, and in this competition, the winner receives some money (100,000) and a store front (in Mahattan for a year).

Not a bad motivator for that job idea you've always been sitting on. Maybe those two factors alone are what is missing from your current negative thoughts and lack of momentum.

I haven't really looked at the software (Office Accounting) that was released with the competition, but apparently, it is also a tool that will help you get your business idea off and running.

VC Summit

Slayer's Den — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 01:19:00 +0000

The globe and mail discussed a venture capital summit that took place in Quebec city recently. Apparently it drew 250 people. This may not be of interest to people starting out but the article reports that Canadian VC funds have been returning 3% on average compared to 26% on average for funds in the US. The abysmal rate of return suggests a potential chicken and egg problem - the lack of return discourages investment in canadian VC funds but without sufficient investment you can't develop the VC culture that is more prevalent in the states. In the article, they discuss that this has lead to some partnering up of canadian and US funds and how long-term these funds could replace the role of government in encouraging entrepreneurship.

The Local Google Opportunity

Slayer's Den — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:27:00 +0000

In Mark Cuban's blog (Owner of the Dallas Mavericks and famous entrepreneur), one of his more recent postings discusses an opportunity for local advertisers in the modern technological world.

First, Mark takes a look at the success of Google's business model, traffic monetization, which loosely defined, in terms of the Internet, is making money off web traffic. The most common form of this is Google's Adsense, which tries to put advertising links for other web pages based on the content of your own web page assuming that advertising based on content means you're interested in both.

This model has been a great success for Google and might be part of the reason why their stock currently sits around $480 with a Price to Earning ratio of only 61.01, but that's another story.

Mark, in his blog posting, takes traffic monetization from the global marketing perspective to the local perspective. The idea is that existing local media conglomerates, or new ones (the entrepreneur side) can tap into this market based on three key ideas.

Local advertising has the advantage of personal sales which means (3 advantages in different order than the blog post):

Local clicks are more valuable to certain types of companies
Large companies might not have the expertise to use adsense
Google doesn't have the salesperson, or more importantly the personal touch

This is where the local guy has the advantage in the marketing game. Additionally, just like Google does, the concept of adsense is to use other peoples content as your advertising medium. This increases the traffic for your advertising, but risks losing the local touch. However, there are many local content generators that can be captured, be it neighbourhood newspapers or local community websites.

The article goes on to address some other concepts to apply from Google's reign, but other than the idea that Google has gets a huge amount of advertising for free (based on $100 payout minimums).

The comment section of the blog has people who seem to like and dislike the idea. My concern is the large group of commentors who feel that the local media is dead or is dying. Good idea or bad idea? Tough to tell, but smells like opportunity.

Anything's fair game

Slayer's Den — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 14:53:00 +0000

One concern some people have is that their skills aren't amenable to a startup type operation. This article talks about a now established startup for the analysis business - or basically mathy people. For many, people who studied math aren't always seen as the most entrepreneurial etc, but the business seems to be working. Warning: The article's title is more interesting than the body and I really just used the title for a mini-rant.

What VC's are looking for

Slayer's Den — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:30:00 +0000

Here's an article from a few months back in business week that gives some suggestions about what VC's look for when they invest. Number 1, a market ready product. VC's aren't the source of the first money so this makes sense. Angels would have typically provided the earlier funding. Look back into an earlier post describing angels vs vc's.

More Social Networks - But this time for the Young Entrpreneur

Slayer's Den — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 19:23:00 +0000

Your young, you've started a company, and you're on the net. Where do you find like minded individuals? Look no further. Mind Petals is for you.

The site is a place for young entrepreneurs to get inspired and do something, and there are tonnes of articles on all sorts of topics.

Advice from Venture Capitalists

Slayer's Den — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:51:00 +0000

This article discusses the advice and suggestions from venture capitalists after they got together in a series of panel discussions. Some particular advice includes:

Everything in manufacturing from the loading dock to the front door of Wal-Mart, will be data-enabled.
The biggest obstacle to financing new ventures is price.
VCs look for a leader who is able to articulate the company's vision.
Companies should take on more than one source of funding.
Angel investors should be used as mentors.

There's a lot of other good advice and tips, so go ahead and read the article.

Feminine Touch in Angel investing

Slayer's Den — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:23:00 +0000

Men make up the majority of venture capital and angel investors, but more recently women are beginning to break down the walls and changing the face of equity investing. This article from The Scientist explains the effects of this trend, especially on helping women pursue their ideas. For example, angel groups whose investors are predominately or exclusively women are investing in companies that are run by women.

Semiconductors & VC's

Slayer's Den — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:56:00 +0000

According to this article, the VC environment for semiconductor-based companies has been relatively flat this year. Some interesting statistics
2005 148 deals 1.9 billion raised = 12 mil/deal average
2006 135 deals 1.8 billion raised = 13 mil/deal average
No surprise that semiconductors need some serious money. It's good to see at least the money doesn't seem to be dropping off too much.

I Have an Idea...therefore, Others Have the Same Idea

Slayer's Den — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 19:50:00 +0000

One of the big stoppers for people who want to execute some great idea they have is that they are concerned that someone else has the idea. Take a look at Myth #4 in an article at Entrepreneur.com. The biggest factor is how your idea and later your company is differentiated from other ideas.

Venture capital falling in Canada

Slayer's Den — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 21:39:00 +0000

Based on this press release from the CVCA, venture capital has fallen by 32% over the past year. While, venture capital firms are giving out less money in total, they are giving somewhat larger amounts to those companies that they do fund. I guess there is a silver lining.

Proverbs for the Enrtrepreneur

Slayer's Den — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:59:00 +0000

"No means maybe and yes means maybe", is one of the proverbs with respect to entrepreneurs getting money from investors. O'Reilly Radar's post includes many good entrepreneurial proverbs; each proverb includes an analysis into the meaning of the proverb with respect to your business. The article is similar to having many chapters of a book summarized into small sentences that get the message accross on all sorts of topics including money, ideas, and people.

Without VC's

Slayer's Den — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:48:00 +0000

VC's want big returns and when they do open the purse strings their desire for the big score can make for a challenging relationship between the entrepreneurs and the venture capitalists. This article from the New York Times discusses one company/entrepreneur that bought out the venture capitalists. The article also suggests that angel investing is on the rise since angel's don't tend to need the big returns VC funds require.

Who to Ask - Part II

Slayer's Den — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 23:23:00 +0000

While on this topic of who to ask, one very significant factor is where you are, physically. We may live in a world where fast networks make location seem irrelevant but that isn't fully the case. Many VC's are guided by the 20 minute rule when deciding what to fund. If you aren't within a 20 minute drive of their office, forget about it. This is definitely something you should consider early on when thinking about/starting a company. For electrical/computer engineering based companies, this means if you aren't in the valley, money will be tough to come by. Maybe one day this won't be an issue if people develop more effective virtual collaborative environments but whoever tries to do that will probably need some VC money so hopefully they'll be a short <20 minute drive away.

Entrepreneur ideas - Here is how you might find your next great idea

Slayer's Den — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 22:00:00 +0000

Entrepreneur.com has an article in their December issue that describes where you can find the next great idea. The main concept is that the large amount of U.S. government money pumped into research provides a range of ideas and research that can be obtained by companies through a "technology transfer".

Who to Ask

Slayer's Den — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:07:00 +0000

On businessweek.com there is an interesting periodic Q&A focused on venture capital. This week's question is "how do I figure out the best venture capitalist to approach"? The answer isn't straightforward but the main message is that you need to do your research on what you need. Do you need guidance, help finding a management team, or what else? What stage of development is the company at? And of course what industry are you in? Based on the answers to these questions look at what venture capital firms are out there (the link gives a few resources to find that out) and make an appropriate decision.

Creating your business plan

Slayer's Den — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 19:26:00 +0000

Did you ever wonder what should be in your business plan? This article from the Government of Canada goes through the steps in creating a business plan, and what you should have in it. Sections include information about your business concept, your financial plan and sales forecast.

A Year of Doing It Yourself

Slayer's Den — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:51:00 +0000

In this blog, Adam McFarland has just completed one year of blogging about running his own business.

These types of blogs are a huge resource for those considering following the same path. It's like an access to someone's business diary.

Slayer's Den — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 04:32:00 +0000

Here's an only somewhat intersting article from last month's issue of Profit. It profiles Laurence Lewin, one of the dragon's. The most signficant point I think is when Lewin explains what he wants to see when an entrepreneur pitches an idea. He feels they should be friendly and entusiastic while being clear about what they want. This is something many of the pitches lacked on Dragon's Den this season.

People should have a better understanding of why they need the money. I get the feeling that a lot of the guests simply saw the ads on CBC or wherever and decided, "Hey I could use some money for my idea". The better approach (in my opinion) would be to realize they need new financing and consider this as just one potential avenue for getting it.

Review: Dragon's Den Episode 7

Slayer's Den — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:15:00 +0000

A review of Dragon's Den - Episode 7.

Businessweek article describes how to "Test, Test, Test your entrepreneurial idea"

Slayer's Den — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:12:00 +0000

An article with a conversation with Seth Godin provides some insightful tips on starting out with an idea. Godin suggests when you should look for investor money, and is asked about his book "The Bootstrapper's Bible" currently freely available for download.

Angels vs VCs

Slayer's Den — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 23:17:00 +0000

Did you ever wonder what the differences between angel investors and venture capitalists were, well this article from American Venture magazine explains the differences.

According to the article, angel investors, while being motivated by large returns, have a deeper connection to the entrepreneur and tend to stay within areas of their own expertise. In this way, the angel investor plays a larger part in trying to make the business work. Read the whole article for a nice description of how to interact appropriately with angel investors.

Dragon's Den Tonight

Slayer's Den — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:52:00 +0000

Well the last episode of CBC's Dragon's Den airs tonight. It will be a recap show apparently showing how things have worked out for the people on the show. We'll recap the show tomorrow but in the meantime you can read the following article on the thestreet.com about angel investing trends to be expected in 2007.

The main points are: expect more angel investing activity but the investment environment won't be getting any more favorable. For people looking for angels getting the magical 50k is still going to be challenging but personal credit scores aren't going to be a big limitation.