Some people are truly a force of nature, and just as a gentle breeze can eventually become a category five hurricane, all legends began from smaller origins. This week, Kelly Cutrone, five-time entrepreneur, judge of America’s Next Top Model, owner of fashion PR juggernaut People’s Revolution, two-time best-selling author, and mom, about where her empire […]
Continuing our series on funding, I sat down with Bruce Croxon from Dragon’s Den and Round 13 Capital to talk about his perspective on the state of funding. Bruce was an entrepreneur in his own right: in the late 1980s he and a partner built Lavalife, a company which made millions, and for which Bruce […]
All January, I’ve been talking with experts about various ways to fund your company as you grow. Angels and Venture Capital aren’t the only ways you can fund and grow your company, though. Recently, I spoke with Roger Chabra ofRHO Ventures and Extreme Startups about his perspective on the state of funding, accelerators, and start-ups […]
Some people just HAVE to create. These people create art, entertainment, provocative writing, or businesses. This week, I spoke to Baratunde Thurston, who has managed to do all of that and more. Many know Baratunde from his role as Director of Digital for The Onion, where he once made a cameo in a piece about […]
In January, we looked at different ways to fund a start up. We talked to people on all sides of this subject, from investors, to governmental agencies, to founders who funded in unique ways. For those who are interested in Angel investment or a VC round, there is a lot of contradictory information. Some founders […]
I first saw Robbie Whiting in 2012 at South by Southwest, where he gave a daring presentation on the death of the advertising agency model. At the time, he was Director of Creative Technology at Duncan/Channon, an agency which has applied a unique approach to attracting new business: Making things. Robbie is an early adopter, […]
My company, Shyndyg, is a bootstrapped start-up, and we’ve always noticed when we tell people we’re bootstrapped, the reaction is almost one of pity. It’s not always an option for every company, but there are distinct advantages to being a bootstrapped start-up: freedom, the ability to easily pivot or test business models without asking permission, […]
2013-04-02-closeupMakePerfumeNotWarpic.jpg This week, I spoke with an entrepreneur who has achieved the Canadian Dream. In 2010, Barb Stegemann walked onto a soundstage on the 10th floor of the CBC building in Toronto to pitch her business: a perfume company which sourced its ingredients from Afghanistan. It was an idea which confused many of the Dragons, […]
Most industries have been completely transformed by the internet. Where at one point, you needed to “know a guy” to get the best plumber or brakes specialist, there are now sites like Homestars and Gigpark. If you needed to reach out to a huge company to raise a complaint, you needed to do a lot […]
There is a very real issue facing funded companies getting to the next level in their growth. Sometimes, companies who are reaching a successful peak do so just as they are in need of another round of funding. Where do you go? Angel investors are rarely in a position to provide a full round of […]