They're a Russian company organized in Estonia. I did a quick search of the USPTO, Estonian and Russian patent databases and that didn't turn up any of the inventors' names nor the name of their company "Magnetic IP OU." If you're interested in licensing their technology, which they claim is patented, I'd be happy to liaise with them on your behalf through their American office. Let me know!

You should include the new job on your resume. Honesty is essential as you begin a relationship with a potential investor or lender. Be realistic with yourself and with the lender regarding your time commitment. Starting a new job and a new company at the same time seems overwhelming. The projections should be realistic. At some point the business will grow and you will need to work there full time or hire someone to work full time to run it. Make sure you do include that costs as well. I have seen a number of mistakes with entrepreneurs working on a business and not handling projections and/or compensation correctly. Please feel free to set up a call if you would like to discuss further.

Its really tough to mention the best. I have a long list of US/UK based M&A, PE and VC firms list with direct contact information of key personnel. If you are interested, I can send them over to you for quick research. Thanks

Hello, investor! I am a real estate law clerk, and have worked in various aspects of real estate over the last 15 years. Answer: Not anymore. Depending where you plan to invest, I know properties are hot in the "greater golden horseshoe", basically Toronto - Niagara, which is the most densely populated areas of Ontario. The government recently imposed a Non-Resident Speculation Tax - if you are not a resident/citizen of Canada, you pay 15% tax on the purchase. Now, even though YOU are not a non-res, your company sounds like it is a non-res of Canada. My suggestion would be to incorporate a company here in Ontario and link it to your Irish holdings, - see tax lawyer and/or accountant - and find a way to keep that tax in your pocket. I can tell you more about the non-res tax, feel free to follow up with me.

This is a really good question and one I ask myself all the time. I also am an entrepreneur and have owned my own businesses off and on for the past 15+ years. During the times that I was looking for work, I also found myself pigeon holed because I was not the "cookie cutter" Enterprise Account Exec for Salesforce then Oracle, etc. It seemed to me that it became a detriment as potential employers see you as a flight risk. I would steer away from being overly entrepreneurial. HOWEVER, with that being said, I wear the entrepreneur title as a badge of honor. I am battle tested, been in the trenches, worked for no money at length and can walk the walk. At the end of the day it is a monetary decision. Good Luck!

I would not try and code these ideas yourself. You may be able to find a developer that would work with you if they believe in the ideas, but that means you have to give up equity, and run the risk that they are not as passionate about the concepts as yourself. I would suggest you start reaching out to smaller development firms with your concepts and meet with people in the industry to bounce both the concepts and the approach off of. You will more than likely have to find some initial funding or partnership arrangement that can get you to a MVP, (Minimal Viable Product) that you can then start promoting and marketing to build some cashflow, or further investor interest, depending on the concepts and direction you wish to grow.

I love this! So I am a marketer by trade, web developer and MBA. I don't know about getting users being the main issue. Consider things such as your target market, often times businesses i work with strive and invest in one group to only reach marginal success, then after some evaluation and pivoting to another (better) group the business just takes off. So target and how you approach them is key. As far as growth hacking - well, I have growth hack a few platforms and the main thing is that you have to have some traction. GH is not a replacement strategy for traditional/digi marketing. You need to already have some traffic to grow it..the hacking part is simply expediting the growth. With that said, GH is a combination of efforts from PR to press releases, to the flow design of the websites, having perfectly crafted landing pages (one for each possible target customer you might have) running AB testing, finding out who your personas are and targeting them through social networks (not all social networks are right for all personas - hipsters are better found on instagram than FB, while your demographic is probably on facebook & facebook groups but you can leverage both insta and fb) and measuring your bounce rate, among other little things... Growth Hacking is about focusing on a lot of little things at once... Is relatively cheaper than marketing because you have to hire one person and or pay for that one person versus paying for the service time on top of the print/marketing materials etc... so GH is cheaper as well but not completely free either. Think of it as a colander you need to get as many targeted individuals, each person gets send to a custom message landing page with just the right content for them, some will seep off some will give you what you want (email, subscription, referrals,etc - landing pages shall have just one goal) if you make it past that phase, they are followed up with emails or phone calls or are directed to your site or fb, etc.. some will engage there some don't - seeping off through the colander...lol. once in your page you might have an email subscription again just in case. Ads on google can be placed and be used to direct to landing pages or a specific place in your site - same as FB ads. One thing on instagram is to not post pitchy images all the time.. have people like and follow funny non-intrusive posts with just the right tags (again, your target demographic there) then once they are already following you once in a while you post a sales image or comment. There's more to it but I hope this gives you an idea on how to get started. If you would like to hire me for either landing page creation, web modification or GH services message me :)

Web marketing tends to be very time consuming, especially when you consider how vast it is. Pulling together all the components of SEO, content, website architecture, analyitcs and social media, you can be looking at 5-20 hours per week. The larger the site the higher that number goes. Social media itself can be particularly time consuming to do right, since that involves not just content generation but spending time engaging online with your potential audience and online thought leaders. I would say, however, that on a skill level, that's the easiest to achieve, if one has the knowledge that is required. But every area of web marketing requires a good deal of knowledge and a great deal of skill to ensure success.

What exactly are you looking to accomplish? What type of business segment are you in? do you have any capital? Do you have experience in said field? What makes you want to start "this" type of business. Let me know~

Are you looking to build a volunteer test group or get professional feedback on the actions of your beta testers?

There is no "one-stop shop" that will do all of these things well, there are a collection of tools, however, that will do this very easily. I'm happy to help; I've helped hundreds of businesses boost their local SEO presence. -Shaun

You're on the right track. I'm glad to see you getting the steps in the right order. WHO are potential users of your product? WHAT problem(s) will your app potentially be solving for them? HOW much do these potential users value the solution of these problems? Find your user group of people who would pay for a solution to a problem your app will solve. Get their input. I would do this through a couple stages...the first involving live talking, and the second usage of a basic version of the app once you and they have figured out what its purpose is.

The job description of your ideal person is pretty vague. You've told us about YOUR background, and some of your marketing tools, but we don't know a thing about what you're looking for. -A Killer -Startup Experience -Industry Contacts -Act with Urgency But who are you looking for?

Very unique question !! Haven't heard anyone raising this !! I do strategic IT initiatives and teach Intra-preneurship in corporate IT teams. We have Lull times too - Christmas, Thanksgiving with vacations and low loads. The best activity to do in this period is "IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE GROWTH" 1) Improvise process 2) Build systems of functions that are already missing it and not on priority 3) Data Analysis and testing your guts 4) Improve operational efficiency 5) Upgrade resources and systems (includes training) TOP LINE GROWTH ACTIVITIES 1) Test your hypothesis (related sales and marketing) that are high touch and resource intensive. 2) Build communities around your product and engage your top talents that are otherwise too busy and occupied in your best seasons. There is a ton of activities you can do... But everything starts from data. I assume that (because you asked this question), you already own/run a business that is data driven... Feel free to call me. to have a candid talk. Don't worry about the $$. Depending on what part of the world you are $$ could convert to a big figure.. Let me know if you need a free pass !! 30 mins . More than happy to share some of the metrics I use to identify opportunities. Please do share more details about the business if you wish to talk (for a fruitful talk)

That question can only be answered by taking your goals to a marketing company. As a web marketer we try to understand not just what the prospect is looking to achieve (leads, branding, increased profits, etc.), but by what means they feel is the best way to achieve those goals (social media, content messaging, SEO, etc.) It also helps to know how aggressive they want to tackle it. Most companies understand that despite wanting it all, their budget limitations might prohibit an all-out web market assault. With these considerations we develop a proposal that we feel will produce a successful web marketing campaign, providing the best value within whatever limitations they set. In terms of raw numbers, a web marketing campaign itself can be as low as $1000 per month (not very aggressive, even for a small, niche site) up to $10,000 per month, which ultimately may not be aggressive enough for even a large site.

I've worked on large civilian and defense projects for the Federal Government while working for two top-tier management/technology consulting firms and one smaller technology consulting firm. Have you considered approaching some of the big management/technology consulting firms that do most of their work with the federal government? I'm thinking about companies like Booz Allen Hamilton, CSC and SAIC. I'm pretty sure these companies have the contacts within the federal government agency you'd like to speak to about your project. The Partners at these companies usually have a pretty good idea what the agencies are looking for, so you may want to think about validating the idea through the companies, leveraging their network of connections. Many of the Partners have come from the Federal government. If the companies see your product as a valuable service, they can then help you get in front of the right people at the federal government agency to speak to about it. I have a pretty strong network within companies like this and would be happy to discuss further on a call. Either way, best of luck to you!

If you need instant revenue, a PPC campaign might be the best approach. I would always suggest hiring a person or agency to manage that unless you have someone on staff that focuses on that alone. Doing PPC yourself is easy, but it's rarely the most profitable way to go due to the nuances that are required to really squeeze out the ROI from a PPC campaign.

There are many things to consider, and nobody can advise you on everything. 1 thing I would emphasize is this: Brand names outside China are VERY different from website or company names inside China. In order to communicate effectively with a global audience, you should be careful to choose the right name (and domain). It should be memorable and have positive associations in English AND in the languages of other countries where you expect to do business. Also, your website content ought to be written by native speakers for your target languages.

Basically, the question is this: Are people reading the book for your writing, or for your ideas? If it's for your writing (say, if you're a fiction author) then you should probably write it yourself. It'd be disingenuous not to. If they're interested in your ideas (which is the case with most Kindle non-fiction books), then what's important is that your ideas aren't lost. That doesn't mean ghostwriting is fine, only that you need to find an efficient way to get your ideas out without wasting your time writing. Basically, the process I use is to outline the book myself, sit down with a microphone, and talk through the entire book (basically recording a really rough draft of the audiobook straight from the outline). Then I transcribe it, and then hire a "writer" to work from the transcription to the finished text. That way it's high quality and maintains my ideas, but I don't have to do all the work of typing. I wrote a book that breaks down the process in a bit more detail (especially the process of outlining, how to record effectively, how to find that editor, etc.), but basically what I said above is all you really need to know. Here's the link if you want to check it out: www.amazon.com/Book-Box-Method-Quickly-Easily-ebook/dp/B014EUTYGM/

I was trained as a Mechanical Engineer and now, run a few businesses. One thing that really helped me figure out the answer to your question (which was my question too) was to take a step back from trying so hard to identify my passion or make a decision. Instead I focussed on doing a few things e.g. write a journal, read widely in any topic of interest to me, take long walks and relax. The mental break that I got from doing this relaxed me. And the practice of reading and journaling began to bring clarity to the direction I should take. Hope this is helpful and feel free to ask more...

You are missing whether LinkedIn and mailers are relevant to your target customers and also how they use these media, if your targeting was accurate. - (Buyer Personas http://j.mp/1LPsR1a) GOOD NEWS. Many CEOs of small companies are active on LinkedIn and even write their own content, but I can't help you without knowing which sub-segments you could serve better than anyone else. You can even use LinkedIn to rank CEO's and categorise them by industry, company size and frequency of use, along with other criteria. ---------------------------- SELECTING A MARKETING MIX The better tactical selection will depend on what type of companies your CEOs run, what they expect from a vendor like you and where your target customers are, even if this means websites, phones or apps. CEOs could be more receptive if they thought that you understand their point of view better than anyone else. Perhaps you could get attention from active target members by commenting on their content, (LinkedIn and anywhere else they write) because marketing is about your target, not you. MEDIA PLANNING - (Media Planning http://j.mp/1EByAbz) There are many other variables that will interact along your target's decision process, like influencers and competition. I will only comment, however, on your mix of LinkedIn adverts and a mailer. 1. (LINKEDIN) Your LinkedIn adverts could have been poorly targeted and designed, because you didn't learn your audience's media usage before hitting them. Perhaps your CEOs are more active elsewhere, like Twitter, Facebook or Clarity, This is why I need you to elaborate on your target segments or I can research it for you. ------------------- HACK! If you've still got a list from the mailer, you can check individual names on LinkedIn and interact with them. It would be wise to get a premium plan, at least temporarily, so that you can contact decision makers directly. You can still use the post office for thank you notes and seasonal greetings. -------------------- 2. (MAILER) If the purpose of your mailer was to generate sales leads, the list to which you sent your creatives should have been made of prospects who were most likely to be shopping, based on their past behaviour and not only on demographics, which is often the case when you buy a postal package, but do not control the list. There are many things that could have gone wrong with your mailer and LinkedIn ads each by themselves and many more by combining them. You can't either expect one round of anything to build you an empire, because sales are built on reach and frequency. 3. (OTHER MEDIA) Have you thought of other media, like events? - (Media Planning http://j.mp/1L9U2kw) Speed counts. Your competitors could read this answer and get to your buyers first. Your options are: 1. (SLOW!) Exploring the links above for content. 2. Calling me to start your next marketing plan.

Craig is right, you'll need 3-5 year (you might aswell do 5 year btw) financial projections; a spreadsheet of course, with summary yearly costs/EDITDA etc on a slide in your deck. The plan can take the form of a slide deck. Use something like this as a template: 10 to 15 Slides COMPANY PURPOSE Define the company/business in a single declarative sentence. PROBLEM Describe the pain of the customer (or the customer’s customer). Outline how the customer addresses the issue today. SOLUTION Demonstrate your company’s value proposition to make the customer’s life better. Show where your product physically sits. Provide use cases. WHY NOW Set-up the historical evolution of your category. Define recent trends that make your solution possible. MARKET SIZE Identify/profile the customer you cater to. Calculate the TAM (top down), SAM (bottoms up) and SOM. GROWTH Go to market strategy If viral, why will it be viral? ('Sharing' is not an answer) COMPETITION List competitors List competitive advantages What is your unfair advantage? PRODUCT Product line-up (form factor, functionality, features, architecture, intellectual property). Development roadmap. BUSINESS MODEL Revenue model Pricing Average account size and/or lifetime value, LTV Sales & distribution model, CPA & CAC Customer/pipeline list/status TEAM Founders & Management Board of Directors, and any key Advisors FINANCIALS P&L Balance sheet Investment to date The deal (EXCLUDING valuation OR completion date) AND financial projections/cashflow (as excel s/sheet, ideally 5 yrs but atleast 3) ** You'll also need, for review before investment (due diligence): ** - Company formation docs, any trademark, patent, etc certificates - CAP table (current shareholder ownership to two decimal places % - Contracts of employment (Founders should have these also, and you should have founder vesting agreements) - IP assignments for employees/contracts current & previous if not included in their employment contracts - Any insurances, atleast the minimal required by law (i.e. in UK employers liability if you employ anyone, public liability insurance if members of the public visit you at your place of work or if you perform work at places of work owned by third parties, and Professional negligence, not mandatory but sensible (covers you for eg. making a mistake in a piece of work for a customer, Loss of documents or data, Unintentional breach of copyright and/or confidentiality, Defamation and libel, Loss of goods or money, your own or for which you are responsible). - In the UK, registration with the https://ico.org.uk/ (illegal not to if you store peoples data) Slide headings based on an amended list from Sequoia. Long typed out business plans cloud the precision that data and specifics provide. A deck as above with few words, forces you to get to the crux of your business and your go to market strategy and will be valuable both internally to you and your team and of course to raise funding. If you can't make it concise and clear, you probably have not thought it through enough.

If I were 18 again, I'd tell myself, "Don't waste time chasing women you aren't going to marry." Ha. That was probably the single biggest waste of my time, creativity, and money. But to get more serious, I wouldn't focus too much on finding your true passion. You will probably have multiple true passions over the course of your life. Rather than wait for "the one," try a bunch of different things. You probably won't find a really good fit right away, but you will eliminate some options. For example, you may quickly discover that you do NOT want to start a dog walking business. If meeting like-minded people is your goal, then go to conferences, seminars, and meetups. Take notes. Look for patterns. I take it you want to start a business. So before you try to create a product or service, look for a hungry crowd. Focus not on what you enjoy, but focus on what people will pay money for. We can discuss that in more detail later. Anyway, eventually you'll need to pick something and finish something. Then do it again. Assume you won't find your "true passion" until you're in your middle forties. What will you do in the meantime? What is the very next step you can take? By the way, college doesn't necessarily equal debt. If college interests you (aside from debt), then hack college: http://riskology.co/hack-college/. Send me some times, and we'll get on a call and discuss in more details. Cheers, Austin

I'm not trying to be a contrarian for the sake of being a contrarian, but can you afford to NOT do proper screening on VCs? If you're averaging $100K/month in revenue, then you'll be the pick of the litter, assuming your pro forma, etc., add up for the investors. A bad fit in an investor can hurt you just as much as a bad fit in an executive, or a dishonest manufacturer, or a lazy employee. Money typically equals acceleration. So a dollar from Investor A might be worth more than a dollar from Investor B if Investor A has domain expertise, can make introductions, or can set up strategic partnerships. You don't want any ole investor. You want strategic investors. The thin-slicing needed to decide who is more or less strategic must be done by an executive or founder who knows the company's needs intimately. Someone else can't do your dating for you. That being said, you could delegate the initial research phase. Hire a virtual assistant to compile a list of the top 200 VCs in the United States. Build a spreadsheet listing their portfolio companies. Use Techcrunch and Angel List to identify the companies that companies that are hardware startups. Now you can make a shortlist of target VCs. This process will have the added bonus of providing your lead-in when contacting VCs: "We noticed that you invested in [such-and-such hardware startup]. Our company, XXX, has created proprietary hardware that helps [your customers] with [customers' problems]. We're going after [market size] because [market potential]." If you want to discuss in more detail how you can save time while creating a high-quality list, give me a call. Cheers, Austin

Trust me ..It is a blood bath... Sites like freelancer have already capitalized the labor arbitrage business model.. I joined 2 groups but lacked motivation when it The only way it would work is 1) Get higher in value chain - Management consulting , roadmaps etc. The labor arbitrage still works there .. 2) Cutting edge and non-commodity services like IoT, Cloud, Hardware 3) Niche technology like NLP (natural language processing), Machine Learning, Computer Vision etc.. Please don't start another website development company using PHP , net .. The world do not need one more.. You still want to start, better have a behance portfolio that is killer quality .. QUALITY IS NEVER CHEAP !!! Need help in exploring option, feel free to place a call.. and if can'tr afford $, let me know.. will arrange a 30 free call..