Before you weigh the pros and cons of different platforms structures it's important to think about who your customers are and how you want the business to grow. I help companies find their most profitable customers and have worked with pre-revenue to high-growth $70M+ companies in the SaaS, consumer products and professional service spaces. We usually start our work by aligning around what the vision for the company is asking questions like "Where do we want to be in 3 years? Why?" From there we think about how customers will encounter and use the product, asking: - "Is it a business where relationships and high company involvement is needed after a sale is made?" A centralised business model is a good fit (more quality control). - "Are we a service based business seeking to minimize risk while expanding?" Then a franchise model is better. A business model/structure tumbles out having clear answers to these questions. One business structure is not inherently better than another. You're just picking the structure that best facilitates your business goals. Don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to discuss your potential business model in more detail.

From your question it appears you want a shelf-stable (no refrigeration required) product with a long shelf life. There are a number a factors that will determine your products shelf life, to be clear, adding a seal is not the only requirement to create a shelf-stable product. The good news is that syrup has a low water activity, which means it will be easier for us to make it shelf-stable. My recommendation is to hot fill this product and use an induction seal. This process would then need to be validated with appropriate microbiological and sensory testing. I can setup a process that will create the product you desire with a shelf life that you and your customers would be happy with. If you would like to go into detail I would be happy to schedule a call.

I agree with my colleague. For the interest of clarification, the answer to your initial question (would you need to seek permission from the original (copyright owner). I believe my colleague was answering "No," to your second question are there standard policies for sporting event pictures. No, there are no universal rules. Depending on the sources there may be sites that allow you to license the material or have guidelines for your use. You would need to consult those sites for their policies. But, the answer to your initial question would be "Yes." You would be advised to contact the copyright holder. Without spending too much time looking at the site you linked "History of the World Cup" (and no time looking at the pictures being used). It may be that they a) got permission b) they feel that there use qualifies as a "fair use." They do specify that theirs' is a non-commercial use (presumedly for educational purposes) HOWEVER the credits section does ask potential copyright holders to get in touch if they take issue with their use. I am not saying that they are making "fair use" but it seems like they are doing what they can to indicate they are and to avoid claims of infringement. (Their attribution to the original photographer does not lend itself to any fair use right they might have -- but is probably done out of courtesy). I would recommend you speak to an attorney to find out if there is an easy way to get permission or license the content you wish to use. If you are making a noncommercial use for educational or other purposes that MAY be afforded some Fair Use protections that would be something you would also want to discuss. I hope this was helpful and added something to the original reply.

Your brand must conjure associations beyond the clothing itself. Fabric is only fabric. Attractive design matters, but market competition is enough to drive down prices. If you intend to ask a premium, then your product line must SUGGEST more than it literally is. Eventually, certain brands reach maturity and can point to an established reputation or high-profile adoption by the rich and famous. But you can start out by honing a brand "story" that captivates attention. Parts of that story are visual; others are verbal. Naming -- which is a large part of what I do -- is crucial when it comes to instantaneous unconscious communication. The right name tells your story for you on first contact with investors or consumers. Thereafter, it echoes in the mind, resonating with associations people bring to your product from their own experiences. Those associations add value. This is true whether you're a luxury brand or a maker of upscale outdoor gear like Patagonia, which takes its name from rugged South American highlands. In addition to your brand name, I would recommend paying close attention to all of your written copy. Make it unified and stylish ... in whatever way best fits your product line and intended audience.

It's the chicken or the egg question and in all truth you need both to grow each other. You need to figure out about the minimum level of businesses you need to keep customers coming back and back. Second, you need to offer those business a free trial period, say 3-6 months, so that you have the businesses that will attract the people, but the businesses are not throwing away their money on an empty project, while you are recruiting your people. You also need to market yourself and start early, while you are still setting things up. Get the word out: make youtube videos. Ask other sites to attach a link to your site. Write on blogs. Leave links on blogs (it is a bit of spamming but if the blog owners don't like it, they'll delete the link). Even better if you can do a trade for service with those same blog owners. Be creative and MARKET MARKET MARKET. There's an old Russian saying: not advertising your business is like flirting with a girl across a non-lit room.

I guess the best answer is, it depends. What kind of mobile game are you marketing? Who are you targeting? For what platform? (iOS, Android?) Different ad networks work better than others depending on the type of game. A good place to start would be MoPub, MDotM, Manage, and Insight.

Start by organizing a Startup Weekend event. It is more like the franchise model, and they will provide lots of support for you, collateral, etc. The second time you can spin off into your own thing once you have the experience.

Firstly - it is not always about spending a fortune on marketing and advertising. It is more about laws of physics than math. If you can put enough force into things that all increase the energy of that force - meaning, doing less isolated efforts of marketing but more integrated approach. Look at your target audience, where do they usually go for advice on international investments - Google ad-words is a good start but again, that is where active seekers would be found and you should have planned and implemented a good SEO approach. For passive prospects (not looking actively for international investments)- you would still need to generate interest through branding campaigns. This is again where, if you plan it well, perform research on the right channels for adverting to your prospects, some are free online, some are worth the spend. Also, look at your partners, and co-marketing campaigns in this time are a real asset as well. In a nut shell, there is not a cookie cutter solution and not one size fits all. If you spend more time planning, you will spend less money and less time will be wasted on execution of your marketing and advertising campaigns. I would be happy to have a call if you want to discuss this in further details and share some of our experience with such campaigns.

They are getting interest through their traction in other cities. Since they are already in 20 cities and have approximately half a million users if you look at their Android app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.hinge.mobile.android), they can simply wait until one city "tips". This might also just be a strategy to artificially use scarcity since it works sometimes, such as with Mailbox(http://www.nirandfar.com/2013/07/psychology-of-scarcity.html). I think it doesn't really matter if they launch city after city, as they have $8M in funding and can just spend $5,000 on Facebook Ads and get 1,000 user in one city within a day. The effect of scarcity makes sense, if you are new and if you're a hyped startup such as Mailbox used to be. On the other hand, it makes sense if you don't have the resources to launch in many cities such as Uber, because they need the drivers first. I can also schedule a call, where I can tell you more about this as I've done a lot of apps and have a social network myself with Tennis Buddy.

Assuming links work here, a couple good articles: http://www.techinasia.com/xiaomi-reports-monthly-revenues-49-million-miui-android-ecosystem/ http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/09/06/heres-why-you-should-care-about-rising-chinese-smartphone-firm-xiaomi/ http://www.rioleo.org/xiaomi-miui-and-the-android-ecosystem-within-china.php In short, everyone wants a piece of the ecosystem game. Some is poorly thought out (Leap Motion is doing it badly) but for the core concept I refer you to Motorola's mobile phone business. Several times they have been the absolute dominant force in the industry. But, when you sell consumer hardware only, busts can follow booms. And did for them, many times. An ecosystem means ongoing revenue, not just periodic hardware sales. It means secondary market sales are the same to you, as the ongoing revenue is what you want, and it means increased stickiness. Apple lives by this, and embraces their customers being stuck on their products. There is almost no such thing as an apples-to-apples comparison consumers can make when the get used to your ecosystems. Perceived or actual switching costs muddy the waters for them, so you have them longer. Xiaomi is getting this sort of loyalty. There's other interesting issues having to do with their market. Play store, for example, is not really a thing in China. I can go on and on about this, so ask me if you have additional questions.

I lived in the US for 28 years before returning to Russia. My name is not easy for Americans to pronounce (anything outside of the Anglo-Saxon standard names seems to fit that category). Short version of Stanislov is Stas, so I went with that for them, but I never would change my name. Take pride in the name you were given and the culture you came from. Your parents gave you that name and you have it for a reason. Just because others don't pronounce it just right is no reason to throw away your culture. Oh and Misha is the short Russian version of Michael, if you americanized it, it would have to be Mike.

I'd start with messaging the admins of the various Facebook groups dedicated to mobile game development and asking if they'd be willing to 1) enable you to put up a post about the SDK, and 2) pin the post for a week so that you get a bit more visibility within those communities. You can also find the appropriate thread on the various mobile gaming forums and chime in there. I would recommend trying to be helpful 9 times before you ask for something once. You'll notice a much better response if you've become an active contributor to each community before you start selling your stuff, no matter how soft the sell and no matter how valuable the stuff. Hope this helps, Austin

Beauty isn't my field -- not the cosmetic / fashion variety, anyway. But I see companies from other industries eager to pay bloggers for advertorials. So I assume that the same demand exists in the industry you're examining. I'd also imagine that such a database would make the process of connecting advertisers and bloggers much more efficient. If I'm right, then you have a promising idea. But you ought to be asking (1) the bloggers and (2) the companies who'd be paying to advertise. If they think it's a good idea, then you're off to a good start. Then you'll want to research existing platforms (if there are any) and assess your own readiness to build and market the service you have in mind. Good luck! P.S. If you get to the stage where you're thinking of a brand name for your project, talk to me. That is my actual field. So the beauty that primarily catches my eye is VERBAL beauty.

I think you need to think outside the box. You can definitely make 50k a month but someone just giving you ideas is not going to help you. Remember Ideas are just 1% execution is 99%. Find something you're passionate about. Find a problem that people have daily that can be solved. But if you wan't ideas: E-Commerce is going to be really big over the net few years. Helping people increase their conversion rate will definitely make you over 50k a year if you can execute it right.

I am assuming you are in the US? I'll assume you are. The fact that the patent has been approved proves that in the it can be, its a precedent and US law is precedent bound. As for lawyers, no you'll have to pay for your own lawyers.

The best way to solve chicken and egg problems for marketplaces is to prove market need on each side independently first with a low-cost MVP-type test. Once you've proven the market on both sides with metrics it is much easier to leg in supply and demand with a strategic or enough funding to match a market on a local or niche level to ensure liquidity. For a deeper analysis, here is a post on medium that I wrote... http://bit.ly/1k2vYbY Also, feel free to schedule a call with me if you'd like to dig deeper.

You won't find anyone worth adding to your team willing to work for equity only, no matter how compelling your product and business is. The realities of the talent market for mobile developers anywhere is such that a developer would be foolish to work only for equity unless they are a cofounder and have double digit equity. Happy to talk about hiring and alternatives to full-time hires.

What kinds of start ups? You may find some scattered IT here and there but I highly doubt you'll find a lot of high tech. There are reasons why the term industry clusters was coined. High tech requires more than just facilities and infrastructure, it requires people and teams that are more than 10meters from each other start to degrade in performance. Simple reality. Also, hi tech heroes tend to want the thrills of a big city or a city and if not them, then their families...and good schools and so on. Setting up in the middle of no-where means a lot more expenses when you need to hire talented people and relocate them. As for Russia, out in the middle of no where we have a lot of farming start ups: huge intensive growth orchards in Chechnya, with a German partner. Angus ranches, fully automated, out in south western Siberia and so on.Agriculture or mineral/petro extraction rules in those areas.

Hi, I have been a PHP developer for 13 years and have experience building enterprise applications. What framework are you using? Most PHP frameworks have a built in authentication and authorization mechanism. For example, Yii has a builtin RBAC system that allow you to define a hierarchical permission system. If you're not using a framework or you just want to implement your own system for whatever reason then you can utilize Object Oriented Design and implement a Base controller (if MVC) that checks the permission for each request. That won't use a lot of if statements. Probably need more info, to give definitive guidance. Hope that helps.

The simple answer is: good developers get paid. You have a few options that each come with different risks. 1. Find a development agency looking for equity projects. There are more out there than you would expect but be prepared to show them all the details. They are going to want to see that you've done ALL your homework. 2. Find a freelancer looking for passion project. This is hard. Really hard. Try places live Reddit to post what you're looking for with as many details as you can share. 3. Create a "simple-er" MVP. Can up just design a mockup and sell that to investors or customers first? Can you find a way to do it without coding? People will see value in a lot of ideas but the more you can show them that you've put time into the idea and have hard plans for success, the better the likelihood of finding someone for your project. Hope that helps!

You could look at views to each slideshare to determine which pieces of content are most popular/resonating best with your audience, but the key metric here is really the number of demo requests you generate from this channel. You can include a different tracking token in each slideshare link that sends viewers to your website or demo page, and use that to determine which ones are leading to the most conversions.

Hire an independent valuator. In the case of US companies, a 409A valuation has to occur at every priced financing round, so if you've had one done, that would serve as guide. But you might not even have the right to sell your shares. Your shares should be subjected to vesting and your voluntary resignation would likely cancel all remaining unvested shares. Even should you have shares to sell, if you have Preferred shareholders, it's likely that there are terms that might make selling your shares to a 3rd party difficult. Happy to talk in more detail about the specifics of your situation.

Parse is indeed one of the best for user accounts, IAP tracking, custom push, analytics and user data sets. You can watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_0llIdtYNA on Youtube for some basic understanding of the Parse platform.

Absolutely, now more than never! If you take aside the psychological factors (motivation, strong desire, etc.), business success in general is dependent on 2 key variables : money and time (*not* experience). You cannot start a business with no money and no time. But if you have either of the two, you can make it happen. As per how, with all the dogmatism of brevity I would say: The easiest is to create a service that you can learn and deliver yourself (zero cost, only requires time to learn the required skill - could be writing content, teaching a language, coding apps, walking the dog, etc). Check out craigslist for about a thousand more ideas. Even for a product, you can ask your first customers to pay for it in advance (to cover development costs) so you get the funds to pay tech peoples to create it. Either way, there are 3 skills you must master if you want to have success : - get good at asking questions to find where people's problem are (the seed of any business is in resolving a problem, so you got to stop talking and listen!) - get good at asking them what their ideal solution would look like (you would think that people already looked for a solution if they already know what it looks like, but this would be over-estimating human behavior - you will find many were not even *aware* they had a problem before you started asking) - get good at hustling to put this solution together for them and then sell it! One word of caution : the real challenge in starting a business is in finding a profitable niche that can sustain you over the long term doing work that you love. To achieve this, you must approach it the same way a child learns how to walk. By falling down, and trying back again. If you want a fantastic example of what this kind of hustle can create, look no further than Clarity's founder Dan Martell (check out the 'About Me' page on his website for a great example of the "entrepreneurs' journey") To get the proper mindset, I also suggest a total immersion in the entrepreneurial world : listen to podcasts (free), read blogs (also free), and invite entrepreneurs for lunch to pick their brains (ok, that one is 20$).

The previous answers are really excellent. Let me resume them quickly and add a fourth point which is critically important to help you putting all this together : 1 - keep in mind the psychological aspect to make sure you reach your goals : a book has a much lower value in people's mind than a training program, and for a pdf it's even worst - people are used to get pdf for free! To break this psychological link (pdf = low cost = you will never make much money out of it), consider creating a multimedia training program including both videos and the pdfs. Higher up in the 'value scale' is offering group coaching, and even better one-on-one consulting. 2- Be aware that the key thing your customers will be looking for is PROOFS. With so much hype all around, this is THE thing that will "make or brake" your goal achievement. So if you already implemented this strategic planning methodology yourself with great success, that's enough proof to get started. Otherwise, consider offering your methodology for free to a customer in exchange for a testimonial (proof). 3- Either way you go with this, offering part of your methodology for free is an excellent proof element and should be used as part of your marketing to generate leads. You can do that by sharing a pdf (or by doing a webinar). 4- Note that the real question here is : what business do you want to create for yourself? If you create your own digital product (pdf or others) and service line, you will have to manage the web 'infrastructure' and marketing but you will then have direct access to the customers (which is the real asset in your business, NOT your product). If you create partnerships for others to sell your product, you may make some money, but you will never be in contact with the end customer - hence you won't have any real asset to grow a potential business on.