- Kryon Systems
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- Velocee
- Concealium
- Sparkeo
- Superfly
- Webydo
- Touchoo
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Read full story - TWS2010 Showcases 10 Promising Israeli Startups
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." - Albert Einstein
... At the time, we made almost all our money selling shoes, but our hope was that we'd eventually go into all sorts of other businesses. We saw Zappos as a global brand like Virgin -- except whereas Virgin was about being hip and cool, Zappos would be about offering the best service. The plan was to grow sales to $1 billion by 2010 and eventually go public.
These ideas about the power of our company culture had yet to be proved. As I talked to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who visited our headquarters in 2005, I realized that to Amazon, we were just a leading shoe company. If we sold, we'd probably be folded into their operations, and our brand and culture would be at risk of disappearing ...
There is a perspective some people apply to evolution, social theory, and language change called punctuated equilibrium (credit goes to Jess Ruefli for pointing this out). It suggests that change is not gradual, but that change comes in sudden punctuated bursts between stretches of relative stasis or equilibrium.
The Web from 1995-2000 was certainly a surge like this as every business "went online" in order to continue to function in a newly competitive economy. I believe that we're going through such a surge right now as the early versions of the web - designed for people using browsers - gives way to the next version: using APIs to design the web for people using applications that communicate on their behalf in complex ways to the services that make up the world's businesses.
If you wanted to know what I’ve been thinking about after Customer Development, you can see and hear it in the talk I gave at the conference. Watch the expanded version of “Why Accountants Don’t Run Startups below.
- The first story, Shifts in Entrepreneurship starts at 4:20
- Not All Startups Are Equal starts at 7:30
- What VC’s Don’t Tell You starts at 12:00
- Business Plans Versus Business Models at 14:08
- Startups Search Companies Execute at 17:05
- Leadership Versus Management at 24:50
- Durant Versus Sloan at 30:13
- E-School Versus B-School at 33:41
Execs at large companies are good at fine tuning these existing systems, while startups need people who can help mold and create the business' framework for its future as a large company. Steve Blank says that the reason there are disparages and possible conflicts between traditional executives and startup execs is that education is too focused on traditional business practices, and not enough on entrepreneurship.
So how does a startup founder select the right execs to help nurse their fledgling company into a prosperous large business? According to Horowitz, there are two steps needed to assure the right people are hired: and extensive and highly scrutinized hiring process, and dedicated and focused integration of the executive upon hiring.
By now, everyone is tired of hearing about the iPad, but the negative responses are so perfectly misguided that it would be wrong to waste this opportunity. Even better, we can look back at the 2001 iPod launch and see the exact same mistakes. But this isn't about the iPad or the iPod -- it's about product design.
The most famous iPod review was from Slashdot, which simply declared, "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame." The iPad reviews are similar in that they focus on the "missing" features.
There’s already lots of great content on the web about raising capital and understanding deal terms. My favorite is the content on Venture Hacks (a must read, if you’re raising capital). But, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to share some of the “lessons learned” from my own experiences. Some of these you’ve probably heard before, but one or two will likely be new to you
Business plans - at their best - are an invaluable tool to help a small startup or growing company plot its path to the next stage of growth.
Unfortunately, most business plans are a complete waste of time and energy - turning would be founders and startup builders into word-smithers and BS artists.
At their worst, it is not uncommon for the business planning process to waste months of effort - or even put the startup (and sometimes the entrepreneur) out of business.