Nerd Stalker

The K-Startup Grand Challenge 2018 Accepting Applications till June 14 Startups get ready to accelerate. Last year, 1,515 firms from 118 countries competed to be selected for the 2017 K-Startup Grand Challenge, a rigorous startup program in Seoul. 49 of them were selected to participate in a 4 month-long acceleration program and received initial funding and office space. The top 25 teams were then chosen in December at a demo day to receive additional funding of 6 months in order to help them successfully claim their place in the Korean ICT industry.

Alec Watson of Technology Connections Discusses What Went Wrong with LaserDisc TM as a Product What the heck is LaserDisc TM ? If you were born before 1970 and maybe lived in Japan you may have heard about LaserDisc TM . Well, not completely true but somewhat. After stumbling upon Technology Connection 's video, they made some great points for you to learn about product positioning and market timing. In the following video, Alec from Technology Connections explains how LaserDisc TM failed because of three issues - market timing (coming after VHS/Beta - another product saga), market behavior (people watched movies at Theaters vs. Home) and market positioning (watch movies at home vs record shows to watch later). Many can point to this product failure which eventually launched DVDs as a success, but also content availability (licensing) also sank this product. Cost was also factor because of market behavior and market positioning into switching over the consumer...

How Start-up Businesses Can Get PR with a Minimal Budget      (Editor: We are pleased to share an article on some practical tips for bootstrapped startups on PR from invited contributor Cristy Brusoe of Brusoe Communication. Enjoy.) By  Cristy Brusoe, Brusoe Communications By Small businesses don’t always have the budget to include public relations, yet it is a crucial aspect of success for any business. Even with a budget, oftentimes these start-ups aren’t sure where to turn for PR support. Aligning your business with the right partners is essential in taking the next step and growing the business. Included below is a few helpful tips for those small businesses owners who are searching for a way to increase their brand exposure and bring publicity to their product/service.             Tip 1: Avoid Corporate PR . With a smaller budget, avoid large corporate PR firms that often ask you to w...

The Annual Brand Prize Looking for Destroyers of the Status Quo - Submissions due July 14 Photo courtesy of The Brand Prize The Brand Prize has been driven by a mission to elevate progressive startups in North America through an annual contest, open to anyone with a solid idea and vetted business plan. Partners Skyrocket and the The Red Academy have partnered to provide a prize which includes a comprehensive branding identity and website package, valued at $40,000.

2017 Maker Faire Coming May 20-21 to San Mateo  Fairgrounds Photo Courtesy of Maker Faire Do you know what Megabots, Big Ant and Electric Giraffe is all about? The 12th Maker Faire , also known for years as the Greatest Show(&Tell) on Earth, comes to the Bay Area on May 20 & 21 will show you. The Nerd Stalker team will be there to witness the maker-extravaganza. We hangout in the tech pavillion but we are serious considering the other options If you haven't been to Maker Faire, we have some highlights for you to see below.

Tribe of Noise Head Noise Maker Updates us on their Latest Venture -  Bizmusiq Hessel Van Oorschot - Chief Noise Maker at Tribe of Noise Startup Business models evolve. Some out of necessity. Some out of pure timing and chance meeting.  In an  interview  early this year with Hessel Van Oorschot , we learned that there is another higher decibel noise coming from the Tribe of Noise  which Hessel talked about a new streaming service for restaurants. Turns out this announcement was just the infrastructure tech for an even bigger deal.   Hessel talks about a new joint venture with a record label in the Netherlands. Here in the states(as every one outside of US likes to call it), you may or may not have heard about them - Strengholt Music Group .  Strengholt owns new dutch music licenses as well as classic licenses. As Hessel discusses in the interview, the old labels need to get into the digital era and why not stream modern to classic music, se...

Founders Space Announces New Seminars for Startups in November November Events for Startups by Founders Space (photo courtesy of Founders Space) Recognized internationally accelerator , Founders Space, has announced some great instructional and informational lectures for startups. What makes this special? Steve is always on the move as most accela-preneurs are and to get him to stay still for an hour is amazing. But equally amazing is that he has created a great environment/ecosystem of startups, mentors and funders creating the next big thing. Captain Hoff (aka Steve Hoffman) will be giving three inspiring talks on future tech trends, raising capital and telling your startup story coming in early November. If you look below, we have a Nerdy discount for you. Full discloser, I am a volunteer mentor at Founders Space focused on PR/Marketing.

SF Music Tech Summit Announces the 2016 Startup Competition Winners SF Music Tech Summit has announced the winners amongst dozens of impressive entries for the SF MusicTech Startup Competition this year. After careful consideration from a unique panel of judges, they have the ten winners of the competition who will be presenting at the  SF MusicTech Summit to be held this year on October 17, again at Hotel Kabuki in SF Japantown. The ultimate winner will be selected to win a complimentary legal package of services from  WSGR .  The summary of each one is below. Check it out or y ou can learn more about each startup  here . 

Entrepreneur Taffy Williams Discusses " Rebuilding After Failure " Picture by Taffy Williams This month, we talk in depth with entrepreneur and author, Taffy Williams on " 4 Ways To Reduce Tunnel Vision " based on the same article he wrote for his blog -  Startup Blog . Taffy draws on his years of experience(aka bumps and bruises) to discuss the four ways entrepreneurs and startup CEOs can make better decisions on product development. Check it out.

SocialMedia Sean visits the Victoria, BC Startup Hub - Tectoria Experience Tectoria Startup Event (photo courtesy of Pablo by Buffer) Us nerds are all about startups. Our partner in Victoria, BC, Canada, Sean Charles (aka @socialmediasean), give us a tour of one of the startup focused events in Victoria's startup scene - Experience Tectoria. 

Cheryl Robinson of Ivy Startup Conference Shares Her Thoughts on Female Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship (courtesy of Pablo by Buffer) A guest post by Cheryl A. Robinson Have you ever evaluated your life and wondered how you got to where you are? There was never any doubt that I would one day run my own business. Ten years ago I couldn’t tell you what that would look like but I knew I wanted to lead a team of people to create something amazing. Fast forward tens years with a Master’s from Columbia University and two LLC’s, and I’ll tell you that the journey has been long and a huge life lesson, but overall, this has been the best experience of my life. Being an entrepreneur feels exclusive. Exclusive in that you feel alone in the quest to find the right partners, the right co-founders, who believe in a vision just as much as you and compliment your skill set. You are inclusive with everyone that you meet and network with because you never know whether or not that pers...

SCORE Shares Growth Industry Statistics for Budding Entrepreneurs Industry Growth Statistics to Consider (photo courtesy of SCORE) Our friends at SCORE , in partnership with  The Deluxe Corporation Foundation , the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, has gathered statistics into an infographic which identify today’s most promising growth industries for entrepreneurs looking to start a successful small business. Now, before you get excited and rush off,  i ndustry growth is just one factor in choosing the best industry for a new small business . Other important considerations can include target market, location and competition.  Do some homework and enjoy.  

Bobby Samuels of Startup The Daily Distiller Introduces a Bite-Size Daily News Source The Daily Distiller (photo courtesy of The Daily Distiller) Having trouble keeping up to date with the happenings in your busy and active world? Recently launched news startup, The Daily Distiller,   will help you stay up to date. The Daily Distiller is a compact, bite size summary of News, Culture, Sports and Business/Technology delivered daily to your inbox. The best way to describe the look and feel would be a tradition newspaper brought to the digital era.  Traditional newspapers have a mix of news-breaking stories, special sections and cartoons. The Daily Distiller brings all that and a recipe for a mix drink on top of it in a "distilled" format. Curated by a former editor of Harvard's The Crimson - Bobby Samuels and former president of Harvard's  campus comedy magazine  The Lampoon -  Eric Brewster, the duo has a team of media talents from around the country t...

Onvest Acquires Founder Dating - Now the Largest Network for Entreprenuers Photo courtesy of Onevest Onevest, technology products provider to founders,investors in the entrepreneurship community, announced today the acquisition of FounderDating to create one of the largest and leading networks of entrepreneurs and advisors, in combination with Onevest‘s subsidiary, CoFoundersLab. We became very aware of FounderDating with SF New Tech back in 2010. Great organization.

We Believe In Tech, Startups, Design & You The Weekend Edition by Nerd Stalker Articles that caught the Nerd Stalker crew's eye from the last week.

Leading M&A Firm Magister Advisors Issues Exit Guidance for AI Startups Hello AI startups. Listen up. Magister Advisors, the leading global M&A advisory firm to the technology industry, has issued the following analysis, pinpointing the inversion of conventional M&A ‘laws’ for AI companies.- (1)  Pre-revenue AI companies being acquired for more than $2M per employee; (2)  Tech industry experiences its first 'Deep Blue moment' as AI and machine learning attract buyer premiums; (3)  AI firms without revenues are more valuable than those with, as buyers look for pristine competitive advantage

Entrepreneur Taffy Williams Discusses Four Ways to Reduce a Leader's Tunnel Vision  Picture by Taffy Williams This month, we talk in depth with entrepreneur and author, Taffy Williams on " 4 Ways To Reduce Tunnel Vision " based on the same article he wrote for his blog -  Startup Blog . Taffy draws on his years of experience(aka bumps and bruises) to discuss the four ways entrepreneurs and startup CEOs can make better decisions on product development. Check it out.

DC's  1776 & Dell Announce Online Platform to Help Entrepreneurs Home Page of 1776 You have to admit, when you hear the words "union" and "federation", my geek and nerd friends would say Star Trek and not startups. Today, at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit  (GES), 1776 and Dell in partnership with Microsoft and Capital Factory have announced a new platform for startups called "Union." The premise of "union" is " to enable the next billion entrepreneurs by supporting and connecting them and removing barriers to innovation regardless of location."

Korean Government Has Initiated K-Startup Grand Challenge Program for Foreign Startups to Incorporate in Korea As a supporter of Founders Space, we are happy to announce that  Korean government has initiated K-Startup Grand Challenge program for foreign startups to incorporate in Korea. The website states that "the Korean government has been injecting $2 Billion USD into its startup ecosystem in order to boost entrepreneurship, foster its venture industry and encourage international cooperation. The program is sponsored by the top Korean companies which can give the opportunity interact and work closely with them. Any startups with non-Korean, foreign citizen CEO can apply and aim to expand into the Korean market. There is no limit on the applicant’s business stage. Check out the video below.

Phuc Ly Offers 5 Ways to Help Entreprenuers Lower Their Tax Stress Holiday coming up quick? Well, note to self, so is tax season. We aim to reduce your tax day stress during this holiday season if you follow some advice. As another feature for Entrepreneur month, the Nerd Stalker Media gang called on Phuc Ly(pronounced Foo-Lee) of Alpha B Group, to give you 5 ways to prepare yourself (the busy entrepreneur) for the next tax season and lower your tax time stress. Check it out!