This summer I have had the opportunity to observe and listen to many startups as they are raising money for their ventures. I wrote about simplifying your pitch here, but here are my thoughts on two other mistakes I have seen entrepreneurs make a few times: not researching the investor and not researching their competition…
There have been many articles written about college students raising money for their startups while in school. Some investors are totally against the idea, while others welcome youth entrepreneurship and the innovation that it can spur. If you are one of the young entrepreneurs raising money for your startups, here are a few tips: Seek…
This summer I have had the opportunity to observe and listen to many startups as they are raising money for their ventures. Here are my thoughts on a mistake that I have seen entrepreneurs make a few times: founders over complicating their idea. Every founder must be able to easily explain what their product or…
This summer I have had the opportunity to work at Cofounders Capital, an early stage venture capital firm in North Carolina. The firm is managed by former entrepreneurs David Gardner and Tim McLoughlin, and they have decided to run their firm differently than most venture firms. At Cofounders, the management team is almost exclusively focused…
When founders decide to seek capital from venture capital firms, they are making the conscious decision to catalyze the growth of their company. Money raised is spent on new team members, R&D, marketing and anything else a company can use to grow quicker. But when money is raised entrepreneurs must realize that their companies cost…
The first day of an internship can be a frenzy. First, you meet your new boss, then you get your cubicle, then IT sets you up, and so on. It’s both exciting and overwhelming. And it’s all set up to make sure that you are able to excel throughout your internship. In addition to all…
On my first day riding the subway, from Columbia University to the Evol8tion office in midtown Manhattan, I chose to pass the time by reading Richard Branson ‘s autobiography: Losing My Virginity (a must read.) Mid-ride I was abruptly interrupted by a loud confident voice. “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen,” A teen of thirteen or…
Any intern would agree that asking questions comes with the territory. You’re new and there is a lot to learn. In theory asking questions seems pretty simple. What is this? How do you do that? And why? It is natural for people to ask questions, but that is not the end of it. The tricky…
This summer working for Evol8tion gave me a lot of freedom that I reference in “Why Startups are Ideal Nurturing Young Minds.” In that freedom, I recognized a small, yet important, lesson that I think is important to mention. It’s a message made popular by Tina Fey a couple years ago. …
As an intern at Evol8tion, one of the best parts of my job was to attend events around New York City. My job was to write about the different events, the startups that attended the events, and find out more about the coolest companies I came across. Here’s a quick example. Attending startup related events…
