Did you know how absolutely wonderful of a resource LinkedIn is for entrepreneurs? Well if you did, good for you and pat yourself on the back. If you didn’t, now you do, so get to gettin’! Mashable recently posted an article from the American Express OPEN Forum on how small businesses can reap the benefits of the social networking site. Here’s 5 ways Mashable believes that LinkedIn can help you and your small business grow (they’re pretty smart, so listen to them):
Stay Top-of-Mind
Find New Talent
Crowdsource Solutions and Get Feedback
Promote Special Event You Host or Attend
Lead Local and Industry Thought
Be sure to read the rest of the article for the nitty-gritty know how.
Why You Should Start a Company in… Portland, Oregon
I came across this article on Fast Company’s website and decided, given our location (yes this is a reference to my last post), I had to post it. According to Fast Company these days, location DOES matter. For Part Ten of Fast Company’s series about where to start a business (Why You Should Start a Company in… Portland, Oregon), Laura Rich interviews Jive’s Chairman of the Boards, David Hersh, in a very honest article about why one would want to start a company in the Pacific Northwest’s “Silicon Forest.” So for all you Portland based entrepreneurs, why did you choose the Rose City?
In a world that has been become flattened, where companies can have employees working around the globe, one must ask themselves, does it still matter where you start your company? According to Ben Parr, it still does. In his article “Web Entrepreneurship: Does the City You Live in Matter?”, from Mashable, he argues that entrepreneurial support communities, talent pool around location, in-person meetings, partnership, talent, and ultimately, happiness, are among the things one needs to consider when starting a company.
For me the biggest take away from the article was this quote: “Location matters for your startup, but it doesn’t define success. Hard work, smart execution, and the right team are far more important. Don’t compromise those things in your quest to find your perfect startup city.” On that note, what were some of the factors that played into you choosing a city to start your business?
I’m all about those cool, new, flashy tech innovations that businesses “need” (or at least I pretend to be and just admire them from afar). However, this article gives a refreshing perspective on businesses that thrive by using simple productivity enhancers. Some of these suggestions might seem overly simple, random, or blatantly obvious, but every little bit of advice counts.
You may think I’m wasting you’re time by posting some silly little tips about organization and efficiency, but think again. In the words of the author, Joe Ippolito, “The people who are succeeding are those who’ve found ways, methods, and routines to help them get things done.”
Check out the interview with some of the author’s favorite entrepreneurs from GOOD’s Diary of Social Venture Start-up. So all you entrepreneurs out there, get ‘er done (sorry, I couldn’t help myself)!
Forbes recently came out with an article about “The Biggest Small Business Competitions” across the country. The article gives insight to the 15 biggest university-sponsored events. Granted, some competitions are only open to students and/or alumni of the hosting university, but it’s not the situation for all. Some competitions are even right here in Eugene, like the New Venture Championship at the University of Oregon. Hey, the article even has some tips from our very own Tim Berry, president of Palo Alto Software…which I advise you to pay attention to since he’s a judge at three of the competitions listed.
My aunt sent my a post from ReadWriteStart, a resource for entrepreneurs and start-ups from Microsoft BizSpark. “Why We Need Tech Events for Women” addresses the very essence of the title. The technology industry is a male dominated one, so why not create conferences and workshops to educate and encourage female participation? Some conferences tackle blogging, others address the general topic of technology and its opportunities for women, some are for kids and young adults, and some are for professionals. Check ‘em out; who knows, you could become the next Bill Gates…
Who knew that a year in China, a semester at Nanjing University, and an internship with China Nanhai Oil Trust & Trading Co. (as an international trading intern) would lead to Christina Li being a budding entrepreneur while still an undergrad. Christina is a Clark Honors College student and a triple major at the University of Oregon (Business: Entrepreneurship, Chinese, and Asian Studies) and finally got to use an idea she came up with in China back in Eugene under the college umbrella.
Christina started the Ducks Denim Business Group this past fall, along with six other business majors who joined her venture after she pitched her idea to the International Business and Economics Club, Entrepreneurship Club, and Launching New Venture class, which are entities she is greatly involved in. Their first product? O-Jeans. O-Jeans are premium denim jeans with Oregon logos (which ones are still to be decided) on the back and/or the front pockets. They contacted the head buyer at the Duck Store, pitched their product, and the store love it! The store had wanted to do something like this, but had never been able to get at-cost price low enough to make it profitable.
By working primarily in the exporting division and attending China’s Import and Export Fair, Christina learned great insight into the premium denim industry. Premium jeans can sell $100, but for all practical purposes they cost $10 to make. Using her connections in China she was able to get a competitive price on quality denim, have the manufacturing company waive minimum quantity for styles and sizes, and brought the total minimum order quantity down from 3000 to 1000 through negotiations (since the Duck Store would only order 300 to start). Christina and her group believe that selling their first shipment of 1000 pairs of O-Jeans would not be difficult in a student body of over 22,000. They even have their distribution process down pat: Manufacturer (who has an exporting license so an intermediary is skipped) to Freight Forward (ship, insure, and import products to Port of Portland and they pick up merchandise there) to Duck Store to Storage (inventory).
Right now, cost is the most important factor for Duck Denim. The group wants to put the students first in all of their considerations because they are in fact student themselves. They’re still trying to find the right price point for students (approximately $45). They want the price to be affordable, but still be representative of a quality product. They also want the price to fit in with other products that the Duck Store sells, like sweatshirts ($15-30). The group is still in the process of sending out a marketing survey to help determine prices, styles, cuts, and designs. However, the most important quality they want to emphasize is the unique benefit of O-Jeans—the Oregon duck spirit.
As for start-up funding, the group just finished their feasibility study and they want to be as conservative as possible in their estimates. As of now, the students only need $11,000 dollars for start-up money. The founding team is contributing $3-5000 and then will proceed to go to family and friends for funding. They want to bootstrap as long as possible before going to the bank. Based on projections, Duck Denim will breakeven by the first year and will not pay salaries for the first year. Their reasoning is what’s the point of paying each other and still having to pay other people?
What’s really left is waiting for the logo licensing to be approved. The Duck Store wants two different styles to start, so the Duck Denim Business Group will be in contact with a few UO alumni that used to work for major clothing retailers to design a fashionable pair of jeans that also shows school spirit. They also plan to launch a denim design contest across campus next year to gain awareness. Additionally, they are in the process of constructing a website and a Facebook page, which have a viral effect for marketing their jeans. The Duck Denim Business Group didn’t sign an exclusive agreement, so if the jeans prove to be profitable, there’s room to expand. In the future, they aim to expand their denim business across university campuses in Oregon, the West Coast, and throughout the USA. As for now, they hope to have the O-Jeans out by the end of Spring and just in time for IntroDUCKtion and Fall football.
Looking for a local designer with a modern, earthly, and feminine flair? Then look no further. Sarah Seven is a bridal, special occasion, and ready-to-wear designer from Portland, OR, who has been around since 2007. Her designs have been featured on Martha Stewart Weddings website and she also participated in the previous New York Fashion Week.
I fell in love with Sarah Seven’s collections the minute I laid eyes on them. Her dresses are so delicate, beautiful, and reasonably priced. She uses natural fabrics, as well as recycled vintage fabrics and donates 5% of her sales to charities; 3% to Compassion and 2% to International Justice Mission. Check her her blog!
Smart-ups usually hosts an Ignite-Style pitch competition in November. This year we are hosting a mini Pub-Talk event with the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network November 11th at the Willamette Innovators Night in Corvallis.
Larry Kaplowitz (co-founder of of Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss) will share his personal story about how he and his co-founder (Luna Marcus) started, grew and sold their business in less than 6 years. Hear how they started the business with just $10,000, how they quickly became cash-flow positive, how they built their team, marketed their business, hit their first million, explored partnerships — and ultimately sold their business.
Larry has truly come full-circle. He’s now excited to become an angel investor and share his knowledge and skills with other local start-up companies. Larry is a member of the Willamette Angel Conference investor LLC. You won’t want to miss hearing his amazing story!
Following Larry’s talk we’ll begin the “Speed Pitch” competition (where Larry is one of the investor panelists – see other investors below…).
Calling Oregon-based Start-up Companies to Deliver a Speed Pitch! There’s no fee to submit, no fee to present and presenting companies do not pay a fee to attend — so you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain!
Includes food and beverages | Note: Seats are limited!
Speed Pitches: 3 minutes each to pitch, 3 minutes of real investor feedback
The audience will vote for the winner – and the one winner will receive a free hour of coaching from the Executive Team for the Willamette Angel Conference (includes investors, entrepreneurs, and lawyers). Note: Any start-up in Oregon is eligible to submit to pitch at Smart-ups — including those who submitted to pitch at the WAC and those who have not submitted to pitch at the WAC. All investors from the WAC will be invited to attend this event, and the investor panel are members of the WAC Investor LLC – so this allows for a great educational and networking opportunity.
Create a single slide (slide should include your company logo, tag line, and no more than 7 bullets describing what’s unique about your business)
Submit your single slide to Smart-ups by clicking here – you will be contacted if selected to deliver a speed pitch at the pub-talk. Note: Up to 10 companies be be selected to deliver Speed Pitches
Deadline to submit is 5pm, April 9th.
If selected to deliver a Speed Pitch you will be given 3 minutes to pitch your business (you will be timed).
Tips for what to say in your 3 minutes include: your name/title, the problem in the market you’re product is addressing, 2-3 sentences that describes your business, your target market, how you will generate revenue, your competitive advantage/value proposition, and key team members/advisers
The investor panel will take 3 minutes to ask you questions/share suggestions.
The audience will vote for the company they feel delivered the best pitch. The winner will receive one free hour of coaching from the WAC Executive Team
Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse!
Thanks to our great sponsors for supporting entrepreneurship in our community!
