|
Founder Profile
|
|
Entrepreneurship Isn’t About Money, It’s About Changing the World
Entrepreneur Matt Mullenweg recently said that his motivation isn’t to make money, it’s to change the world.
Mullenweg is the founder of Automattic and Audrey Capital, as well as a founding developer behind popular blogging platform Wordpress. He says he believes that everyone who has changed the world is a type of entrepreneur. “It’s about drive and ambition, not owning a business or being a boss,” he said in an interview.
|
Hot Startups of the Week
Housebytes
Housebites wants to re-invent take out by connecting local chefs with hungry people in their neighbourhood. Anyone can become a Housebites chef, and Housebites handles the delivery. Since the chefs are local, your meal is always delivered in within 15 minutes. Currently only available in the UK.
|
ShopLocket
ShopLocket lets anyone start selling online in minutes, risk-free. You can turn any online space into a place to showcase and sell your products. Today ShopLocket begins opening up its beta. The first 30 people to use the beta code “sprouter” will be granted priority access.
|
Pinwheel
Pinwheel is the latest startup from Flickr and Hunch founder Caterina Fake. Pinwheel lets you find and leave notes and pictures anywhere in the world. See notes from your friends, and browse strangers notes for any location. Pinwheel is currently in private beta, but you can sign up for an invite.
|
TipList
TipList helps you build lists of recommendations for your favourite cities. Enter the name of a city, and start browsing recommendations submitted by other users. Share recommendations on your city, and browse guides on your mobile device. Check out the recommendations for your city today!
|
ADVERTISEMENT
The fastest, cheapest way to find out why people are leaving your site (or mobile app). Get real feedback from real users in under an hour. Get 5 user tests at a special Sprouter discount.
Click here for details.
Upcoming Events
|
|
Lean Startup Machine New York
|
New York, NY
|
|
February 24th–26th
|
Lean Startup Machine is a metrics-driven startup competition where teams learn to identify the key risks in their business model through hands-on mentorship and our framework of tools. Bring your team or come alone to pitch an idea or work on someone else’s.
RSVP now →
|
Technori Pitch
|
|
Chicago, IL
|
|
|
February 27th
|
Technori Pitch is a monthly showcase of Chicago’s most innovative startups, pitching their latest technologies. 500 entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts gather to watch new Chicago startups launch. Sprouter Weekly readers can get 15% off their ticket price with the code 'sprouter'.
RSVP now →
|
Startup Drinks Toronto
|
|
Toronto, Ontario
|
|
|
February 29th
|
Like free appetizers? Want to drink beer and meet fellow entrepreneurs, developers, and business enthusiasts? Startup Drinks Toronto happens on the last Wednesday of every month, so add it to your calendar, and join us every month for drinks, good company, and great discussions!
RSVP now →
|
Startup Weekend Nairobi
|
|
Nairobi, Kenya
|
|
|
February 24th–26th
|
Startup Weekends are 54-hour events where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups!
RSVP now →
|
What We’re Reading
|
How to Evaluate a (Paid) iPhone App Idea
RescueTime founder Tony Wright shares his experience evaluating the iPhone app market when he decided to build a Paid app. Should you launch a paid app? Maybe – but there are some criteria you can use to evaluate if it’s right for you.
Read it →
|
Platform Distribution Risks
When you depend on a platform for distribution – like the App Store – there are certain risks you take on that could spell difficult times for your business. Chris Dixon presents his overview of platform distribution risks, including oversaturation, barriers to discovery, and throttling.
Read it →
|
To Raise or Not to Raise
Raising money is a touchy subject – as Joe Stump points out, some people believe bootstrapping is the only legitimate business plan, while others can’t talk enough about their recent round of capital. Joe presents an excellent set of points on the pros of raising money, and his own guidelines for raising early-stage capital.
Read it →
|
|
Want to get in front of a VC?
Be a little creative – human even. Brooklyn Bridge Ventures founder Charlie O’Donnell shares his suggestions for getting noticed by VCs. Hint: one email probably won’t cut it. Get to know the people you’re pitching, and keep your ear to the ground for opportunities to let them get to know you as a person, rather than just a pitch deck.
Read it →
|
5 Pitfalls to Understand About Non-Disclosure Agreements
Julien Saulgrain, a partner at blue HF, shares his insight on what to look for when signing an NDA. NDAs can represent the first contractual encounter of a startup, but you can easily get caught in pitfalls like never-ending confidentiality agreements, and mutual NDAs that are anything but. Here are some tips on what to look out for.
Read it →
|
Design is Marketing
Chuck Longanecker, co-founder of digital-telepath, shares an in-depth look at the importance of design to marketing your product or service. Drawing on examples from his experience, Chuck provides great insight on how design can help give you more sign-ups, Facebook Likes, leads, and sales.
Read it →
|
Featured Members
|
Daniel is the former Creative Director at Digg, and Co-founder at Pownce and Milk. He answers questions on design, development, and mobile.
Connect with
Daniel Burka
→
|
Mark is a partner at Real Ventures and an advisor to some of Canada’s leading startups. He answers questions on startups, funding, and planning.
Connect with
Mark MacLeod
→
|
Founder’s Note
Too often entrepreneurs gravitate towards making trivial things.
Many founders focus on building a “killer app,” versus putting their energies towards solving real issues.
With so much broken in the world, there’s incredible opportunity to have tangible impact.
Don’t shy away from solving the big problems.
Ambitious ideas and unabashed tenacity are what sets great entrepreneurs above the rest.
Until next week,
Sarah Prevette
Founder & CEO
Sprouter.com
|
