It is holiday time for nearly everyone, the celebration of mid-winter, the passing of the Solstice and the shortest day of the year, and a looking forward to a new Spring in the New Year.
In the spirit of celebration, gatherings of rejoicing to have survived another dark time of the year, and all the religions [...]

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According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “The Nobel Prize Committee for Economics honored Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson, in part, for paying attention to what happens in the real world.” They understood that “standard approaches of economics are inadequate at explaining what actually occurs.”
Paying attention to the real world, the larger world outside [...]

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Last Friday (12/18/2009) the Wall Street Journal’s Venture Wire asked if they could post a blog I was preparing on the outlook for 2010 in finding venture funding.  They asked me to expand upon a list of tactics for entrepreneurs in their search for funding.  So I adapted what I was writing that afternoon, and [...]

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Investors have a rather straightforward wish list. The catch is, they want all of it filled at the beginning. And why not? Even the small firms read thousands of plans each year, and fund only a few. Larger firms see tens of thousands of plans each year, and fund only a few more. Yes, there [...]

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Summary: The New York Time yesterday reported yet another investment in online games, this time with an interesting structural twist.  http://bit.ly/7J9byh  Digital Sky Technologies, from Russia, made yet another investment in the online world, after its $200 million investment earlier this year in Facebook. They are leading a group that will invest $180 million in Zynga, purveyor of [...]

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What is Competitive Intelligence? And “What’s in it for me?”
Competitive Intelligence (CI) is the brains behind decision-making. It’s simple. The better the information, the better the decision.
Need more? When introducing a new concept in business, such as CI, the question that invariably arises is “What can I/my company/my clients gain from this?”
As a professional [...]

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“Inbound Marketing” is a term that I have seen to describe the untraditional ways to market and find leads and customers for your products and services. It is the practice of having qualified leads find you and your company through the use of creating content, search engine optimization (SEO), and social networks, rather than utilizing [...]

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We are continuing our interview with angel investor John B. Dimmer, the managing member in FIRS Management LLC, a private investment firm based in Tacoma, WA. See part 1
Q: What about negotiating with investors or other financial supporters until cash flows increase?
A: Investors hate bad surprises, especially when the surprise is accompanied [...]

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For a growing business, cash flow is crucial for profitability. Cash flow enables you to make productive decisions to navigate and grow in the competitive marketplace.
No one knows that better than angel investor John B. Dimmer, the managing member in FIRS Management LLC, a private investment firm based in Tacoma, WA. He is also a [...]

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This is a call you make both personally and from your opportunities. If you have controlled your early capital and board membership, and have found VCs who understand your market space and can provide both market savvy and connections for growth, strategic alliances and ultimate valuation, then give over a good deal of your company [...]

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